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Related Discussions
Does this happen to you?
Killmonger
Alum Member
Reading comprehension is my worst section. Relatively speaking. But on the situations where my timing is a little off and i don't have much time on the last passage or even the last two passages, i'll just speed read through the passages and quickly answer the questions. I'm talking doing a passage and the questions in 6 minutes. As crazy as this sounds i get most of the questions right when i do this. Maybe missing one per passage. And i always check to see if that passage was an easier or harder passage and regardless of the difficulty, i always always always do well when I'm in a rush and just trust my gut and answer. When i do this i don't really even eliminate, i just look for the right answer. But when i have time I'm not as accurate on harder passages.
Does this happen to anyone else? I'm always shocked at how many i get right when i didn't even fully grasp the passage and just ran with what i could gather quickly.
Comments
Yeah -- I used to spend more time upfront reading the passages and would finish by the skin* of my teeth and miss around 5-6 per section. I eventually began reading the passages themselves faster so I would have more time on the questions and to go back and find textual support as needed. I think it sounds like perhaps you would benefit from trying this technique.
I'm not exactly sure what exact timing breakdown between reading the passage & answering questions will be right for you. I will say that I found it helpful to experiment with the time you spend upfront vs. answering the questions. I think everyone more or less can find their sweet spot.
Just make sure you have a strategy that you've practiced before doing so. If you're able to spot the right answer often when in a hurry, try to pre-phrase answers in the same way when you are not hurrying.
Yeah I know people who zoom through the passage and just know the basic structure of the passage and do well on the questions. I think it is itself a strategy that some people use.
I had been implementing the memory method for a while and its been helpful. My goal is to be at -5 on RC. My best ever is -3 and I'm normally in the -7 to -4 range. Im going to get -0 on LG. thats what i normally do. Literally on only one LG section between PT 36 to 66 have i not gotten all of them right (that damn PT 55 game 4 bus game whooped me like i stole something.) And if i keep my -2 on each LR section i can get that 170 i so desire. I just gotta keep practicing. Thanks for the input. Finding that medium is key. Along with practice.
Try PT 67 RC and you'll be impressed.
Haha. Well taking it tomorrow or Tuesday , I'll let you know how it goes.
Gah so #jelly of you right now lol! I hate LG!
Ive been doing the full proof method for like 6 months. Believe me i took my lumps before i got good at it. Ive probably done every game between PT 1-35 5 times each at minimum. The harder ones easily 10 times a piece.
Ahh proof that hardwork pays off
I started out with the same issue. I'd spend too long on the passage, not enough time on the questions, then run out of time on the last passage. Yet, I would somehow do the best on the passage I had to skim at the end. I was probably averaging - 5/- 6 on RC and like 4 or 5 of those missed Qs would be from the first three passages. Then I read the RC Bible from Powerscore, and adapted some aspects of their method. I combined this with JY's RC tips and saw an immediate improvement (- 0 on RC for my last four timed PTs)!
Basically just read the article quickly (like 3-3:30 - not in excessive detail, but not skimming) and annotate any viewpoints, tone indicator words, examples given to illustrate arguments, and in-text definitions for technical terms or answers to rhetorical questions posed by the author. Then, take maybe thirty seconds to get a grasp on the general structure of the arguments presented in the passage. Determine the main point and put it in brackets in the text. After that, go on to the questions and you should have plenty of time (about 4-4:30 per passage). I found that by following this method and knowing what to look for before hitting the passages, I could usually determine the correct answer for questions before reading answer choices (or if my prephrase didn't work, at least have a good reason to eliminate the four incorrect choices).
Obviously everyone has their own optimal strategy, but FWIW hope this might help in some way for those who encountered similar timing issues.
I tried a ton of different strategies, including memory method and skimming. Weirdly, what works for me is covering the passage with my hand and forcing myself to read it line by line, only moving my hand down a line when I have finished a line. If I don't fully understand a line, I go back and read it again (rare). I find myself completing the questions without even referring to the passage, even for the specific line references.
@"Alex Divine" man you were right. I realized i was over notating and my slower speed of reading forced the flow of my understanding to be incoherent at times. Reading a little faster actually helps me for some reason. I surprisingly didn't even need to spend much time on the questions. Drilled 4 entire RC sections yesterday and today i did the timed Prep test 67 and i had never had a series of 5 RC passages where the most i missed was 4. literally missed 2-3 on all of them with time to spare. One of them i should have missed 0 but i read the question wrong. Anyway thanks a lot. I got to keep implementing it but reading faster seems to help me. I was missing the forrest for the trees
Alright! Go my man...
Missing -2 on RC consistently, especially on newer test is impressive!