The following 10 LSAT Reading Comprehension tips should help you understand, attack, and dissect the Reading Comprehension section on the LSAT.
1) Reading Comprehension is about structure, not content. You should focus on locating information, not memorizing information. Figure out how to locate the main players and viewpoints and the facts underlying those viewpoints.
2) Because LSAT Reading Comprehension is about structure, do not read to memorize. You should, instead, read quickly, but do not, under any circumstances, skim the passage. Speed reading will not help you on this exam.
3) Underline when you read because it will help you, later on, to locate the relevant information you need to answer questions.
4) Focus on and figure out the main idea. Once you figure this out, everything else falls into place. Usually, the author will state the main idea outright, and other times you will have to piece it together from other information.
5) Understand the relationship between the evidence in the passage and the conclusion or conclusions that the author draws. This will help you identify any over-arching principles that exist in the passage, any other conclusions and counter-arguments, and any examples. Most important, it will help you understand the structure of the passage.
6) Make note of the author’s tone. This will usually help you figure out the main idea and understand the author’s views and motivations. Also, note whether the author’s tone changes throughout the passage.
7) One of the most important of these LSAT Reading Comprehension tips is to recognize question types because doing so will help you look for the right answer. There are generally three types of questions: main idea questions, inference questions, and questions that address a specific part of the passage. With respect to comparative reading passages, there are four types of questions (that can also fit within the aforementioned three categories): central purpose/common issue questions (similar to main idea questions), questions that address agreement/disagreement among authors of both passages (similar to specific questions), questions that address the authors’ method of reasoning, style, or technique (similar to inference questions), and questions that ask you to draw an analogy between the relationship between the two passages and some other relationship(similar to parallel reasoning questions in the Logical Reasoning section and to inference questions).
For comparative reading passages that address both passages, focus on how the passages are different in order to answer those questions.
9) Eliminate obviously incorrect answers, such as anything that is extreme, outrageous, irrelevant, or just plain out of left field.
10) Ignore any outside knowledge that you may have about the subject of the passage. It will not help.
With these 10 LSAT Reading Comprehension tips, you should have a good start for approaching the passages and answering the questions.
Robert Vander is a LSAT instructor, writer, and blogger. For more information about LSAT Reading Comprehension tips and the only LSAT prep course and online LSAT course created exclusively by Harvard Law School graduates, visit http://lsatfreedom.com
The following 10 LSAT Reading Comprehension tips should help you understand, attack, and dissect the Reading Comprehension section on the LSAT.
1) Reading Comprehension is about structure, not content. You should focus on locating information, not memorizing information. Figure out how to locate the main players and viewpoints and the facts underlying those viewpoints.
2) Because LSAT Reading Comprehension is about structure, do not read to memorize. You should, instead, read quickly, but do not, under any circumstances, skim the passage. Speed reading will not help you on this exam.
3) Underline when you read because it will help you, later on, to locate the relevant information you need to answer questions.
4) Focus on and figure out the main idea. Once you figure this out, everything else falls into place. Usually, the author will state the main idea outright, and other times you will have to piece it together from other information.
5) Understand the relationship between the evidence in the passage and the conclusion or conclusions that the author draws. This will help you identify any over-arching principles that exist in the passage, any other conclusions and counter-arguments, and any examples. Most important, it will help you understand the structure of the passage.
6) Make note of the author’s tone. This will usually help you figure out the main idea and understand the author’s views and motivations. Also, note whether the author’s tone changes throughout the passage.
7) One of the most important of these LSAT Reading Comprehension tips is to recognize question types because doing so will help you look for the right answer. There are generally three types of questions: main idea questions, inference questions, and questions that address a specific part of the passage. With respect to comparative reading passages, there are four types of questions (that can also fit within the aforementioned three categories): central purpose/common issue questions (similar to main idea questions), questions that address agreement/disagreement among authors of both passages (similar to specific questions), questions that address the authors’ method of reasoning, style, or technique (similar to inference questions), and questions that ask you to draw an analogy between the relationship between the two passages and some other relationship(similar to parallel reasoning questions in the Logical Reasoning section and to inference questions).
For comparative reading passages that address both passages, focus on how the passages are different in order to answer those questions.
9) Eliminate obviously incorrect answers, such as anything that is extreme, outrageous, irrelevant, or just plain out of left field.
10) Ignore any outside knowledge that you may have about the subject of the passage. It will not help.
With these 10 LSAT Reading Comprehension tips, you should have a good start for approaching the passages and answering the questions.
Robert Vander is a LSAT instructor, writer, and blogger. For more information about LSAT Reading Comprehension tips and the only LSAT prep course and online LSAT course created exclusively by Harvard Law School graduates, visit lsatfreedom.com
