Read for Understanding on RC

You don’t need a checklist or memory trick to succeed on Reading Comprehension. You need to understand what the author is saying and why they’re saying it. When you read for understanding, most questions answer themselves.

Reading Comprehension Is About Understanding

This sounds obvious, but a lot of RC strategies ignore it.

Some students are taught to “map” passages. Track where ideas are located. Build a checklist. Read just enough to know where to look things up later.

That approach treats the passage like a filing cabinet.

But the LSAT isn’t testing whether you can find information. It’s testing whether you understood what you read. Comprehension means understanding. If you truly understand the passage, you’ll have a strong sense of the arguments the author makes. 

Spend More Time on the Passage Than the Questions

Most students do this backwards. They rush through the passage and then grind through the questions, constantly jumping back to look things up.

That’s stressful and error-prone.

Instead, read the passage carefully. Think critically about the author’s argument. Try to articulate the author’s main point in your own words. When you read like this, you can move through the questions quickly, often predicting answers. Sometimes it takes five minutes to read the passage and fewer than two minutes to answer the questions. That’s normal when you understand the passage up front. 

You’re Not Memorizing

Reading for understanding does not mean memorizing every detail or writing an essay in your head. It means getting inside the author’s worldview.

• What do they think?

• What are they arguing and why? 

• Are they arguing anything at all? 

• Why did they include this example?

• What’s the point of the disagreement or distinction?

For each passage you read, you should have a general idea of the author’s argument, purpose, and overall attitude. And you should clarify the most important point: the one thing the author wanted you to walk away with. 

Going Back to the Passage Should Be Rare

If you’re constantly returning to the passage, that’s a sign you didn’t fully understand it.

Strong readers might go back once or twice. But most questions should be answerable from memory. That’s not because you memorized the passage, but because you remember the “vibe” and the role each part played.

The LSAT rewards students who slow down, engage, and understand. Mapping where things are is a workaround. Understanding what’s on the page is the skill.

Read for understanding. The questions will follow.