GMAT reading Comprehension help

Question

I am having problems with Reading comprehension. It’s too time consuming and I can get questions wrong as well.

What should be my time management strategy? Like 2-3 minutes in first quickly reading the passage and then attempting questions while reading passage according to the questions need? (Is this a good strategy?)

How should I prepare for it to get my answers correct in minimum time? What should be the ideal time?

Please share your experience and help.

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UmairAftab · Answer

Should I skim at the start
Like read really quickly? How smart is it to just leave the last RC passage to get more time to solve other questions?

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sahilbhatia21 · Answer

I was struggling on reading comprehensions too, but now i am pretty much fine with them.

I'll suggest u to understand the content not in too much detail but structurally only.

Then i am sure once you know the flow of the passage , questions can easily be answered within less amount of time. [Therefore, devote the ideal time to reading the passage but this doesn't mean too much]

For a long passage I keep my reading time around: 3-4 mints
and for short passages I keep my reading time around: 2-3 mints

For accuracy on Questions, you will have to practice and learn.

You can also refer to a document called Gin's RC Notes which helped me when it got down to RCs.
Link to Gin's RC Notes:https://gmatclub.com/forum/download/file.php?id=9403

Finally,
You shall be given a long list of advices by experts, but RC is all about practice and building up your own strategy.

All the best

UmairAftab · Answer

Okay! So practice it is
Thank you sooo much

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi UmairAftab,

In a different post, you listed a series of books that you had been studying with. Unfortunately, many Test Takers who use a 'book heavy' study approach end up getting 'stuck' at a particular score level. Even the best books are limited in what they can teach you; they also can't force you to approach questions in a certain way and their explanations are often one-sided.

To effectively deal with Reading Comp, you have to 'actively read' each prompt AND take notes as you read. That does NOT mean that you have to 'read fast' and "skimming" is almost never beneficial - you will often end up having to reread the prompt repeatedly (since you probably did properly read through it the first time). This could significantly hurt your pacing - and you also mentioned having pacing issues - so you might need to invest in some new resources that can properly guide you through how to handle RC (as well as the other question types in the Verbal section).

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

UmairAftab · Answer

Thank you for remembering my earlier problems and give advice accordingly. This is really helpful. Thank you!

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ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi UmairAftab,

To improve in Reading Comprehension, you need to focus on understanding what you are reading. When you are incorrectly answering Reading Comprehension questions, it’s partly because you do not truly understand what you have just read, right? Thus, you likely have to slow down in order to (eventually) speed up. At this point, your best bet is to focus on getting the correct answers to questions, taking as much time as you need to see key details and understand the logic of what you are reading. You have to learn to comprehend what you read, keep it all straight, and use what you are reading to arrive at correct answers. If you don't understand something, go back and read it one sentence at a time, even one word at a time, not moving on until you understand what you have just read. There is no way around this work. Your goal should be to take all the time you need to understand exactly what is being said and arrive at the correct answer. If you can learn to get answers taking your time, you can learn to speed up. Answering questions is like any task: The more times you do it carefully and successfully, the faster you become at doing it carefully and successfully.

Another component of understanding what you are reading is being “present” when reading. Don’t worry about how things are going at work, or what you will eat for dinner, or even how long you are taking to read through the passage. Just focus on what is in front of you, word by word, line by line. Furthermore, try to make reading fun. For example, even if you are reading about a topic that bores you, pretend that you are the person making the argument. By doing so, you will make the passage more relatable to YOU, and ultimately you should be able to read with greater focus.

One final component of Reading Comprehension that may be tripping you up is that RC questions contain one or more trap answers that seem to answer the question but don't really. So, a key part of training to correctly answer RC questions is learning to notice the differences between trap answers and correct answers. You have to learn to see how trap answers seem to follow from what the passages say, but don't really, while correct answers fit what the passages say exactly.

Regarding your timing strategy, on the GMAT, you can expect a total of four RC passages (although you do not know when you’ll see them). Reading Comprehension passages are either long (containing 4 questions) or short (containing 3 questions). You should spend roughly 2 to 3 minutes reading the short passages and 3 to 4 minutes on the long ones. Since you should have a rough idea of what you read after reading the passage, each question should take you roughly 30 seconds to a minute and a half to answer. Thus, look to spend a total of about 6 to 8 minutes on each RC section.

Feel free to reach out with further questions.

Good luck!

UmairAftab · Answer

Hey! Thank you for answering my question in such detail. This is quite helpful.

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IloveMBA123 · Answer

i spent 30 minutes to re-read a short passage over and over again and only manage to get 2 out of 5 question correct. Let alone i am given only 10 minutes for 5 question.

Please help guys

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi waihoe520,

To start, you will likely receive more of a response if you start your own post-thread (instead of "piggy-backing" on this older thread. Once you start that thread, I'll be happy to discuss your situation in more detail.

Many GMATers get a bit 'upset' by RC, but there's no reason to be. You do NOT need to be a "fast" reader and you do NOT need to understand everything that you read. However, you do have to be an 'efficient' reader - meaning that you have to read at a reasonable pace, read 'actively' (think about what's discussed and WHY each sentence is there) and take some basic notes AS you read.

Before we can delve deeper into this issue and before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

IloveMBA123 · Answer

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?

I've been studying since Mid April and i will sit for my exam in Mid july and 20-40 hours each week

2) What study materials have you used so far?

MGMAT

3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

I've never taken any CATs

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?

My goal score is 730, but can be less than that i guess? because i'm a malaysian chinese (underrepresented group) if im not wrong

5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

Mid july 2020

6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
1) Wharton 2) LBS 3) Insead. I've been working in Singapore for 5 years and i want to return to SG post MBA

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi waihoe520,

To start, many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you have been studying for a little over 1 month, you should not expect to have mastered any of the concepts just yet.

In addition, since you have put in some study time already, you really MUST take a FULL-LENGTH CAT/mock (including the Essay and IR sections) sometime soon (perhaps this weekend). That initial diagnostic CAT is important - it helps to define your current skills, strengths and weaknesses and gives us a basis for comparison as you continue to study. Most Test Takers are not happy with that first CAT result, but that's not a big deal - the extra months of available study time are there so that you can IMPROVE on this initial practice result. A FULL CAT takes about 3.5 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back (or you can feel free to PM me directly) and we can discuss the results and come up with a study plan.

Since you have named some highly-competitive Programs, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement.

There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi UmairAftab,

Since you seem to be struggling with Reading Comprehension in general, would you like some general advice on how to improve your RC skills?

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