Reading Comprehension

Of the three sections on the LSAT, we at Blueprint have found that reading comprehension can be the most challenging for students to improve upon. This is because some of our Blueprint LSAT students feel they already know how to read and don’t practice specific reading skills important for the test. However, reading on the LSAT is not the same as reading a book for pleasure or for a classroom assignment. We at Blueprint LSAT like to think of it more as a timed slog through a verbal mud pit.

To that end, students must formulate a specific course of study in order to be successful on the reading comprehension section of the LSAT. We at Blueprint LSAT have found that students (broadly speaking) need to do four things:

1. Understand what you read

LSAT passages typically consist of paragraphs of long, dense text about things like feminist poetry and fractals. As such, it’s easy for your attention to wander (ours at Blueprint often does, but that may be a personal problem). The solution: force yourself to summarize what you have just read after every several lines. It will take a long time to get through the passage, but you’ll know what you’ve read when you’re done.

2. Read for specifics

Because reading comprehension passages (typically around 60 lines of text) are too long to memorize, students must hone the ability to understand what pieces of information are likely to be asked about. For instance, nearly all passages have a question that asks about the main idea of the passage or about the author’s purpose in writing the passage. At Blueprint LSAT Prep, we’ve broken down the main things that are typically asked about, but even if you’re prepping on your own, you can find similarities between passage questions by reading lots of them and tracking congruities.

3. Know where to go

Most passages have questions that ask for a specific piece of information in the passage that cannot reasonably be anticipated. In order to answer these questions, you must know where to go in the passage to find the answer. Marking the overarching themes in particular parts of the passage can help you to return to the right spot to get the information you need.

4. Practice

You didn’t think this was going to happen overnight, did you? Practicing skills is the only way to be ready to perform in the timed environment of the LSAT. At Blueprint, we recommend studying reading comprehension by reading at least ten passages a week in the two to three months leading to the test.

There you have it. A quick guide from your friends at Blueprint LSAT, but one that should get you started on the road to reading comprehension excellence.

Article by Jodi Triplett and Trent Teti of Blueprint LSAT Prep. Blueprint offers live and online LSAT prep courses as well as anaconda dancing (except without the anacondas, or the dancing). Blueprint LSAT Prep was formed in 2005.