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vikram4689
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Concentration Issue 15 Dec 2011, 08:21
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Hi ,

I start to day dream when i work on RC. When i find RC easy, i get excited and when i find it tough i start to worry and day dream is common in both the cases. How to obviate these thoughts ??

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Concentration Issue 15 Dec 2011, 13:24
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You have to convince yourself that the passage you read is the most interesting passage in the world and you have not encountered/read anything more interesting and you are dying to find out what happens next...
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Concentration Issue 15 Dec 2011, 14:57
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Please see the attached quote (from myself) from another thread:

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On my SAT my RC was by far the weakest part of verbal. This was because I really never read nor did i "read correctly". Read correctly you say????? YES, this is the key part to RC. Reading a book and reading for RC are totally different. You have to ATTACK passages and skip over confusing details. Your goal is to get the gist of the entire passage with the purpose of WHY the author wrote this passage. Did the author take a stance, compare and contrast, just discuss some ideas? Take a one sentence note on each paragraph saying what the paragraph was for, and what you can find there later. Don't get caught up in hard to read, or confusing details. THAT IS WHY THEY ARE THERE! They don't expect you to be an expert in astrophysics, so those two sentences about how black holes were created are not important! Every time you blow past those details, you are passing the 1000s of other people that are caught, confused, and freaking out over NOTHING. They don't care if you know about astrophysics! Don't get caught up on them, they are only important if/when you come accross a question specifically asking you about that detail. At that point, you can go back, read, and digest if necessary. Getting caught on details can kill your time b/c you might not even get asked a question about them. Every time you pick up a strategy like this, think about the 1000s of people stuck on that detail, or paragraph, and imagine yourself blowing past them. It will continue to give you confidence.

By the time I took my test, RC and CR were by far my strongest areas. What I started doing was spending 20 min every morning at work finding some articles on CNN or google.com/news. I would READ THEM CORRECTLY. I would not read for pleasure, I would read with these questions in mind "what is the purpose of this article" "does the author take a side?" "why is he/she writing this?" etc etc... and would actually think of possible questions and answers that I might be asked and take some VERY short notes b/c I knew i needed to do this under a timed setting. Seriously, after a few weeks of this my RC scores went through the roof on practice tests. LItterally from getting 2-3 out of 10-12 qustions right, to only missing one or two. It was amazing.

SO remember, read correctly! Attack the passage! Get the gist of the passage, and figure out why the author is writing it. Look for keywords to find key clues to figure out this information. With some practice, you can really make big strides on RC. Plus, this is the one area you can practice at work, on articles you enjoy (as long as somewhat business/science/tech related). Good luck on test day!
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Concentration Issue 16 Dec 2011, 01:56
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Thanks GMATLA, your explanation deserve a kudo :)
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Concentration Issue 16 Dec 2011, 11:00
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vikram4689
Hi ,

I start to day dream when i work on RC. When i find RC easy, i get excited and when i find it tough i start to worry and day dream is common in both the cases. How to obviate these thoughts ??

Thanks
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IMO,That's due to a lack of motivation.You have to set incentives and goals every time you sit down to study and make your time purposeful . Initially you find it tough but you have to understand that unless you force yourself to stick with the content , you wont improve , hindering your chances of hitting 700+ .
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Concentration Issue 16 Dec 2011, 11:16
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Agree completely with Munda praaji...You have to motivate yourself enough not to get distracted...The greener pastures lie ahead but there still is a long tough path to be rode upon...if you falter during your journey...you may not reach the goal in time...or worse...may not reach at all..
you need to be motivated and always keep your eye on the goal...
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Concentration Issue 16 Dec 2011, 11:37
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Thanks mundasingh and imgame, i will [strike]try to[/strike] implement your suggestion and update you on my progress
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Concentration Issue 16 Dec 2011, 13:56
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Vikram, the only person you need to keep updated is yourself...You are the sole stakeholder of this....:)
that said...try the suggestions in your subsequent attempts and judge if your mind still wanders away...
if yes...set timelines for RC...short ones...7 minutes per RC and after you finish analysing ...give your self 5 mins of day dreaming.. :)
Reduce the frequency for giving yourself these 5 min "treats" slowly and steadily...i.e. start with 1 RC's and then treat yourself...and subsequently move to treating yourself after 5 RC's...Continue with this trend..and slowly you should be finding yourself sitting with 100% concentration for the whole duration of 75 mins...
Try this out..
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Concentration Issue 30 Dec 2011, 18:02
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vikram4689
Hi ,

I start to day dream when i work on RC. When i find RC easy, i get excited and when i find it tough i start to worry and day dream is common in both the cases. How to obviate these thoughts ??

Thanks
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Do one RC at a time and time it conservatively. Say, give yourself 6 mins to do a 4 question RC. Do not give yourself any extra time. Thereafter, look at your answers, analyze the passage properly and note down the score you obtained in the 6 mins. (Shorter time limits will pressurize your mind and it will not wander. If it does, it will come back to the passage quickly since you know your time is running out fast.) After one RC, do something else, say a few questions of CR/SC. Then again do one RC. Practice this for a few days. Your concentration should improve.