A/B Reading Passage - Tips?

makena_808makena_808 Member
edited March 2021 in Reading Comprehension 98 karma

One of my biggest areas of weakness is the A/B Reading Passage. I know JY recommends starting with Passage A and answering every relevant question before moving to Passage B. Is this the best approach? I would love suggestions on approaching this section.

Comments

  • kkole444kkole444 Alum Member ⭐
    1687 karma

    Hello @makena_808 ,
    I use to read both passages because I did not like stopping and then answering questions and then go back to reading. However, I have since started using the read A then answer/cross out answers and then go back and read B. This increased my accuracy and speed. I tend to prefer to do the A/B passages now. I highly recommend it. It went from my worst section on RC to my best. There are a few advantages to splitting it up as well. The first is that you will not be confused when answering questions that specifically pertain to A. There is normally at least 1 questions that pertains to just A, or there are questions that ask, what was mentioned in B that was not in A, or vice versa and this is another type that you can answer without confusion of both passages raddling around in our mind. Plus Just reading A allows you to knock out many of the wrong answer choices in other questions and lastly you can knock out answer choices for just about every question which helps speeds and accuracy when coming back to the questions after reading B.

  • canihazJDcanihazJD Alum Member Sage ⭐
    8491 karma

    Concur with @kkole444. To add, it is also a very common for wrong answers to target the confusion that results from trying to hold both passages in your working memory. Trap ACs may be phrased in a very attractive way, but use info from the wrong passage. It's not just that you can get confused... it's that the test writer knows you will and capitalizes on that. Doing the questions one passage at a time renders this trap completely ineffective.

  • daliaglomelidaliaglomeli Core Member
    117 karma

    Agreed. I also recommend keeping in mind their relationship for ex. passage A suggests a method and passage B agrees/disagrees. Also, keep in mind who the author might be for each passage for example if the author in passage A gives evidence that they are a professor and in passage B there's evidence that the author is a critic. I've seen those questions repeat

  • SufficientConditionSufficientCondition Alum Member
    311 karma

    @makena_808 said:
    One of my biggest areas of weakness is the A/B Reading Passage. I know JY recommends starting with Passage A and answering every relevant question before moving to Passage B. Is this the best approach? I would love suggestions on approaching this section.

    I found this approach interesting but too time consuming to offer benefits. If you are asking, I recommend keeping the main point and structure in mind for each and then going through the questions. Recognizing that the level of detail on A/B sets is often (not always!) lower-res than elsewhere was HUGE for me. I am sure there are specific RC sections where the method you referenced helps, but I have not found it to help consistently.

  • makena_808makena_808 Member
    98 karma

    Thank you for all the advice!

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