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06 May 2011, 18:01
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Sorry for this delay, windofchange!!!
Let me start with the strategies that I used in my GMAT preparation-
1. Don't peruse but read critically
While I was preparing for RC, I heard people saying that read RC "critically". Seriously what it really means. Am I not reading it correctly? And what is perusing? "Perusing" is a fancy verb, which means reading with the unconscious intent of remembering things. So don’t peruse i.e. don’t retain the junk. The super smart people peruse the whole RC in 2-3 mins and attempts all questions in time ( and this is just my theory. But no puns intended). But I am not super human. I need to read the RC in less than or equal to 3-4 mins and then attempt all questions. So how can I read critically? This is what we need to do -
a) Main idea - Get the main idea of the passage. Let me say this, in RC you will also face "main idea" question. I am not entirely referring to this main idea. When I talk about the main idea, it basically can be found in first and last sentences of the first passage. For example, the RC passage is about the laws passed to reserve more lands for native americans, but native americans were not happy campers. Then the native americans filed multiple lawsuits. The next passage will talk about the lawsuits. And the final passage will talk about the outcome of the law suits i.e. now native americans can establish more legal casinos. (I am just making it up but there is some truth to this story). Now, the main idea is "Native americans embroiled in law suits". That's it. No more to think about. So try to get the main idea of the passage.
b) Descriptive Versus Argumentative - I learn this from another top scorer. I don't remember his name. But I made a note. When you are reading the passage, do a litmus test - Descriptive Versus Argumentative. You will usually find the answers in adjectives or adverbs. Also, in case of argumentative passages, the author ( or other characters) will take a corner in a stage i.e. take a position. If you able to identify this, you can eliminate some choices in the main idea question.
c) Tone and Attitude - Pay attention to the tone and attitude of the author and any actor in the RC. This is hard to practice than said. The attitude is how the author or other character feels about an issue or experiment or recent findings. The tone is the expression to show the attitude. For example, the author thinks that the new recent finding of the collection of ancient pots in Sumatra may have cultural values but no scientific values. So the author's attitude is qualified and not positive enough for the literary community. But his tone is mild. He didn't use extreme words to show this resentment. The benefit of understanding the tone and attitude has two parts – 1) you get engross in the passage 2) some of the “according to” or specific question can be easily done.
d) Context - This is one area where you need to focus more. You may get one or more inference questions on this area. When you see any example, or editorial or person reference, you don't necessary need to remember the content. Instead you need to find out in what context the example or reference has been used. And this is what I meant reading "critically". When you encounter an example or a reference, pause for a moment ( just a moment not a minute) and ask yourself why the author of the passage quoted this. Taking the above example about the native americans, if the author quoted a specific lawsuit, find out the context. The context could be that the author wanted to showcase the activism and awareness in the native americans for their rights on lands. This is one area you need to practice when you work on RC.
e) Overall passage structure - After you are done reading with the passage, in two to four words, summarize the whole RC. For example, you can say first passage is talking about "new experiment", second passage is talking about "comparison with previous finding", and the last passage is talking about "open new opportunity". If you practice doing this diligently, you can answer any structure based question. We need to understand one thing. In GMAT, every passage in RC has a purpose. And every passage is linked with it's previous passage. You need practice to form a structure without going into the details.
2. Using Grid in RC In my brief, I talked about using the grid. In case of RC, I normally jotted down the start time on the answer sheet. After I finish my reading, I will write down end time. And after I finish all the three or four questions, I will write down the end time. By doing this, you can better manage your time. For example, if the RC is tough, you need more time to solve it. So you can't rush through the tough RC in the same way you attempt easy RC. Now, if you take 5-7 mins more in the tough RC, you need to compensate that time by either forcing yourself to solve other SC or CR questions in less time or skipping the SC or CR using the educated guess.
3. Love doing RC The bad things about RC are that 1) it has more Weightage in verbal score, 2) it takes more time 3) you are not completely sure about the answers. But the good thing about the RC is that it gives your brain some time to stop being calculative and more being emotional but assertive. Use your RC time to not only understand the subject but try to relax yourself.
4. RC Topics Many companies say that GMAT picks topics from various subject so that no one person can have advantage. It is true. But , according to me, you can use to your advantage. I love management and politics. So if you love something and you see it in the test, you know that you are "sort of" familiar with the terms or underlying knowledge. Use this advantage and increase your reading speed but without compromising the quality. Also, if you take more time on a specific topics, practice more. I found out that I had always been taking more time if GMAT threw me something new. For example, I always did horribly in sociology, psychology, or civil history topics. Then I solved around 20 LSAT papers. By the tail-end of the exam, I was very confident with the topics.
4. CAT RCs In test, you will get three to four RCs. You need to distribute time accordingly. Also, based on the nature of the passage, you need to make sure that first and last RCs should get more quality time. For example, if you get an inference question in first RC, which is complex and reading a passage could get the answer, do it. Read the passage and sacrifice some time. Do the same for the last passage. But don't do for the second and third RCs.
Now, let's talk about short, medium and long RCs.
Note : Some companies defined these RCs in terms of words. But for me, the above definition holds more water during the actual test.
Short RC - 2 passages or paragraphs
Most of time, I will read the short passages. However, if I am running out of time and I’m on 3rd RC passage, I will try to use the GMAT Pill. Also, if the nature of the content is dense, then I will read carefully. ( or should I say critically) . Read above post for more information.
Medium RC - 3 passages or paragraphs
With medium RC, I will read the first paragraph critically, but then I will use the GMAT Pill on the second or third paragraph. If the content is dense, I will try to read the last passage critically.
Long RC - 4 or more passages or paragraphs
With long RC, I will generally use the GMAT Pill. I try to put more time on the questions.
Let me start with the strategies that I used in my GMAT preparation-
1. Don't peruse but read critically
While I was preparing for RC, I heard people saying that read RC "critically". Seriously what it really means. Am I not reading it correctly? And what is perusing? "Perusing" is a fancy verb, which means reading with the unconscious intent of remembering things. So don’t peruse i.e. don’t retain the junk. The super smart people peruse the whole RC in 2-3 mins and attempts all questions in time ( and this is just my theory. But no puns intended). But I am not super human. I need to read the RC in less than or equal to 3-4 mins and then attempt all questions. So how can I read critically? This is what we need to do -
a) Main idea - Get the main idea of the passage. Let me say this, in RC you will also face "main idea" question. I am not entirely referring to this main idea. When I talk about the main idea, it basically can be found in first and last sentences of the first passage. For example, the RC passage is about the laws passed to reserve more lands for native americans, but native americans were not happy campers. Then the native americans filed multiple lawsuits. The next passage will talk about the lawsuits. And the final passage will talk about the outcome of the law suits i.e. now native americans can establish more legal casinos. (I am just making it up but there is some truth to this story). Now, the main idea is "Native americans embroiled in law suits". That's it. No more to think about. So try to get the main idea of the passage.
b) Descriptive Versus Argumentative - I learn this from another top scorer. I don't remember his name. But I made a note. When you are reading the passage, do a litmus test - Descriptive Versus Argumentative. You will usually find the answers in adjectives or adverbs. Also, in case of argumentative passages, the author ( or other characters) will take a corner in a stage i.e. take a position. If you able to identify this, you can eliminate some choices in the main idea question.
c) Tone and Attitude - Pay attention to the tone and attitude of the author and any actor in the RC. This is hard to practice than said. The attitude is how the author or other character feels about an issue or experiment or recent findings. The tone is the expression to show the attitude. For example, the author thinks that the new recent finding of the collection of ancient pots in Sumatra may have cultural values but no scientific values. So the author's attitude is qualified and not positive enough for the literary community. But his tone is mild. He didn't use extreme words to show this resentment. The benefit of understanding the tone and attitude has two parts – 1) you get engross in the passage 2) some of the “according to” or specific question can be easily done.
d) Context - This is one area where you need to focus more. You may get one or more inference questions on this area. When you see any example, or editorial or person reference, you don't necessary need to remember the content. Instead you need to find out in what context the example or reference has been used. And this is what I meant reading "critically". When you encounter an example or a reference, pause for a moment ( just a moment not a minute) and ask yourself why the author of the passage quoted this. Taking the above example about the native americans, if the author quoted a specific lawsuit, find out the context. The context could be that the author wanted to showcase the activism and awareness in the native americans for their rights on lands. This is one area you need to practice when you work on RC.
e) Overall passage structure - After you are done reading with the passage, in two to four words, summarize the whole RC. For example, you can say first passage is talking about "new experiment", second passage is talking about "comparison with previous finding", and the last passage is talking about "open new opportunity". If you practice doing this diligently, you can answer any structure based question. We need to understand one thing. In GMAT, every passage in RC has a purpose. And every passage is linked with it's previous passage. You need practice to form a structure without going into the details.
2. Using Grid in RC In my brief, I talked about using the grid. In case of RC, I normally jotted down the start time on the answer sheet. After I finish my reading, I will write down end time. And after I finish all the three or four questions, I will write down the end time. By doing this, you can better manage your time. For example, if the RC is tough, you need more time to solve it. So you can't rush through the tough RC in the same way you attempt easy RC. Now, if you take 5-7 mins more in the tough RC, you need to compensate that time by either forcing yourself to solve other SC or CR questions in less time or skipping the SC or CR using the educated guess.
3. Love doing RC The bad things about RC are that 1) it has more Weightage in verbal score, 2) it takes more time 3) you are not completely sure about the answers. But the good thing about the RC is that it gives your brain some time to stop being calculative and more being emotional but assertive. Use your RC time to not only understand the subject but try to relax yourself.
4. RC Topics Many companies say that GMAT picks topics from various subject so that no one person can have advantage. It is true. But , according to me, you can use to your advantage. I love management and politics. So if you love something and you see it in the test, you know that you are "sort of" familiar with the terms or underlying knowledge. Use this advantage and increase your reading speed but without compromising the quality. Also, if you take more time on a specific topics, practice more. I found out that I had always been taking more time if GMAT threw me something new. For example, I always did horribly in sociology, psychology, or civil history topics. Then I solved around 20 LSAT papers. By the tail-end of the exam, I was very confident with the topics.
4. CAT RCs In test, you will get three to four RCs. You need to distribute time accordingly. Also, based on the nature of the passage, you need to make sure that first and last RCs should get more quality time. For example, if you get an inference question in first RC, which is complex and reading a passage could get the answer, do it. Read the passage and sacrifice some time. Do the same for the last passage. But don't do for the second and third RCs.
Now, let's talk about short, medium and long RCs.
Note : Some companies defined these RCs in terms of words. But for me, the above definition holds more water during the actual test.
Short RC - 2 passages or paragraphs
Most of time, I will read the short passages. However, if I am running out of time and I’m on 3rd RC passage, I will try to use the GMAT Pill. Also, if the nature of the content is dense, then I will read carefully. ( or should I say critically) . Read above post for more information.
Medium RC - 3 passages or paragraphs
With medium RC, I will read the first paragraph critically, but then I will use the GMAT Pill on the second or third paragraph. If the content is dense, I will try to read the last passage critically.
Long RC - 4 or more passages or paragraphs
With long RC, I will generally use the GMAT Pill. I try to put more time on the questions.
06 May 2011, 20:06
Kudos
Bookmarks
talk2vj--thanks so much for your time to post your RC strategy! It's very detailed and informative. You have opened my eyes toward the idea of "reading critically". Kudos for your effort and your kindness!!
I am using stopwatch (the software in my cell phone) when practicing RC passages in OG12, but I can't control time when doing CAT RC passages. So did you use Grid in RC during your CAT or something else to manage time to read passages and answer questions? In my last attempt, I always tried to answer every RC question correct, so I unconsciously spent TOO much time on reading and answering questions, leaving me little time at the end, as a result I scored miserably in verbal
. Some people told me that practice would give a sense of time, but this seems not true for me
Again, I really appreciate your help.
I am using stopwatch (the software in my cell phone) when practicing RC passages in OG12, but I can't control time when doing CAT RC passages. So did you use Grid in RC during your CAT or something else to manage time to read passages and answer questions? In my last attempt, I always tried to answer every RC question correct, so I unconsciously spent TOO much time on reading and answering questions, leaving me little time at the end, as a result I scored miserably in verbal
. Some people told me that practice would give a sense of time, but this seems not true for me Again, I really appreciate your help.
08 May 2011, 01:18
Kudos
Bookmarks
Glad I can be of help!!!
Like you, I tried to use stop watch. I had the same problem. Try this. First focus on the quality. Give atleast 1 to 2 mins ( or more) to each passage. Make sure that you are reading critically. Practice this with 5 to 10 RCs. Then rev up your reading. As a thumb rule, one should spend one min per passage. But it varies. You need to understand that everyone is different. If your accuracy is 90% when you spend 1.5 mins per passage and it goes down when you increase your speed, you have two options - either increase reading speed or compromise in CR and/or SC. To be honest, I was taking more than the recommended time. By god grace, I did well in actual GMAT.
Also, as you practice, you will develop internal clock. It is true. But you need to practice a lot. Like you do with quant or SC. I practiced around 100 RCs ( even more).
I will you best of luck. If you need any help, do not hesitant to post here.
Like you, I tried to use stop watch. I had the same problem. Try this. First focus on the quality. Give atleast 1 to 2 mins ( or more) to each passage. Make sure that you are reading critically. Practice this with 5 to 10 RCs. Then rev up your reading. As a thumb rule, one should spend one min per passage. But it varies. You need to understand that everyone is different. If your accuracy is 90% when you spend 1.5 mins per passage and it goes down when you increase your speed, you have two options - either increase reading speed or compromise in CR and/or SC. To be honest, I was taking more than the recommended time. By god grace, I did well in actual GMAT.
Also, as you practice, you will develop internal clock. It is true. But you need to practice a lot. Like you do with quant or SC. I practiced around 100 RCs ( even more).
I will you best of luck. If you need any help, do not hesitant to post here.
. Last couple of days were crazy. Now, everything is behind me, I can work on this. 
