“I Can’t Focus When I Read on the LSAT” and Other Lies You Tell Yourself
We’ve all experienced the dreaded mind drift. You read an entire paragraph only to realize you have no idea what you just read. You could not even express the general topic, much less the author’s main points.
For many, this “lack of focus” is pervasive. It can happen throughout the RC or LR section, on only the hardest passages, or whenever you feel most tired and/or frustrated. So many students decide that they’re just slow readers or can’t concentrate well enough and stop pushing to improve their reading on the LSAT. But like all the other things the LSAT tests, reading processes can be improved.
Active vs. Passive Reading on the LSAT
You’ve likely heard the term “Active Reading.” This is the established way to maximize your impact of reading on the LSAT and is designed to keep you involved on even the most mind numbing passages. But how is active reading different than how you typically read?
Many of your college courses and likely all of your pleasure reading require only passive reading. Passive reading is reading in order to learn the information presented. You’ll read, maybe take notes or make flashcards, drill yourself, and get yourself comfortable with the given information. This can be a great way to study for a course. It is a horrible way to read on the LSAT.
Active reading is reading in order to learn what you think about the information presented. Notice the key difference; with passive reading, you aim to learn information but with active reading, you aim to develop opinions about the information.
Why is active reading such a better method to maintain focus than passive reading? The answer is simply that we, as humans, are self-centered. We care what we think about things. We think our opinions are both important and interesting. So if we develop opinions about the passage we’re reading, it transforms into an important and interesting passage.
How to Read Actively on the LSAT
There is no one right way to read actively, but I recommend reflecting on your reading style and leaning into your strengths while steering clear of your weaknesses. If you feel like you don’t write enough, choose an option that encourages you to write more. Let’s go through a few options for any reading style:
- Highlight or underline ONLY major ideas. Don’t fall into the trap of emphasizing every new idea, because in a short passage most sentences will contain new information. Instead, challenge yourself to assess whether the idea you just read is the most important thing the author is going to say or whether something more important is likely to come.
- Take notes on your scratch paper. Relying on annotating the text directly forces you to use the language of the passage. This language is often unclear and imprecise. Instead, rephrase what you’ve read into your own words to both simplify and emphasize the important concepts.
- Create a passage map. This is not a list of facts, but a visual representation of the major relationships in the passage. Develop standard tools to illustrate common ways ideas relate to one another. Clearly indicate relationships such as one idea logically leading to another, one idea refuting another, one being the cause of another, one being a parallel but different explanation for the same effect, and anything else you regularly come across. It’s not the topic, but the structure that counts.
- Pause after each paragraph to reflect on what you just read. During this pause, consider not only what was written, but also why it was written. These passages are short. Why was it worthwhile to include this particular paragraph? What was the author’s goal as he wrote this paragraph? How does it differ from the goals of previous paragraphs? The “Why,” rather than the “What,” is the key to active reading.
- Bring someone else into your thought process. You may not be interested in the methods of catalyzing enzyme reactions and their implications to health care, but what if someone you care about was? What if your hero wanted to sit down with you and hear your opinions on this topic? What if you had to teach these concepts to a kid? Reflect after each sentence or major idea and imagine how you would explain what you’re reading to someone else.
If none of these ideas work for you, there are plenty more online, but find something that you can do differently, rather than just telling yourself to slow down or read more carefully.
How to Regain Your Focus on the LSAT
Even after implementing your preferred strategy, it’s possible you will still lose focus at some point. The first time I took the LSAT, another test taker dropped her pencil sharpener, which loudly shattered and scattered across the floor. Needless to say, I lost focus on the RC passage I was halfway through.
In a situation like that when, despite your best efforts, your attention is not where it should be, it’s important to not just pick up where you left off and continue reading. Instead, regain your mastery of the passage. If you’ve already finished any significant portions, glance at your notes to remind yourself what the purpose of the passage has been so far. Reflect on what you predicted the purpose of the current portion would be. Back up at least to the beginning of the sentence to maintain the stream of logic the author is using.
The LSAT rewards reading for critical thinking rather than reading to make it to the end of the passage. Don’t allow yourself to read just to get it over with. Make opinions, form connections, and invest in being able to interpret the passage as a whole. At that point, working through the questions should be far simpler.
NEXT: Top 3 Tips for Fitting LSAT Studying Into a Busy Schedule
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Emily Madan is a Manhattan Prep instructor located in Philadelphia, Pa. She has a master’s degree in chemistry and tries to approach the GMAT and LSAT from a scientific perspective. These tests are puzzles with patterns that students can be taught to find. She has been teaching test prep for over ten years, scoring a 770 on the GMAT and 177 on the LSAT. Check out Emily’s upcoming LSAT courses here.