HOW CAN READING NONFICTION HELP YOUR LSAT SCORE?
by Dana Stepleton & Dave Goldstein
Don’t fall out of your chair, but here’s a shocking fact: reading can improve your LSAT Reading Comprehension skills. Research shows that reading for at least 15 minutes a day can result in accelerated reading growth, and that just over 30 minutes of daily reading will maximize the speed at which your reading skills improve.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that reading comprehension “gains” are cumulative, with improvement measured over the course of months or even years -- which means that reading for 100 hours straight before your test will not do much for your LSAT score.
Bottom line: if you need to improve your reading comprehension level to reach your target LSAT score, add at least 30 minutes of reading time into your daily schedule and be realistic about the fact that it can take months or years to become a fundamentally better reader.
WHAT LEVEL OF TEXT SHOULD YOU READ TO IMPROVE YOUR LSAT READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS?
The research is divided on this one. Some studies show that most Reading Comprehension gains are made by reading at the "frustration level" (sounds fun!), in which students understand about 85% of the words in a given text. Other studies pinpoint the "instructional level" of text -- in which students recognize 93-97% of words -- as the optimal level to improve Reading Comprehension.
Either way, the key is to ensure that you don’t understand every single word that you’re reading. By choosing a text outside of your comfort zone, you will both improve your vocabulary and stretch your ability to stay engaged in a difficult LSAT passage.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ NONFICTION TO IMPROVE YOUR LSAT READING COMPREHENSION
The benefit of reading nonfiction in preparation for the LSAT seems obvious: LSAT RC passages are nonfiction, so it just makes sense to practice with nonfiction materials. In particular, if you feel uneasy about certain subjects that appear on the LSAT -- science or history, for example -- gaining some comfort with those topics might be helpful.
Nonfiction also lends itself to the basic LSAT Reading Comprehension strategies that we recommend in our LSAT RC Guide for Beginners.
As you read, focus on the following:
Stop at the end of each paragraph and ask two questions: why did the author write this, and how does it connect to the rest of the text?
Note any words that you don’t know, but don’t look them up right away -- instead, use context clues to determine the meaning of the word, since that’s what you’ll have to do on the LSAT. Then, look up the word at the end of your reading session and commit it to memory.
…but what about fiction?
Reading fiction can also improve your RC skills! In this article, we say more about the unique benefits of reading fiction to improve your LSAT performance.
Read with 100% intensity to improve your LSAT RC scores
If you read our article about reading fiction for the LSAT, you already know what we’re going to say: because the LSAT is ridiculously time-pressured, you’ll want ALL of your reading to be intense. More than any of the other standardized exams that we teach, the LSAT pushes the limits of your ability to concentrate intensely as you read – and if you take your foot off the proverbial gas pedal for even a few minutes, your score will suffer.
So if you’re doing “leisure reading” to improve your LSAT skills, keep your intensity level ratcheted up as high as it can go. As you read, imagine that you’re racing against the clock to understand every bit of that fascinating nonfiction book.
Think of this as the opposite of relaxed, poolside reading: if you’re striving to become a better fundamental reader as you prepare for the LSAT, treat all of your reading like a good, hard workout.
WHICH NONFICTION BOOKS SHOULD I READ?
Honestly, there’s no right or wrong answer to this, as long as the texts are at least somewhat challenging for you. But here are a few nonfiction books that we’ve enjoyed:
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman: A challenging but fascinating look at the underpinnings of behavioral economics. Ever encounter a brutal LSAT LR prompt in which you’re asked to evaluate a mind-bending study involving false positives and false negatives? This book will help you understand why you’re so prone to being led astray by the trap answers that often come with such questions.
Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson. If you’d like a nice introduction to finance, startup, and general business law, this book is a great place to start. The authors work hard to make the writing clear and accessible, since the topic itself can be complicated. A terrific warmup for aspiring lawyers.
Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harai. Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century, from overcoming death to creating artificial life.
Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse. An exploration of game theory written by someone without a mathematical background. Thinking about the meaning and purpose of each short chapter would be an excellent exercise to warm you up for LSAT RC.
My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We’ve met quite a few lawyers who chose their profession largely because they admire the “Notorious RBG”. Even if you’re not already a Ginsburg superfan, this is a great window into the inner workings of the U.S. Supreme Court, as told by one of its most legendary pioneers.
The Best American Science and Nature Writing: Does your heart sink when you encounter a tough, science-y LSAT Reading Comprehension passage? This anthology of articles, with topics spanning from psychology to ecology to cosmology, will help you stretch your ability to read scientific material. And you might learn some legitimately interesting things, too.
And if you prefer to consume your nonfiction in shorter formats, here are a few of our favorites:
The New Jurist: A legal magazine, with articles on a wide range of topics
The Electric Typewriter: 150 articles that will make you think
Brain Pickings: A collection of articles focused on art, philosophy, and literature
Scientific American: A science magazine, in case that wasn't immediately apparent
The Economist: A periodical focused on business and current events
Harvard Law Review: Once you’re in law school, writing for the law review is kind of a big deal, so you might as well start digesting one now. There’s also an endless supply of free law review articles – from a wide variety of universities – on Law Review Commons.