Strategy for Tough RC

[sandy217]

Hi All,

I need an expert advice on how to tackle Tough RCs.When i say tough am talking about passage that is tough to comprehend not the tough (inference) questions.

I finished 10th edition Verbal OG RC,which contains around 280 questions.My accuracy hovers between 75 and 85%.I did not find any passage that is very tough to comprehend. But I took kaplan diagnostic test yesterday. Incorrect SC-2 CR-5 RC-12. Yes 12 incorrect in RC. 12 is seriously a concern.
I have a week before my GMAT.I took few other CATS, where my accuracy of RC was just alright(around 75-80%).

My question is how are GMAT RC passages in general? What is the possibility of getting a very tough passage(as kaplan's)in GMAT. And more importantly how do one attack such RC's under aggressive time constraint.


Thanks
~

[VivianKerr]

Every tutor has his/her own approach. This is what works for me

I take notes on every single passage. I don't mentally separate "easy" and "hard" passages and approach them differently. In my mind, every passage is the SAME passage. Every passage has a purpose and a topic, has paragraphs that elaborate on that topic, and the author always has a point of view. The questions always ask about those things, so I extract them as I read. I focus on structure and avoid the details.

This is a basic template for what I do:

Topic:
Scope:
1st:
2nd:
3rd:
Author's POV:
Purpose:

The numbers correspond to the Function of each paragraph, which I express as an infinitive verb.
You can see an example of my notes here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/rc-99-passage-39-t81093.html

You'll find there is no shortcut for RC. If you worry about pacing too much early on and don't have a solid strategy your accuracy will never improve. The key to a better score is actually slowing way down and working untimed until you are a note-taking RC rock star. Then you can pace yourself up as needed. Good luck!