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Number and length of passages

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Number and length of passages

by NewBee » Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:30 pm
Hello Friends,

Please help me on the following questions.

I would like to know typicall how many of the passages will be long and how many of them will be short.

Would that depend on the current score.

Do the questions of an RC vary depending on the correctness of previous question or a passage comes with a fixed set of three/four questions.

Thanks for your reply.

Cheers!!
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by Testluv » Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:35 pm
I would like to know typicall how many of the passages will be long and how many of them will be short.
The most common pattern is two long and two short. You will get, in total, three or four passages, each with three or four questions.
Would that depend on the current score.
No. There are difficult short passages in addition to difficult long passages. (In other words, length of passage isn't the only way the test-maker can make a passage tough. A passage can be tough because it is highly technical or highly abstract. A passage can be tough because the author's tone may be very neutral and it may be difficult to ascertain the author's purpose in writing. A passage itself can be fairly straightforward but the questions can be tough. Etc.)
Do the questions of an RC vary depending on the correctness of previous question or a passage comes with a fixed set of three/four questions.
To the best of my knowledge, questions can very depending on the correctness of previous questions within the passage. That would explain why, although on the test you will get 3/4 questions per passage, in the OG there are many passages with many more than 3/4 questions.
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by NewBee » Sun Jan 03, 2010 12:41 am
When you call it a long passage, how many lines would it be.

The passages generally have line number written alongside. So in a long passage the line number would go to 45 or 50 or 55 ?
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by Testluv » Sun Jan 03, 2010 12:44 am
The passages generally have line number written alongside. So in a long passage the line number would go to 45 or 50 or 55 ?
Yeah, I would say 45 is longish for sure, and that 50+ is certainly long for GMAT. Remember that they won't be using lines on the real test though (they stopped doing that a while ago). Instead, if there is a certain part of the passage that a question refers to directly, that part of the passage will usually be highlighted---like how it is on the GMAT prep tests.
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by NewBee » Sun Jan 03, 2010 12:58 am
Thanks Testluv.

Could you please post an RC passage that you recon would come at around score of 720.

Cheers!!
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by Testluv » Sun Jan 03, 2010 1:02 am
NewBee wrote:Thanks Testluv.

Could you please post an RC passage that you recon would come at around score of 720.

Cheers!!
Oh no, I couldn't do that...it would take way too long! (I answer questions, I don't post them! ;) )

But recently I looked at this passage: https://www.beatthegmat.com/physicists-a ... 49782.html

which would definitely come in at 750+ on the GMAT.
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by deepakdewani » Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:16 am
But recently I looked at this passage: https://www.beatthegmat.com/physicists-a ... 49782.html

which would definitely come in at 750+ on the GMAT.
Glad you say that...I was on cloud nine when I got 4 out of 7 correct!!!

But I agree that this was an interesting read even though it was obviously not a straightforward one (which 750+ passages are not expected to be anyways, right?)
Greed is good!
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by NewBee » Sun Jan 03, 2010 12:07 pm
I dread RC like anything, while I am relatively comfortable with SC and CR. It affects the performance of other sections.

I was wondering weather it would be a good strategy to devote almost no time to the RC questons which I do not get straight away, which would mean as many as 6 wrong in RC ,and to achieve a great score in SC and RC, say two wrong in SC+CR. Where will this strategy take me.

Any idea. Thanks a lot for yur help.

Cheers!!
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by Testluv » Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:23 pm
I was wondering weather it would be a good strategy to devote almost no time to the RC questons which I do not get straight away, which would mean as many as 6 wrong in RC ,and to achieve a great score in SC and RC, say two wrong in SC+CR. Where will this strategy take me
I don't think that is a good strategy at all. You will end up getting three or four in a row wrong, and that will hurt you more than the saved time will help you. You are better off thinking about your procedure, and trying to learn and internalize a good method for RC.
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by gmattering » Tue Jan 12, 2010 10:12 am
Testluv wrote:
I was wondering weather it would be a good strategy to devote almost no time to the RC questons which I do not get straight away, which would mean as many as 6 wrong in RC ,and to achieve a great score in SC and RC, say two wrong in SC+CR. Where will this strategy take me
I don't think that is a good strategy at all. You will end up getting three or four in a row wrong, and that will hurt you more than the saved time will help you. You are better off thinking about your procedure, and trying to learn and internalize a good method for RC.
actually i was toying with this strategy too, i was focusing on CR/SC and thought of sailing through RC esp when the passage is very long and abstract (for e.g. those of scientific nature which really throws me off) but i have decided to spread my efforts on all 3 components: unless i get a really tough RC and i keep losing the contents.
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