Knewton teaches a cool way to tackle RC problems using the acyronym MAPS.

M - Main Idea
A - Attitude
P - Purpose
S - Structure

Scroll through the passage - write some short hand notes (really short) identifing the main idea, attitude, etc. Then you can refer to this condensed version to help you answer the subsequent questions.

tlt2372 wrote:Knewton teaches a cool way to tackle RC problems using the acyronym MAPS.

M - Main Idea
A - Attitude
P - Purpose
S - Structure

Scroll through the passage - write some short hand notes (really short) identifing the main idea, attitude, etc. Then you can refer to this condensed version to help you answer the subsequent questions.

alright wil try it out.

thanks a lot

kushal.adhia wrote:hi guys

i seem to be having a LOT of trouble with RC. I've been using the kaplan method and it really doesn't seem to be helping at all.

anyone got any other ideas on what strategies to follow??

thanks a lot =)

kush

Hi Kush,

Without more details, I can only guess what's troubling you, but there are a few common areas that give students trouble with the Kaplan method.

One is taking too many notes. Kaplan advices taking a brief summary of each paragraph to keep track of organization. If you copy two much information, then you can spend a lot of time writing and end up with a result that's as dense as the text itself! So, it's important to use keywords to help moderate your attention. Words like 'thus' and 'hence' indicate the author is making a logical conclusion; this is a key concept which should be summarized in your notes. On the other hand, words like 'furthermore' and 'in addition' indicate the author is continuing with a point he's already made, meaning that you can probably make do with the notes you already have.

A second problem is identifying the purpose of the passage. The key here is remembering that in many GMAT passages, the author doesn't have a strong opinion. Watch carefully to distinguish the author taking a strong positive or negative stance from the author citing someone else who does so.

Finally, I recommend sticking to it! Reading Comprehension can be tricky because unlike sentence correction and math, which we seldom see day-to-say, reading is something that we do all the time without even thinking about it. Wrestling with those ingrained habits to develop a test-like reading strategy takes time and effort. As a result, many students are discouraged by flat scores--or even decreases!--as they adapt to Kaplan's strategies. But in the end, it's like learning to ride a bike: you will skin your knees a few times, but ultimately you will be able to cruise straight towards your goal.

If I didn't address your specific concerns, please let me know so I can give you a less generic answer. Regardless, best of luck on your GMAT prep!

Hi Eli

Thanks a lot for the tips.. While taking the practice tests i've realised that even after writing down the passage map i don't really refer to it when figuring out answers. I've also noticed that while creating the passage map i don't take down stuff i should be noting down. Is there any way to improve on this or should i just practice more??

thanks

Kush