Struggling with RC timing & "specific" questions

Question

Hey Guys,

RC has been such a pain for me. Here's where I am struggling. Would appreciate if RC rock stars here can help with some advice:

Managing reading time 
- Usually I take 4.5 mins to read the passage & be ready with a passage map
- This 4.5 mins is during practice sessions, on my mocks this tends to go higher
- This leads to panic & eats my accuracy in CR & SC since I have to start catching up on lost time

Answering "specific" questions 
- I am generally more confident on "general questions" like main idea, purpose etc
- But specific questions demand that I get into nitty-gritties
- Since I usually skim the passage on my first time read, it's hard to look up the right segment of the passage. There are a times when a tiny detail from the 1st para becomes the deal breaker for a question which makes me focus on the 3rd para (I check for language similarity in the question stem to identify the para I should be focusing)

Managing error log 
- I am seeing myself making same mistakes again & again
- Wondering how can I inculcate the practice of not repeating same mistake again & again
- Can you help me structure my error log for RC better?

Hope to hear from you guys. Would be happy to know from you if you have some tricks up your sleeve.

Thanks!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi 2014ABPS0862P,

Many GMATers face pacing issues in the Quant section, the Verbal section or both – so you are not alone. However, it's important to remember that pacing problems do NOT exist on their own - they're the results of OTHER problems. Based on the information that you have provided so far, you have already identified one of the reasons why your pacing problems and accuracy issues exist: you're "skimming" the prompt during your first read-through (and 'skimming' is one of the worst things that you can do if you want to earn a high Score). You do NOT need to be a 'fast' reader to score at a high level on the GMAT, but you have to be an 'active' reader and take the proper notes AS you read. Those are skills that you can readily learn, but you have to commit to training in a certain way. Those skills will actually help you to improve in ALL sections of the GMAT - and will be useful in Business School and beyond - so there are several long-term benefits to developing those skills.

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

2014ABPS0862P · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

Please find my responses below

1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
About 4 months, studying 12 hours per week approximately

2) What study materials have you used so far?
SC - Manhattan
RC - Manhattan
CR - Powerscore CR Bible
Quant - Not preparing for quant since scores have been mostly 48/49/50

3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Date 31/05 16/06 28/06 3/07. 23/07
Total 680 710 680 680 650
Quant 50 47 46 49. 50
Verbal 31 40 37 34. 28

4) What is your overall goal score? 700 plus
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT? within a month
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
Not applying to a Bschool within the next one year. Idea is to get done with the exam so that I can focus on my profile in the coming years

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi 2014ABPS0862P,

Studying for the GMAT now - far in advance of when you will actually 'need' your Score - is a smart choice.

Your overall CAT Scores show that you are a strong overall critical-thinker, but the 'swings' in your Scores imply that you might be 'winging it' a bit too often in the Verbal section. For example, if you frequently 'narrow the answers down to 2 choices' in the Verbal section (instead of using the proper Tactics that can help you to define what the correct answer will look like), then probability dictates that you will likely get only about half of those questions correct. On certain days, you might be 'luckier' or 'unluckier' than normal - and that leaves a lot of potential points up to chance.

1) Are you taking the At-home GMAT or are you taking your GMAT at a Testing Facility? Do you have a Test appointment scheduled yet?
2) What 'brands' of CATs/mocks have you used so far? 
3) How did you perform on RC, SC and CR on this last CAT?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi 2014ABPS0862P,

Since you have a number of questions related to Reading Comprehension, would you like some general advice on how to improve your RC skills?

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi,

I can understand that solving RC questions can be tricky. It requires the right reading strategies to answer the questions correctly. Let me share my insights on what should be your approach.

Managing time: 
As you told about your time management concerns, I would recommend you to not time yourself while you are in learning stage. By the end of this post, you would understand a new approach of how to solve RC questions, so, while practising that method, makes sure to focus on the process. Once you master the skill, time will automatically fall into place.

Answering specific questions: 
It is good that you are confident of solving inferential questions. Most people struggle with that. The reason you are facing difficulty in solving the specific questions might be because you skim through the passage. This is something you mentioned and it is never a good idea to skim through the passage. It is true that you should not stuff yourselves with the facts and details while reading a passage, this doesn’t mean that you have to skim it. Every sentence is important and it is important to read the entire passage carefully because you never know where the important information lies. While reading make a mental note of what the individual paragraph is talking about. This will make it easy for you to go back and search the answer when you come across detailed questions.

The general approach of how to read a passage: 
You have to read the passage with an open mind, leaving all the unnecessary baggage. GMAT gives you ample amount of information in the passage. It does not test your knowledge on topics such as physics, political science. You need to read the passage in an inferential manner so that you can draw the right inferences and understand the intention behind writing the passage. Make sure to note down what the individual para is talking about. You can write it down during the initial stages of learning and once you are used to it, you can make a mental note. There is a process called “Involved and Evolved Reading” which helps you read a passage effectively. You can refer to the following video to understand the strategy of “Involved and Evolved Reading”.

Managing errorlog: 
I recommend you to start solving RC questions using the above-mentioned strategy. I’m sure you’ll not be repeating the mistakes you did earlier. If you do a few mistakes, make sure to go through the solution and identify what was the difference between your approach and the right approach. This will help you overcome your weaker areas and will help you in mastering the skill.

Hope it helped! If you wish to know more about how to solve RC questions and anything general regarding GMAT Study Strategy, you can schedule a free consultation call using the below link.

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Struggling with RC timing & "specific" questions

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