I am now on timed PT's and still struggling with MBT questions and SA questions. I have only taken 3 PT's so far 19,20, 21. I'm BRing in the 160's w.o BRing RC if I were to be BRing RC, I would be in the 170's. Do you guys have any advice for me regarding MBT and SA? Also, is it worth BR'ing RC? When I do untimed RC passagesI don't really struggle considering I have all the time in the world.
Comments
As far as your specific problem areas go, MBT questions really hinge on the ability to eliminate wrong answers. If the answers mention something not talked about or referred to in the stimulus, then there's no way we would have enough information to say that it must be true. Also, be careful of any term shifts and any combining of terms that don't go together. This is especially prevalent in the dense MBT stimuli. Really, you just have to have great POE skills for these questions, which can be honed in by drilling if it's not just coming intuitively (which often times it does not).
For SA: when you BR you have to have to have to take time to anticipate and predict the gap in the argument and with that what form the right answer is going to take. Develop this mindset in BR and never rush through the stimulus. This should really be done on all question types because it fosters a certain activeness while you read that it is essential to scoring high. Other than that, just drill these problem types for a little to see if things will start to click.
As for your SA assumption question, I wouldn't say it just comes down to predicting the answer choice because I don't want to run the risk of oversimplifying these questions, but recognizing that a gap exists and articulating that gap will go a long way. When you drill (and if you don't, when you BR), focus on this specifically--don't take time into consideration. There may be a time where you do have to worry about how fast you're progressing through the section (although I'm of the opinion that proficiency solves all time problems so it's not something to specifically worry about), but it's certainly not while you're trying to develop the correct thought processes.
There really is no secret formula to acing the RC section, and I would guess that most of the advice hinges on the same stuff mixed in with some new terminology so that it feels fresh. RC boils down to understanding what you read, that's it. No scale or trademarked terminology can substitute for a lot of practice. Read each paragraph on its own terms, summarize what you've read, predict what you anticipate the author will talk about next, and then relate the paragraph and its main point to the main point of the passage as a whole. Note the authors opinion throughout, no matter how subtle, and how the argument progresses. Ask yourself, "why is the author taking the time to tell me about this? Why is it important to him or her? And why is this important to me?" A good exercise to help develop this mindset is, after you've read a passage while drilling, pretend you have to teach the passage to someone who hasn't read it, and do so without looking back to the passage to just read important lines. Describe the passage on your own terms, because if you can't speak about the passage without referring back to it, then you really didn't comprehend it all that much. You'll see how this forces you to really sort out what's important, what's the main point, and how the author feels, all while not getting too bogged
down in the details.
http://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/3278/how-to-improve-reading-speed-on-rc
Keep in mind that RC in the earlier tests is considered to be "easier" than later tests, so the challenge should be expected to pick up as you progress through PT's.
Your thoughts about RC BR could are a common refrain about BR and fool proofing for LG but that doesn't mean it's not helpful. BR overall is about taking the time and pressure out of the equation to measure your skills, just because it is harder to do that in LR doesn't mean that it isn't worthwhile in the other sections.
Other than just repetition and familiarity with what questions might be asked, I would say I've become much better (and quicker) at process of elimination. On any given question 2 or even 3 of the answer choices can be totally wrong based on what the question asks you to do. Being able to do this has allowed me to really focus in on which remaining answers are right, and also move through questions more quickly so that I can go back and review questions that I was iffy about.