Test takers who went -0 on RC tell me your secret Forum

[littlewing67]

Reading comp. seems to be my kryptonite and I usually go 4-8 wrong and for the sept. test I went -10 which really screwed up my whole score. I'm really looking for some ways to improve my prepping strategy. Maybe tell me a little about your outlining strategy? Do you outline a lot? Circle/box certain words? Write in the margins? For those who get perfect scores on reading can you just tell me a little about your:

Average wrong in beginning of prep/diagnostic:
Prep strategy:
Any Advice:

Thanks! It would be greatly appreciated

[Law2020hopeful]

Ok so I haven't sat for the actual test, but I PT in full test conditions (go to a university and sit in a classroom and no breaks except for the one after section 3 and no snacks/drinks while taking).

I have gone -0 on every RC passage I've done, except for my diagnostic and first PT (-3 and -1 respectively).

What I do is read each paragraph but after I finish each paragraph I stop for 5-10 seconds to mentally recap what I just read and make sure I have all the facts/main idea down. I do that for every paragraph.

After that, the questions are pretty easy. I rarely need to go back to the passage. It takes a bit longer to read but ultimately it saves time.

[Mikey]

Also wondering about this seeing as if I would've went -0/-1 on RC for the September take, i would've been happy with my score.

Good advice, law2020. I have tried doing that in the past and it worked well, but sometimes I feel like i should rush so i tend to just go from paragraph to paragraph. Definitely going to do this with every passage from now on though.

[Law2020hopeful]

Also wondering about this seeing as if I would've went -0/-1 on RC for the September take, i would've been happy with my score.

Good advice, law2020. I have tried doing that in the past and it worked well, but sometimes I feel like i should rush so i tend to just go from paragraph to paragraph. Definitely going to do this with every passage from now on though.

I found that it helps me to time how long it takes me just to read the passages when I'm doing drills that are untimed. Confidence in my timing is what will help reduce the impulse to rush.

When I time my speed in just reading the passages (including my mental recap) it calms me down because it's generally less than 3 1/2 minutes. So i spend maybe 15-16 minutes per 35 min RC section reading and have 19-20 mins just for questions, which means I'm generally swimming in time.

If reading speed is a challenge for you, I would say just read as much as possible in any spare time you have. It will get your mind attuned to reading and it will help your speed. Doesn't even have to be something dense to help. The act of reading consistently and often will generally help your speed.

[laqueredup]

Also went -0 this time around, and that was my typical score in PTs (Games are my hit or miss section)

Pausing after each paragraph for a recap is kind of similar to what I do. I make a quick note in the margin about what I think the purpose of the paragraph is. I don't really look at the note again usually, but I think just making it helps cement the reasoning.

I'm also very quick to move on in RC if there's a question I know will take me a while, I find that going back at the end of the section makes it quicker for me for some reason on that sort of question, maybe having a fresh perspective or something.

[littlewing67]

Also wondering about this seeing as if I would've went -0/-1 on RC for the September take, i would've been happy with my score.

Good advice, law2020. I have tried doing that in the past and it worked well, but sometimes I feel like i should rush so i tend to just go from paragraph to paragraph. Definitely going to do this with every passage from now on though.

I found that it helps me to time how long it takes me just to read the passages when I'm doing drills that are untimed. Confidence in my timing is what will help reduce the impulse to rush.

When I time my speed in just reading the passages (including my mental recap) it calms me down because it's generally less than 3 1/2 minutes. So i spend maybe 15-16 minutes per 35 min RC section reading and have 19-20 mins just for questions, which means I'm generally swimming in time.

If reading speed is a challenge for you, I would say just read as much as possible in any spare time you have. It will get your mind attuned to reading and it will help your speed. Doesn't even have to be something dense to help. The act of reading consistently and often will generally help your speed.

Thanks I greatly appreciate your input! Can you elaborate on your outlining strategy? Is it more in your head or do you write down your re-cap in the margins?

[littlewing67]

Also went -0 this time around, and that was my typical score in PTs (Games are my hit or miss section)

Pausing after each paragraph for a recap is kind of similar to what I do. I make a quick note in the margin about what I think the purpose of the paragraph is. I don't really look at the note again usually, but I think just making it helps cement the reasoning.

I'm also very quick to move on in RC if there's a question I know will take me a while, I find that going back at the end of the section makes it quicker for me for some reason on that sort of question, maybe having a fresh perspective or something.

Nice username Do you find yourself outlining a lot in the reading? Thanks though for the insight!

[Rogah]

...
What I do is read each paragraph but after I finish each paragraph I stop for 5-10 seconds to mentally recap what I just read and make sure I have all the facts/main idea down. I do that for every paragraph.
...

Where are you looking during those 5-10 seconds?

[tskela]

I went -1 on the September LSAT, and even that 1 was just a dumb misread.

Started at -6 cold.

Basically just went from not annotating at all to annotating quite a bit (not to the extent of writing in the margins though). Probably did like 40 total RC sections in my prep and by that time I knew what to look for in underlining, boxing, etc. I went through the Velocity RC videos (not free unfortunately), the Powerscore RC Bible, the Manhattan RC book and the LSAT trainer. Velocity was the most helpful/non-obvious. Tips like notating superlatives and other small details really helped me, because I was already good at having a big picture/contextual understanding of what I was reading. So it was the more detailed questions that were tripping me up

[Alexandros]

I didn't have have a particularly systematic method to this, because something overly systematic wouldn't work for me - But, I underline a lot, circle anything that's a name, a word I don't know, a noun that seems important, anything that's "first, second, third," also occasionally do double-underlines, or do boxes/half boxes. I don't do much for additional annotation/summaries but occasionally add arrows beside important points or write something like "1, 2, 3" beside three points. This was useful for me because it helped me scan for information quickly, and helped me comprehend what I was reading while reading it.

One thing I find to especially be the case for the newer ones: be really, really careful about the *exact* wording of the a/cs for the questions themselves. If there's some part of the a/c that's kind of wrong, not completely right, or not mentioned in the text, unless it's a very interpretive question like target audience or something, that's almost certainly not the answer.

Also, this is hard, and don't get bogged down on it, but do pay attention to the details as much as you can. It's important to read for structure, but the questions will ask you about small details in the text (esp newer ones it seems.) Being able to pay close attention to what you read and retain as much info in your head as you can while you answer those 5-7 questions is very helpful imo.

Tons of practice and repetition is probably the most important thing. As tskela said, like 40 sections. And repeating passages and sections you've seen before multiple times. You start seeing patterns and it gets easier.

[curry1]

Reading comp. seems to be my kryptonite and I usually go 4-8 wrong and for the sept. test I went -10 which really screwed up my whole score. I'm really looking for some ways to improve my prepping strategy. Maybe tell me a little about your outlining strategy? Do you outline a lot? Circle/box certain words? Write in the margins? For those who get perfect scores on reading can you just tell me a little about your:

Average wrong in beginning of prep/diagnostic:
Prep strategy:
Any Advice:

Thanks! It would be greatly appreciated

I started off -0 on my first PT (overall 167) -1 on actual exam. There's no silver bullet for RC, but I always found it helpful to generate the answer mentally before looking at the provided answer choices.

[littlewing67]

I went -1 on the September LSAT, and even that 1 was just a dumb misread.

Started at -6 cold.

Basically just went from not annotating at all to annotating quite a bit (not to the extent of writing in the margins though). Probably did like 40 total RC sections in my prep and by that time I knew what to look for in underlining, boxing, etc. I went through the Velocity RC videos (not free unfortunately), the Powerscore RC Bible, the Manhattan RC book and the LSAT trainer. Velocity was the most helpful/non-obvious. Tips like notating superlatives and other small details really helped me, because I was already good at having a big picture/contextual understanding of what I was reading. So it was the more detailed questions that were tripping me up

Thank you so much! <3

[littlewing67]

I didn't have have a particularly systematic method to this, because something overly systematic wouldn't work for me - But, I underline a lot, circle anything that's a name, a word I don't know, a noun that seems important, anything that's "first, second, third," also occasionally do double-underlines, or do boxes/half boxes. I don't do much for additional annotation/summaries but occasionally add arrows beside important points or write something like "1, 2, 3" beside three points. This was useful for me because it helped me scan for information quickly, and helped me comprehend what I was reading while reading it.

One thing I find to especially be the case for the newer ones: be really, really careful about the *exact* wording of the a/cs for the questions themselves. If there's some part of the a/c that's kind of wrong, not completely right, or not mentioned in the text, unless it's a very interpretive question like target audience or something, that's almost certainly not the answer.

Also, this is hard, and don't get bogged down on it, but do pay attention to the details as much as you can. It's important to read for structure, but the questions will ask you about small details in the text (esp newer ones it seems.) Being able to pay close attention to what you read and retain as much info in your head as you can while you answer those 5-7 questions is very helpful imo.

Tons of practice and repetition is probably the most important thing. As tskela said, like 40 sections. And repeating passages and sections you've seen before multiple times. You start seeing patterns and it gets easier.

Thanks you're the best obvs

[littlewing67]

.

[Law2020hopeful]

...
What I do is read each paragraph but after I finish each paragraph I stop for 5-10 seconds to mentally recap what I just read and make sure I have all the facts/main idea down. I do that for every paragraph.
...

Where are you looking during those 5-10 seconds?

Close my eyes and look down.

[amta]

i have struggled with RC since the start. mostly it's because i'm a painfulyl slow reader. recently i have been doing the 7sage memory method. it has been the biggest breakthrough i have had yet. in actual PT situtations i just summarize the paragraph next to the passage.

it should be noted that i have tried a lot of different methods for RC, and found that taking tons of little notes and underlining distracts me too much from the overall content and purpose of the passage. for me, less notes=more focus.

i used to go -10/-14, now i hover between -6/-2.

HTH

[Go Nats!]

I didn't have have a particularly systematic method to this, because something overly systematic wouldn't work for me - But, I underline a lot, circle anything that's a name, a word I don't know, a noun that seems important, anything that's "first, second, third," also occasionally do double-underlines, or do boxes/half boxes. I don't do much for additional annotation/summaries but occasionally add arrows beside important points or write something like "1, 2, 3" beside three points. This was useful for me because it helped me scan for information quickly, and helped me comprehend what I was reading while reading it.

One thing I find to especially be the case for the newer ones: be really, really careful about the *exact* wording of the a/cs for the questions themselves. If there's some part of the a/c that's kind of wrong, not completely right, or not mentioned in the text, unless it's a very interpretive question like target audience or something, that's almost certainly not the answer.

Also, this is hard, and don't get bogged down on it, but do pay attention to the details as much as you can. It's important to read for structure, but the questions will ask you about small details in the text (esp newer ones it seems.) Being able to pay close attention to what you read and retain as much info in your head as you can while you answer those 5-7 questions is very helpful imo.

Tons of practice and repetition is probably the most important thing. As tskela said, like 40 sections. And repeating passages and sections you've seen before multiple times. You start seeing patterns and it gets easier.

I co-sign to the comments made in this post. My ability to go predictably score -0 on the RC section is the sole reason why I was able to get a mid-160s score; I was always horrible at LG and needed to be perfect on the RC.

Once you start seeing the patterns in regards to the types of questions RC re-uses and once you nail down your own personal annotation process the section becomes a cinch. I always read through the questions first so I could identify what I needed to pay attention to and know which questions are going to be easy for me to answer (main point, primary purpose of the author in citing this expert, etc.) and then I read and annotate the passage once for basic understanding/structure. Then a second time to focus on those paragraphs that are more complicated or that highlight details that I know were brought up in the questions - my style was very much like Alexandros's when it comes to annotating.

By the end of my time studying, I knew could go straight to the questions after that second reading and answer all of the easy questions and have enough of an understanding of the more difficult components of the passage to probably answer the harder questions. The breakthrough for me, was when I did enough PT's to know just the amount of annotation that was right for me and could quickly but thoroughly read through the passage. Don't try to force a process on yourself with this.

[Deardevil]

I also used to go from -10 to -14, but it's because of reading "naturally."
It's very helpful to read a paragraph or sentence, then immediately go back and brush up on what you just read to really grasp it.
Doing this several times throughout, while reading at a slowly, but not too slowly/quickly, will get you free points for main point and organization.

Still go from -1 to -8; just need more drilling practice for consistency.

It's "different strokes for different blokes" when it comes to reading comprehension,
but I think it's still worthwhile to spend more time with the passage than with questions.

I used to "skim" and take maybe two minutes reading;
the result is that I look back at the passage more than I need to.
Now, I spend maybe up to four minutes (I don't really time it, but I do go slower),
and my score has gone up while I am able to finish within 23-33 minutes, whereas I would sometimes take 35+ before.