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Improving RC

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Improving RC

by bs8 » Thu Mar 31, 2016 6:02 am
Hi everybody,

I very much struggle with RC questions, in particular, to figure out the (main) purpose of a text. I've read the Manhattan RC book but I still have to improve my RC skills further.

Do you have any recommendations? How can I improve?

Thanks in advance!

Benni
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Mar 31, 2016 6:07 am
Hi Benni,

When it comes to Reading Comprehension (RC), 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.

Having said that, when reading ANY Reading Comprehension (RC) passage, it's crucial that you engage 100% in the passage. So, rather than approach a new passage with dread ("I don't enjoy reading it at all"), try to feign interest ("Excellent! This passage is about stock market regulations in Peru!"). The better your engagement, the better the results.

You'll find additional tips to help you better engage with the passage in this free video: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... on?id=1123

If you're interested, we have a complete set of free videos covering all sorts of Reading Comprehension strategies: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... prehension

Cheers,
Brent
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by MartyMurray » Thu Mar 31, 2016 6:33 am
Hi Benni.

The short answer is that you won't really get from a book or from someone else all that you need in order to achieve a high RC hit rate, because what you need to do in order to achieve that hit rate is develop your vision and your skill at understanding what's going on in the passages.

To develop your vision and skills, you have to work on RC practice questions very slowly and carefully, seeking to understand the logic of what's going on in the passages, what exactly the passages say and do not say and why each wrong answer choice is wrong and each right answer choice is right.

Many RC questions are designed in such a way as to capture just what the test taker thinks the passage said, which is not what the passage actually said, and you have to become good at noticing the difference.

Another aspect to RC success is refining your process for achieving understanding of each aspect of the questions. Your process for handling RC questions needs to be tight and effective, and, as Brent said, what process is best depends on how you work best.
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