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Aryan1811
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CR Passage Map Technique (outlined by MGMAT Books) 11 Nov 2023, 08:10
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Hello Mentors and Friends,

I have been reading the MGMAT book to get better at Verbal. In the CR Section, the book heavily emphasises the use of passage maps, which are (heavily) abbreviated summaries of the prompt, to get better at CR. I read a sentence in the prompt and incorporate the sentence in the passage map simultaneously instead of reading the prompt first in one go.

The problem I face is that the process of reading and making the passage map takes some time, because of which I have to rush through the answer choices, leading to wrong answers. I also tend to get anxious about what detail to omit and what to keep in mind for the passage map. The meaning issue also occurs, but not that frequently.

I have faith that the technique works, but the less time I get for reading the answer choices undermines the effectiveness.

What have others experienced while following this technique? Should I change the strategy?

(I am 2 months away from the exam and have been practising for a few weeks already. I believe I can improve on this aspect to get a better score. Hopefully! :fingers_crossed:)
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GmatKnightTutor
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CR Passage Map Technique (outlined by MGMAT Books) 11 Nov 2023, 14:03
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Might be worth including/working with a study buddy who is really strong on CR to see how they approach it. The gmatclub posts of the specific questions you struggle with could also be useful to leverage.

-contact: gmatknight site | gmatclub dm
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Aryan1811
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CR Passage Map Technique (outlined by MGMAT Books) 12 Nov 2023, 03:20
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GmatKnightTutor
Might be worth including/working with a study buddy who is really strong on CR to see how they approach it. The gmatclub posts of the specific questions you struggle with could also be useful to leverage.

-contact: gmatknight site | gmatclub dm
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I'm already doing the latter diligently. But unfortunately, I don't have any study buddy, that's why I posted the question here. Because I found that no one has talked about CR Passage Maps anywhere on the internet, yet they are highly recommended by MGMAT.
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CR Passage Map Technique (outlined by MGMAT Books) 14 Nov 2023, 04:03
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Aryan1811
Hello Mentors and Friends,

I have been reading the MGMAT book to get better at Verbal. In the CR Section, the book heavily emphasises the use of passage maps, which are (heavily) abbreviated summaries of the prompt, to get better at CR. I read a sentence in the prompt and incorporate the sentence in the passage map simultaneously instead of reading the prompt first in one go.

The problem I face is that the process of reading and making the passage map takes some time, because of which I have to rush through the answer choices, leading to wrong answers. I also tend to get anxious about what detail to omit and what to keep in mind for the passage map. The meaning issue also occurs, but not that frequently.

I have faith that the technique works, but the less time I get for reading the answer choices undermines the effectiveness.

What have others experienced while following this technique? Should I change the strategy?

(I am 2 months away from the exam and have been practising for a few weeks already. I believe I can improve on this aspect to get a better score. Hopefully! :fingers_crossed:)
Show more

I really don't think making a passage map should take too long if you understand the argument. How are you approaching it? I have also studied with MGMAT Verbal book and I am doing well in CR. My advice is that if something in the book doesn't work for you and is costing you time/points, don't force yourself to conform to the book's mold. Adapt the advice to yourself.

Personally, what I do is to concentrate on identifying the conclusion of the argument and paraphrasing it into two parts e.g. this plan will A because B. Then I rewrite (or sometimes just think to myself) the question as "which one of these options will make it more likely (strengthen) or less likely (weaken) that this plan will A because B?"
In most question types, this is enough and I don't have to map every single sentence as background, premise, blah blah blah because it is simply not necessary. That paraphrased conclusion defines everything and if a premise is important to the question, my paraphrased conclusion will already naturally contain it as part of B. Once I have my conclusion set up, for the easy and medium questions, I already have a good gut feeling of what the answer could be. I then go into the options and cross out all options that are obviously wrong. Usually, that leaves me with one answer. If I have two answers and I am unsure, I go with the answer that affects both sides A and B of my conclusion.

The only question type where I really have to modify my approach is the boldfaced identify questions. And even in those questions, it's very similar. I.e identify the conclusion, ask yourself: is this boldfaced sentence the conclusion I have identified, or does it support (premise) or oppose (counter) the conclusion? And immediately, the answer is right in front of you.

Aryan1811 hope this is helpful. And let me know if there's something else I can help with.
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Aryan1811
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CR Passage Map Technique (outlined by MGMAT Books) 14 Nov 2023, 04:20
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iceiceevie
Aryan1811
Hello Mentors and Friends,

I have been reading the MGMAT book to get better at Verbal. In the CR Section, the book heavily emphasises the use of passage maps, which are (heavily) abbreviated summaries of the prompt, to get better at CR. I read a sentence in the prompt and incorporate the sentence in the passage map simultaneously instead of reading the prompt first in one go.

The problem I face is that the process of reading and making the passage map takes some time, because of which I have to rush through the answer choices, leading to wrong answers. I also tend to get anxious about what detail to omit and what to keep in mind for the passage map. The meaning issue also occurs, but not that frequently.

I have faith that the technique works, but the less time I get for reading the answer choices undermines the effectiveness.

What have others experienced while following this technique? Should I change the strategy?

(I am 2 months away from the exam and have been practising for a few weeks already. I believe I can improve on this aspect to get a better score. Hopefully! :fingers_crossed:)

I really don't think making a passage map should take too long if you understand the argument. How are you approaching it? I have also studied with MGMAT Verbal book and I am doing well in CR. My advice is that if something in the book doesn't work for you and is costing you time/points, don't force yourself to conform to the book's mold. Adapt the advice to yourself.

Personally, what I do is to concentrate on identifying the conclusion of the argument and paraphrasing it into two parts e.g. this plan will A because B. Then I rewrite (or sometimes just think to myself) the question as "which one of these options will make it more likely (strengthen) or less likely (weaken) that this plan will A because B?"
In most question types, this is enough and I don't have to map every single sentence as background, premise, blah blah blah because it is simply not necessary. That paraphrased conclusion defines everything and if a premise is important to the question, my paraphrased conclusion will already naturally contain it as part of B. Once I have my conclusion set up, for the easy and medium questions, I already have a good gut feeling of what the answer could be. I then go into the options and cross out all options that are obviously wrong. Usually, that leaves me with one answer. If I have two answers and I am unsure, I go with the answer that affects both sides A and B of my conclusion.

The only question type where I really have to modify my approach is the boldfaced identify questions. And even in those questions, it's very similar. I.e identify the conclusion, ask yourself: is this boldfaced sentence the conclusion I have identified, or does it support (premise) or oppose (counter) the conclusion? And immediately, the answer is right in front of you.

Aryan1811 hope this is helpful. And let me know if there's something else I can help with.
Show more

Thank you so much for sharing your approach. It will help me a lot!

Would you mind sharing an example of your approach also, using any CR question? That would really help me commit the strategy to memory.
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