Reading Comprehension Strategy

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riteshbindal
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Topic: Reading Comprehension Strategy
PostThu Oct 01, 2009 9:13 pm
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Hi,
I just wanted to discuss and get your valuable opinions about my RC strategy and the changes which I am planning to make.
Currently, I make brief notes for RC, although I never refer them later except for questions such as what is the purpose of this passage. I also finish the RC questions on an avg of 1.5 mins/question.

However, I have read in some posts of high scorers (760 and above) that they didnt make any notes.
I have 3 weeks in hand for my G day. Should I start practicing to do RCs without making notes? It may save lot of time which can be spent on CR.

Please advice.

Thanks.
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beatthegmat
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PostFri Oct 02, 2009 10:53 am
In my opinion, I think that Reading Comprehension is the most difficult part of the GMAT to advise students. The reason why is that different strategies work for different students--it really comes down to the individual.

My advice is to test a variety of techniques in your RC approach and see which one yields the best results. Some strategies that you may want to try:

  • Taking notes about each passage as you read.
  • Reading the entire passage carefully before you answer any questions, no notes.
  • Reading the entire passage, then creating an outline of the data you've covered, then answering questions.

It will take some practice and time to figure out which technique works best for you. But it's well worth the time.

Good luck!
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riteshbindal
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PostFri Oct 02, 2009 11:25 am
Thanks a lot Eric. You rock!
I will keep you updated on my strategy Very Happy
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beatthegmat
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PostFri Oct 02, 2009 11:26 am
Please do, and good luck!
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heshamelaziry
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PostThu Oct 08, 2009 10:53 am
I take notes of information as I read. I try to sense which information can be used for inference, i.e opposite of what is stated, or simple fact, i.e a certain era in history is recognized by certain peole to be of such importance.

I found out that taking notes of each passage is time consuming for me, specially when I deal with passages of scientific complexity; I don't know what notes to take or how to label the passage effectively.

Thanks for the poster of this thread. I noticed that there is not much difference in taking notes religiously and taking notes as to what appears to be a potential question material or not taking notes at all.
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riteshbindal
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PostThu Oct 08, 2009 10:59 am
Hi,
Just an update on this. I did 5 passages without making notes and 5 passages with notes. Surprisingly, my strike rate was same with both the strategies but certainly I was saving more time without making notes.
Now, I am training my head to be independent of notes Very Happy Let's see how it goes. Next test, I will take without taking notes on RC and check the results with previous tests.
You need to check the strike rate in test situations to know if the strategy is working or not.
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NikolayZ
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PostThu Oct 08, 2009 11:59 am
Hey mate!
Definitely, as Erik said, it is individual for everyone how to attack RC q's. For me, it is also the hardest part of GMAT, in that I am not native speaker and don't have much experience in dealing with passages like GMAT's.
Taking notes didn't work for me as well. But one thing that worked for me is highlighting (in your mind) the signal words. however, "should", "must", consequently and so on. It is really helpful in answering general questions.

I think taking notes might be very powerful tool in dealing RC, but if you have only 2-3 weeks until the exam, it may be more useful to take another strategy as your main one.

Btw, also have GMAT in 3 weeks.
Wish you good luck !
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heshamelaziry
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PostThu Oct 08, 2009 6:35 pm
NikolayZ wrote:
Hey mate!
Definitely, as Erik said, it is individual for everyone how to attack RC q's. For me, it is also the hardest part of GMAT, in that I am not native speaker and don't have much experience in dealing with passages like GMAT's.
Taking notes didn't work for me as well. But one thing that worked for me is highlighting (in your mind) the signal words. however, "should", "must", consequently and so on. It is really helpful in answering general questions.

I think taking notes might be very powerful tool in dealing RC, but if you have only 2-3 weeks until the exam, it may be more useful to take another strategy as your main one.

Btw, also have GMAT in 3 weeks.
Wish you good luck !
I am not a native speaker too, so I struggle with word meanings. I tried to write down the meanings for the words that I do not understand, after looking them up in the dictionary, but I won't catch every word the GMAT uses; I need years to do this.

I find RC to be the most difficult of the verbal part. However, I find Math most challenging for me overall. I am shocked how most people do well in Math !!!!! I find Math to be so tricky and has nothing to do with any Math we learn in the undergraduate, because they are all word problems. Moreover, some problem in OG 12 can never be figured out in 2 minutes.

I will take the test on the 26th.
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brick2009
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PostMon Oct 12, 2009 8:54 am
Taking notes helps.. only if you practice not to refer back to the passage 'ever' again..Wink..else it is waste of time.

I have practiced by taking notes and i make an effort not to look up the passage until its necessary. That way.. u realize what you are missing in your notes.

Make sure, you note down the key words, indicators and any C---> E ..

not taking notes is little risky, if you have short term memory loss problems.. which i do..Wink
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