Note taking for Reading comprehension questions

Expert replies

edson: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 12:02 am

by edson » Sun Mar 20, 2016 5:09 am

Hi there,

I've studied RC questions for a while now and I did not really find a good strategy to approach the questions.

Gmatprepnow and Magoosh recommend that we should take notes. Actually, they claim that note taking is essential.
Veritas, however, says it's not very useful since we do not need notes for general question (like main purpose questions) and for inference and details questions we need to look into the text anyway.

I have to say that I agree with Veritas. When I take notes, I never look at my notes to answer the questions.
Therefore, I have decided to only note transitional words down and the main idea/purpose of the passage if it is not the first question. Nothing else!

I am actually really successful with this strategy...

What do you think about my strategy? Does it work for really hard questions as well?

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Reading Comprehension | Sun Mar 20, 2016 5:09 am

GMAT/MBA Expert

Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Mar 20, 2016 7:34 am

Taking notes does not mean taking TONS of notes.
We (at GMAT Prep Now) believe you should identify and summarize:
- the theme of each paragraph (4 to 8 words)
- conflicting points of view (4 to 8 words)
- main idea (4 to 8 words)

So, we're talking about 20 to 30 words altogether (and you can use shorthand and acronyms to use fewer words).

If you take good notes, you won't have to go back and re-read the passage. More importantly, when you're looking for specific pieces of information to summarize, you will better engage with the passage (which is a HUGE factor in RC success).

If others are interested, we have a free set of videos that cover all sorts of Reading Comprehension strategies: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... prehension

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

Like this post

edson: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 12:02 am

by edson » Sun Mar 20, 2016 7:41 am

Thanks for your answer!!!

Brent@GMATPrepNow wrote: If you take good notes, you won't have to go back and re-read the passage.

Not even for detail questions?
Do you personally take notes?
Is it a universal strategy?

Could anyone from Veritas comment on my question too?

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Mar 20, 2016 8:21 am

For some detail questions, you may have to return to the passage. However, if you take notes, you may have a good idea where the required information is located.

Yes, I take notes.

I can't say that it's a universal strategy. I've heard that test-takers in other galaxies sometimes don't take notes

Having said all of that, when it comes to Reading Comprehension, I don't believe that there's one specific approach that works best for everyone. I always recommend that students spend some time experimenting with different strategies to see which one best suits their memory, reading speed and English proficiency.

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Sun Mar 20, 2016 9:44 am

Hi edson,

Some Test Takers are naturally strong in the Verbal section, so they take fewer notes (much in the same way that some Test Takers are really strong in the Quant and don't take notes either). If your goal is score at the highest possible level though, you really have to think about the logic behind note-taking. Have you EVER gotten an RC question wrong because of a silly/little mistake? If you have, then note-taking might have kept that mistake from happening.

The process of note-taking serves several purposes. Beyond summarizing the passage (in each paragraph and overall), you also engage your thinking at a higher level (since you have to process what you've read and note the ideas). The note-taking also forces you to look away from the screen, which is beneficial (physiologically and psychologically).

Ultimately, you can choose to approach this process and the GMAT in whatever manner you choose. If you hit your goal score, then your plan will have worked. As a gauge though, I'd like to know a few things about your studies:

1) Have you taken the Official GMAT yet? If so, then how did you score?
2) How have you scored on each of your practice CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
3) What is your goal score?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

Like this post

edson: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 12:02 am

by edson » Sun Mar 20, 2016 10:21 am

Thanks for your help guys!

1) Have you taken the Official GMAT yet? If so, then how did you score?
2) How have you scored on each of your practice CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
3) What is your goal score?

1) No.
2) Quant: 49 (80%), Verbal: 29 (50%) -> most of the errors were SC errors
3) My goal is 700. I will take the test in 14 days.

One more information: I am German -> not a native English speaker

I have actually used the note-taking approach and the result was the following: It took me more time and I actually made a lot of mistakes. Maybe it was just bad luck...

Thanks for your help again!

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Sat Apr 02, 2016 2:02 pm

I think it's almost impossible to give universal advice on note-taking; this is why you'll find so much contradictory advice from prep companies. I think that some students benefit from note-taking, abut my suspicion is that for a majority of students, note-taking does not add value.

The problem is that we were trained to take notes back in high school and college. When we took notes back then, we tended to focus on 2 things:
- remember details
- prepare for a test weeks or months in the future

On the GMAT, those objectives are useless. You should only take notes on the GMAT if:
- writing helps you to stay focused / organized in your thinking
- you focus on the STRUCTURE of the passage, not the details

I recommend performing your own experiment: try 3 RC passages taking notes, then try 3 with no notes at all. See if there is a difference in your accuracy. If notes improve accuracy, take them. If they don't - save time by skipping them.

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Like this post

MartyMurray: Legendary Member; Posts: 2135; Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:26 amFollowed by: 140 members; Location: https://martymurraycoaching.com/; Thanked: 955 times; GMAT Score:800

by MartyMurray » Sat Apr 02, 2016 7:59 pm

In case this information helps, I can tell you that I have seen non native speakers achieve without taking any notes solid verbal section scores as high as the upper 40's.

Marty Murray
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.

Like this post

diegocml: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 67; Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2016 10:35 am; Thanked: 7 times; GMAT Score:410

by diegocml » Tue Apr 12, 2016 12:40 am

ceilidh.erickson wrote:I think it's almost impossible to give universal advice on note-taking; this is why you'll find so much contradictory advice from prep companies. I think that some students benefit from note-taking, abut my suspicion is that for a majority of students, note-taking does not add value.

The problem is that we were trained to take notes back in high school and college. When we took notes back then, we tended to focus on 2 things:
- remember details
- prepare for a test weeks or months in the future

On the GMAT, those objectives are useless. You should only take notes on the GMAT if:
- writing helps you to stay focused / organized in your thinking
- you focus on the STRUCTURE of the passage, not the details

I recommend performing your own experiment: try 3 RC passages taking notes, then try 3 with no notes at all. See if there is a difference in your accuracy. If notes improve accuracy, take them. If they don't - save time by skipping them.

Thank you for the tip, Ceilidh!

I have just started my RC studies and I am not quite sure note taking on RC passages is for me. I found my notes to be sometimes useless and have to refer back to my memory or re-read parts of the passage. However, paraphrasing each sentence and jotting down the tone/intent of each sentence does help.

Diego

1st GMAT attemp: 410 (Q18 V27)
2nd GMAT attemp: 490 (Q35 V23)

Like this post

Post new topic Post Reply

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

559 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review