RC Score Fluctuations

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• 2 Likes

  yhtkim Alum Member

  February 13 edited February 13 374 karma

  I was in the same boat! I think my rock bottom at some point was close to -15. Here are two changes I made:

  1. I started investing way more into the passage, splitting my time 70% passage, 30% questions, give or take. Taking the time to digest the passage makes the harder questions so much easier, and I'm willing to bet you'll also see a net increase in speed -- you'll be able to blow past most of the easier questions in 10 something seconds, maybe even less.

  2. I know this doesn't jibe with everyone, but I think writing low-res summaries makes it so much easier to digest each paragraph. Synthesizing the information forces your brain to get a better handle on the trickier, more subtle details.

  These tricks -- and a whole lot of practice -- helped me achieve a consistent -2 on RC. On test day, I'm fairly sure I hit a perfect score. (I got a 172, and I struggled HARD with the last logic game and a couple LR questions.) I owe it to this AMA. It's a great read all around, but what it says about RC was the most helpful for me. https://classic.7sage.com/1-ama-w-7sager-cant-get-right-152-to-176/
• 1 Like

  natemanwell1 Core Member

  February 13 314 karma

  -2 is 100% luck. I think people have this mistaken idea that if their scores fluctuates, it means that they should be scoring at the top end of this range all the time, and they should never score at the bottom of the range. in reality, this idea is the opposite of true: someone should always score at the lowest point of the range. the point of this section is to test your reading comprehension, so from the perspective of a law school, it is much better for them to underestimate someone's ability, because they can pretty much always choose someone at the same level or better, but if they overestimate, they lose a spot, take someone in who won't keep up, and won't get a good job. at this point with -10, that indicates that the basics need to be addressed: outlining the passage by noting the role of each paragraph and key shifts in meaning, the author's main point (subject, + or - view by the author, details or judgement supporting the positive negative view), working on infer questions (rephrase of a passage), according to the passage questions (word search), and reading a lot outside the test.
• lookingforanswers Live Member

  February 18 136 karma

  @yhtkim Thank you! Will definitely incorporate those tips into my studying plan.
• lookingforanswers Live Member

  February 18 edited February 18 136 karma

  @natemanwell1 I think I see what you are saying. A review in the foundations would probably be helpful, but I am skeptical to think that I am always scoring in the lower range. I have more -4 and -5s than -10, and -11 (though it does happen).
• 1 Like

  hannahm45 Live Member

  February 18 32 karma

  @lookingforanswers

  I was/sometimes still revert to being in a similar position! I think my worst ever was -10 or -11 on a PT (I have not sat for my first official LSAT yet), but at best, I can go between -1 and -4 on drills and prep tests. I seem to average between -4 and -6 these days, which pretty much puts me right smack dab in the middle of my two extremes.

  Although I still have some work to do, I think at least getting a consistent -4 and -6 has required me to spend at minimum three minutes on each passage. This may be a hot take, but I also do not utilize low res summaries at this point in my studying--but, I used to. For me personally, I realized I was doing it as a kind of "cop-out" where I would kind of re-write info in the passage/give a brief statement regarding the paragraph's role in the overall passage, but I would not force myself to understand a part that I knew I was confused on. I was unwilling to honestly say to myself, "Hannah you don't understand this, and you need to take the 15 extra seconds to synthesize this info before you move on," as opposed to just writing it down and kind of tricking my brain that by doing that I had "understood" what I had read. I think low res summaries are great for beginner/intermediate practice, but at this point in my studies, I do not find them as reliable for me to use. This helped me break out of my upper extreme of -8 to -10.

  I hope this is helpful! I am also trying to break out of getting -6 or -5, so if anyone else has advice on what worked for them, I would love to hear it!
• 1 Like

  lookingforanswers Live Member

  February 19 136 karma

  @hannahm45 Oh interesting, yeah that sounds pretty similar to me actually! Agreed, the low-res summaries can easily be an excuse for half-assing the understanding of a passage.

  I used to BR in an hour or so, relying pretty much only on my low-res summaries instead of rigorously understanding each passage 1000%. Now, I take a lot more time to BR (spaced out within two days) and I think it'll help me too. Seems like a more detail-oriented approach helped you so I'll be trying that! Thanks for the input!