Reading Comprehension

[HappySaban_RTR]

This past summer I took a full-length Powerscore course. Honestly because of work and other things in my life I could not completely dedicate myself studying for the LSAT over the summer. I plan to take the test in September 2015 but for the past 2 months or so I have been seriously studying and reviewing the LSAT course on top of my college classes. When I do reading comprehension I consistently finish each passage between 8 and 13 minutes but I am not consistent in answering the questions correctly. Sometimes I finish the passage and answer all questions correctly and other times I will answer most, but not all of the questions incorrectly.
Is this because maybe I am trying to move too fast? Any suggestions on how to improve my accuracy answering the questions? I was thinking maybe read through a few passages slowly and review how to take notes, but I am not sure. Thanks

[Ron Gore]

Hi Saban! Thanks for your post.

I plan to take the test in September 2015 but for the past 2 months or so I have been seriously studying and reviewing the LSAT course on top of my college classes.

Awesome move! You're really giving yourself the time to knock it out of the park, which is great planning.

asses. When I do reading comprehension I consistently finish each passage between 8 and 13 minutes

My first response would be that this time range does not necessarily imply consistency. I would start keeping notes about the characteristics of the passages that take you 8 minutes versus 13 minutes, etc. You may find some patterns there that will be instructive, not just in terms of timing, but also attention, focus, comprehension, etc.

I am not consistent in answering the questions correctly. Sometimes I finish the passage and answer all questions correctly and other times I will answer most, but not all of the questions incorrectly.

This type of inconsistency makes me think that you are not focusing equally on each passage. If you have the ability to answer all of the questions correctly on one passage within a decent amount of time, you should not be missing most of the questions on another passage. The passages are just not that different from each other to justify that difference in your performance. Since the passages are not that different from each other, I would guess that you are quite different from one passage to another, hence my inference that you are having trouble with maintaining focus or attention from passage to passage.

Does that sound like your experience? If so, then there may not be anything inherently wrong about your current approach. Rather, it may be that if you were to apply the same approach consistently you would see dramatically improved results.

As to the question of whether you are rushing, it's hard to say. If you feel like you're rushing, which it appears you may, then you probably are rushing to some extent. Your question doesn't just come out of nowhere. So, concentrate of moving through the passages at a deliberate but energetic pace. You should never feel out of control, or like you are not fully taking in each word of the passage.

If my suppositions are way off the mark, then write back with additional information about your process, how you diagram, what you diagram, which specific kinds of questions give you the most trouble, how your prephrasing is going, etc. With all of that information, we can give you a much more tailored response. Otherwise, I'll simply spout generalities, which won't really help you given that you've already taken our course.

Please write back and let us know your response and thoughts.

Thanks!

Ron