RC Trouble

Question

Can someone guide me with preparing for RC. I used old paper based tests and whenever I take verbal part, I nail few RCs completely and in few RCs everything goes wrong. I look for structure in RCs and not details - main point for each para and then main point. I am not able to decide whether it is because of lack of concentration/type of topic/type of questions. I am practicing 2 or 3 RCs a day but I couldn't see any considerable improvement in my approach because my way of answering is not consistent i guess - some of the RCs when I repeat them i get everything right and some of right ones everything goes wrong. By the way will it work if I work on RC alone for a whole week and try to figure it out, improve it ? I am faring well in all other topics and RC has been my biggest trouble so far. Struggling so hard to improve it. I can't figure out where I am making the mistake

Any other suggestions are very much appreciated.

BM · Answer

To see an improvement in RC, you will probably have to do more than two or three RC questions per day. Along with the RC forum, consider using LSAT books. These two resources literally offer you hundreds of high-quality practice problems for RC, and that's probably what you need.

Another option is to use an RC guidebook. I used the Powerscore RC Bible; it's a powerful book, but unnecessary for most. In your case, though, perhaps it's something to think about. GMAT-specific books include RC guides from Manhattan and Veritas Prep.

My last suggestion is GMAT Fiction. This helps, but in an indirect and general way.

msvel2304 · Answer

Thanks a lot bmillan. 3 RC passages take almost an half an hour to solve and another half an hour to review them. I have been working on other topics as well. I can spare 3 to 4 hours on any day. So how would you suggest for RC practice ? Practice them for a week or two altogether until i see the pattern, get used to it and till i apply the right strategy or do it on a daily basis ? GMAT fiction, yes i have been reading those for a while. I have finished few books in each category, and except for Guns, germs and steel i don't think others helped in RC although they improved my vocabulary and reading speed or may be I cannot see a direct effect on RCs. Anyways they are interesting reads

rajeevrks27 · Answer

You may like to have a relook at your approach followed. Some good ways are described in the links below
how-to-destroy-reading-comprehension-passages-by-rhyme-30247.html
three-different-strategies-for-attacking-rc-127287.html

BM · Answer

First, it's good that you have identified your weak point and want to get serious about fixing the problem. So keep that active, constructive attitude no matter what.

Next, look at the links that msvel2304 provided in the post above mine. These are interesting strategies and you will probably have to experiment a little to see what works for you.

But two or three passages in 30 minutes is below average, in terms of speed. And that's why I usually recommend LSAT RC passages. Get the LSAT SuperPrep or one of those "10, Actual LSAT Prep Tests" books (the SuperPrep contains explanations). The RC sections are also good because they each contain 25 RC questions. Try to work your way up until you can complete an entire section in 30 minutes or so.

It's good that you're using GMAT Fiction. But don't let that get in the way of GMAT-specific RC practice and review. Use it when you're too exhausted to continue studying for the moment and need a break. It's also a nice downtime exercise. And as you get closer to the test date, you can eventually drop GMAT Fiction all together.

Also, see the links below:

reading-comprehension-question-directory-topic-difficulty-129341.html

review-of-powerscore-s-lsat-rc-bible-pros-1-difficulty-86718.html

nikhilsrl · Answer

I think RC is one section where we can see lot of improvement with practice ( SC was definitely less predictable for me ). When I started off I struggled with it but I am sure pretty I nailed it for the final GMAT test. Being a non native speaker verbal was the difficult section in GMAT for me.

The first thing you need to fix on is your technique. There are several techniques and tips provided here in GMAT club itself and you can try them out to see what works best for you. In that process you may even come up with something new that suits you. Honestly skimming never worked for me and I took my time reading the passages and this helped me score well. I did not use any other books to learn techniques.

The next thing is practice and I used RC99 from Aristotle and questions posted in GMATClub and similar forums. I practiced a lot, sometimes doing close to 10 passages a day. RC99 passages are very tough compared to what you get on the test day. In fact I found the GMAT questions quite simple to get through. One thing I kept track of was the time and tried to improve every time.

Keep at it and I am sure you will do well.

msvel2304 · Answer

Thanks a lot for the tip bmillan. Will start LSAT prep materials. I just went through my error log. I have given 8 old paper based tests so far. I couldn't sort the wrong RCs by question type or by passage type. In 6 of them I have got every questions right in first two RCs most of the times and most of them went wrong only in the last two. It seems to be concentration problem rather than approach. Will try to sort out the problem on top priority whether it is approach or lack of concentration. Then I will start working on LSAT prep. I went through LSAT sets, they have big passages with more questions. Probably I need to hone my strategy as finishing 27 questions in 35 minutes is going to be a hell of a ride. @nikhilsri: 10 RCs a day :shock:

? ? I once tried that way - doing RCs for an entire 2 or 3 hour sitting but I couldn't concentrate after few RCs and was just wasting practice RCs. So i stopped practicing that way and stuck to 3 to 4 RCs a day. Do you think it will help improve stamina or concentration ? Because the RC passages are themselves so complex and dense with information and doing so many RCs in a single sitting just tires me out.

nikhilsrl · Answer

I was not talking about 10 in a single sitting. That will definitely tire you. I spread it out evenly through out the day.

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