RC Method: Active Reading, Low-Resolution Summaries & the Passage Map
RC Method: Active Reading & the Passage Map, Deepened
Days 3, 10, and 15 built the passage-mapping habit across ten weeks of maintenance days. Phase 3 starts by formalizing it into a single, repeatable method you'll run on every passage from here to test day.
1. The Four-Step Method
(1) Read for structure, tagging each paragraph's function in 5-8 words. (2) Note the viewpoint inventory as you go. (3) After the last paragraph, state the main point and primary purpose in one sentence each, before touching a single question. (4) Only then move to the questions, using your map to navigate back to the text.
2. Active, Not Passive, Reading
Passive reading absorbs content; active reading asks a running question of the text ("why is the author telling me this right now?"). That running question is what produces the paragraph-function tags, not a separate step.
3. Timing This Method
The mapping pass costs roughly 90 seconds to 2 minutes per passage up front — it pays for itself by eliminating re-reads later. Phase 3 will build toward the full ~8:45-per-passage budget in Day 97; for now, focus on doing the method correctly, not fast.
Practice items on this page are curriculum-authored in LSAT style; they are not official LSAC questions. Real drilling happens on LawHub — see the assignment below.
Q1. Which best describes the order of the four-step RC method?
LawHub drill-tier RC passage, untimed. Run the full four-step method explicitly, writing your paragraph tags and one-sentence main point/purpose before looking at any question.
Tomorrow: the full RC question-type taxonomy in one place, mapping every type to where in the passage its answer typically lives.