How to Approach RC For Feb test

jennybbbbb

So I did write the December test but I have already registered to write the Feb one.

RC has been my weakest section and I honestly thought I had it down until I started doing some of the newer PTs.

How would you guys recommend going about this? I was planning on doing one to two passages untimed for the next couple of weeks and then start timing in January. I was fairly decent on doing the earlier RC passages untimed (-3/-5 on a section) . Though, I noticed a drastic change in my score when approaching the 60s and 70s.

What do you guys recommend? What has worked for you?

Habeas Porpoise

If you saw a drastic change in the 60s and 70s, is it possibly the comparative passages that are throwing you off? Most of us approach them differently than we do the other passages.
I use J.Y.'s method where I read Passage 1, then go through the questions, crossing of ACs that I know are incorrect and answer questions I can from just my knowledge of the first passage. Then I repeat this process with Passage 2. It's similar to what you would do for an Agree/Disagree question in LR.

If it's a more generic drop that doesn't have to do with this particular passage type, then I think drilling is a great idea.
If you're attempting new passages, I recommend at least using a stopwatch/lap function for when you finish reading the passage and start answering questions, so you have a good sense of how long it's taking you.
For passages you've already done, untimed practice is great! I recommend creating an outline like the following:

For each paragraph:
- low-res: less than 10 words
- high-res: 1-2 sentence summary
- key words: words that indicate a change in subject, specific POVs, author's tone, etc.

For the entire passage:
- main point
- author's purpose
- author's tone

I usually do a passage a day, and this has really helped me improve on my accuracy in RC since I'm able to sift through all the details to the crux of what the passage is saying faster.
I actually wrote up an example outline for someone in this post, if you want to see it in detail: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/14071/advice-for-isolating-rc

Let me know if you have any questions, but I hope this helps!

jennybbbbb

@"Habeas Porpoise" said:
If you saw a drastic change in the 60s and 70s, is it possibly the comparative passages that are throwing you off? Most of us approach them differently than we do the other passages.
I use J.Y.'s method where I read Passage 1, then go through the questions, crossing of ACs that I know are incorrect and answer questions I can from just my knowledge of the first passage. Then I repeat this process with Passage 2. It's similar to what you would do for an Agree/Disagree question in LR.

If it's a more generic drop that doesn't have to do with this particular passage type, then I think drilling is a great idea.
If you're attempting new passages, I recommend at least using a stopwatch/lap function for when you finish reading the passage and start answering questions, so you have a good sense of how long it's taking you.
For passages you've already done, untimed practice is great! I recommend creating an outline like the following:

For each paragraph:
- low-res: less than 10 words
- high-res: 1-2 sentence summary
- key words: words that indicate a change in subject, specific POVs, author's tone, etc.

For the entire passage:
- main point
- author's purpose
- author's tone

I usually do a passage a day, and this has really helped me improve on my accuracy in RC since I'm able to sift through all the details to the crux of what the passage is saying faster.
I actually wrote up an example outline for someone in this post, if you want to see it in detail: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/14071/advice-for-isolating-rc

Let me know if you have any questions, but I hope this helps!

Thank you for the detailed response! I will definitely try this out. Which PTs would you recommend drilling for RC passages, especially since I have limited time? Also, how do you allocate time towards passages when doing timed sections? I have found that I take about 10 minutes on one passage, sometime more which is why I usually can't finish the last passage at all. I find myself rereading the passages when I approach the questions...

Habeas Porpoise

No problem!

I recommend you drill the PTs you've already done for practice, starting from the oldest one. Retake the RC section timed, then do the outline for BR. If you can record yourself that would be great, since you can see how you're using your time.
Then, as usual, take new PTs. I would focus on the newer PTs (60s+) that include the comparative passages. If you think you might retake then make sure to save a few. Honestly, RC is RC, any passage from past exams is good practice.

And yeah, that's tough! I used to have the same problem -- I'd spend too much time on the first passage and not finish the section.
It's okay to look back at the passage occasionally, but you want to invest enough time up front (like you would for LG) so that you can rely on your memory. A good ball-park is 3:30 to 4 minutes for the passage, with another 4 or so minutes for the questions.
When going through the passage, I read a paragraph, then take 15 or so seconds to summarize the paragraph. Then I go on to the next paragraph, read, remind myself of my summary for the first paragraph then add on the summary for the second paragraph. I repeat this process through the rest of the passage. At the end, I consider the main point, the author's tone, then do a super quick structural (low-res) summary. So everything you would do untimed, but now you're doing in your head.
When answering questions, don't immediately jump back to the passage to check an AC. First finish going through the ACs and crossing of whatever you can from memory. If you've spent enough time up-front, you might not even need to go back to the passage. Otherwise, with the remaining ACs, check against the passage. If it's taking too much time, circle the question and move on and come back after finishing the section.

Alex

I would recommend making sure you have a solid and consistent approach to RC. Develop your own notation style, if you use one.

Then I would practice doing timed RC passages (maybe 1-2 per day) and then BR them immediately afterwards and write your own explanations. This helped me to see some pretty big improvement!

jennybbbbb

@"Habeas Porpoise" said:
No problem!

I recommend you drill the PTs you've already done for practice, starting from the oldest one. Retake the RC section timed, then do the outline for BR. If you can record yourself that would be great, since you can see how you're using your time.
Then, as usual, take new PTs. I would focus on the newer PTs (60s+) that include the comparative passages. If you think you might retake then make sure to save a few. Honestly, RC is RC, any passage from past exams is good practice.

And yeah, that's tough! I used to have the same problem -- I'd spend too much time on the first passage and not finish the section.
It's okay to look back at the passage occasionally, but you want to invest enough time up front (like you would for LG) so that you can rely on your memory. A good ball-park is 3:30 to 4 minutes for the passage, with another 4 or so minutes for the questions.
When going through the passage, I read a paragraph, then take 15 or so seconds to summarize the paragraph. Then I go on to the next paragraph, read, remind myself of my summary for the first paragraph then add on the summary for the second paragraph. I repeat this process through the rest of the passage. At the end, I consider the main point, the author's tone, then do a super quick structural (low-res) summary. So everything you would do untimed, but now you're doing in your head.
When answering questions, don't immediately jump back to the passage to check an AC. First finish going through the ACs and crossing of whatever you can from memory. If you've spent enough time up-front, you might not even need to go back to the passage. Otherwise, with the remaining ACs, check against the passage. If it's taking too much time, circle the question and move on and come back after finishing the section.

Thank you! I will definitely redo the passages I have done in the past, I have never thought to do that before!

What about for detail questions or inference based questions, would you circle them and come back to them or try to quickly go over them and circle it if you don't get it from memory? I feel like I have trouble really absorbing the information on my first read. I find it a struggle to answer the inference based questions or the detail questions... Takes forever to go back to the passage and find the detail, which is why I probably lose time to finish the last passage.

Any tips on how to improve memorize the passage? I tried to use JY's method, but unfortunately it honestly hasn't helped me much...

jennybbbbb

@"Alex Divine" said:
I would recommend making sure you have a solid and consistent approach to RC. Develop your own notation style if you use one.

Then I would practice doing timed RC passages (maybe 1-2 per day) and then BR them immediately afterwards and write your own explanations. This helped me to see some pretty big improvement!

I haven't found a notation style yet. I feel like I can't fully absorb the information if I write too much... what has worked for you? I was able to read the passages without making any notes and answer the questions on the older passages but the newer passages consist of a lot of inference based questions....

I have heard some people write the low resolution summaries only and that works for them.

Habeas Porpoise

Hey! Sorry for not getting back to you sooner!

First, I would see about spending enough time up-front on the passage, and then assess whether or not I'm struggling to retain information. Go through some old passage and see how you do, and tell yourself that you are more than capable of remember a general idea of what you read, if not the details, and that you have all the time you need. Don't let a belief that you can't memorize prevent you from trying! If you're focused, 3:30 - 4 minutes, maybe 4:30, is more than enough time to really get the passage down, or at least develop a mental picture of what's going on and where to find details for specific questions in the passage.

After that, yeah, I would try to at least get rid of answer choices from memory for detail/inference questions. Then, if I remember which paragraph in the passage those details were from, I'll quickly check back to see if I can eliminate some more ACs/pick the right AC. If I can't remember where in the passage, or I check and can't find the information, I would circle and move on. You can spend more time after you've finished all the passages to hunt for details. You're mind will be more clear, too, since you've mostly finished the section and there's no stress from having a bunch more questions to get to.

As for memorizing, I just do what I mentioned in my last comment; I read each paragraph, try and briefly summarize what the paragraph says, then move on to the next paragraph--until I finish the passage. Then I ask myself the main point, author's purpose, and tone, and then get to answering the questions. That usually reinforces the passage enough for me.
Another point to add: don't stress. Excess cortisol (stress hormone) impairs both the creation and recall of memories, so it doesn't help your case to stress out thinking that you "have to get through this" or "I can't memorize this, what am I going to do!?!" as you try and read the passage. Just read, consider this an interesting article you actively want to understand, and as needed, interact with the text mentally as you go along. Once in a while ask questions like, "why does the author use this word" (tone word indicator), "what's the author's point" (for POV/inference questions), "why did the author introduce what other people say" (for POV/ purpose questions), etc. I've found that interacting with the text organically and focusing on the information being presented rather than stressing out about what I'll eventually have to do with said information (i.e. answer questions) makes it easier to retain what I read.

Hope that clears it up a bit!
RC started off as my best section (relative to everything else), but my scores were really volatile (going from -5 to -12 to -8 to -11 to -4 depending on difficulty...). After practicing with old passages, focusing more on a structural/low-level understanding of the material, and mostly just letting myself enjoy reading and learning (I've always loved both, so that helps) rather than stressing out about retaining everything for all the questions I'd have to answer, my scores are consistently no worse than -4 during my PTs. Just keep practicing and you'll get better!