struggling with RC,pls help

Question

hi ,
i dont know whether i can post such querry in this forum....

i have been preparing for gmat for last couple of months but i have always been a slow reader..so unable to improve my RC skills....that is really hurting my score in practice exams.....because RC eats up all my time..i always find myself short of time in practice exams

im constantly scoring around 630(Q 49,v27) ....but need close to 700....

pls give ur valuable suggestions ...im losing all my hope...

thanks in anticiaption...

BarneyStinson · Answer

Don't you worry dear!!! A lot of us are pretty much sailing in the same boat. Read this

RC Strategies

A few insights from my end.

1) Don't hurry. Keep it completely out of your perspective to hurry up with the questions while you are practising. If your test is coming soon, I'd suggest postpone it, your verbal scores need tremendous improvement.

2) Read, learn to read, and when you are reading, comprehend continuously. Pay attention, attention to detail. You don't have to memorize but you should know exactly what each sentence and paragraph intend to portray.

3) Focus greater on SC and CR. Most strategies applicable for SC and CR are also applicable for RC. If your CR improves, am sure RC can follow closely.

4) Learn to stay alert and attentive, this is very very essential. Especially when you feel drained, and your brain asks for a time-out, that's when you should start reading more. Read news magazines, websites, opinions, blogs anything and everything on the internet. Just read.

I hope all that helps!!!! My SC and CR have improved considerably, at least I believe so and seem to me like my efforts have paid off in elevating my confidence so far. But RC still remains a challenge for me too. Currently, am working on the above strategies. If anyone else can suggest with anything more impacting, we'd all be grateful.

bakfed · Answer

Hi Shalu, my post isn't probably going to help you, but I want to let you know that there's definitely hope.

I used to not be able to read critically. I scored poorly on reading comprehension related materials. After a tough time trying to understand myself as to why I can't read, a big problem arises - I wasn't taking anything in. Throughout high school, I read line by line, but not by taking things in. I pretended and acted as if I were reading, but surely enough, I wasn't. For my reading homework, I would read it but not take anything in...but it made me feel like I still did my homework (don't know if you know what I'm saying). Anyway, in college, I began to understand why I was never able to completely comprehend a reading...because I wasn't taking anything in. Once I figured out the problem, I tackled it head on. I started reading passages and ask myself everytime I finish a sentence - why did the author tell me this? This is extremely tedious (and boring), but it helped me understand the passage as a whole and helped me gauge in what the primary meaning behind each passage means. This worked for me and I can see that as an improvement as I prep for GMAT reading section. If this sounds like your problem as well, maybe it's best to push back your test and really practice on reading. Or if you feel like you can improve a substantial amount of score on SC and CR, perhaps you'll be alright.

I'm not sure if this helps you at all, but this is my own personal experience and nightmare. It definitely took time to fix th eproblem, but in the end, it worked for me.

shaz24 · Answer

Yes, Even I have the same problem. I read the passage like a news paper, accepting all the facts given without questioning "why".Reading the passage critically is the key, and trying to do this in 2-3 mins is a challenge

nsp007 · Answer

Thanks for those insights Barney !

calvinhobbes · Answer

Thanks. This helps a lot!

Hussain15 · Answer

Is there any generaly accepted principle regarding RC time per question?

I mean if there are 6 questions in a long RC, & if I answer the 6 questions in 12 minutes (including the time to read the pessage), can it be treated as a normal time to solve RC??

BarneyStinson · Answer

Glad I could help so far.

Hussain, don't think about time spent on answering questions. Just think about doing questions promptly, and quickly. The challenge lies in not distracting yourself about how much time was spent or how much more time would be needed or how much time is left anymore. The challenge actually lies in reading the passage, understanding the question stem, and the five answer options and coming up with an appropriate choice, as quickly as you can. Focus is the key. If your focus and concentration is perfect, nothing on GMAT is vague and incomprehensible.

Work on improving performance rather than trying to be timely.

iambroke · Answer

RC is a bit tough to me as well......this tips might help ... thanks:)

shalu · Answer

thanks a lot barney for your time and your valuable insights....

gauravnagpal · Answer

HI 
I agree with Barney on this . 
I will share my experience.I started my prep. about one month back . I assumed I will do very good in RC . (but not to be )

my mistakes. 
1 Started off with paper test for RC . I was doing well and thought that RC was done but not to be . As I started taking the test on the laptop i realised it was very difficult for me to concentrate on the screen ( as u cant scribble anything or underline etc .)

2 I used to literally attack the RC ....used to read at a great speed but absobed nothing .I was always under the pressure of time.
my advise

3 Lost concentration on easy passages - not sure whether I can say this but I feel that easier the page more tricky are the questions . So whenever I found that passage was easy and of my interest , I used to increase the speed and often missed some key words. Often incorrectly answered the inference questions and fact based questions . ( becasuse I used to answer from outside the passage )

My suggestion would be :
1 please after 3-4 sentence pause for 2 -3 seconds to understand in your mind what has been stated in the passage.

2 try to form a chain of events in the passage ( i know this has been said in the forum time and again )

3 please dont dont dont hurry up .

4 pls dont feel bad if u have to refer to the passage to answer the questions . I used to feel terrible but I have accepted that its OK . the chain of events will let u find the exact spot where u can find the answers...

not that I score 10/10 in every pasage but I am improving ..
sound like a professor but just see if it helps

All the best ..

struggling with RC,pls help

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