F1, 911, Help-BTG Clan plz help crack this RC thingy...

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WARNING - Umpteen patience required to go through this post!!!

Hi,

First off, regret the length of my post. May be it's because I am imbued with the feeling of killing this thing called RC since it has done the same to me all this while. I'd like to provide every detail about my approach so that it helps in helping me. I am terse in stating opinions otherwise. :-)
Secondly, I'd appreciate if someone could in some way help me get this cracked. God-u can participate too.
I am improving in every section of GMAT but RC.

I am facing challenges in cracking according to/suggest questions and few Inference questions too.

1-> I am referring to the questions where there is no referrence to Line No.s or there is no highlighted text so we can quickly jump to it. In addition to which the content mentioned in the question is spread throughout the passage.
I have to read the passage right from Line numbered 1 till the end to scan for the relevant information which takes a toll on my time.
2-> Another challenge is inconsistency in the accuracy.
I am able to crack few of the passages with 100% accuracy, which implies that I have an understanding of the Question types as well as how to answer them. On the other hand, I am just jarred in handling few other passages. A part of it is to do with the complexity of the passage construction. But IMO if one has an understanding of the passage structure, Q types and also how to get to the answers, should complexity really matter to such an extent that one fails miserably? After all the structure and the concept tested remains more or less similar. Does a solution to this exist besides practice coz i have practiced a lot of these and that's not working for me.

I have read a lot of articles, blogs online and followed almost every strategy to beat this, but all in vain. :-(

I have done RCs from Kaplan Premier 2012 Edition, OG 12 and OG 10 and the accuracy remains at 64%, no matter what. :cry:
I do a set of 50 RC Q's at a time while reviewing the answers and I am just done with finishing my 4th such set. To my horror the scores are as below:

1st set :- 66.00% Accuracy
2nd set :- 68.00% Accuracy :)
3rd set :- 64.00% Accuracy :shock:
4th set :- 64.00% Accuracy :|

Here's what I follow for solving RC:-

1) Do not skim the passage as opposed to what most study materials suggest, since this is what works best for me. Timing is controlled though.
Skimming never works for me as towards the end it makes me say " Wait a sec!!! What? Did I understand anything or did I just bat my eyelashes over the past many minutes? Totally wasted"
However, an alternative, which I found to be rather helpful from GMAT Pill videos is: read the first line of every passage carefully and u may afford to skim the rest of the passage since the rest of the passage is going to elaborate on what's mentioned in the first sentence most of the times. This helped a bit :-)

2) Take notes not only summarizing each paragraph but also writing its structure in the passage. The role of each paragraph in the passage-Whether it is contradicting or in continuation of the topic under discussion. I also use charged words such as in contradiction, different opinion, supports, exemplifying the previous mentioned theory, endorsing author's view etc. that helps me to identify the author's tone as well as where is the passage going.

3) Read the questions and attempt to kill the questions. The latter doesn't happen frequently tho.


And ya, lastly with all these notable accomplishments I have 15 days at my disposal for the G Day.
I have all the time in the world for the next 15 days set apart exclusively for GMAT.
Any magic wand out there.. Phew!!!

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat Aug 18, 2012 9:07 am
Your approach to RC questions looks solid to me.
An important tip for RC questions is to fully engage (110%) in the passage. Do whatever it takes to immerse yourself in the topic. Feign excitement (Awesome, this essay is about carbon dating!! I've always wanted to learn about carbon dating!!!!!)

If you're interested, I have a free set of videos on the topic of reading comprehension: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... prehension

Perhaps you'll find some additional tips you haven't considered.

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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