LSAT test-takers need little convincing to prepare carefully for logical reasoning questions, which make up two of the three scored sections of the test.
After all, untangling conditional or causal reasoning is hardly a commonplace skill.
On the other hand, test-takers often have a false sense of security about the remaining section: reading comprehension. Aspiring lawyers tend to pride themselves on their reading abilities. Unfortunately, this confidence may crumble when work in this section fails to produce consistent gains.
The skills needed to master the reading comprehension section are neither obvious nor innate. The reading you must do to succeed in this section is not the same as the reading required to make sense of a newspaper or textbook.
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To excel on this LSAT section, you must fundamentally shift your approach to reading.
Why the Reading Comprehension Section is Difficult
Passages in this section are crafted to be dry and impenetrable. While a careful reader could decipher them in time, time is in short supply. Within less than nine minutes, you must digest a dense passage or two totaling 450 to 500 words and then answer up to eight questions about it.
Fortunately, you don’t need to understand each passage in full. The questions cover only about a quarter of the content in each passage, plus the author’s overall tone and argument.
To make the most of your time, it helps to focus on several key concepts: the main point of each paragraph, the structure of the passage, the locations of important details and opinions presented by the author.
Main Point and Structure
Rather than obsess about grasping the nuances of each sentence, focus on how the sentences fit together to explain and support the author’s points.
What is each sentence or paragraph doing in the passage? What is its purpose or role within the context of the entire passage? Is it perhaps presenting a new concept, evidence for a claim or a counterargument to another theory?
Knowing the main point and role of each paragraph within the passage will help you understand the big picture of what the author is trying to argue or explain. It will also help you stay focused and engaged when a passage seems unapproachable.
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Beware if you find yourself mentally describing the structure of a passage in generalities, like: “First the author introduces something, and then there’s some more information about it, and then there’s an extended debate about this other part of it…”
That’s a sure sign of a superficial understanding of the text. Think about the parts of the passage more precisely, like an architect or engineer reading construction blueprints.
Locations of Important Details
In class, teachers often reward you for recalling the gist of assigned readings. But the job of a lawyer isn’t to know the gist of the law. It’s to know exactly how the law applies in a client’s case.
So LSAT questions are more likely to ask you very specific questions about details buried within the passages.
There’s no way to remember these details in full. Instead, you will have to refer back to the passage to research the answer.
To save time, it helps to use the digital tools provided to mark key details for later review. Develop a consistent approach to highlighting and underlining so that these actions become habitual rather than distracting.
Opinions Presented
Reading comprehension passages range from dispassionate explanations of scientific and technical concepts to lofty debates about law and philosophy to bold takes on literature and social history.
While some passages are more contentious than others, in every passage the author expresses one or more opinions. Often the author also articulates others’ viewpoints.
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Pay close attention to these claims. When an argument is made, identify its conclusions and premises.
Take care to distinguish when the author agrees with an opinion presented. Sometimes the author may examine conflicting theories or raise doubts about an argument without taking sides.
Getting a handle on the author’s views serves two important purposes: It helps eliminate answer choices that are inconsistent with the author’s perspective and it directly answers questions about the author’s tone, opinion or attitude.
Like other LSAT sections, reading comprehension is best mastered through focused and methodical practice. Start by learning to demystify seemingly opaque passages, then practice both general and specific questions.
In time, you will learn to work your way through this deceptively difficult section. In doing so, you will practice the legal reading skills integral to the practice of law.
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LSAT Reading Comprehension: What to Know originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 03/31/25: This article was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
