Science RC Passages

I also had a hard time with science RC questions. I haven't taken a science class since high school, and I find reading detailed scientific passages only slightly more boring than watching paint dry.

Luckily I didn't get any on the actual GMAT, but in practicing, I developed a strategy that worked for me. Maybe it will help you:

1) Skim the passage quickly, to determine and write down the main subject and the main purpose of the passage (e.g. Is the person arguing something? Presenting conflicting evidence? Disproving an existing theory?) At this stage, don't worry about the details. Just determining the subject matter will help you process the details better later.

2) Read a second time, more carefully. On scratch paper, write an outline of the passage, paragrah-by-paragraph, writing the topic sentence and main idea of each paragraph. For example, paragraph 1 introduces the theory and the intent to disprove it, paragraph 2 gives an example to disprove the theory, and paragraph 3 gives suggestions for further research. This skeleton outline will help you later as you look for facts.

3) Answer the questions one by one, first checking to see what kind of question each is, and then looking at your outline for where to go for the answer.

By the way - one more tip: Pretend the subject is something you enjoy. If it's about soil erosion, for example, pretend it's, I don't know, about the erosion of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anistan's marriage. Then, everything you read, make an analogy to your other subject matter.

Hope this helps!