Wild inconsistency at RC and slow reader.. Thoughts/Tips?

JK_fish92

Thread title kind of says it all. I'm extremely nervous about this section because it will most likely determine whether or not I reach my goal score. I've done 20+ RC sections since I began studying and have been scoring anywhere from -6 to -16... which is extremely concerning. Just recently I was able to get through all 4 passages and only had to blind guess on 4 questions (before I could barely get done with 3 passages and question sets.
I was wondering if anybody had any tips or review methods that helped them get better and more consistent at RC? I watch JY's videos which seem to be helpful but i'm still struggling with being consistent.

Thanks in advance!

MissChanandler

Skip the really hard questions so that you have more time for the ones that you'll be able to get. Let's say you skip one question per passage (obviously you should still bubble in an answer, but just pick a letter). That gives you -4. Having the option to skip a question per passage will make you feel less time crunched, less nervous, and even if you still miss 2 or 3 of the questions you do answer, you'll be way way better off than missing 10+ questions. As far as improving reading speed goes, if you don't understand a sentence, just keep reading. Often, the following sentences will offer clarification/context. If there's a word you don't know, just keep reading it and don't worry about it. This is especially true in the science passages. They're not going to ask you what mitosis means unless the passage tells you what it means.

Ohnoeshalpme

It sounds like you are improving! I think that a huge part of success in RC is linked to concise low resolution summaries. Once you find the balance between the details and the broad strokes, you’ll be much less reliant on returning to the passage. I think that this is the key for “slow” readers.

That being said, I highly advise that you work with a tutor on this front. You might be doing things that are holding you back but are easy fixes.

samantha.ashley92

I totally relate. My diagnostic was -4 and I've gone -14 haha. One strategy I learned from a prep book (don't do this on test day, just to practice) is to read the passage once and only mark up the author's POV and the main points. Then, go through it again and mark up/underline details. What that does is teach you what is truly important information and what is not. You'll start to pick up a general feeling of what seems like a good thing to know for context versus what is crucial to understand. For example, some definitions will take up 3 lines and only 5 words of it matter. Also, the strategy reinforces that you're not reading for a thorough, detailed understanding-- just for a general understanding. Try it and learn to trust yourself! From there, you can go back to reading. Also, pay very close attention to the question stems. It's amazing how many questions I got wrong because I just didn't slow down enough to pick up on exactly what the question was asking.