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My approach to RC

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My approach to RC

by beatthegmat » Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:58 pm
This is an excerpt from my Day 44 Blog Post:

I feel like I am really starting to get the hang of reading comprehension questions. I've found that four strategies have really helped me:

(1) Immediately write down the topic and scope after reading the first paragraph of a given passage. Doing so will help you think about questions relating to the main point or main purpose.

(2) Try to go into an RC passage with an attitude that you are excited to learn about the information it contains. It takes some practice, but this strategy helps you maintain your focus while you read.

(3) Read linearly. That is, try not to read sentences or parts of passages over and over again. Doing so wil slow you down dramatically and actually confuse you because the ideas in the passage are not being read in logical order.

(4) Do not skim, but read quickly. This is a personal strategy. I find that I digest information better when I don't gloss over too much detail.
Last edited by beatthegmat on Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by prachipareekh » Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:30 pm
Right approach stated by you Eric...

I had also stated the way to approach RC's from my experience of teaching...Link below discusses GMAT reading comprehension approach...
Hope this also helps GMAT aspirants..

https://gmatreadingcomprehension.blocked/
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by Psychodementia » Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:58 pm
My take on RC.

Okay first a quiz :)

On a scale of 1 to 10 how important is it to understand the passage ?

7 ?

8 ?

5 ?

10 ?

Different people would have different numbers.

On a scale of 1 to 10 how important is it to answer the questions?

10 ?

Any other number ? Niet ? Nix ? Nope ? :)

Hope you go the point.

Somehow I feel everyone seems so focussed on just understanding the passage that they forget that the GMAT just looks at whether they answer the questions or not. And trust me - you don't need to understand the whole thing. Everyone is going to face a passage where you suddenly realize at the end of 1minute that you are going no where. You need to tell yourself a million times - no a billion times that you don't need to understand each word to crack the passage.

Now with that in mind, approach this way - remember during the exams, you would go over to the topper's room to understand a question. You don't need the flab - just the meat. So he explains something like "See this is yadda yadda....the top 3 points are blah blah.....contrary view is blah blah. Period" Im sure most of you relate to this experiences which has helped you pass exams - heck infact get just about few marks lower than the topper himself. This is the same approach you need to have in RC.

Skim through the passage trying to read "critically" - what is this dude saying ? why is he saying that ? what questions can come ? why is the word "yet" coming here ? he just said "however" whats he saying here ? stuff like that - it will come through practice. Don't read like you would read the morning newspaper - remember you are not here to prove you are Shakespeare-reborn, you are just here to crack the GMAT flat.

Hit the questions early. As a thumbrule if you have 4 questions in a passage spend 4 X 2 = 8minutes. Out of which spend 3.5mins or less reading and 4.5 minutes or more answering.

Hope this helps,

Arun
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RC (GMAT) Q. Strategies.

by sonnet0215 » Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:59 pm
Arun,

Do you have the strategies for each type of question on RC for GMAT?

If you do, please post or send me the link. My email address is <[email protected]>

Thanks,
- Bert.

Psychodementia wrote:My take on RC.

Okay first a quiz :)

On a scale of 1 to 10 how important is it to understand the passage ?

7 ?

8 ?

5 ?

10 ?

Different people would have different numbers.

On a scale of 1 to 10 how important is it to answer the questions?

10 ?

Any other number ? Niet ? Nix ? Nope ? :)

Hope you go the point.

Somehow I feel everyone seems so focussed on just understanding the passage that they forget that the GMAT just looks at whether they answer the questions or not. And trust me - you don't need to understand the whole thing. Everyone is going to face a passage where you suddenly realize at the end of 1minute that you are going no where. You need to tell yourself a million times - no a billion times that you don't need to understand each word to crack the passage.

Now with that in mind, approach this way - remember during the exams, you would go over to the topper's room to understand a question. You don't need the flab - just the meat. So he explains something like "See this is yadda yadda....the top 3 points are blah blah.....contrary view is blah blah. Period" Im sure most of you relate to this experiences which has helped you pass exams - heck infact get just about few marks lower than the topper himself. This is the same approach you need to have in RC.

Skim through the passage trying to read "critically" - what is this dude saying ? why is he saying that ? what questions can come ? why is the word "yet" coming here ? he just said "however" whats he saying here ? stuff like that - it will come through practice. Don't read like you would read the morning newspaper - remember you are not here to prove you are Shakespeare-reborn, you are just here to crack the GMAT flat.

Hit the questions early. As a thumbrule if you have 4 questions in a passage spend 4 X 2 = 8minutes. Out of which spend 3.5mins or less reading and 4.5 minutes or more answering.

Hope this helps,

Arun
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