Reading Comprehension is Like Speed Dating

by , May 26, 2013

Imagine two friends, Gina and Tina, who are going to a speed-dating event. Gina really,reallywants a boyfriend. Tina is just going because Gina dragged her there, and shes only willing to date someone who is perfect for her.

At the event, Gina finds herself liking every guy she meets: Guy #1 is smart and successful, so it makes sense that hes proud of his accomplishments. Guy #2 is really funny and clever. The waiter just didnt understand his jokes. Tina, on the other hand, has a very different impression of these guys: Guy 1 has been bragging about himself the whole time, and seems arrogant. Guy 2 thinks hes funny, but hes actually being cruel and making fun of people.

At the end of the event, Gina cant decide which of the guys she likes best, because shes found reasons to like all of them and shes overlooked any reasonsnotto like them. Tina, however, was looking for reasons not to date these guys, so she noticed the dealbreaker flaws. She manages to whittle the list down to one guy whose personality matched hers.

Of course, dating is subjective, and what might be a dealbreaker for one person might be fine for someone else. On the GMAT, though, there are definitive right and wrong answers, and we have to learn how to spot the wrong ones.

Look for Dealbreakers

When it comes to Reading Comprehension on the GMAT, you want to act like Tina, not Gina! You will often be presented with questions whose answer choices all seem to have appealing qualities. If youre looking for what makes an answerright, you may overlook certain critical flaws, and talk yourself into a wrong answer. If youre looking for what makes an answerwrong, though, youre a lot more likely to notice those deal-breaking flaws!

Take a moment to read the following passage from GMATPrep:

The professionalization of the study of history in the second half on the nineteenth century, including historys transformations from a literary genre to a scientific discipline, had important consequences not only for historians perceptions of women but also for women as historians. The disappearance of women as objects of historical studies during this period haselements of ironyto it. On the one hand, in writing about women, earlier historians had relied not on firsthand sources but rather on secondary sources; the shift to more rigorous research methods required that secondary sources be disregarded. On the other hand, the development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents began to reveal significant new historical evidence concerning women, yet this evidence was perceived as substantially irrelevant: historians saw political history as the general framework for historical writing. Because women were seen as belonging to the private rather than to the public sphere, the discovery of documents about them, or by them, did not, by itself, produce history acknowledging the contributions of women. In addition, genres such as biography and memoir, those forms of particular history that women had traditionally authored, fell into disrepute. The dividing line between particular history and general history was redefined in stronger terms, widening the gulf between amateur and professional practices of historical research.

Now take a look at the following question, and ask yourself what youlikeabout each answer choice:

Which of the following best describes one of the elements of irony referred to in the highlighted text?

A.Although the more scientific-minded historians of the second half of the nineteenth century considered women appropriate subjects for historical writing, earlier historians did not.

B.Although archival research uncovered documentary evidence of womens role in history, historians continued to rely on secondary sources for information about women.

C.Although historians were primarily concerned with writing about the public sphere, they generally relegated women to the private sphere.

D.The scientific approach to history revealed more information about women, but that information was ignored.

E.The professionalization of history, while marginalizing much of womens writing about history, enhanced the importance of women as historical subjects.

There were definitely things to like about each answer choice, right?

• In A, the historians of the late 19^thcentury were more scientific-minded, and there was a contrast to earlier historians.
• In B, its true that they uncovered documentary evidence of womens role in history.
• C is totally true the passage says, women were seen as belonging to the private rather than to the public sphere.
• D is also true the documents revealed new information about women, but it was perceived as irrelevant.
• In E, I agree that history was being professionalized, and that womens writing was marginalized.

So, how do we choose which answer we like best? Well we dont! Instead of looking for what you like, look for what you dont like the dealbreakers.

A.Although the more scientific-minded historians of the second half of the nineteenth centuryconsidered women appropriatesubjects for historical writing, earlier historians did not.

It was actually theearlierhistorians who considered women appropriate subjects. The late-19^th-century historians didnt. A is out.

B.Although archival research uncovered documentary evidence of womens role in history, historians continued torely on secondary sourcesfor information about women.

These historians used new methods that required that secondary sources be disregarded. B is out.

C.Although historians were primarily concerned with writing about the public sphere, they generally relegated women to the private sphere.

This one still seems to be true. Historians saw political history as the general framework, etc.

D.The scientific approach to history revealed more information about women, but that information was ignored.

This one also still seems to be true. Well come back to these.

E.The professionalization of history, while marginalizing much of womens writing about history,enhanced the importance of women as historical subjects.

Womens writing was marginalized, but women werenotconsidered important subjects: disappearance of women as objects of historical studies, etc. So, E is out.

So were down to C and D, both of which seem to be true. Lets check back in with Gina and Tina

The difference between true and correct

When Gina spoke with Guy #3, she asked him, Is there anything in your life that you regret, or that youre not proud of? He answered, Well, when I was back in college wait, did I tell you that I went to Princeton? I majored in econ, and graduated cum laude and then he went on to tell her all about his college experience. She walked away thinking, wow, thats really impressive!

Tina later asked him the same question, and got the same response. Because she was looking for dealbreakers, though, her reaction was very different from Tinas. He said some interesting things, but he didnt answer the question that I asked. He must have something to hide, or hes not a good listener.

On RC, youll often encounter answers that sound good they might even be completely true but theydont answer the question. Here, our question was to find an element of irony. Weve already determined that answer choices C and D are both true, but do they depict irony?

In C, the fact that historians write about the public sphere and relegate women to the private sphere is true, but itsnotironic. In fact, its perfectly expected. C doesnt answer the right question, so its a wrong answer even though its factually true!

In D, the fact that changing historical methods both uncovered more information about women, but also shifted focus away from women as historical subjects is ironic. D is the correct answer not because we like it the best, but because we had strong reasons to get rid of all of the other answers.

Im sure youve heard people say, dont be negative! Look for the positive in every situation. That may be good advice in life, but you actually want to do the opposite on the GMAT! Focusing on the negative whats wrong, questionable, not provable, etc. will help you to move more quickly and effectively through the answer choices.

* GMATPrep text courtesy of the Graduate Management Admissions Council. Usage of this question does not imply endorsement by GMAC.