RC strategy for non-English-native speakers(me!)

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Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2009 7:56 pm
Location: Japan
Hello everyone,

I have actually been sneaking around, grabbing as much advice as I can for the past weeks, so I figure out it's time for me to drop by and say Hi.

Hi! :)

First of all, I want to thank everyone for all your wonderful feedback and advice. Weeks ago, I was having a hard time with my RCs until I came across this great forum. And after few mths practising Rcs(did like ~50 passages and still going..), I can tell that I'd improved. But still, given my current pace and deadline, I won't be able to reach my target , so I'm seeking all possible advice to help me out.

My background:
MechEng graduate from US university, currently working in Japan.
Reading skills: 235wpm, 70% comprenhension

GMAT Materials:
OG 10,11,
Manhattan GMAT
Kaplan
Babson

My problems with articles that I'm not interested.
A) My 'Wander'ful mind :?
I have a hard time focusing when reading uninterested topics, and due to some 'unforseen' reasons, I tend to have little interests in most of the RCs passages.
B) Given the above A situation, I found it hard to 'digest' or rephrase what I read with any RC passages.
The longer or complicated(meaning objects, verbs, phrases all over a sentence non-regular sentence format Sub+Pred+Obj) the sentence is, the harder for me to recall. Example, assuming a sentence goes like this, ABC....HIJK...XYZ. When I am at XYZ, I will be like, what was ABC? and Was it HIJK. or JKIH or HJIK...etc if you know what I mean.
C) When it comes to detailed questions(everything exept...Qs, Roman style Qs), no matter how detailed I read thru' during my 1st reading, I will still go back and reread the passage because I'm worried I might miss out some pts.

Focusing on my 3 huge weaknesses listed a bove, these are the strategies/goals I had set to improve my RC.

D) Read only what is required to answer questions.
Only drill into the topic sentences of each para, esp 1st and last paragraph.
E) Look for KEYWORDS, and WRITE THEM DOWN.
F) After reading the entire passage, try to rephrase the entire passage with the keywords jotted down.

At the same time, I'm also thinking about different strategies for different passages(science, social study, business related).
X) For science passages
Since most Qs will be asking for details. So no need to go through the entire passage. Quick glance thru' the passage then dive into the Qs. Answer the questions at the same time trying to understand the passage.
Y) For social studies
Since Qs always involve author's opinion/tone, I will go thru' the entire passage, but will do the
Z) For Business related passages
Depending on the types of Qs encounter, will either go with X method or Y method.

My questions for everyone:
1. Does anyone find the above methods too extreme, meaning a higher risk to miss any Qs?
2. Any feedback, thoughts, 2-cents, is VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!
Source: — Reading Comprehension |