Special tips for RC

fmihalic2

Hey everyone,

So, I feel I'm at the stage right now at which so many top scorers find themselves at some point in their prep. In fact, maybe 2.5 months out is the typical time. You put off RC for the most part until now. You think "Ah, I got it. I can read. Besides, if I can become a stud at LG and LR, how hard can RC be"....and then RC punches you in the face.

I'm currently at -5/-6 untimed and my last two timed sections were -9 and -11. Very, very sad.

I've learned about the low resolution summary and high resolution summary, along with connecting back after each paragraph after paragraph one. It's a foolproof strategy. I love it. I want to master it. But I still have to sort out a few things until I find my RC comfort zone.

1. How much do you tend to write down in the margins? Right now I'm writing the low resolution summary and the purpose. I can't write the high resolution because frankly there isn't enough room. Should I write more, less? Thoughts?

2. How long does it take to learn to read like this? Let's face it, this isn't everyday reading and you are tested on things that aren't exactly central to whether or not you've comprehended the words on the page.

3. Do you actually remember every detail of the high resolution summary? After I finish reading the passage, I go down the margins and read the low resolution summary, I then ask myself "Why?" or "What?" and then expand...this reinforces all the finer points of the passage.

4. Any other tidbits you can share with me? I am desperate to get to a consistent -4 or less under timed conditions.

Thank you all so much for your input.

Sami

@fmihalic2 said:
1. How much do you tend to write down in the margins? Right now I'm writing the low resolution summary and the purpose. I can't write the high resolution because frankly there isn't enough room. Should I write more, less? Thoughts?

Under time you shouldn't be writing down anything. At most you have a quick notation that tells you this looks like MP or example, but that's pretty much it. The low and high resolution summary under time occurs in your head. When blind reviewing, I would suggest either writing them down on a piece of paper or word document.

1. How long does it take to learn to read like this? Let's face it, this isn't everyday reading and you are tested on things that aren't exactly central to whether or not you've comprehended the words on the page.

It really depends on you. I don't think the low and high resolution summary are something that's a very foreign concept like logic games are. So you should catch on pretty fast.

1. Do you actually remember every detail of the high resolution summary? After I finish reading the passage, I go down the margins and read the low resolution summary, I then ask myself "Why?" or "What?" and then expand...this reinforces all the finer points of the passage.

You shouldn't have much written in margins and you don't have time to recall the high resolution summary at the end of the passage. I really don't recommend reading these summaries after reading the passage. When you "connect back" to previous paragraph thats pretty much your review. Trust yourself that when you do encounter questions about those details your brain for the most part will remember what it read just a couple of minutes ago. If not, skip the question before going back to the passage.

1. Any other tidbits you can share with me? I am desperate to get to a consistent -4 or less under timed conditions.

Practice, Practice, and Practice

danielznelson

Your issues may well primarily or at least significantly in the answer choices. But before I get to that, I'd have a few, additional recommendations for the reading of the passage:

• Focus on purpose and relationships rather than "details."

The "details" aren't so much random tidbits as they are relevant pieces the author decided to bring up. These smaller pieces connect with other ones, whether they're a restatement of a previously expressed idea, providing a distinction/contrast, or are foreshadowing something ahead (these are just some examples). If ever confused about a detail, ask yourself why it's there. Getting the purpose can be a helpful start for understanding what its saying and why. And again, the author didn't bring it up just for fun. It's there for a reason and 99% of the time has a relationship with other parts of the passage. So in the end, there really isn't much to "remember" outside of a few key terms that play off of one another (i.e. relationships).

• Adjust as you read.

This is a broad tip, but I'll make it easiest to understand by contrasting what NOT to do: reading straight down from line 1 to the last line. You will generally be doing that, yes. But there are times you'll want to stop, refer back, connect back, and then move one. In other instances, you will have to slow down in order to understand a confusing passage. When this is the case, don't try to understand the entire passage as a whole all at once. Comprehend the paragraph line by line - failing to understand a line before another one will generally separate you from a full understanding, as each line plays off the next. If you still can't understand a line, identify its purpose, recognize you're not fully aware of what's being stated there, and move on. When questions and AC touch on this idea, be wary of selecting or eliminating anything that touches directly on that which you're not sure about, for obvious reasons. Eliminate/verify everything else.

I could go on for days regarding the questions, but I'll note a few important points that apply pretty universally to all questions, especially the difficult ones. One thing first - understanding really, really well the passage is just not enough. The right ACs are not easy pickings. They require scrutiny and nitpicky analysis just like in LR.

The correct AC will often not be worded in a way you would expect, even if you have a vague anticipation. This is because the correct AC is frequently clouded with referential phrasing, odd and unattractive wording, unexpected synonyms, and unassuming, insignificant content (i.e. the AC really isn't stating a whole lot).

These answer choices are easy to pass over. Just realizing that the correct ACs aren't going to pop out at you every time may alone be helpful. The incorrect ACs, on the other hand, are generally more transparently right in the pieces that are in fact right. Of course, as with all incorrect ACs, something in it is also unsupported or contradicted. But it's easy to cling on to what looks good before eventually justifying the part that isn't correct, especially if it's "merely" unsupported.

There's another key issue regarding the wording of the ACs - that we fail to recognize and identify the difference between the reasoning and the descriptive content in questions. When we don't like an AC, we need to know why that is. Is it because the tone/reasoning/structure is off? Or is it because of some word that you're not sure about? The latter is very often the case, and it can lead us to disregard that AC, even when it's right. In these cases, ask yourself if it's a word/phrase on its own (i.e. the descriptive content) or the reasoning as a whole. If the former, try linking up that word/phrase with what it is ostensibly supposed to be linked up with in the passage. Or provide synonymous terms for that unappealing word/phrase to see if it's actually more acceptable then you think it is. Maybe it's merely a referential phrase. If the descriptive content is acceptable, the AC is probably right, assuming your reasoning is correct, as well.

Finally, there's a persistent need in RC and in all other sections to stick with an AC, reasoning through its content, before moving on to the next AC. Especially in RC, you just can't do this. It's so easy to run out of time, momentum, and endurance because of this one mistake. If in an Inference Question, say, you start debating whether "A" is correct or incorrect, move on to "B." One of the answers may very clearly be right. Why spend time eliminating an AC before seeing the rest? Now, of course, if you can knock out an AC very quickly, that's fine. But if you're hovering over an AC without moving on, you're wasting your time. It's great that you can employ high-level reasoning, and we need to improve that reasoning as much as possible. But on a timed test, we need to employ that reasoning only as much as we need to.

And for many of these questions, anticipate and scan. You can get a broad sense of the AC in MP Questions, Analogy Questions, (Specific) Inference/MSS Questions, Purpose Questions, and Weakening/Strengthening Questions. Even if your anticipation is vague, it's orienting you in the right direction, which can help you bypass attractive ACs that will only waste your time.