I first read Passage A, and because I'm a nervous impulsive person, I go straight to the questions that refer only to passage A and do those, and then skim through the questions that refer to both A and B (i.e. "Which of these would both the authors from A and B agree with?") and eliminate a good 2-3 answer choices for each of the questions like that. I do this because I fear that I'll forget what I read in A after I finish with B (or worse, misinterpret A wrong and see it through a different lens after because of what I've read in B.)
This strategy doesn't seem terrible, since I still do ~okay~ on the passages, but it also probably takes up more time because I'm re-reading questions? I wanna know if anyone else has tips / good strategy for Comparative Passages. I'm still trying out my strategy, but if it's deemed inefficient or unnecessary, I'm still in the early stages so I'll be ready to change/modify to a different strategy.
Thanks, community!
Comments
Its hard to give feedback on something I've never tried. I usually try to read comparative passages together, trying to pick up themes and the comparisons in both determining if they are complementary or opposing.
As far as my strategy for comparative reading comp, I basically do them like any other reading comp using the memory method. I find for the comparative passages my mind tries to anticipate what about the differences and similarities they'll ask about. After you've done enough of them it gets easier with any passage to anticipate the kind of questions they'll ask.
Do you use the memory method that 7Sage teaches? It literally improved my RC score by 4 or 5 points. It takes a while to get used to, but I promise you it is so worth it. I save so much time not re-reading or annotating anything.
I answer the "single passage" questions right after reading the corresponding passage.
For the "A mentions B doesn't" I cross off the ones A doesn't mention as soon as I read A, and work through the remainder after I finish B.
I then answer the questions that refer to both passages (main idea of both, Passage A is more what than passage B, the two authors would disagree about which of the following, and so on).
I guess that's pretty similar to @"Cant Get Right" 's strategy.
It helps answer the "nitty-gritty" questions while the relevant passage is fresh in your mind, so you can then concentrate on the more general comparative questions without being afraid of forgetting some details.