How to improve reading comprehension on science topics

Question

I have found out that I tend to do better on business and social science topics than ones that are more technical with a lot of jargon wording. Most specifically with astronomy and biology topics. How can I improve these areas? Is there any suggestions?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi alpham,

Scoring at a high level on Reading Comp on the GMAT involves a number of different factors - but understanding everything that the author states is NOT one of them. In simple terms, you have to think more about the 'structure' of what you're reading (WHY is each paragraph and sentence there), recognize the built-in patterns and take the proper notes. Beyond those points, it also helps to know the major question types for RC (and how to go about answering them) and the common wrong answers that regularly show up in RC questions (so you can avoid them). All of this can be learned if you have the proper training materials and if you put in the necessary effort.

1) What 'steps' do you go through when dealing with a typical RC prompt?
2) How long have you studied?
3) What materials have you used?
4) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
5) What is your goal score?

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

ashwink · Answer

Try reading the Scientific American. It is a great site for abstract topics in science and can get very addictive

AjiteshArun · Answer

As  ashwink  says, try to read more material of the type that you are not comfortable with.

Terabyte · Answer

I actually have the same problem. Scientific American helped me a lot

ENEM · Answer

Hi,

the key is not to get lost in details while doing RC. Here's a simple approach, whenever you see any technical jargon, label it as X, if multiple technical jargons, label them as X,Y etc. Or even better use the first letter of the technical word. 
general note on rc:
try to understand the big picture of each passage. how? summarize every paragraph in a sentence or two, reword it in your head in a language you're most comfortable with. then summarize each of these 1/2 line paragraph summaries, into 1/2 sentence passage summary- this is the big idea/primary message of the passage.
observe shifts in tone of the author, and note them down or anything that the author stresses in the passage.

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How to improve reading comprehension on science topics

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