BR Reading Comprehension

Accounts Playable

I would like some suggestions about how to BR reading comp. I just started the practice exams today (#36), and I am wondering what other people typically do with this section.

Matt1234567

I'm not sure about others, but what I tend to do is to really dig deep into the structure of the passage, look for keywords, see how evidence is used to prove certain points, what the author is suggesting and what their tone is, etc. I also try and see how each paragraph moves onto the next one and how the passage flows overall. Basically, I do more carefully what I should be doing during the actual timed PT.

Pacifico

Depends on the passage and depends on the questions. If I have only one question, it's pretty targeted in what it's looking for and I had a pretty good feel for the passage then I will just go an search out the support for the correct answer. If there were multiple questions to BR and I was a little shaky on the passage and I've got some author agreement or inference questions then I usually read the entire passage again and then dive back into the questions. So for me it's a spectrum and I don't do everything the same way every single time. I find it's better to focus on what the questions want from me in order to separate the wheat from the chaff in the passage.

DumbHollywoodActor

I use BR as a way to consciously practice all the things that I hope I will ultimately do intuitively when timed: Reading for reasoning structure, Practicing memory method, knowing why incorrect answers are incorrect, maybe finding parallels between the current passage and a previous passage, etc...

I disagree that BR isn’t as helpful for RC as LR. The benefits might not come as quickly, but a thorough understanding of a good number of passages will yield a critical mass of understanding. I can’t tell you when it happened, but over time, I started seeing some serious progress in my RC. I went -18 on my diagnostic and now regularly go -5/-4 on my RC. I attribute that to doing a ton of passages ( I drilled RC PT 1-20) with some serious BR.

StopLawying

The way I BR is very time consuming but I found it extremely helpful: I write out a brief summary of what each paragraph is saying. Afterwards, I write out the author's main point BEFORE looking at the questions again. With a rock solid understanding of the passage, you'll start to realize that the questions aren't actually difficult. I agree with JY in that RC passages should be treated like logic games--- working upfront will not only make the questions easier but it'll also save you time.
Also, for any question I got wrong under timed conditions, I'll make sure to write out a full explanation for the question. This part is the worst but you really begin to see why you're missing questions. Also, doing this makes me want to do really well under timed conditions since it means less work!