Reading Comprehension is a section that test takers tend to avoid. Generally, they score the highest on Reading Comprehension when they take their first diagnostic exam. Feeling humbled by the Logical Reasoning section, Reading Comprehension ends up getting neglected. If I’ve caught you — ahem — read-handed, do not worry! We can still change those bad habits.
Here’s why you shouldn’t avoid studying for Reading Comprehension:
1. The RC section has become increasingly more difficult in recent years
If you are practicing with earlier tests, you may have noticed that the RC passages and questions seem easier. You are not wrong! Throughout the years, the test writers have become clever with how to tempt students with wrong answer choices. Don’t fall for their trap!
2. Old habits die hard
When learning something for the first time, you have the opportunity to learn it the right way. Most of us have been reading for as long as we can remember. Most of us got through college by relying on a quick skim of the reading, perhaps accompanied by a life-saving Spark Notes summary. Some people like to take their sweet time with reading. (What’s the last book you read for pleasure?) Whether you know it or not, you probably have already developed a reading style. It can be difficult to change that. But neither a quick skim nor a leisurely stroll is the best way to read an RC passage. By practicing a ton of Reading Comp passages, you can modify that style to succeed on the LSAT.
3. Platform Features
The Reading Comprehension section, in particular, has quite a few nuances that you may want to check out! How else would you know that “Passage Only” is an option? What about the 3 different colors of highlighter? By practicing Reading Comprehension sections on a digital format, you give yourself the opportunity to make test day that much easier.
Ok, you get it, studying for the RC is important. But … what if studying for RC is so boring that it’s painful? You’ve just started having fun with LR. Reading Comp? Ugh. Get me out of here. No worries; we’ve thought of that unfortunate, “boring,” aspect of RC studying. Now that we’ve told you why it’s important to study, here are some tips to make studying for the Reading Comprehension more fun:
1. Read the passages in a foreign accent
This seems silly, but it can actually be a lot of fun! Especially on antithesis passages! Make one of your speakers super posh and British; the other speaker can be from the South! The possibilities are endless.
2. Make predictions as you read the passage
If you find yourself staring at a page rather than reading, you are not alone! Here’s how to help with that: pause as you read! We get it, the 35-minute timer is right there in front of you; however, pausing to make predictions while reading can actually help with your timing later on. If the passage is posing a question, why don’t you try predicting an answer? If you’re proven right: great! If you’re proven wrong: even more reason to continue reading! After reading a ton of these passages, you’ll be able to guess where the author is going most of the time. And what’s more fun than feeling smarter than the passage?
3. Pick up new fun facts
We at Blueprint are a joy to have at parties. Thanks to our trust friend, RC, we know a little bit about pretty much every topic from neutrinos to the cake walk. You, too, can be the life of any party by picking up super cool fun-facts from RC passages. It’s a win-win situation: study for the LSAT to improve your score AND improve your social life with your new knowledge!
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Don’t run off to study Reading Comp too quickly! We wouldn’t be Blueprint without testing your RC skills after reading this post! Quick; what is the main point of this post?!
We hope you’ve figured out that our main point is that studying Reading Comprehension is both important and can be fun! Ok, now you can get to productive days of RC practice!
