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Help Needed!!

rjguerra99rjguerra99 Core Member

Hello everyone,

Probably like most of you i have spent the least amount of time studying in RC. I am embarrassed to admit that after a few blind review practice tests my average is -18. I have tried reading for structure like most explanation videos encourage to do but still hasn't helped much. Quite frankly I rarely understand what the hell i'm reading even when i take 6-8 minutes reading the prompt. I'm obviously completely misunderstanding this section of the test and am hoping someone can point me in the right direction as to where to go from this point. I would love to improve at least 10 points ASAP

Comments

  • 1050 karma

    I would start by taking a few RC passages untimed. Even just take one passage and give yourself as much time as it takes to understand what you're reading. There's no time that's too long! When you're done, fill out a form like this one and then answer the questions:

    Low Res:
    P1-
    P2-
    P3-
    etc....

    Main Point-
    Author's Viewpoint/Tone-
    Other Viewpoints-
    Argument Structure-

    I wouldn't do this just a few times, I would drill a LOT of passages this way until you're getting -1, -0 per passage. At that point you can start worrying about time. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast!

  • 476 karma

    I agree with @"Burden.of.Floof", when you begin doing timed sections, it also really helps to do low res for each of the paragraphs. It helps to track the train of thought of the passage and helps to remember the important things that were said.

  • Kris4444Kris4444 Member
    266 karma

    Also agree with @"Burden.of.Floof" I'm doing the same thing and am down to about 9-11 minutes per passage.

    I would also recommend not moving on to another passage until you've thoroughly reviewed the last one. When you look at the questions you got wrong, can you understand why the right answer is right? I found helpful to go through every question I got wrong and highlight where in the passage the answer can be proved, then write out an explanation for why the wrong ACs are wrong (even the ones you eliminated easily) and why the right AC is right. Drilling lots of passages won't help as much if you don't know where you went wrong.

  • Cynthia-2Cynthia-2 Member
    498 karma

    Very helpful. What does low res mean , and argument structure mean in the form to fill out?

  • 476 karma

    Low res is a brief description of the passage.

  • rjguerra99rjguerra99 Core Member
    6 karma

    Thank you everyone!

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