Concentration Issue

[vikram4689]

Hi ,

I start to day dream when i work on RC. When i find RC easy, i get excited and when i find it tough i start to worry and day dream is common in both the cases. How to obviate these thoughts ??

Thanks

[thunderdan]

I can only suggest, but with my recent experiences I am able to say 'It is not in the RC, it is in the questions'.

I did come across easy looking essays with tough questions and vice versa. I would strongly suggest to take each of the RC essays with the context of 'I CAN DO EVEN LONG TOUGH LOOKING ESSAYS WITH HAPAZARD WORDS' -- read them actively, read them as if you are proof reading for your own magazine.

Then for each question, come back to the relevant passages. RC might be the one area where, it may help you to note work gyst of each paragraph in an essay. But cleaning out everything in mind and start thinking as if that paragraph is your only assignment/project with a 6-8 minute deadline helps too.

[tpr-becky]

the best approach to this problem is active reading! That means reading one paragraph at a time and summarizing the basic idea of the paragraph before moving on to the next. as you read you are looking for the general words that show the logic of the passage (but, yet, clearly therefore, for example et...) not the topic words. Once you have the main idea skim over any examples, you don't really need to read every word.

then as you move to the quesitons be just as active. translate the question so you know exactly what it is asking, go back to the passage to find the answer and then eliminate answers that do not match.

the key is to focus on the logic of the passage instead of the specific topic and that way you will eliminate a lot of the boredom and confusion.

[David@VeritasPrep]

I want to echo Becky's advice. Being passive is never the way to "beat the gmat" not on any of the sections.

Examples:
When you write out the question in the Quant section - always a smart thing to do so that you do not answer the wrong question - do not simply write what ever you are given, instead think about what it means and write down something more useful to you. With sentence correction do not just look at the sentence as it is written, ignore unneeded modifiers, focus on the core of the sentence and make it your own. With critical reasoning deconstruct the argument and put it back together focusing on the conclusion and most important premise and not on the background information.

This brings us to Reading Comprehension. Becky is exactly right, be active! Stop at the end of each paragraph and write out a few words describing the main idea. You are not reading for specifics but for the flow of the argument.

Part of daydreaming is because it is an unfamiliar topic and that contributes to your lack of focus. The answer is to make yourself understand it! The way to do that is not to focus on the specific words but to understand what you can even if some specific words are unfamiliar.

Remember that if they ask you for specifics you can always go back to the passage....

[venmic]

Hi David - I have read through your careful advice through all the post hence this question to you...
I have been studying quite a bit for the GMAT but have trouble with my verbal
I have done - manhattan SC and Ogs for the CRs and can answer these questions but when it comes to the test I have issues.
I have not practiced too much RC .. it gets me down becuase my hit rate is still low...
MY CR is not improving either

Can you please advice

I waint to echo Becky's advice. Being passive is never the way to "beat the gmat" not on any of the sections.

Examples:
When you write out the question in the Quant section - always a smart thing to do so that you do not answer the wrong question - do not simply write what ever you are given, instead think about what it means and write down something more useful to you. With sentence correction do not just look at the sentence as it is written, ignore unneeded modifiers, focus on the core of the sentence and make it your own. With critical reasoning deconstruct the argument and put it back together focusing on the conclusion and most important premise and not on the background information.

This brings us to Reading Comprehension. Becky is exactly right, be active! Stop at the end of each paragraph and write out a few words describing the main idea. You are not reading for specifics but for the flow of the argument.

Part of daydreaming is because it is an unfamiliar topic and that contributes to your lack of focus. The answer is to make yourself understand it! The way to do that is not to focus on the specific words but to understand what you can even if some specific words are unfamiliar.

Remember that if they ask you for specifics you can always go back to the passage....

[David@VeritasPrep]

Okay - so you are frustrated with your performance on test questions. What do you do differently on the test? Do you rush? Do you use the same same techniques on test questions?

I am putting together a special posting to celebrate my 1000th BTG posting. I will be doing this tomorrow.I will include posts that describe CR techniques, RC strategies, SC, etc. Please look for this tomorrow as these links will likely answer your questions.