5 Hardest LSAT Reading Comprehension Passages
The 5 hardest LSAT Reading Comprehension passages from the 2000 to 2010 PrepTests: Dworkin and legal positivism (PrepTest 35), Maize (PrepTest 49), Riddled Basins of Attraction (PrepTest 50), Maxine Kingston and the Chinese talk-story (PrepTest 55), and Isamu Noguchi and sculpture (PrepTest 59). What makes them hard usually isn't the vocabulary. It's the questions, and the wrong answers attached to them.
This list is focused on exams published 2000-2010. These make for great bathroom/beach reading. Enjoy!
I walk through how to handle tough passages in the video below.
1. PrepTest 35 (October 2001), Passage 4 – Ronald Dworkin and Legal Positivism vs. Moralism (p234 in Next 10)
2. PrepTest 49 (June 2006), Passage 4 – Maize
3. PrepTest 50 (September 2006), Passage 4 – Riddled Basins of Attraction
4. PrepTest 55 (October 2008), Passage 3 – Maxine Kingston and the Chinese talk-story
5. PrepTest 59 (December 2009), Passage 3 – Isamu Noguchi and Sculpture
Also, here are some Difficult LSAT Logical Reasoning Questions and the 10 Hardest Logic Games from the old format (that section left the LSAT in August 2024).
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Related: the categorized list of every LSAT Reading Comp passage, if you want to find more like these.
What makes a passage hard: usually not the vocabulary. It's the questions, and the wrong answers attached to them. The same handful of traps runs through hard Reading Comprehension and hard Logical Reasoning alike, and I've written all 10 up free with a worked example each: the 10 traps that catch everyone.
Watch a related lesson
How to Destroy LSAT Reading Comprehension (Even If You Zone Out While Reading)Frequently asked questions
What are the hardest LSAT Reading Comprehension passages?
From the 2000 to 2010 PrepTests, my 5 are Dworkin and legal positivism (PrepTest 35), Maize (PrepTest 49), Riddled Basins of Attraction (PrepTest 50), Maxine Kingston and the Chinese talk-story (PrepTest 55), and Isamu Noguchi (PrepTest 59).
What makes an LSAT Reading Comprehension passage hard?
Usually not the vocabulary. It's the questions and the wrong answers attached to them. The same handful of traps runs through hard Reading Comprehension and hard Logical Reasoning alike.
Where can I find more passages like these?
Use the categorized list of LSAT Reading Comp passages to find more by topic.
I've written free explanations for every question in LSAT PrepTest 159, 158, 157, 156, 155 and 154, with the right answer and why each wrong answer fails. All LSAT explanations are here.
Enough reading. Try a question. Free LSAT drills, 1 at a time, explained the second you answer. Start free drills
