What is Reading Comprehension?

One of your three scored sections on the LSAT will be Reading Comprehension (RC). Each RC section contains four passages, each followed by 5 to 8 questions, for a total of 26 to 28 questions. The section is designed to assess your ability to read and understand materials that are similar to those you’ll encounter in law school.

Why Question Types Matter

The RC section asks the same kinds of questions about every passage: What does the passage state? What does the author imply? Why was a detail included? How is the passage organized? Each question type rewards a specific approach. When you understand the different question types, you know exactly what to look for—and what traps to avoid.

The 13 Question Types

RC questions fall into 13 types, grouped here by what aspect of a passage they ask you to think about:

Overall structure: Main Point, Purpose of Passage, Describe Organization

Internal structure: Purpose of Paragraph, Meaning in Context, Purpose in Context

Stated/Implied: Stated, Implied, Author's Attitude

Other: Application, Analogy, Logical Continuation, Weaken/Strengthen/Evaluate

How to Use This Page

The information below breaks down effective approaches to the different RC question types. Don't try to memorize everything on this page at once. Instead, use this page after you've studied for a little bit to quiz yourself or refresh your memory on tips and patterns for different question types. With consistent practice, what's on this page will become second nature.

RC Cheat Sheet