Are we doing low res summaries on timed RC passages and sections? I just did one while trying write out low res summaries of both content and structure, and I totally ran out of time. Maybe I'm going too slow, but I wanted to see if there was any consensus on doing this under timed conditions or if it was best to do low res summaries under untimed conditions.
After getting a -7 on RC on my last PT, which was abnormal for me, I decided to attend some RC live sessions to see what I could do to be better and more consistent. I learned about low res summaries and immediately after implementing that in untimed practice, I was maybe missing one question in a passage. The concept is still fairly new to me, so I decided to try it under timed conditions, and totally bombed. I went 13 for 13 on the ones I had time to get to, but ultimately ran out of time and missed the other 13. I had around five minutes to get to the third passage, and didn't get to the fourth passage at all. I recovered well in BR, but I wanted to know if there's something we're doing under timed conditions other than low res summaries (a particular highlighting strategy or anything) that improves accuracy but doesn't cut your time so much, or if I'm just doing the low res summary thing wrong?
3 comments
How many words are you using for low res summaries? You only want 1-7 words for each paragraph, make it SUPER short. For example, let’s pretend this is a passage about the meaning of a standard deck of playing cards, and why everything in it is symbolic. Let’s also pretend that the first paragraph says something like “the colours, symbols, and number of cards are all symbolic for these reasons”
Low res summary: Characteristics of cards are symbolic, introduces topic
What I wrote here is only seven words. The first five are what the first paragraph is about, because it’s mentioning that those things are symbolic. The last two words are about the structure, because this paragraph is introducing the topic of cards and their meanings (if we can pretend that the next three paragraphs focus on colour, symbols, and number of cards, respectively).
This is what works for me, but play around and see what works for you! By the end of the passage you want enough notes to know what the main point of the passage is (a very common question), as well as structure, as then you can get through the questions a lot quicker.
Finally, a Bailey quote. “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast”. If you spend time doing the reading and low res well, you’ll understand the passage so well that you can zip through questions. I’d also recommend doing drills where you try to complete the passage/section in 97% of the allotted time, or shorter, to avoid answering the final question in the last five sections.
Keep pushing!
Thank you!! I think I’ll just have to keep practicing, especially with this technique being new to me. My low res summaries didn’t exceed seven words, so maybe I’m just going too slow. It’s funny you mention “slow is smooth and smooth is fast” because I’ve really been trying to remind myself of that recently. When you go through RC passages, do you also highlight as you do your low res summaries? I was highlighting as I went along because I saw Bailey do it in class, but maybe I went overkill with that.
I highlight a lot! It helps me see things quicker when I want to look back at the passage.