Reading Comp, Decoded: How to Actually Stay Focused

If there’s one section that makes LSAT students groan, it’s Reading Comprehension. Passages feel long, the topics can be dense or boring, and halfway through you catch yourself thinking about lunch instead of the author’s argument. Staying focused isn’t just a nice-to-have skill—it’s the difference between guessing on half the questions and walking in with confidence.

The good news? Focus is a skill. And like any LSAT skill, it can be trained. Let’s break down how to actually stay engaged with LSAT Reading Comp so you can stop zoning out and start scoring points.

Why Focus Slips in Reading Comp

When you sit down with a passage, your brain is juggling two jobs at once: understanding what’s being said and remembering why it matters. That mental load gets heavier when the topic doesn’t interest you—like the evolution of sea urchins or 19th-century tariff policies.

The most common mistakes I see students make are:

• Reading too fast. They skim to save time but miss the structure, which forces them to reread.
• Over-annotating. They highlight entire paragraphs and end up with a rainbow mess that doesn’t actually help.
• Treating each sentence as isolated. They fail to see how the pieces connect, so the “big picture” never clicks.

Sound familiar? Here’s how to fix it.

Step 1: Engage With the Passage, Don’t Just Read It

Staying focused starts with active reading. That means turning your brain on and treating the passage like a debate partner instead of background noise.

Try this as you read:

• After each sentence, ask yourself: Why did the author say that? What role does it play in the argument?
• Predict where the passage might go next—even if you’re wrong, it keeps you mentally hooked.
• When you see transition words like “however,” “in contrast,” or “for example,” slow down. Those signals tell you the author is shifting gears.

This might feel slower at first, but it saves you from zoning out and scrambling later.

Step 2: Build a Simple Passage Map

Think of Reading Comp like navigating a city. If you know the streets, you don’t need to memorize every building.

You can do this one of two ways, either by taking quick notes or highlighting important structural info.

Step 2a: Take notes on the structure

As you read, jot a one-line note for each paragraph:

• Para 1: Topic + main claim
• Para 2: Evidence or examples
• Para 3: Counterpoint + author’s response

That’s it. No essays in the margins. A clean “map” makes it easy to find details when the questions ask for them.

~~~or~~~

Step 2b: Highlight With Purpose

Highlighting isn’t about decorating the passage. It’s about marking the bones of the argument.

Only highlight:

• The main point of each paragraph
• Contrasting viewpoints
• Key terms that are repeated

If you highlight more than 5-10% of the text, you’re probably lost in the details. The goal is to mark just enough that your eyes snap back to the important parts when answering questions.

Step 3: Manage Your Time Like a Pro

Focus often slips because of panic. You feel the clock ticking, and your brain bounces between “What’s the main idea?” and “Oh no, only 3 minutes left.”  Unlike a lot of other companies, I recommend spending more time with the passage and less with the questions.  If you understand the structure of the passage and main point of each paragraph, you’ll know exactly where to find your correct answer - making going through the questions a breeze.

Here’s a framework that works:

• 4-5 minutes reading (engaged, active, with a short map)
• 3-4 minutes answering questions using your notes to guide you as to WHERE the correct answer is

That’s about 8 minutes per passage for test day, leaving you a buffer for harder ones. And yes—you can triage. If a passage looks brutal (dense science, confusing legal theory), skip it and come back. Start with the ones where you can stay calm and focused.

Step 4: Master the Questions With “Prove It”

The questions are where focus really pays off. With your roadmap and firm grasp of the passage, prove them against the passage.

• Use the structure of the passage to find the relevant section.
• Read the question thoroughly so you understand EXACTLY what you’re looking for. Oftentimes, all the answers are mentioned in the passage, but only one will answer the specific question you were asked.
• Always ask: Can I prove this with the text? If the answer feels “sort of right,” it’s probably wrong.

When you build a strong map, you’ll spend less time re-reading and more time confirming.  You’ll see your accuracy and score soar. 

Step 5: Train Endurance

Focus is like a muscle. You don’t build it by casually reading one passage here and there—you build it by practicing under test conditions.

But you wouldn’t jump from being a couch potato to running a 5K and expect to have a great experience, in fact you’d probably end up in the ER!  Similarly, jumping immediately into test day timing is a recipe for pulling the muscle that is your brain. 

Instead, let’s ease into test day timing. 

• Start with your accuracy.  If you take a section (or even just a single RC passage) untimed, how many can you get correct?  What can you do to get more questions correct?
• Once your accuracy is where you want it, start to speed up your prep.  Can you do a new section several minutes faster than before and maintain your accuracy?  
• By a month before the test you should be at or very close to test day timing.  

The month or more before test day, schedule regular full Reading Comp sections, timed, and track not just accuracy but energy. Did you zone out halfway? Did you panic on the last passage? Adjust your pacing and recovery strategies until you can maintain focus - and accuracy - from start to finish.

And don’t ignore rest. Your brain needs recovery days to consolidate what you’ve learned. Burnout is the fastest path to sloppy focus.  Be sure to take at least one day a week away from the LSAT.

Final Thought

If you’ve ever thought, “I just can’t stay focused on Reading Comp,” the truth is you can—you just need a system.

Active reading, passage mapping, purposeful highlighting, and smart pacing give your brain anchors so it doesn’t drift. Pair that with consistent practice, and even the dullest passages start to feel manageable.

The LSAT doesn’t reward who reads the most words—it rewards who reads with the most purpose. And now, you’ve got the tools to do exactly that.