How to read an RC Passage? Reading strategies and practice.

I am composing this thread in response to frequent private messages (PMs) from members who inquire about effective strategies for reading RC Passages and sources for practice after completing Official questions. While I cannot guarantee that this post will assist all readers, I am confident that it will benefit some members in various capacities. I have thoroughly reviewed all the posts in the RC Forum and have identified a handful of threads that offer valuable reading strategies.

Reading strategies.

Below is the links of all handpicked posts mentioned above

How to Read a Reading Comp Passage by Rhyme (Very Popular!)

https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-destr ... 30247.html

Ultimate RC Guide for Beginners by GMAT Ninja

https://gmatclub.com/forum/experts-topi ... 41004.html

How to efficiently solve RC questions by e-GMAT

https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-effic ... 42305.html

Learn to destroy reading comp by Empower GMAT

https://gmatclub.com/forum/verbal-advan ... 02403.html

How to Read a Reading Comp Passage by PrepScholar

https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-imp ... prehension

How to Read an RC Passage by GMAT Pill

https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-read- ... fl=similar

Most important step in RC

https://gmatclub.com/forum/most-importa ... 79954.html

5 RC Rules and Principles.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/5-rc-rules-a ... 99602.html

How to Read a Reading Comp Passage by Manhattan GMAT

Note: Personally i didn't like Manhattan strategy but here it is what they said. Why I didn't like it as in Manhattan RC guide, they suggest to write down summary and critical information, i tried this strategy many time but failed. I was only successful when i didn't time my practice with this strategy. In my case, if i wrote down things it took a longer time and i was not able to complete within time.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-read- ... 35346.html

My reading strategy

It is recommended to thoroughly review the first paragraph of the passage with utmost care, striving to comprehend its content to the fullest extent possible. Non-native speakers may find it helpful to mentally translate the meanings into their native language for better understanding. In a majority of cases, the main purpose or introduction to the topic at hand is provided in the first paragraph, accounting for approximately 80-90% of passages.

Following this, the reader should identify any twists or shifts in the story by reading 2-3 lines of the second paragraph. Subsequently, the reader should skim through the rest of the passage without getting bogged down by technical or other details.

The last paragraph of the passage should be read with meticulous attention, as it often provides the conclusion to the topic. The information in the last paragraph generally connects with the first paragraph, and efforts should be made to link the two. It is advised to allocate a maximum of 3 minutes for reading the entire passage during the actual test. For shorter passages (those without a scroll bar), which are typically followed by 3 questions, 2 to 2.5 minutes should be spent on reading. For longer passages, usually followed by 4 questions, 3 minutes should be allocated for reading.

After completing the reading, it is advisable to create a mental summary or gist of the entire passage, which should not take more than 15-20 seconds. Subsequently, the reader can proceed to the questions. For main purpose questions, it is not recommended to go back and re-read the passage (as doing so would indicate a failure to follow the strategy or flawed reading). Instead, the information in the first and last paragraphs should be linked to answer the question, taking into account any twists or contrasts presented in the second paragraph. For other specific purpose questions, it may be necessary to go back and re-read relevant lines to fully comprehend the content, typically requiring the reading of 2 to 4 lines at most. This approach outlines a strategy for tackling RC Passages effectively.

Note: This reading strategy may prove beneficial for certain members while not necessarily applicable to all individuals, as exceptions are inherent in any approach.

Best question to practice RC.

It is recommended to prioritize Official questions as the primary source for practicing RC questions. The Official questions include a substantial number of passages, with over 100 passages available for practice. If a candidate has practiced more than 100 passages and their accuracy has not improved, it may be prudent to reconsider their RC strategy. 100 passages for practice are deemed sufficient in most cases.

Here is the preferences for practicing RC Passages

1. Official GMAT Questions
2. Official LSAT Questions
3. Manhattan GMAT/Veritas GMAT

Note: The recommended source to practice is only Official Questions but if someone ran out of Official questions then these sources are best to practice for.

If you are preparing for GMAT, the RC butler project can be helpful, if you preparing the GMAT but not the RC Section still you can follow RC Butler project for daily practice as It will take approx 20 minutes per day.

For RC Butler project: Click here

Use GMAT Club tag to search questions, below is the link - All of the RC questions are available here

https://gmatclub.com/forum/search.php?s ... mit=Search

All Manhattan RC Passages are available here

https://gmatclub.com/forum/search.php?s ... mit=Search

All of the Veritas RC Passages are available here

https://gmatclub.com/forum/search.php?s ... mit=Search

All of the GRE Official passage are available here (This is newly added tag, so at the moment it contains lesser number of passages, i am updating it as i found questions on the forum)

https://gmatclub.com/forum/search.php?s ... mit=Search

All of the LSAT Passages are available here

https://gmatclub.com/forum/search.php?s ... mit=Search