Not getting anywhere with RCs

Question

Hi,

My exam is in less than a week and im not getting anywhere with RCs. I tried both approaches 1) Reading the passage as it were house , marking information.Then going back to the passage as and when i solve questions. The problem with this technique was i was not able to solve inference questions. 2) Then i tried to read the entire passage in one go and then answer questions. But here again i realized that i still needed to read the passage especially in case of RCs that were long and abstract.

i have done all the OG11 RCs. The main point questions were my weak area, i had worked on them. Doing practice tests now , complete Verbal section tests and also full length tests. In one of the exams i ended up spending 15 mins on all 3 passages and i got most answers wrong. This greatly affected my score

I am fine with SC and CR. I take an average of 90 secs to solve them (depending one the question)

Pls suggest a strategy for RC. What can i fine tune?

I am fine with SC and CR. I take an average of 90 secs to solve them (depending one the question) Pls suggest a strategy for RC. What can i fine tune?

GMATLA · Answer

I'm sorry that you're having so much trouble with RC's... with a week left to your test it can be mentally challenging to not have every question type down. But just remember, it sounds like you are strong in SC and CR, so that will definitely help your verbal score. So here are some recommendations that have helped me with RC:

Here's a good blog post to show you the difference between everyday reading, and GMAT reading. It really takes a strategy... so practice some of these techniques. They should help: https://gmatclub.com/blog/2011/04/gmat-r ... es-tricky/

Also, remember that the GMAT doesn't expect you to be an expert in what the passage is about. If the passage is about black holes, remember, they know you're not an astrphysicist. So skip over all the details that are confusing. They want you to get caught in those details. Just literally skip right over the words you don't understand, and the sentences that include details about astrophysics. They are unimportant and will hold you up, and make you forget what the passage is all about. Just note where they are, and only come back to them if you get a question directly in regards to that detail.

Good luck!

Bibli · Answer

@GMATLA..thanks I will try these tips. I am going to give a timed verbal test right now. As soon as i am done i will post my thoughts

Thanks again

KarishmaB · Answer

Different strategies work for different people so there is no one clear sure shot 'method' of attacking RC passages. What does work for many people and gives good accuracy is reading the passage properly the first time around and a quick second read too if needed which will mainly be a revision read. Say, you read the passage completely once. Then you take one paragraph at a time and tell yourself what it talked about. There will be one main point in every paragraph. Identify that. At the end of the read, you take 10 secs to remind yourself all the important points. Thereafter, the universal questions (main point, tone etc) will not be a problem. In fact, after this you should be able to answer the 3-4 questions in under 2 minutes. You have to be mindful of the time and a good reading speed is an asset.

Bibli · Answer

Thanks Karishma... after reading your reply i felt that i'm not alone who 'd like to reread the passage. I will try to summarize each para and the quick pts in 10 secs. I like this strategy, will try it today when i give my verbal test.

gurpreetsingh · Answer

Practical advice.

With just a week left you can not magically improve your RC skills, but what you can do now is to cope with your limitations and practice as much as you can to understand when to give up on RC question. The time spent on RC question that you can not answer could be used for SC CR.

Same way if you are good at SC and CR, you can spend the time saved from these two question types on RC questions by giving more time to RC.

The only way to make your subconscious mind to remember such things is by practising full length test. Just make sure you do not lose your confidence and spirits. This is just a test and by losing your temper you will only harm your score. So when we know something can only harm, why to do it?

Still at the end if you think you can improve your RC performance if you are given more time, better postpone it.

Not getting anywhere with RCs

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