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LSAT (Law School Admission Test) Reading Comprehension Flashcards
51 question-and-answer cards covering Reading Comprehension as it is examined in LSAT (Law School Admission Test). 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the Reading Comprehension deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
Why are extreme attitude words like 'contempt,' 'hostility,' or 'unqualified admiration' usually wrong on tone questions?
LSAT authors typically adopt measured, qualified academic stances, so extreme-intensity choices overstate the attitude and are usually incorrect unless strongly supported.
What does a 'function' or 'purpose of a passage element' question ask?
Why the author included a specific detail, example, sentence, or paragraph—its role in the argument (e.g., to support a claim, provide a counterexample, qualify a point), not what it literally says.
How do you determine the function of a cited example or quotation in a passage?
Read the surrounding context to see what claim it serves—does it illustrate, support, challenge, or qualify the nearby point?—and choose the role that fits the author's argument.
What do analogy / application (extrapolation) questions require?
Identifying the underlying principle or relationship in the passage and recognizing it in a new, often unrelated scenario in the answer choices.
What is the method for solving an RC analogy question?
Abstract the passage's relationship into a general principle, then test each choice to find the situation that matches that principle most closely in structure, not surface topic.
How do strengthen/weaken questions work in the RC section?
They ask which new fact would support or undermine a specific argument or claim made in the passage—applying logical-reasoning skills to a position stated in the text.
To weaken a claim in an RC passage, what should the correct answer typically do?
Introduce information that contradicts the claim, attacks its support, or shows the author's reasoning/assumption fails—reducing the likelihood the conclusion holds.
How much time, on average, should you allocate per passage in an LSAT RC section (4 passages, 35 minutes)?
Roughly 8-9 minutes per passage including the questions—about 3-4 minutes reading and the remainder answering, adjusting for difficulty.
Why is time allocation across the four RC passages a strategic decision rather than equal splitting?
Passages vary in difficulty; banking time on easier passages lets you spend more on harder ones, and triaging order can maximize the number of questions answered correctly.
What is 'passage difficulty triage' and why is it useful?
Quickly assessing each passage's difficulty and question count to decide an attack order—doing accessible, high-yield passages first to secure points before tackling the hardest one.
What cues suggest an LSAT passage will be relatively hard during triage?
Dense/abstract subject matter, heavy technical vocabulary, multiple competing viewpoints, convoluted sentence structure, or comparative (dual) format.
Why must you 'return to the text' for evidence on most RC questions?
Correct answers are anchored in specific lines; verifying against the passage prevents memory errors and eliminates tempting choices that aren't actually supported.
What is the danger of answering RC questions from memory instead of rereading?
You may select choices that 'sound right' or match your impression but distort, exceed, or contradict the actual text, falling for trap answers.
What is the recommended strategy for managing a dense, technical passage you find confusing?
Don't get bogged down decoding every term—grasp the structure, main point, and viewpoints, mark where technical content lives, and return only as questions require.
What does it mean that the LSAT RC section is 'open book,' and how should that shape strategy?
The passage is in front of you, so prioritize a structural read over memorization and plan to return to specific lines to confirm answers.
What is a 'viewpoint' in RC, and why track shifts between them?
A viewpoint is a stance held by the author or another party; tracking shifts prevents confusing the author's position with views they merely report or oppose—a frequent trap.
How can you predict the answer before reading the choices on an RC question?
After returning to the relevant text, formulate your own answer in your head, then match it to the closest choice—reducing susceptibility to attractive wrong answers.
What is the difference between a 'soft' and 'hard' qualifier in detecting author attitude?
Soft qualifiers ('some,' 'may,' 'often') signal a measured/tentative stance; hard/absolute words ('all,' 'never,' 'must') signal strong commitment—both calibrate how strong the attitude is.
On comparative passages, what is a common wrong-answer trap for 'both passages agree' questions?
A statement that is true of only one passage, or that distorts the level of agreement; the credited answer must be genuinely supported by BOTH passages.
What should you note about the author's purpose in a passage that mostly describes others' theories?
Determine whether the author is neutrally surveying, endorsing one theory, or critiquing them all—the purpose hinges on the author's evaluative stance, even amid heavy description.
How do you handle a 'most strongly supported' / inference question with multiple plausible choices?
Choose the option with the most direct textual support and the smallest inferential leap; eliminate choices that require unstated assumptions or exceed the passage's scope.
What role do examples typically play in LSAT science passages, and how does that aid reading?
They usually illustrate or test a hypothesis or mechanism; recognizing an example as support lets you skim its detail and focus on the claim it serves.
Why is identifying the 'pivot' sentence valuable when mapping passage organization?
The pivot (often after 'however' or 'but') frequently introduces the author's main contention or the turn from background/others' views to the central argument, anchoring the structure.
What is the best general sequence of steps for attacking a single RC passage efficiently?
Triage and choose order, read for structure (main point, purpose, viewpoints, organization), make light annotations, then answer questions by returning to the text and predicting answers before checking choices.
What this deck covers
The Reading Comprehension deck follows the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) Reading Comprehension syllabus — 5 chapters and 24 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 10.2 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 168 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
Reading Comprehension flashcards FAQ
How many Reading Comprehension flashcards are in this LSAT (Law School Admission Test) deck?
51 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these LSAT (Law School Admission Test) flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 51-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the Reading Comprehension cards cover?
They follow the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) Reading Comprehension syllabus — 5 chapters and 24 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.