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RC Strategy - Need Help !!!

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RC Strategy - Need Help !!!

by MakeUrTimeCount » Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:47 am
Hi,
I am preparing for GMAT and feels bit short in RC.
I am able to complete the practise tests well within time and provide the correct response on 2nd attempt of most of the RC questions, I answered wrong on very first attempt.
The topics where I am not up to the mark are mostly US history and geological events.

Some of the strategies, I am using are:
- Read news articles to incresed the reading speed.
- Basic understanding of US history to enhance initial knowledge.
- Make notes while reading the passage.
Still my success ratio is less than 70%.

I would really appreciate, if you could please suggest some strategies to overcome this problem.

Thanks
Mohit
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by sam2304 » Sat Jan 14, 2012 9:27 am
RC is one of the toughest section in GMAT and it takes both time and effort to improve on it. Unless we get used to applying the right technique we can never improve. Nothing really worked out pretty well for me reading articles, newspaper, journals, taking large amt of notes.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/first-take-6 ... 98984.html
Check out the tips given by pemdas in the above link - you have to do this if you have to improve on RC. Try to understand the structure of the passage and don't bug with details.

Check out September 9, 2010 and August 19, 2010 videos from thursdays with ron - manhattan site. Have a look at other videos on RCs as well.

Check out this link for patanjali's attempt on how to apply ron's technique in other passages.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/ron-s-techni ... tml#357332

Initially it will be difficult to apply, but once you get used to it your performance will improve. Apply the same principle while reading newspapers, journals etc. Try to practice 2 or 3 RCs daily. Make it a habit. And do time the RCs. Use only Official resources and don't go for other resources. From my personal experience my RC accuracy has improved from 60% to more than 85% now, i make 1 or 2 mistakes per passage at the max in OG passages - they have a minimum of 5/6 questions which is different from GMAT. Yet to take a mock and check it out. Hope this helps :)
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by MakeUrTimeCount » Sat Jan 14, 2012 9:46 am
Thanks Sam.
Will surely go through the material and monitor the performance.

My performance while working on OG RCs were much better but since I have started working on GMAT SET and other resources, there is on dip such that in my latest Veritas test, out of 12 wrong responses , 8 were from RC and 7 of them were from 2 passages.
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by sam2304 » Sat Jan 14, 2012 9:57 am
MakeUrTimeCount wrote:Thanks Sam.
Will surely go through the material and monitor the performance.

My performance while working on OG RCs were much better but since I have started working on GMAT SET and other resources, there is on dip such that in my latest Veritas test, out of 12 wrong responses , 8 were from RC and 7 of them were from 2 passages.
Try to reduce your mistakes. The more mistakes you make in RC the more your scores drop drastically as you are making continuous mistakes. My 1 or 2 mistakes are always inference questions. So try to find which type of questions you make more mistakes. Once you get to know that, you can either try to improve on it or else just accept the fact that you can't crack it so guess and move on. You can gain time for other questions and nail them. I am trying both ways. We are all in the same boat mate :)
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by MakeUrTimeCount » Sat Jan 14, 2012 2:19 pm
In Ron's terminology, It is bad thing that we don't fall in the group that memorize everything and the good thing is also the same. :)
Let's pick up the Passages which we found difficult and discuss to get 2nd view. Hope we will sort out our problems overselves preety soon and sail the boat, we are in, to the shore successfully.

I gues we could start with 2 passages each for a week and feel the difference. What say ?
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by VivianKerr » Sat Jan 14, 2012 9:45 pm
I agree with everything posted, and ultimately you'll have to find your own method, but here are a few tips I suggest:

Always, always write down a Prediction. For each question (except for very specific Inference questions) you should be able to come up with your own answer based on your notes and your understanding of the passage. Trust that you can come up with a reasonable approximation of the correct choice on your own. Process of elimination is a much more effective method than simply reading and re-reading each choice.

Remember that Details support Functions. If a question asks you why the author includes a specific detail from the passage, consider that all the details within a paragraph are generally used to support the function of that paragraph. To answer specific detail questions, sometimes you need to take a step back and ask, what's the function of the paragraph that the detail is found in?

Focus on structure - go back for detail. When you read the first time, think more about HOW the passage is put together, structurally. How does each paragraph fit into the author's main idea? How does the author develop his discussion of the topic? You can always go back for the nitty-gritty details, and if you worry too much about the subject matter it's easy to get overwhelmed, especially if it is especially complex or unfamiliar.

Look for concessions. Sometimes the author will have a very strong opinion and argue it throughout the passage, and then will unexpectedly stop and make a concession to the opposing side, seeming to weaken his argument. Don't let it throw you. Whatever the author spends the most time focused on is his true thesis - he may just have some reservations about one or more aspects of it.

Good luck!
Vivian Kerr
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Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor, freelance GMAT content creator, now offering affordable, effective, Skype-tutoring for the GMAT at $150/hr. Contact: [email protected]

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by MakeUrTimeCount » Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:11 am
Thanks a ton Vivian.
Will keep your suggestion in mind. :)
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