Potential RC breakthrough

Pride Only Hurts

I studied philosophy in undergrad so I never expected to struggle with RC. Hundreds of pages every night were common but RC has nonetheless kicked my ass. I've been studying for over 8 months and nothing really ever "clicked"... until today.

I decided to switch it up a bit today and completed an RC section while sitting comfortably on my sofa (much like I would while reading a novel). A few things happened. Because I was incredibly relaxed I accidentally spent more time reading and understanding the passage (probably about 4 minutes). I also found eliminating answer choices to be a lot easier because I remembered what I read more clearly. In the end, I was pressed for time on the last passage but I imagine that is because I was moving at such a different pace. I only missed one question. This is significant for me because my average falls around -7 and my best RC score was previously -4. So this is obviously a huge outlier and I'm still not sure how it will work out for me in the long run. For now I'm just excited to try something new that might work!

Has anyone else experienced a significant jump after calming down and reading the passage a bit more naturally? I know spending more time up front on the passage leaves little room for error but maybe that's a better method for some people. I still had plenty of time to revisit each passage for the questions that called for it.

ad_coelum

Less pressure = more relaxed to answer the questions! I’ve experienced the same thing. I like to make connections with the reading too. Like, if the passage is about theatre then I’ll make a connection to my younger years in drama class. You can make a connection to nearly every passage and it helps with understanding. Keep doing what works for you!

ebalde1234

I agree

btownsquee

Yes--reading the passage like a novel/something I'm going to talk about later with a friend has tremendously helped my RC performance!

gkoebel1

I had recently found that reading the passage slower allowed myself a greater comprehension of the authors point of view and opposing point of views which greatly improved my personally dreaded inference questions in RC. Great job though and keep improving !

NotMyName

This has been my experience, too. I like to read novels in bed before I go to sleep and I started practicing recapping paragraphs, pages, and chapters as I read. It helped me do this more naturally.

Adam Hawks

Yeah doing more work up front, understanding the structure of the passage, but more specifically, the premises that support the overall main point. Also understanding how the processes work in the law and science passages, how the examples or specific details relate to the author's main point or the passage's main point.

You killed it. Keep doing it and you'll be a superstar!

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