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Monday, Aug 10

😖 Frustrated

Struggling with RC Timed in PTs.

I have been struggling with RC (around -11 on average) which is significantly worse than my LR (around -3/5). I've tried doing everything including front-loading, changed pacing, focused on answer evaluation, untimed practice, 10-minute passages, 9-minute passages, focused on big picture questions while reading, etc. Is there I should do to improve answer deliberation on passages? Most of my wrong answers are on implied/inference questions or strengthen/weaken based on the passage. I have also done focused practice targeting these question types. My RC blind reviews are around -5/6. I'm hoping to get my timed to be around my untimed/BR score. Appreciate all the advice!

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4 comments

  • Monday, Aug 10

    I’ve been in the same position. Deliberately forcing myself to low res is single handedly the only thing that helps me with all passages but especially harder passages. I was noticing a pattern where I would barely get questions wrong on level 2-3 passages and then completely tank on the harder passages. I would start with writing low res summaries down. Go back to the passages you’ve done that maybe you didn’t do so well on and focus on low res. Focus on seeing if you can break down the passage structure more than the questions. Then you can look at the questions again if you want. I know the time panic is a factor and eventually you’ll have to low res in your mind instead of writing it down but this will give you data on what to look for in the passages. Good luck!!!

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    MV OP
    Monday, Aug 10

    @IshikaShukla Thank you! I have tried low res summaries as well lol. Is there something that helped you with picking the right answer choice? I seem to struggle with answer deliberation when doing it timed.

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    Monday, Aug 10

    @MV Lol yes I feel that. I got better with implied questions with low res because I would understand the meaning better. For all questions in general though, I try to aggressively eliminate answer choices that talk beyond the scope of the passage. Like if I find a word that is wrong in the answer choice, I am eliminating. Between trap answers, I won’t lie, I don’t always know why one is wrong but if I know the other one is more right, I pick based on that. It takes so much practice and I truly find it harder than LR because there’s less pattern recognition. I am sorry, I wish I was more help but keep practicing! We got this :)

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    MV OP
    Monday, Aug 10

    @IshikaShukla Thank you! And no I get it-I feel the same about RC compared to LR since the only thing holding me back on a plateau is the RC. Good luck to you as well!

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