Reading Comp Forum

[Tiwinkle12]

I feel like I'm improving on every section except the Reading Comp. In fact, I feel like I'm actually starting to do worse on that as I take more and more practice tests. Are there any tips or anything on how to improve on that? I don't know how to go about that section! Also would practicing the RC on say tests on any of the older tests like tests 1-20 do me any good?

[Giro423]

I feel like I'm improving on every section except the Reading Comp. In fact, I feel like I'm actually starting to do worse on that as I take more and more practice tests. Are there any tips or anything on how to improve on that? I don't know how to go about that section! Also would practicing the RC on say tests on any of the older tests like tests 1-20 do me any good?

I personally found that annotating threw me off. At some point I just said screw it, and started to work on simply focusing on the passage with little to no annotations. The more RC passages I do, the more I find that my working memory has expanded. Additionally, like with any section on the test, the sheer amount of exposure to many passages has improved my "instincts" surrounding them and the questions that follow. Passages, review, repeat. Your brain will begin to understand the patterns of this section perhaps without you even realizing it. The other day I did 3 RC passages in a row as a workout and found that useful. I've also noticed that while PT'ing, if my experimental section is RC, I almost always do better on the second passage. This lead me to realize the importance of warming up.

All that being said I found Manhattan Prep's RC guide to be quite useful. After drilling with that book, I am always looking for the author, both sides of the argument, and seeking to understand the overall structure of the passage. As you probably know most of the questions will focus around these three themes. When I find a passage especially challenging, I focus on reading actively; dissecting the passage in a way that feels more familiar and therefore makes it more digestible. If there is a large amount of heady vocab and unfamiliar terminology, instead of digging through my mental dictionary I often will read around this language, searching again for the overarching concepts that the questions will more likely focus on. A little extra time spent with the passage invariably leads to better question performance, even if I have to move more quickly through them than I am comfortable with.

As for the older passages, I have done several, and have not found them all that different, but why not.

[New_Spice180]

I feel like I'm improving on every section except the Reading Comp. In fact, I feel like I'm actually starting to do worse on that as I take more and more practice tests. Are there any tips or anything on how to improve on that? I don't know how to go about that section! Also would practicing the RC on say tests on any of the older tests like tests 1-20 do me any good?

Hey, I know that exact feeling. I think it comes from the fact that the reading comp section may have intimidated you, and because of the high level of variance in each RC section you've found yourself getting lost in the details of each RC passage. Look at RC like you would with logic games, even LR. What I've found to work is to have a systematic method of approaching RC (thanks to Blueprint's RC book) , which was the saving grace. You need to know what you've read coming out of the RC passage that is what is most important. DO NOT get lost in subject matter, but look for structure ex: cause effect relationships/ opposing views/ shifts in attitudes, things like that. Because at the end of the day, you neither care nor know much about subatomic particles and their potentiality for nuclear fission, do you?

Until you have a means of getting/understanding the authors point of view, shifts in attitude and oppositions to those views, you'll find yourself faltering to the RC section every time.

[pterodactyls]

I found Manhattan RC and the LSAT Trainer to be useful. The LSAT Trainer nicely outlined how to identify the main point, the other few important points, and the fluff. It kind of looks at RC like a long LR problem.

After going through that and practicing passages, I improved a lot.