{"id":12180,"date":"2012-06-13T22:38:13","date_gmt":"2012-06-14T05:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=12180"},"modified":"2012-07-06T15:46:53","modified_gmt":"2012-07-06T22:46:53","slug":"how-to-stay-focused-on-your-reading-comprehension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/how-to-stay-focused-on-your-reading-comprehension\/","title":{"rendered":"How to stay focused on your Reading Comprehension"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
Jen Rugani is one our amazing teachers at Knewton, where she helps students rock their GMAT prep.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
If taking the GMAT is like running a marathon, then the Reading Comprehension passages are like a set of steep hills in mile 24. They\u2019re dense, complicated, boring pieces of text that test your stamina and focus as much as your comprehension. After powering through the AWA and math sections, it\u2019s easy to arrive at the first reading comp passage and start to zone out \u2014 your eyes are still on the screen, but you\u2019re re-reading the same sentence over and over again without taking in any of the meaning. At Knewton, we call this \u201cglazed eyes\u201d syndrome, and it can be a major time-sucker on the verbal section.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
So how do you make it up the hill and power through to the finish line? There are some concrete steps you can take both now and on test day to avoid glazed eyes and stay focused on the passage.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Start reading GMAT-like texts now<\/strong><\/h3>\n
It\u2019s obvious that a reading comp passage won\u2019t be as thrilling as your favorite Dan Brown novel, but the GMAT actually makes RC passages boring on purpose.\u00c2 \u00a0The test-makers go out of their way to make the text complex, and they like to use natural science and social science topics with which potential business-school students may not be familiar. To prepare yourself, start reading real-world texts that mimic GMAT passage structures. The Economist, Scientific American, and The Wall Street Journal are good places to start, and magazines like Time and Newsweek feature editorial articles that can help you learn to recognize authorial arguments. Get comfortable with this type of writing now so that the passages on test day seem familiar and manageable.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Take notes<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Writing quick notes will keep your brain naturally engaged and help you move through the passage deliberately (at Knewton, we call this process Active Reading). Jot down a quick summary for each paragraph and note the main ideas or theories mentioned in the passage. People often skip this note-taking step because they worry it takes too much time. But think about it this way: It\u2019s much better to take a few extra seconds to jot down helpful notes than to waste potential minutes staring blankly at the screen. Plus, your notes will provide useful pre-phrases for some of the broader reading comprehension questions, which can actually help you save time in the long run.<\/div>\n
Fast-forward to test day. What should you do if you\u2019re in the middle of a reading comprehension passage and your brain is starting to wander?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Don\u2019t panic<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Try to stay calm; panicking about your lack of focus will only make it harder to come back to the passage. Be patient with your brain \u2014 it\u2019s working hard! If you feel glazed eyes starting to set in, look away from the passage. This might sound counter-intuitive \u2014 why am I turning away from the thing I\u2019m supposed to be reading? \u2014 but think of it as hitting a reset button on your brain. Look away from the screen, take a deep breath, and then return to the passage. You\u2019ll be amazed at how much a few quick seconds of break time can center you back on the task at hand.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Return to something interesting<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Once you\u2019ve taken those deep breaths and are ready to come back to the passage, don\u2019t start reading the same sentence that tripped you up the last time. Go back a few sentences, or even to the previous paragraph, to the most recent idea that interested you. Your brain will be much more likely to reengage on an interesting thought than on one that was difficult to understand. Then, you can use your note-taking skills and Active Reading to stay focused throughout the rest of the passage.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
With these tips and tricks, you\u2019ll be able to beat \u2014 or avoid \u2014 glazed eyes syndrome. Did you make it through this post without falling asleep? Then you\u2019re well on your way to reading comprehension success!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jen Rugani is one our amazing teachers at Knewton, where she helps students rock their GMAT prep. If taking the GMAT is like running a marathon, then the Reading Comprehension…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,243,720],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-blog","category-reading-comprehension-gmat","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12180"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12182,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12180\/revisions\/12182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}