GMAT Strategy

Reading Comprehension (RC) is one of the (if not the) hardest areas to improve on the GMAT. These question types test your stamina, attention span and ability to comprehend topics which are practically alien to you.

Another aspect which makes this area critical to the verbal score is the dent it can cause on your timing strategy (see 'better after 5 rule' for one of our timing strategies). If you plan to solve the passage in a short time and you cannot 'comprehend' the passage, the time inevitably doubles!! You can pass-off an SC or a CR question by looking at the answer choices but this trick never ever works in RC. The result is decreased morale, getting worn-out and of course, a risk of getting a string of questions incorrect.

One of the most effective strategies to tackle RC is 'Agile Reading', i.e. while attempting RC, read actively, taking notes for each paragraph. It is also important to understand the main idea of the passage (often asked as a question) and keep in mind the tone of the passage (sometimes asked directly or indirectly). Follow the structure given below to take notes:

Paragraph 1: [write your notes]
Paragraph 2: [write your notes]
Paragraph 3: [write your notes]
What? (is the author trying to say): [your understanding of the main point]
How? (is the author making the point): [have words like descriptive, critical, analytical, etc.].
This is illustrated in the example (source: wiki) below:

_________________________

The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as the mountain lion, puma, panther, painter, mountain cat, or catamount, is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range, from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes of South America, is the greatest of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. An adaptable, generalist species, the cougar is found in most American habitat types. Secretive and largely solitary by nature, the cougar is properly considered both nocturnal and crepuscular, although sightings during daylight hours do rarely occur. The cougar is more closely related to smaller felines, including the domestic cat, than to any subspecies of lion.

An excellent stalk-and-ambush predator, the cougar pursues a wide variety of prey. Primary food sources include ungulates such as deer, elk, moose, and bighorn sheep, as well as domestic cattle, horses and sheep, particularly in the northern part of its range. This cat prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking, but can also live in open areas. While large, it is not always the apex predator in its range, yielding to the jaguar, gray wolf, American black bear, and grizzly bear. It is reclusive and mostly avoids people, so fatal attacks on humans are rare but have been trending upward in certain areas during recent years as more people enter their territory.

Excessive hunting following European colonization of the Americas and the ongoing human development of cougar habitat has caused populations to drop in most parts of its historical range. In particular, the cougar was extirpated in eastern North America in the beginning of the 20th century, except for an isolated subpopulation in Florida. However, in recent decades, breeding populations have moved east into the far western parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Transient males have been verified in Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and Illinois, where a cougar was shot in the city limits of Chicago, and, in at least one instance, observed as far east as Connecticut. Today, reports of eastern cougars (Puma concolor cougar) still surface, but the last verified one was killed in 2011.

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The idea here is to follow the passage so as to avoid re-reading, the biggest issue people face on RC.

Given below are my notes for the passage. Note how we just mention the main words, enough to help us follow and recollect (if required). We can also look up the exact paragraph (if at all required) while answering a specific question. Note that it is also important to answer the last 2 questions about the main idea and the tone of the passage.

Para 1

Puma / panther, widest range, from Canada to South America, adaptable, solitary, both nocturnal and crepuscular, closely related to lion and cat

Para 2

Wide variety of prey, primarily deer, domestic cattle, etc. dense bushes, rocky areas for habitat, not an apex predator, yields to jaguar etc. rarae attacks on human, thou increase recently

Para 3

Population decline due to excess hunting, breeding populations have moved, last killing in 2011

What is the author trying to say? (main point)

Describing the features of puma, incl food habits, areas it is found in, etc. also predation, population, killing etc.

How is she saying it? (tone?)

Descriptive, elaborate, etc.


We have found this strategy to be very effective and help improve accuracy of our clients from ~50% to 90%+. Also, active reading will always keep you interested and help you follow the structure of the passage.

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The author is an ISB alumnus and Co-Founder of Strategy4GMAT, an ISB alumni venture offering personalized consulting services for the GMAT and ISB admissions. Start your FREE trial today (https://strategy4gmat.com/free-plan/)