How best to use WSJ and Economist?

Question

A lot of people on this and other forums suggest test takers to read WSJ and Economist to improve RC and SC. But what exactly should I be focusing on in these news papers. What should I read to get the best Return on investment of my time? Are certain sections\columns\authors better than others for GMAT prep.

Also, are there certain strategies that I should use while reading these papers. For example, someone on the forum said I should try to find the conclusion/argument of the passage. Are there other strategies that I should use while reading this material. What I do not understand is how will reading articles improve my SC (I am assuming there are hardly any errors in these papers or am I giving them too much credit?)

I request the experts to give some (detailed if possible) direction in this regard. It will help me and a lot of other test takers like me who are struggling with the verbal section.

Thanks for your help.
Vijay

goktug88 · Answer

To improve SC , you can look at the structure of the long sentences in these sources and get used to long sentences that are usually problematic in SC part of GMAT.

GMATPill · Answer

You can glance at the article to assess how long the passage is. Articles about half-page to page in length would be good to read - any longer is too long for the GMAT.

You should be able to start reading (but not reading everything like you normally would). The focus is on figuring out the author's intention and opinions - use sentence structure here to help you figure that out and eliminate reading unnecessary parts of paragraphs. Cut the fluff to cut down complex sentences down into simple parts. And then connect the dots.

You shouldn't have to memorize key details in the economist - but you absolutely have to grasp the author's opinions/perspectives. Too many people read things like the WSJ and Economist for their information (as to balance of trade, net income for the year compared to last year, etc) when that is NOT the point of the GMAT Reading Comprehension. Focus on intention.

vbetanabhatla · Answer

Thanks John. You might be right. In fact there is enough GMAT material around, I think covering as much of it as possible is enough.

BN1989 · Answer

In my opinion it's difficult to get an improvement from reading those sources in a short time. I believe the real benefit from reading the Economist or WSJ is that you gain knowledge about economic and political topics. When you read a passage in the GMAT you might be familiar with the topic, which makes the text easier to understand. But as I said you don't gain that knowledge in a matter of 2-3 months and even then the GMAT likes to include scientific and historical texts. If you only want to read those magazines in order to imrpove on the GMAT, your time is spent better by focusing on actual GMAT material.

VerbalBot · Answer

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How best to use WSJ and Economist?

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