How long does it take you to BR RC?

Comments

• 1 Like

  Ohnoeshalpme Alum Member ⭐

  June 2018 2531 karma

  I'm terrible at RC and I usually spend like an hour BRing it. My avg BR for the section is -3/-4
• 5 Likes

  btownsquee Alum Member

  June 2018 1207 karma

  2-3 hours for me. It takes me multiple days to BR an exam.
• youbbyun Alum Member

  June 2018 1755 karma

  @btownsquee
  @Ohnoeshalpme
  thanks!
• 1 Like

  paulmv.benthem Alum Member

  June 2018 1032 karma

  @username_hello said:
  Hey all,

  i just spent 3 hours BR'ing my RC section. I would reread the passage (do low and high res summary, VIEWSTAMP, etc.), and then go over questions i circled. I would prove 1 AC right and 4 AC wrong, often with specific line references. It took 3 hours.

  I usually hit around -4/5 timed and -1/2 for BR.

  IS this normal? how long do you guys usually take for BR'ing RC?

  Any other advice, suggestions, or comments would be appreciated

  Thanks!

  I’m assuming your asking people how long they take to know whether you should change your own process...if that’s the case, I wouldn’t worry about. The process you outline above sounds great to me. It’s not about time, it’s about quality, and you seem to be achieving that!

  The only thing that would offer as a suggestion is that I’ve lately begun printing out a fresh copy of the section for doing my BR, and I’ll write down in my notebook (Evernote) the argumentative structure of the passage. This has helped me to follow more easily the structure of passages I encounter.

  Hope these words help! Keep up the good work!
• 1 Like

  youbbyun Alum Member

  June 2018 1755 karma

  @"paulmv.benthem"

  great - thanks so much!!
• 1 Like

  alyhobbs Alum Member

  June 2018 715 karma

  I agree with @"paulmv.benthem" If it works for you don't change it. BRing is where you are learning the most. Your weaknesses are being put in the spotlight. If it takes you 30 minutes to realize you overlooked a small part in a passage that link certain things together then that will help you to do it that much quicker on another passage. It takes me days to BR, partly because I work full time, but also because if I am struggling with a question I may come back to it multiple times until it clicks. I tried to rush my BR this last week and I regret it because I didn't gain as much from it. I realized after I checked the answers that if I would have spent a little more time I would have been able to get there.

  Also writing out why I think an answer choice is wrong or not wrong is really helping. I am challenging myself to understand my own reasoning more. It also helps with a BR call so I can see where I went wrong in my reasoning. But it's time consuming so in my opinion there is nothing wrong with BR taking longer than the actual test.
• 1 Like

  CurlyQQQ Alum Member

  June 2018 295 karma

  Same here! It takes forever.
• 1 Like

  btownsquee Alum Member

  June 2018 1207 karma

  Writing down the argumentative structure of the passage is a GREAT suggestion @"paulmv.benthem" !! I'm going to start doing this.
• 1 Like

  Ohnoeshalpme Alum Member ⭐

  June 2018 2531 karma

  @btownsquee said:
  2-3 hours for me. It takes me multiple days to BR an exam.

  Most sages recommend that you finish your BR for a given PT within 24 hours of taking the PT.
• KeepCalm Alum Member

  June 2018 807 karma

  @"paulmv.benthem" & @alyhobbs I agree 100%!
• 1 Like

  keets993 Alum Member ⭐ ⏰ 🍌

  June 2018 6050 karma

  I take about 30 mins to an hour for each passage set because I would rewrite the passage, analyze it, and then tackle the questions. I've recently switched to typing it out because I felt like I was taking too long to write it all out (jury on the switch is still out). As others have mentioned, as long as your method is working for you in terms of your quality then I wouldn't worry about changing it.

  Most sages recommend that you finish your BR for a given PT within 24 hours of taking the PT.

  I think it depends on how much you have to BR. When you're starting out and dealing with timing and underconfidence issues there's probably a lot more questions to BR as opposed to someone who is later on in their prep. Also how much mental energy you have left over.