for all that bomb on RC

[najachrist]

1st, you need to understand one very important idea when you read RC, ...The Passage is set up as a Filler to slow you down and confuse you, and answer choices are made to entice you and lure you in...Period.. the PROFESIONALS THAT MAKE THIS TEST ARE PROFESSIONALS, ...!! now with that in mind, You have to read the passage from a removed perspective, take yourself out of the passage, Read for structure ALL THE TIME,,...Do not, I repeat do not read for detail to detail, specific deatil yes, and we will get to that in a second by not word for word, "I really need to understand whats going on here word for word", NO, that is not necessary at all.  Believe me I went from 1/2 right on a RC section to 99.5%  with this approach. 

YOU NEED TO, AT THE END OF THE PASSAGE BE ABLE TO KNOW THE MAIN IDEA/MAIN POINT.PERIOD!! VERY SIMPLE, LETS MOVE ON...BY THE WAY, READING THE PASSAGE SHOULD TAKE YOU AT MAX 3MINS, I USUALLY FINISH IN 2 1/2 WITH ALL OF THE INFO I NEED.  When you read each passage, you need to be able to:

1. When you get to the end, think about what just happened for a couple of seconds, notice any view points, the 1st passage especially, whats the issue at hand, ex. advocate, expain, extend an idea, jot down mentally or on paper 1 sentence ; the purpose of the Paragraph,    the funtion of each paragraph,  and the tone of any one who is speaking, ex..author, critic, who agrees with whom and who disagrees with whom, does the authour agree or disagree with any and the examples they give to support their opinions/viewpoints.

2. Did you notice any examples or any "List" (for example, 1....., 2..... etc) given for suppot of any of the viewpoints..100% of the time there will be examples/ list and you will be tested on them. or did you notice any words or phrases the author, proponents/opponents use, write down what you think in means, must be within scope of the argument....(thats how I get the answers to questions like, ?this individual would most likely agree with or disagree with ...etc and what did the indivdual mean by this or which of these words can replace the example"   " without changing the meaning much. You don't need to know all the details, you just need to find them.. example, In the 2nd paragrah I know this is mention... In he third paragrph, I know this this specific idea is avocated for etc...

I do not mark up or diagram when I am reading, some may find it useful, I don't feel it is necessary.

For viewpoints, next to whom ever it is ex, some critics say etc... I put, V1 or next V2 if the authour disagrees-  or agrees+ with any, I put V1+ for author agrees or V1- if the author disagrees. For examples or support given, I put ex. V1+, V2-, for examples I put ex next to the example in the passage or ex1, ex2..for list, I put L next it and under line the list.



I never thought at the beginning of studying RC that I would be able to get it but I did, Stay positive and approach the questios with confidence.... no surprises in RC if you prepare yourself correctly..I have a 3year old who is very distracting especially while im studying so I have to study with distractions, which I think helps for test day. You just have to be confident and positive..
I hope this helps you guys.
 

[bruin984622]

you forgot to mention drill, drill, drill. 

It's hard to practice RCs b/c it's so mentally exhausting and plain boring compared to LRs and LGs.  But you must get your hands on every single LSAT RC and plow thru them. 

[IvyLeague2Be]

Anyone that has the capacity to actually be a good lawyer should be able to be good at RC right off the bat 

[TheBreadWinner]

Anyone that has the capacity to actually be a good lawyer should be able to be good at RC right off the bat 

No. Reading comp can definitely be improved through practice.  Besides, you're a flame, why are you posting in legitimate threads?

[Kels]

I just have to add this. I spend about 4 min reading each passage (sometimes a bit more) and finish RC sections in time, missing about 3 questions in the section. This helps me A LOT because I usually thouroughly understand the passage by the time I go to the questions and 1) this helps prevent me from having to ever look back at the passage (except for the occasional detail question), and 2) this allows me to mark the correct answer WITH CONFIDENCE (this is big for me) without having to go back and forth between answer choices. This may not be the best strategy for everyone but I know it suits me much better than zipping through the passage in under 3 minutes. ALSO, I read the first paragragh very slowly (at least relatively) to make sure I have a solid grasp of where the passage is going. This allows me to read the rest of the passage much faster and with much more confidence...because I actually know what the hell is going on. When I read too fast, I might as well not read at all; because I end up saying to myself "well...I think thats what was going on". And I am a dead man going to the questions unless I KNOW for sure what was going on in this passage.

[IvyLeague2Be]

Maybe you guys should have worked on ur reading BEFORE deciding to become lawyers 

[bruin984622]

you forgot to mention drill, drill, drill. 

It's hard to practice RCs b/c it's so mentally exhausting and plain boring compared to LRs and LGs.  But you must get your hands on every single LSAT RC and plow thru them. 

I am tired of the same old rhetoric about RC improvement problems when people, IMHO, neglect that section cuz it is boring and not as *fun* to work on and practice than LG's. 
If you don't force yourself to spend time focusing on it and instead remain in denial while keeping your fingers crossed hoping to get LUCKY, YOU WILL NOT GET BETTER AT IT.  DUH! 
And YES, YOU HAVE TO get used to READING A LOT OF STUFF THAT YOU MAY NOT BE INTERESTED IN OR CARE ABOUT.
Anybody wish to chip in about what you have to do in LS and beyond to perform well?   
Where are the 2L's and 3L's that lurk this board that hibernate in SFLSD?  Chime in please and Smack this Bbitch up before more souls are lost into the abyss. 

Precisely.  I got complacent after PTing in the mid 170s, and that was with RC sections that I got -2 to -0.  I drilled LGs and LRs to death and did great in Oct, but ended up missing -7 on RCs.  This cannot be stressed enough, you need to drill drill drill on RCs till you've finished them all.  There are many methods that work great for many ppl - the one the the TC posted is ace - but you need to get your hands on as many as you can.  The reason is that for LGs and LRs, there are proven methods that work for virtually every capable person, but for RCs, it's not that simple.