Reading Comp Section 5

[LSATtaker29]

Hello, I've recently taken a practice LSAT (the October 2011 one) and completely bombed the reading comprehension. This was very upsetting because reading comp has been my strongest section thus far, and I think this turn of events is mainly due to the fact that the section came at the end of the exam; I experienced a lot of trouble focusing while reading the passages. Do you have any tips for maintaining focus while tackling a reading comp that comes at the end of the exam? Thanks in advance!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi LSATtaker29!

I could suggest a couple things you might try if you encounter something similar on test day.

First, one thing you can do to prepare is to make sure you always take practice tests with five sections. If you have the PowerScore course books, the book containing practice tests has five-section LSATs. Assuming that you’re taking further practice tests beyond those, I’d recommend chopping up a few tests, so that you can add a section to each of the tests that you do take. This helps simulate the experimental section, since most prep tests otherwise don’t contain the extra section.

Second, if you do happen to be facing a RC as the fifth section on test day, you could try switching up the order you tackle them in. If you’re having keeping focus, it might help to switch things up. You might try addressing them in an order based on the subject matter of the passage—to help yourself focus, it could be helpful to start with the ones that most interest you so that you can immerse yourself with the RC section as quickly as possible.

Hope those suggestions help!