r/LSAT • u/Ok-Cable9281 • 19h ago

RC Section Advice

I need serious advice with RC, I simply cannot finish a full section no matter how fast I read. After months of studying, the best I can do is finish three passages with medium accuracy. I have started to read more but my RC skills are just not improving. I have tried to do mapping as I read but that feels like it takes more time than what I have. Any tips on how to fix this or how to get over the timing issue?

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u/PureEagle8168 19h ago

my timing improved with RC when I started incorporating untimed drills and speed training into my study plan. for untimed drills, I'd often choose the hardest-level passages and do 1-3 passages at a time. it was great for improving accuracy, building confidence, and stamina. then for speed training, I'd remove 1-5 minutes from the timer for a full section. the speed training helped me get more disciplined, and it's kind of like running with a weighted vest -- feels easier when you go back to normal.

another thing that helped was reading the questions before the passage. helped me increase my score from 160 in april to 172 in august.

I also highly recommend reading every day.

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u/Equivalent-Basis9600 19h ago

Three passages with medium accuracy is better spot than you think, most people never get timing down at all. Try not to force mapping while reading, just underline key shifts and author opinion, then move. Reading more helps but only if you treat it like LSAT reading, active and with purpose, not casual.

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u/theReadingCompTutor 16h ago

Consider including working with a study buddy who is really strong on RC. There may be some helpful insight you get. You could offer to help with LR in exchange.

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u/Ambitious-Acadia-630 15h ago

Hi! I think it depends on how you do on blind review. I was in the same boat and had to diagnose if it was a passage comprehension issue or question issue (it was a little bit of both for me).

If it’s passage comprehension, i’d recommend practicing doing a 4-7 word paragraph main point. I would read a paragraph, pause, summarize the main point, and then read the next paragraph, do the same thing, but also think about how it’s interacting with the first paragraph. The exercise took longer at first but it helped me to get the skills to internalize the passage structures, and eventually got faster. Echoing an earlier reply, the mapping is just for building the skills so I won’t force that when you are doing a timed PT.

If it’s question related, i’d recommend keeping track of the type of qs you tend to get wrong/slow at, and then see if there’s any trend there. The RC question types usually mirror the same strategy in their LR equivalents. (ie, inference Q ~= MSS)

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u/LawHopeful2027 15h ago

Do you notice that you do better on some types of passages than others? For example, do you get tripped up the law passages more than humanities, or humanities more than science? They have different classifications in Lawhub, and it might help to work on the specific ones that seem to be slowing you down the most.