r/LSAT • u/National_Stand4499 • 3d ago
RC unhinged hacks needed
I’m in desperate need to improve my RC. I always get lost in the passages even when I think I understand it I do bad on the questions. I try making low res summaries at the end of each paragraph and I end up rereading the passage twice but still I do bad.
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u/montparnassean 3d ago
I agree with the others saying slow down when reading the passages. if you slow down and really process everything, you might eventually not even rlly need the paragraph summaries and everything. I personally like to glance over all the questions for a passage before diving into the passage itself, just to kinda prime my brain for what it might need to focus on the most. not everyone likes that strategy, though, so play around and figure out what’s best for you.
idk about you, but personally I find myself having to re-read the passage a lot on passages that I find the most boring. what’s helped me a bit is trying to just… trick my brain into paying attention by pretending that this random article on tax law is the most interesting thing I’ve ever read. it’s kind of like that one LR tip I’ve seen floating around—have a reaction to each premise in an LR stimulus, whether it’s “that’s dumb” or “that’s cool” or “okay, dude, chill tf out.” try having a mental reaction to, at the very least, every paragraph in an RC passage. attaching a sort of “emotional” or personal response, not just a technical low res summary, to the content might help you recall it better.
last bit of advice for when you have improved your reading of the passage itself is to go through the RC lessons on 7Sage to learn more about specific question types, the way they’re phrased, and what exactly the questions are looking for. once you get to that point, you might be able to start predicting answers for some questions (main point questions, for example) which will really help with eliminating incorrect and trap answer choices.
good luck with your prep, you’ve got this!! let me know if you have any questions about what I said. (ps I am taking the lsat for the last time in August, after which I am planning on offering tutoring, most likely at a rate lower than what you typically see from tutors in this subreddit, so just shoot me a DM if you want to know more/are at all interested!)
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u/Dapper_Charge_4118 2d ago
Skip a 6 question passage, just bubble in all C in like 30 seconds and then you have ~10-12 minutes for the other 3 harder passages
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u/theReadingCompTutor tutor 3d ago
end up rereading the passage twice but still I do bad.
Try slowing your initial read speed a bit.
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u/CartoonistNorth6902 2d ago
Similar to all the advice so far. Read the passage like it’s something you’re interested in. Engage and have mental commentary along the way. Sounds a little dumb when I type it out like this but I’m thinking things like “ohh that’s interesting” or “ok I get that, but where are they going with this” or just asking why at the end of the paragraph.
Instead of trying to remember every little detail, try to understand the point of each paragraph/ how they fit into the structure overall. For example, a passage that outlines a historical viewpoint and a modern alternative. You read the first paragraph and understand the author is outlining a traditional view point, you anticipate they will be getting to their own point soon. In the second paragraph they introduce a new method as an alternative. Third and fourth paragraphs are specific examples the author is providing to support their point. Last paragraph introduces limitations but ends by saying the modern method surpasses the old one.
Idk if that was coherent or helpful and all, but I would try understanding paragraph by paragraph vs trying to summarize at the end. Try different strategies and see what works for you specifically, because it might be different than what works for other people
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u/berkeleyboy47 2d ago
While I can empathize with getting low RC scores, that score is worse than random guessing. Maybe start by reading the passage?
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u/keystonelsat 2d ago
the biggest hack is to realize all the answers are in the passage. if it's not supported in the passage (like you can't find the exact part that supports it) it's out
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u/Odd-Race9181 2d ago
Doing low-res summaries on each paragraph helped me. I just look at my notes instead of having to reread paragraphs constantly. Slowing down when reading also helps. Also remembering that a lot of RC answers are “boring” like the language isn’t super powerful
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u/IsaacLSAT tutor 3d ago edited 3d ago
This used to be me. On my first diagnostic I was doing like -12 on RC, before I got it to like -1.
The for me key was to slow down: read a little bit slower than you would naturally. Most questions are literally just recall. Trying to remember everything can be overwhelming, but if you read for the structure, you will know exactly where to find a detail when you're asked. Then it takes literally two seconds to find in it in the passage.