Reading comprehension

RC Prep Recommendations:
There are theoretically 2 different levels of preparation: active and passive. Active is your preparation for math тАУ you study formulae, rules, concepts, etc. Reaidng, however is not like that тАУ it is more analytical and unstructured than math, thus you will have to do passive prep. One problem with it is that it takes much longer than its cousin.

To deal with RC there are some pre-requisites such as a decent vocabulary and ability to concentrate and focus for at least 4 minutes in a row.
1. Vocabulary тАУ even if you are not a native speaker, I would not spend a whole lot time on this unless you are really bad тАУ you for sure need to know all the words you meet in questions, but donтАЩt bother about those GRE words. It is nice to know the words, but it takes so much time when you are 25+ to pick them up that they are almost $20 a piece. If you are still determined, here are a few books that will give you a better ROI.
2. Focus тАУ the most difficult of course is to stay focused after a long math section and 2 essays. However, you can practice to develop these skills. A very good simulation is reading at 10 PM after a long work day. Usually by the time one is home and gets something to eat it is late and the head is incapable of processing any more information тАУ this is very similar to oneтАЩs mindset in the middle of the Verbal section on the GMAT. Thus, try practicing, and instead of GMAT, get some fiction out (not necessarily hard) and try to read. Get something interesting with a good plot as to keep you awake.

Bottom line: DonтАЩt spend time memorizing random words; instead pick a few nice fiction books or anything else lengthy enough for an hour of reading. I have compiled a list of fiction my English professor suggested would be a good start.

Why Read Books/Fiction/etc
- Get used to reading for more than 10 minutes тАУ practicing ability to stay focused
- Pick up some vocabulary as you read by guessing or eventually looking into a dictionary. Many books have some key specific words repeat so many times that you wonтАЩt forget them till you die. (higher ROI)
- Get used to proper English. Very often spoken or email English is not proper English and is grammatically incorrect. As you read more, certain things will start sounding more correct to you and vice versa. This is an especially valuable asset for SC for non-native speakers тАУ ability to say what is correct and what is not just by the sound of it.


P.S. I just read a bunch of books and tried to stay focused while I was reading to train my eyes/brain/whatever to wrestle with text.


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