LSAT Reading Comprehension - Should You Underline Passages?

When reading LSAT reading comprehension passages, you should underline certain key words, phrases, and sections. Because you will be underlining to be able to locate important information later on when answering questions, your underlining will be different than the underlining or highlighting you did in an English or literature class in high school or college. Here, you are underlining merely to set up markers that will help you flag down pertinent information later on. The following words, phrases, and sections are what you should underline when you read through LSAT reading comprehension passages. • Names of important people or concepts: Underline a person's name whenever it appears. If, however, a passage 2B0-019 is not about any one person and, instead, discusses a certain concept like, for example, physics, underline that concept whenever it is mentioned. • Words that indicate certainty: Words like "exactly" and "totally" set forth a level of certainty or predictability about information. Questions will usually target answers that address that kind of certainty. • Words that indicate an opinion: Words like "argue" and "oppose" indicate that an opinion is forthcoming. Opinions are very 2B0-020 important because they help answer main point questions and might relate to other questions. • Groups of people with opinions: Words like "supporters" and "critics" are important because they refer to groups of people with specific opinions. • Professions with opinions: Likewise, words like "lawyers" and "engineers" should be underlined. • Author's opinion: The author's opinion is critical in LSAT reading comprehension passages and should always be underlined because it is either the actual main point of the passage or will help you determine the main point. • Words that indicate order: Words like "first" or "second," or references to years (e.g., 1776) are important because they help you set up a sequence of facts that will help you find information later. • Conjunctions and transitional phrases: Words like "but," "whereas," and "because" are also critical because they often 2B0-023 lead into a part of a sentence that yields important information. This list is not exhaustive, but it is an excellent guide for underlining key words, phrases, and opinions. If you follow these guidelines, you should be able to answers questions about LSAT reading comprehension passages quickly, efficiently, and correctly.