LSAT Reading Comprehension

All Questions Stems Can Be Classified into One of Six Categories - Reading Comprehension

1. Must Be True / Most Supported (96% of reading comprehension are must be true questions) 2. Main Point 3. Strengthen 4. Weaken 5. Parallel Reasoning 6. Cannot Be True

Make Notes of While Reading - Otherwise Called Active Reading

1. On big wall of text, note if it is a list. If so, put a small number out beside each point or part of the list. 2. Initial information and closing information of passage. 3. Difficult words, phrases or concepts 4. Dates and Numbers 5. Definitions 6. Enumerations / lists 7. Examples 8. Hidden References 9. Text Questions

When Reading Be Sure To

1. Outline the story/arguments 2. Outline the structure of the excerpt 3. Diagram - use notes, letters and number to differentiate ideas and list. 4. Notice the author's bias 5. Mark Concepts Discussed

Diagramming Structure and Note Taking

1. Put MP out from the Main Point 2. Circle Major Dates or Names 3. Underline 4. Square off with VC or VA for the Viewpoint of Critic or the Viewpoint of the author. 5. Make sure to List Numbers out beside the paragraphs when the reading section does List 6. CC - beside compare and contrast sections 7. Q - beside questions posed by the author 8. Def - beside definitions

Carefully Track the Five Key Elements of a Passage

1. The various groups and viewpoints discussed within the passage. 2. The tone or attitude of each group or individual. 3. The argument made by each group or individual. 4. The main point of the passage. 5. The structure of the passage and the organization of ideas.

Comparative versus Single Passage Questions

Questions in comparative reading tend to focus less on the detailed common question indicators observed in single passages-specific examples, new terms or phrases, lists-and more on broader, holistic ideas-main point, author's tone and opinion, and function.

Strategy for handling Comparative Reading Section

Strategy that some students have found helpful (especially those struggling with the Reading Comprehension section), particularly as they practice comparative reading before test day, is to make two columns in the small space available in the lower margin of their test booklet: the first column for Similarities, and the second column for Differences.

Viewstamp

View = the different viewpoints in the passage S = the structure of the passage T = the Tone of the passage A = the Arguments in the passage MP = The Main Point