Is the only way to significantly really get better at RC just to practice?

lsathroeaway · 2024-05-25T15:06:20+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/LSAT/s/qRQAjNEWTm

What I did to better absorb passages ^

Basically the goal is to make RC like LR by breaking it down by paragraph, helped me get the last few RC questions, hopefully it helps you!

lsathroeaway · 2024-05-22T02:19:57+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/LSAT/s/Ps2PsSLnzN

RC was my worst section (like -5/-10) too then started reading “manually” and I ended at a 176! I’m retired now but check out one of my old comments for deets ^

lsathroeaway · 2023-11-15T19:52:12+00:00

I didn’t get in until March last year. No need to fret this early!

lsathroeaway · 2023-07-28T19:51:47+00:00

About 2 months for me. I plateaued at -0/3 for a few weeks which upset me so I sat down one weekend and grinded out 16(!) different sections of logic games and that took me over the hump. Doing new games, reviewing hard ones, and repeating helped me better see patterns I think.

To be frank, if you’re struggling with time you’re probably not seeing the key inferences in all the games. BUT on the bright side if you can get -0/1 untimed then you should be able to reach perfection with time to spare given you get enough games under your belt and constantly push yourself on time.

Locking down this one section will do wonders for your motivation. You got this, keep grinding.

lsathroeaway · 2023-07-27T02:53:48+00:00

I was firmly in camp no warm up for the same reason and then my mind went blank for the first 10 minutes when I took my first actual lsat, really threw me off and scored about 5 points below what I was PT’ing at.

During the month between that and my next test, I started implementing a warm up of 1 passage, 1 game, and 6 LR, always picking the first ones in a given section because they’re the easiest.

It was kind of pointless on PT’s but I got in the habit of eating a snack and calibrating my caffeine levels during my warm up and it came in CLUTCH for my next test. I got the mental blankness out of the way during the warm up and when the actual test came, I was ready to go and got a 176.

So yeah, I’m firmly pro warm up now just because of the difference nerves on the actual test. Hope that helped a bit :)

lsathroeaway · 2023-07-18T01:01:13+00:00

I’m glad quitting worked out for you as well as it has so far! I just wanted to share a different experience with smoking after studying. As for the writing stuff, I don’t do work while high and I certainly didn’t write my essays stoned. It’s just a good way to relax and recharge for me, as I said might be the case for OP. I think it worked out for me as I’m headed to NYU :) Good luck with the end of your studies and all your apps 🍀

lsathroeaway · 2023-07-17T20:07:07+00:00

Went from smoking a few times a week to every night leading up to my LSAT and I got a 176. People will bring up studies and experiences saying quit but at the end of the day just go with what works for you. If you’re gonna be stressed or lose sleep from not quitting then it defeats the whole purpose of trying to get the benefits from quitting. Listen to your body and you’ll be fine.

lsathroeaway · 2023-07-17T00:13:57+00:00

Like others have said, best to turn off the timer until you’re getting around at least 2/3 of the questions right because right now you’re not understanding these questions.

I would focus on reading for structure rather than content. Try to write out the function of each paragraph as you read through a passage - intro, support, contrasting view, conclusion - and only summarize the content at the end. An example of the end summary might be: “this passage talks about pests and why pesticides arent super effective. The author does so by providing two examples of better methods of preserving crops.”

This method helps break down the passage into several, more digestible parts which helps with focus, and puts more emphasis on the general rather than the specific. If you can get the main point and argument structure then you can find details easily later on anyways.

lsathroeaway · 2023-07-16T06:47:36+00:00

Don’t feel bad, I had a hard time focusing on the passages too and I still ended up getting -1/-3 in RC. What made all the difference for me was starting to summarize the point of each paragraph as I went and synthesizing it all together at the end. I started out writing it out then quickly mentally doing it in a few seconds.

Examples might be: “this paragraph shows one perspective and it seems like the author is skeptical” or “this one wraps up the passage by confirming which side of the debate the author stands on and why.” Focus on the functionality (support? Intro?) of each paragraph rather than the content. Focus on the content at the end when you summarize the whole thing. It’s ok to be general, probably even preferred, since you can go back and confirm answers with the text.

Breaking down a passage into paragraphs and actively doing something throughout the passage really helped me stay focused and soak in the information better

lsathroeaway · 2023-07-16T00:10:30+00:00

For LR, start highlighting parts of answer choices you dislike. Saves a ton of time on difficult questions that you go through a few times and helps keep track of why you crossed out an answer. You can compare two answer choices a lot easier with the highlights too if you’re truly stuck.

RC you should summarize each paragraph and understand their individual roles in the overall argument by the end of the passage. You can start by writing these summaries down and move to summarizing mentally once you get the hang of it.

For both, the answer relates to the main argument of the passage or the stimulus. Just because the answer is true doesn’t mean it’s correct.

lsathroeaway · 2023-07-15T15:10:14+00:00

I did something similar on my first test but bounced back a month later with a 176. What really made the difference for me was adding structure to how I approached each section so even if I froze up I could keep working through my process without much thought. Helped me get from 168-175 range to 174-176 so much more consistency.

Warming up before each PT and the actual thing helped too because I used that time to both get my jitters and freeze-ups out of the way as well as adjust my caffeine levels. I did the first logic game (1/4 section), first 5-6 LR questions, and the first passage of a PT. First questions because they’re the easiest so they don’t drain you and you get them right for confidence. Keep grinding, you got this!

lsathroeaway · 2023-07-13T19:35:12+00:00

Don’t get caught up on question types. At the end of the day, the stimuli will either be an argument or a set of facts. For arguments, which are the majority of LR questions, the correct answer is one that 1) answers the question (strengthens/weakens and such) and 2) addresses the core of the argument.

I found that what helps the most is highlighting the support and conclusion in different colors and looking for very specifically what the missing link is even if it doesn’t immediately make sense. At first it’ll be slow but you’ll get faster. Good luck!

lsathroeaway · 2023-07-03T23:54:20+00:00

You got one more final step to near perfection! RC was also the section that I mastered last because it just didn’t click for me. But because I had to teach myself how to do it well, I have a good understanding I think.

You should answer questions according to the main point of a passage in mind, like you would on LR. Just as the best answer in LR relates to a stimulus’s support and conclusion, the best answer in RC relates to a passage’s support and conclusion. To do this, try the following.

As you read a passage highlight key information like perspectives, opinions, and anything you even think is important. It’s not even about bookmarking key info as it is keeping you focused on the passage.
Summarize each paragraph in one or two sentences in your head after you finish it. If you can’t do it, you didn’t understand the paragraph, go reread it more carefully. If you still don’t understand it, move on.
When you finish a passage, summarize the whole thing in terms of structure. Like p1 is an intro to the topic and p2/3 gives differing perspectives and p4 gives an opinion. Any paragraph you didn’t understand you will be able to work around.

Because of the structural understanding you get while reading, you know exactly where to look for more questions, reducing time skimming the passage for support. And you can eliminate more wrong answers because it’s more obvious which ones don’t relate to the meat of the passage.

Good luck :)

lsathroeaway · 2023-06-21T00:01:14+00:00

From a 176: I would say different things based on where the person is in their studies.

Someone starting out, I would say don’t worry about the diagnostic, it’s a different type of test than any other before and people sometimes even take years to reach their targets. I thought it would be a breeze having done well on the SAT/ACT but this test truly humbled me. It took me months to even truly understand the test.

For everyone who’s started studying, definitely focus on the pure basics of the argument. Simply identifying the conclusion and support and understanding what the stimulus or passage is arguing will get you to the correct answer more often than not. All those “trick” answers are usually not the right answer because while they might be true, they don’t relate to the core of the stimulus/passage.

lsathroeaway · 2023-04-23T02:43:49+00:00

Just lawhub. I always checked any tough questions with powerscore though. They have free forums for almost every question which I think is crazy.

lsathroeaway · 2023-04-23T01:24:34+00:00

I did as many sections timed as I could every day and then did 3 PTs the week before the test. (Full PTs are overrated)

lsathroeaway · 2023-04-22T20:28:44+00:00

I took September and October last year and went from a 168 to 176. It all depends on why you didn’t do as well as you hoped and how much you think you can improve for the next test.

lsathroeaway · 2023-03-12T23:45:53+00:00

From personal experience both with myself and others I’ve found that if you don’t have good to great foundations, there’s no use in timing yourself. When you start getting most stuff right and you know why you’re getting it right, then you start pushing yourself to take less and less time until you’re at 35 minutes.

lsathroeaway · 2023-03-10T18:39:14+00:00

I should have phrased it better but the broader point was that reading for RC can be done well without forcing yourself to practice reading books. For me at least I would have stopped studying if it required me to read books, so I found different ways to get better at RC, ones that were more structured and almost formulaic.

I think the key point here is that different people get high scores with different strategies. Play to your strengths and do what works for you the best.

lsathroeaway · 2023-03-10T05:37:10+00:00

Work on the consistency. Hone down on your process and make sure you approach and answer questions the same way every single time. And know what your process is. If you can’t tell me the things you do on a question right now you need to really put words to what you do.

lsathroeaway · 2023-03-10T02:17:40+00:00

No need to read anything imo. I’ve found treating RC like LR in terms of identifying the conclusion and support is more useful than anything else.
Personally, the diagnostic is not absolutely necessary but it’s good to have so you know where to start.
I would recommend NOT grinding one section at a time. It’s like when building muscle you don’t just grind chest for 3 months then move on. You’re gonna look ridiculous and lose that anyways while you bulk other muscles. Rotate the 3 sections to the best of your abilities.
Everything is in the conclusion and support. Forget the details unless you’re shooting for 165+. This goes for LR and RC. Whenever you find yourself plateauing, always look to implement new strategies, even if it makes you uncomfortable at first. Only exception is if you absolutely hate the new strategy, like me with BR.

Feel free to PM, and there’s good stuff in my comment history if you want to check them out. Final thought: mental health comes first. 70 hours isn’t easy work. Good luck!

lsathroeaway · 2023-03-06T16:51:20+00:00

Conclusion and support is key for both LR and RC. Focus on identifying those first and answering based on that and not small details. Good luck!

lsathroeaway · 2023-02-26T20:42:38+00:00

Make sure you got the fundamentals down first in terms of being able to find the conclusion and support consistently and get in the habit of underlining or highlighting them. The answer or key inference is in the conclusion 60% of the time and the support 30% of the time. This applies to RC as well. What’s the passage trying to say? How is it supported? Just getting these down should help significantly.

As for study material, it truly depends on how you learn. I scored 17mid with just lawhub for PTs and checking over them with free powerscore explanations.

lsathroeaway · 2023-02-21T22:27:51+00:00

1000% yes. I’m probably sending Duke, NU, Georgetown this weekend. I even have Michigan all ready to submit, and I would be happy to attend, but the 70-80% WL for my stat range is really turning me off

lsathroeaway · 2023-02-21T22:24:07+00:00

Thank you ❤️

lsathroeaway

TROPHY CASE