RC

Question

There are times when I lose the flow of what I am reading

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi PurvaG,

Great question — and you're definitely not alone in this. Losing the thread mid-passage is one of the most common RC struggles, and the good news is it has a very fixable root cause.

The real issue: passive vs. active reading 
Most of us grew up reading for enjoyment — relaxed, low-stakes, letting words wash over us. GMAT RC requires the opposite. Think of it less like reading a magazine and more like a wrestling match with the passage. You have to show up fully engaged, not just let your eyes move across the screen.
When you lose the flow, it almost always means one of two things: you're moving too fast, or you're not genuinely interested in what you're reading. Both have solutions.

Slow down and check in as you go 
Read only as fast as you can  fully understand  — not skim-and-hope. After each sentence, pause briefly and ask:  Do I actually know what that said?  After each paragraph, ask:  What was the point of that?  The moment comprehension drops, stop. Back up a sentence or two and reread carefully. It feels slower, but you'll actually save time because you won't need to reread the entire passage before answering questions.

Fake interest until it's real 
This sounds odd, but it works. Every passage has something interesting in it — a controversy, an unexpected finding, a problem someone is trying to solve. Make it your job to find that thread. When you're curious, your brain engages and retains far more. When you're just trying to "get through it," comprehension collapses. Even on a dry biology or economics passage, ask yourself:  Why does this matter? What's the debate here?
 
 Visualize as you read 
Instead of just processing words, try to build a mental movie. If the passage describes an experiment, picture it happening. If it's about a historical dispute, picture two people arguing. This forces your brain to actively process the content rather than letting it in one eye and out the other. It sounds small, but it's remarkably effective for staying locked in.

Look for the simple story 
Every RC passage — no matter how dense — has a simple story underneath. Before diving into questions, try to summarize what you just read in one or two plain sentences, as if you were explaining it to a friend. If you can do that, your comprehension is where it needs to be. If you can't, that's your signal to reread before moving on.

Give those a try and let me know how it goes!

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