GMAT Mastery: Manage Time and Avoid Traps on CR and RC
On Verbal, were asked for the best answernot the objectively correct answer that we need to find on quantso it can be really easy to fall for a tempting trap, especially on Critical Reasoning (CR) and Reading Comprehension (RC).
Learn to work super-systematically, though, and youll navigate through those tempting traps to land on the right answer. (Well most of the time, anyway. :)) Heres what to do.
Know Your Verbal Processes
There comes a moment for CR and RC when youre ready to tackle the answer choices, and thats what were going to concentrate on today. Im going to assume that you already know what youre doing in general for each question type. If not, here are some resources on the overall processes.
Both Critical Reasoning (CR) and Reading Comprehension (RC) contain different question sub-types. Youll need to know how to recognize whats what so that you can apply the right kind of reasoning. Those links will take you to compilation articles that show you how to tackle any kind of CR or RC problem.
Note: Sentence Correction works a little bit differently, though some of what we talk about today will still apply to SC. When you get a chance, take a look at this SC process involving vertical reading and comparisons of answers. Youve only got about 1 minute 20 seconds on average for SC, so youve got to learn to work fast without giving up accuracy.
(Note: if you have Manhattan Preps strategy guides, you dont need to follow those links. The articles are just shorter versions of what is already taught in our books.)
Tackle The Verbal Answer Choices: 1st Pass
All right: youve read the argument or passage, youve identified the question type, you know what youre trying to find, and youre ready for the answers. First, assume that you are going to take two full passes through the answer choices. (This sounds like it will take forever. It wont. Just stick with me here.)
Have you ever done this? (I know I have!)
Yep, (B) looks good; the passage does talk about that. [Reading the remaining answers because I know Im supposed to do so.] Hmm, I wonder how Im doing on the test. Is my time okay? Yeah, not too bad. [Ive read through answer (E) but I havent really been paying attention.] Cant wait until this is over. Okay, so (B) is the answer.
Basically, once you decide that a certain answer is the correct one, your mind is already moving on. The problem comes when answer (E) was actually better than answer (B)but I didnt notice, either because I didn't read answer (E) in the first place, or (even worse) I did read it but I wasnt actually paying attention. Now, Ive lost time and Im still going to fall into the trap. :(
So delay your Whats the right answer? decision. On your first pass through the answers, your decision is strictly No vs. Maybe.
No = I am never looking at this answer choice again.
Maybe = I think this might be the right one or I think this might be wrong but Im not totally sure yet or I have no idea what this answer choice means.
In short, cross* off everything that youre sure is wrong and leave everything else. Dont agonize over the everything else. Dont think about whether it really is right or wrong. Just leave it and go look for more stuff to cross off until youve gotten through all five answers for the first time.
*When I say cross off, I mean keep track on your scrap paper. I write A B C D E at the top of my current page, spaced out a little bit, and then I keep track below those letters. I just move to a new row on my scrap paper for every new problem. (Remember that the scrap paper on the test is already linedits graph paper.)
I use an X for No, a squiggle (~) for Maybe, and a question mark (?) for Huh?!? (i.e., Im not sure what this answer means.) When Ive finally decided what to pick, I put a circle around that one and then I go pick it on the screen.
I do that all the way down the page and only rewrite A B C D E when I have to turn to the next page.
Tackle The Verbal Answer Choices: 2nd Pass
At the end of your first pass, there are three possible outcomes:
(1) Youve crossed off 4 answers: pick the remaining one and move on
(2) You havent crossed off any answers: this ones too hard, so pick your favorite letter and move on
(3) Youve crossed off some wrong answers but not all 4 of them: now its time for your 2nd pass through the answers
During this second pass, youre going to go through the remaining answers, but this time youre going to closely compare them to each other. Before, you may not have noticed a particular difference between answers (B) and (E), but now that you only have a few answers left, you can actually compare and think about what those differences mean.
For instance, lets say that youre answering a Main Idea RC question. You notice this:
(B) Talks mainly about the second paragraph
(E) Talks about both paragraphs
When you first saw (B), you may have thought to yourself, Yes, the passage does talk about that, so you naturally left it in. Once you compare (B) to (E), though, you might realize that (B) is too narrow. Answer (E) better addresses the entire passage, so now you know that (B) is likely a trap.
On verbal, the best answer actually implies a comparison. Theres no way to know that (B) is too narrow until youve read (E). If (E) didnt exist, in fact, then maybe (B) would be the best answer out of the available answers.
And voil: weve avoided the trap! Note that this all works generally for SC too with the sole difference that, for SC, you are directly comparing answers right from the very beginning.
When warranted, you can take a 3rd pass
What if youre not down to one answer after the 2nd pass? You cant just keep going forever, so how long is too long?
After the 2nd pass, there are again three possible outcomes:
(1) Youve crossed off 4 answers: pick the remaining one and move on
(2) You have more than 2 answers left: this ones too hard; pick your favorite letter and move on
(3) You have exactly two answers left: youre allowed to do one more pass, directly comparing these two answers
Did I emphasize that word one enough? If you do get down to two answers after the 2nd pass, then this is a tough problem but you have also made decent progress so far. At this stage, its worth investing another 20 to 30 seconds to do one final comparisonbut thats it.
Do not agonize back and forth. After the first direct comparison between the final two, you will either have a hunch or you wont. If you have a hunch, pick it now; its not going to change the 5th time you compare them. And if you don't have a hunch, pick one now anyway; youre not going to suddenly develop a hunch the 5th time you compare them. Give yourself one chance, sure, but then youre done.
I keep narrowing to two and guessing wrong
Thats so frustrating, isnt it? Lets talk about how to study in a way that will help you make that hard decision between the right answer and the most tempting wrong answer.
First, though: you dont always guess wrong. Rather, youre noticing when you get it wrong because you got it wrong. When you get it right, how often do you really tell yourself, Oh, yeah, I just went with a hunch there, but I actually got it! Woohoo! If youre like most people, you dont notice that as often because youre concentrating on the ones you got wrong.
(By the way, you should point out to yourself when you narrow to two, guess, and get it right. Show yourself that this actually does work out a lot of the time!)
Okay, back to the main point: how to get better at recognizing and eliminating those tempting trap answers? Heres what youre going to do:
(1) As you work, mark any problems on which you narrowed to two answers before guessing. Use a consistent symbolan asterisk or whatever. This will allow you to find all of these after, not just the ones on which you end up guessing wrong.
(2) Do ask yourself what youre probably already asking yourself (Why is the right one right? Why is the wrong one wrong?), but dont stop there.
(3) Ask yourself why the wrong one looked good. What was tempting about this choice? Why did you pick it or consider picking it? Now you know not to use that reasoning to pick an answer in future, since that reasoning can lead to picking a wrong answer.
(4) Ask yourself why the right one looked worse than the tempting wrong one. Somehow, they got you to doubt the correct answer. Why did you eliminate it or consider eliminating it? Again, now you know not to use that reasoning in future to eliminate an answer.
Takeaways
(1) Work systematically on all verbal questions. Keep track of your answer eliminations on your scrap paper.
(2) On your first pass, concentrate on crossing off everything that is definitely wrong. Dont actually decide whats rightnot yet. If you can't cross anything off, forget it; guess and move on.
(3) On your second pass, directly compare any remaining answers. If you cant get down to at most two answers at this stage, the problem is too hard; guess and move on. Youre allowed to make one more direct comparison between the last two answers but only one more. Then choose and move on.
Good luck and happy studying!