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Length of RC passages

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by Mormuse » Wed Sep 11, 2013 6:08 am
Can someone confirm an information (not that it is crucial to know it, but still...)?
I find all kinds of contractidory information on the web regarding RC passages length. However, when I go on mba.com (https://www.mba.com/the-gmat/test-struct ... ction.aspx),
it says: "Reading Comprehension passages are up to 350 words long. Topics contain material from the social sciences, physical or biological sciences, and business-related areas (marketing, economics, human resource management, etc.)."
Are passages longer than 350 words (lot of people are saying 350 to 500...)?
Thank you!
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by TheGmatTutor » Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:03 am
If you review the passages in the Official Guide, nearly all of them appear to be under 350 words. The Official Guide is the best representation of the actual exam.

Here's a good summary from Magoosh:

https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-readi ... hension-2/
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by [email protected] » Fri Sep 13, 2013 1:03 pm
Hi claudayst,

The length and content of GMAT RC prompts will vary, but your approach to handling RC should not.

Most Test Takers see either 2 short and 2 long prompts OR 1 short, 2 medium and 1 long prompt.

From a content standpoint, you're likely to see 1 "business" prompt and 1 "tough science" prompt; the other 2 prompts can come from a variety of categories, including history, humanities, art, other science, etc. As your score goes up in the Verbal, you're more likely to see additional science prompts.

Stay calm, take good notes and make sure you understand the types of RC questions (and the types of wrong answers and how to avoid them) and you'll find that RC is more a measure of your organization than anything else.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by mevicks » Tue Oct 01, 2013 12:47 am
claudayst wrote: Are passages longer than 350 words (lot of people are saying 350 to 500...)?
To be frank I had the very same doubt when I started my preparation. And yes my research says that certain OG13 questions are longer than 350 words. And going by the bible of GMAT we can expect a very long passage on the real thing!

Passage length for Questions 134-139 = 464 words
Passage length for Questions 93-98 = 453 words
Passage length for Questions 63-68 = 448 words
Passage length for Questions 8-10 = 454 words


Hope that helps,
Vivek
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by vinay1983 » Tue Oct 01, 2013 1:09 am
mevicks wrote:
claudayst wrote: Are passages longer than 350 words (lot of people are saying 350 to 500...)?
To be frank I had the very same doubt when I started my preparation. And yes my research says that certain OG13 questions are longer than 350 words. And going by the bible of GMAT we can expect a very long passage on the real thing!

Passage length for Questions 134-139 = 464 words
Passage length for Questions 93-98 = 453 words
Passage length for Questions 63-68 = 448 words
Passage length for Questions 8-10 = 454 words


Hope that helps,
Vivek
That's a neat stat Vivek!
You can, for example never foretell what any one man will do, but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to!
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