What are some strategies to handle RC passages you just don't understand? What are some backup methods?
My problem with RC is if I run into a passage I don't understand, I am screwed. I will get 4-5 wrong in a row. What can I do to mitigate this? Guessing strategies?
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RC Strategy
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lunarpower
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for *main idea* questions, you can try the strategy that i've outlined in the JAN. 6 study hall lecture at this link:yellowho wrote:What are some strategies to handle RC passages you just don't understand? What are some backup methods?
My problem with RC is if I run into a passage I don't understand, I am screwed. I will get 4-5 wrong in a row. What can I do to mitigate this? Guessing strategies?
https://www.manhattangmat.com/thursdays-with-ron.cfm
for "according to the passage" or "the passage/author indicates" questions, you are basically picking a choice that repeats exactly what's already written in the passage -- something that's possible (though usually not that easy) even if you don't have full comprehension.
for inference questions, you're definitely going to have to understand the individual sentence(s) from which you're actually drawing the inference. gmat inferences are usually statements that are equivalent to and/or directly derived from existing sentences, but, unlike "according to the passage" q's, they don't simply repeat what's already written there; therefore, they aren't really possible to answer without some decent level of comprehension.
the good news is that you don't need *big picture* comprehension to answer inference questions -- you only need to understand the small neighborhood of the passage in which the relevant material is found.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.
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lunarpower
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if there are certain problem types on which you consistently have less success than on others, then it may be a good idea to quickly guess on those problem types when you encounter them on the exam, so that you'll have more time for the other problem types.yellowho wrote:would you recommend focusing on certain types of problem and just give up on the others and cut your losses have more time on CRs and SCs?
it's a game of tradeoffs -- if you find that you don't have enough time to answer everything to your satisfaction, you're going to have to shorten the time you spend on *something*, so that something may as well be something on which you normally have a hard time.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.
--
Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi
--
Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
Yves Saint-Laurent
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Learn more about ron
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Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi
--
Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
Yves Saint-Laurent
--
Learn more about ron
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yellowho
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Ron,
Just completed the video. Very helpful. I also noticed that you mentioned elsewhere that you can't read a passage for main point and also read it for something else. How would we apply this? Should we read it as main point first, note it mentally, then read it regularly? Or is reading the main point just a strategy when you see a difficult to understand passage and its a good strategy to get some questions right rather than nothing at all?
[quote="lunarpower"][quote="yellowho"]would you recommend focusing on certain types of problem and just give up on the others and cut your losses have more time on CRs and SCs?[/quote]
if there are certain problem types on which you consistently have less success than on others, then it may be a good idea to quickly guess on those problem types when you encounter them on the exam, so that you'll have more time for the other problem types.
it's a game of tradeoffs -- if you find that you don't have enough time to answer everything to your satisfaction, you're going to have to shorten the time you spend on *something*, so that something may as well be something on which you normally have a hard time.[/quote]
Just completed the video. Very helpful. I also noticed that you mentioned elsewhere that you can't read a passage for main point and also read it for something else. How would we apply this? Should we read it as main point first, note it mentally, then read it regularly? Or is reading the main point just a strategy when you see a difficult to understand passage and its a good strategy to get some questions right rather than nothing at all?
[quote="lunarpower"][quote="yellowho"]would you recommend focusing on certain types of problem and just give up on the others and cut your losses have more time on CRs and SCs?[/quote]
if there are certain problem types on which you consistently have less success than on others, then it may be a good idea to quickly guess on those problem types when you encounter them on the exam, so that you'll have more time for the other problem types.
it's a game of tradeoffs -- if you find that you don't have enough time to answer everything to your satisfaction, you're going to have to shorten the time you spend on *something*, so that something may as well be something on which you normally have a hard time.[/quote]
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lunarpower
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the main point is what you should *always* read for when you're reading the passages.yellowho wrote:Ron,
Just completed the video. Very helpful. I also noticed that you mentioned elsewhere that you can't read a passage for main point and also read it for something else. How would we apply this? Should we read it as main point first, note it mentally, then read it regularly? Or is reading the main point just a strategy when you see a difficult to understand passage and its a good strategy to get some questions right rather than nothing at all?
two reasons why:
1) the main point is usually not written explicitly in the passage, while the details *are* written explicitly;
2) realistically, it's impossible to remember all the details anyway. yes, not just hard -- impossible.
as far as details, you shoudn't try to remember them -- you should just try to remember what kind of details are located where in the passage (a vague "mental table of contents", so to speak). that way, if you need those particular details, you can just go back and look them up; and if you don't, then you haven't wasted your time.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.
--
Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi
--
Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
Yves Saint-Laurent
--
Learn more about ron
--
Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi
--
Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
Yves Saint-Laurent
--
Learn more about ron
