I’m Struggling with LSAT Reading Comprehension. Help!

I’m Struggling with LSAT Reading Comprehension. Help!

The LSAT Reading Comprehension section often flies under the radar during LSAT prep. Many LSAT preppers think “Oh, that’s something I do during the normal course of the day. I don’t need to study for it.” This could not be further from the truth! This section is worth the most of any single section of the LSAT. So, it can cost you a lot of points if you don’t really prep for it. Read further for our tips for those who struggle with LSAT Reading Comprehension.

I’m Struggling with LSAT Reading Comprehension. Help!

1. Read the passages closely and don’t rush!

A common anxiety point many LSAT takers have is the length of the reading selections. The fact that there are four lengthy selections to read forces many students to attack them quickly, skimming the passages before jumping into the questions. This is a bad approach! If you rush too quickly through the passages, you will inevitably have to read through it again when answering the questions. There is plenty of time to read the passages closely, even if you are a slow reader. It will save you time to read slower and in more detail once than to reread the entire passage twice.

2. Break the passages down into manageable chunks.

It also helps many LSAT takers to approach the reading selections in a piecemeal fashion. Instead of trying to get an overall sense of the reading passage after one read through, try to take notes or underline key points by paragraph. Make sure to understand the arguments and evidence presented, and then move onto the next paragraph.

3. Keep underlining, highlighting and circling to a minimum.

This advice runs contrary to many prep course approaches. However, I truly believe that if you train yourself to only underline or note key passages, you make it much easier to call back to the passage if you need to. A system of underlining, highlighting, and circling can help break down the passage if done consistently. However, I’ve found that students are overwhelmed by this approach if they encounter a difficult passage. Calling out key points only means it’s easier to find the more meaningful parts of the passage quickly. Combing through a deluge of underlining, colors and circles makes finding important information more difficult.

4. Tell yourself a story with your notes.

After reading the passage, take a second to pause and look over the main points you underlined or noted in each passage. Then, try to see if you can follow the argument or main point of the passage without pulling in extraneous details. If you can, then you’ve most likely really nailed the key points. If it doesn’t quite make sense, you most likely missed an important point in one of the paragraphs.

This approach serves two purposes. The first is that it allows you to get a larger sense of the purpose of the passage without worrying about all the supporting evidence and details. If you understand the minutiae, but not the main point the author is trying to make, you are going to have a difficult time answering the questions. The second purpose is to allow you to call back to the passage easily if you need to. If you know the second paragraph contains the information about a particular part of the subject, you can call back to it much more easily if you get a question about it.

5. Don’t be afraid to read out of order!

Everyone has different strengths in digesting different types of information. You should base your LSAT Reading Comprehension strategy on your strengths. When you start the reading section, take a minute to briefly see what each selection is about. Then, complete the ones you are most comfortable with first.

Yes, you will need to read all the selections eventually. However, it’s better to work with a passage you’re comfortable with first. Get all the “easy” points you can from these sections, then leave time at the end to read the more difficult passages. You don’t want to do the passages in order and realize you didn’t have time to read a passage that is on an easy subject for you. If you’re going to run out of time on a section, make sure it is one where you might not get all the points anyway.

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