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highlight? What do i do now?Is it helpful?How can I make it more helpful?review? What do i do now?Is it helpful?How can I make it more helpful?summarize? What do i do now?Is it helpful?How can I make it more helpful?prepare for each question? predict? What do i do now?Is it helpful?How can I make it more helpful?fully eliminate? highlight red flags among the ACs? What do i do now?Is it helpful?How can I make it more helpful?etc...
highlight the line in the passage and rephrase it in your own words poke some holes/gaps in their argument by being picky about word choice, ask yourself if everything the author claims in that sentence is actually supported with evidence prephrase some potential ideas of what you'd recommend to add to this argument to make this evaluate the effect that each AC actually has on the argument in question
some of mine include reading the passage twice straight through, rereading a paragraph during my initial read or when a question refers to it, or skimming through the first read to get a birds-eye-view of the structure of the passage following it up with a second deep-read. I do the last one whenever my eyes start glazing over on the first paragraph and I hate the topic; others are reserved for other instances. If you feel like you don't have enough time to do some sort of rereading or another strategy that encourages you to frontload your time; try it out! Overall I emphasize finding some sort of "pre-work" that you can do after reading each question, before reading the ACs. That might be predicting your answer, might be scrolling to the part of the passage that's relevant, might be rereading a chunk. Try out new things and stick with what works!
Before I move onto the next paragraph:What role does this paragraph play?What does the author think, what do others think?How might the rest of this passage go? (after first para)Bailey highlights in yellow for structure words (transition, main point, function/role) and pink for author’s position (where does the author not have to go as far as they did in describing something?) and orange for other people’s PoVsmake this a means to a specific end and change the strategy when ineffective! something rather than going in blind to ACs (scrolling to relevant part of passage, fully prephrasing, what am I looking for?)
What am I reading and why am I reading it? Why does this author want me to care? How can I force myself to be interested in this? What's the main point of the passage as a whole? Each paragraph? Did I make sure I fully articulated that summary in my head or on paper? How does each paragraph relate to the others? Why did the author put paragraph 3 exactly where it is, etc?Are there any new concepts or definitions, including any experiments or mechanisms? How do they work? Can I visualize anything to help myself understand better? Who is speaking? What is the author's stance, opinion, and purpose? Are there any other people or groups of people mentioned, and what do I know about their stances? Finally, make mental notes of specific details but don't worry about memorizing them. Focus more on where they are spatially in the passage so you can jump back to them quickly.Go for the second read before you get to the questions! If it doesn't seem to help you, do without it. Develop a consistent strategy that works best for you.
RC Guide
More RC notes:
what do I do when I read and answer questions:
Question Type approaches: (THIS ISN’T PERFECT!! just one example of a helpful format/ideas)
Main Point:
Step 1: Use summary made throughout reading the passage to predict the main point in your own words.
Step 2: Read through each AC—Eliminate by highlighting what is wrong within each choice
Tip- Remember to look out for choices that may be correct but fail to explain the point of the passage overall they may just be explains one piece of it
Step 3: Once you have narrowed it down to one choice ask yourself does this encompass the summary of the passage and speak to the authors argument
Inference (open ended):
Step 1: Locate the section of the passage that the question is roughly referring to
Step 2: Move onto the ACs, get really picky with word choice, eliminate based on red flags
Step 3: Hold yourself to finding that evidence!
Inference (pinpointed):
Step 1: Highlight the section of the passage where the phrase being ask about in the question stem is located
Step 2: Read the sections before and after the phrase asking yourself what is this phrasing doing for the context of this paragraph
Step 3: Predict my own AC based on the context surrounding the phrase
Step 4: Read through AC looking for ones that align with my own prediction and eliminating those that have flaws through highlighting
Inference (author’s and others’ opinions):
Step 1: Locate sections in the passages that were highlighted as the author’s point of view or opinion or the sections that pertain to a certain phrase/topic that the question stem is referring to
Step 2: Read through AC eliminating each through highlighting sections of the answer that don’t align with the authors opinion
Step 3: Ask yourself does this remaining AC align with the sections of the passages were the author expresses their opinion regarding the topic at hand
Step 4: Highlight evidence in the passage to prove your AC!
Analogy:
Step 1: Scroll to part of passage that’s being referenced
Step 2: Put into your own words what the analogy/relationship in the text is (your prephrase)
Step 3: Line up each part of the AC to the relationship in the text
Note: DO NOT eliminate AC’s that “could be true” but aren’t quite “must be true”
Purpose or meaning of phrase in context/ recognition:
Step 1: Go back to text and find phrase
Step 2: Immediately reread 2-3 sentences before and 2-3 sentences after
Step 3: Recap structure of paragraph to put it in context
Note: FULLY prephrase—don’t let yourself read AC’s without predicting
Step 4: Get really picky with word choice in each AC and highlight specific red flags before eliminating
Recognition of what’s stated in the passage (can this question be answered by the passage?)
Step 1: No pre-work, just go into ACs and get REALLY picky with word choice
Step 2: Don’t let any of the questions gaslight you into thinking you read something you didnt! Stay confident, keep the momentum going, and don’t spend too long on a single AC
Step 3: MUST highlight the answer (evidence) before moving on
Weaken/Strengthen:
Step 1: Figure out what the authors position is, what might be a gap hole
Step 2: Prephrase what youre looking for in a weaker/strengthen
RC reading strategy:
Questions that I ask myself every time to move along when I read:
Highlighting:
When I get to each question:
Questions to ask yourself while reading BEFORE you read the questions from LSAC
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