Hello..
I was curious if anyone has tried comparing strategies that are for/against note taking for CR and RC sections. What worked for you and what didn't and why?
Though the note making strategy makes sense in general, I constantly find myself thinking that I may use up more time in taking notes than focusing on the question and nuances in the question. I am curious to know your thoughts..
Thanks,
Bullzi
Corrected a typo..
CR and RC - Notes?
This topic has expert replies
GMAT/MBA Expert
- [email protected]
- Elite Legendary Member
- Posts: 10392
- Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pm
- Location: Palo Alto, CA
- Thanked: 2867 times
- Followed by:511 members
- GMAT Score:800
Hi Bullzi,
Note-taking is beneficial for a number of reasons. By taking the proper notes, you won't have to reread and reread the prompt very often (except when a specific RC question requires that you go back and find a piece of information). You'll also find it easier to 'map out' the point of the prompt, what opinions (if any) are offered, the logical argument involved, etc. When done correctly, it's actually a BIG time-SAVER and it helps you to score higher.
From a big-picture standpoint, you also have to realize how having this skill will benefit you in Business School. When you're reading through a dense 'case study', you will NOT be able to memorize everything (and the questions that you're going to attempt to answer won't be multiple choice) - your notes (and note-taking skills) will be ESSENTIAL to succeeding in each of your Business School classes, group projects, etc.
Ultimately, you shouldn't be thinking about whether or not to take notes. You should be thinking about how efficiently you can go about building up those skills.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Note-taking is beneficial for a number of reasons. By taking the proper notes, you won't have to reread and reread the prompt very often (except when a specific RC question requires that you go back and find a piece of information). You'll also find it easier to 'map out' the point of the prompt, what opinions (if any) are offered, the logical argument involved, etc. When done correctly, it's actually a BIG time-SAVER and it helps you to score higher.
From a big-picture standpoint, you also have to realize how having this skill will benefit you in Business School. When you're reading through a dense 'case study', you will NOT be able to memorize everything (and the questions that you're going to attempt to answer won't be multiple choice) - your notes (and note-taking skills) will be ESSENTIAL to succeeding in each of your Business School classes, group projects, etc.
Ultimately, you shouldn't be thinking about whether or not to take notes. You should be thinking about how efficiently you can go about building up those skills.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Thanks for your response Rich
I actually started realizing that the issue may be with my note-taking skills and not actually with the note-taking strategy itself. I guess I may have to get used to taking short meaningful notes without bothering too much about the clock ticking away
That's a big motivation! Let me tweak my note-taking strategies, practice some and figure out if I get better. Let me post again if I have specific questions on note-taking
Thanks,
Bullzi
I actually started realizing that the issue may be with my note-taking skills and not actually with the note-taking strategy itself. I guess I may have to get used to taking short meaningful notes without bothering too much about the clock ticking away
When done correctly, it's actually a BIG time-SAVER and it helps you to score higher.
That's a big motivation! Let me tweak my note-taking strategies, practice some and figure out if I get better. Let me post again if I have specific questions on note-taking
Thanks,
Bullzi
GMAT/MBA Expert
- ceilidh.erickson
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2095
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
- Thanked: 1443 times
- Followed by:247 members
I'm going to go against the grain a bit and contradict standard advice (including what's offered in Mprep guides): I actually think that most students shouldn't take notes, or at least shouldn't take many notes.
That doesn't mean that I think that note-taking is useless. Quite the contrary - certain types of note-taking can be very helpful in decoding and understanding the structure of a passage. However, I find that a majority of my students take notes that don't help them in any way.
The problem is that we were trained to take notes in high school and college; those notes:
- focused on details
- were designed to help us remember facts
On the GMAT, those objectives are useless. You should only take notes on the GMAT if:
- writing helps you to stay focused / organized
- you focus on the STRUCTURE of the passage, not the details
I recommend performing your own experiment: try 3 RC passages taking notes, then try 3 with no notes at all. See if there is a difference in your accuracy. If notes improve accuracy, take them. If they don't - save time by skipping them.
For CR, most questions (strengthen, weaken, assumption, flaw, evaluate) will rely in some way on what's MISSING in an argument, not on what's there. For that reason, I don't recommend transcribing what's actually stated in the passage. I do recommend jotting down a note about the logical flaw / missing piece in the argument.
Hope this helps!
That doesn't mean that I think that note-taking is useless. Quite the contrary - certain types of note-taking can be very helpful in decoding and understanding the structure of a passage. However, I find that a majority of my students take notes that don't help them in any way.
The problem is that we were trained to take notes in high school and college; those notes:
- focused on details
- were designed to help us remember facts
On the GMAT, those objectives are useless. You should only take notes on the GMAT if:
- writing helps you to stay focused / organized
- you focus on the STRUCTURE of the passage, not the details
I recommend performing your own experiment: try 3 RC passages taking notes, then try 3 with no notes at all. See if there is a difference in your accuracy. If notes improve accuracy, take them. If they don't - save time by skipping them.
For CR, most questions (strengthen, weaken, assumption, flaw, evaluate) will rely in some way on what's MISSING in an argument, not on what's there. For that reason, I don't recommend transcribing what's actually stated in the passage. I do recommend jotting down a note about the logical flaw / missing piece in the argument.
Hope this helps!
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Jim@StratusPrep
- MBA Admissions Consultant
- Posts: 2279
- Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:51 am
- Location: New York
- Thanked: 660 times
- Followed by:266 members
- GMAT Score:770
First off all, this is a case by case scenario. Some should take notes and others shouldn't; it all depends on how you can internalize information. However, I personally think that you should try to keep notes (if you take them at all) to a minimum. Do the least amount of work that you can to understand the subject and structure of the argument. If you can nail those 2 parts, then CR questions start to become much easier.
GMAT Answers provides a world class adaptive learning platform.
-- Push button course navigation to simplify planning
-- Daily assignments to fit your exam timeline
-- Organized review that is tailored based on your abiility
-- 1,000s of unique GMAT questions
-- 100s of handwritten 'digital flip books' for OG questions
-- 100% Free Trial and less than $20 per month after.
-- Free GMAT Quantitative Review
-- Push button course navigation to simplify planning
-- Daily assignments to fit your exam timeline
-- Organized review that is tailored based on your abiility
-- 1,000s of unique GMAT questions
-- 100s of handwritten 'digital flip books' for OG questions
-- 100% Free Trial and less than $20 per month after.
-- Free GMAT Quantitative Review