Comparative Passage
LSAT glossary · Reading Comprehension
Definition
A Reading Comprehension format presenting two related passages (Passage A and Passage B) and asking questions about their relationship, agreement, or disagreement.
Comparative Passage in plain English
A comparative passage is a Reading Comprehension setup where, instead of one long article, you get two shorter passages (labeled Passage A and Passage B) written by different authors about the same topic. Your job isn't just to understand each one alone — the questions zero in on how they relate: where the two authors agree, where they clash, and how one would react to the other's claims. The trick is that they rarely contradict each other head-on; more often they emphasize different things or share a fact but draw different conclusions from it, so you have to track both viewpoints at once. It's like reading two movie reviews of the same film and then being asked not 'what did each critic think?' but 'what would Critic A say about Critic B's biggest complaint?'
Learn these first
Sign up free: all 104 LSAT terms as flashcards, plus practice questions with full explanations →
Related LSAT terms
LSAT practice questions · LSAT flashcards · LSAT study guide