Reading Comprehension Trend

Comments

• chase62442 Alum Member

  August 2014 79 karma

  I haven't noticed that, but I've done a lot more LR than RC (because there are twice as many and because I like them more). I'm interested to see if people who have studied more than I have have noticed a trend.
  
  For me, the "trick" to RC is to be interested in the passage. It's difficult because the passages are so short and you know the questions are coming up and there are more passages after, but if you can forget about all of that and just be interested in what you're reading, you'll do better.
• sgndaw Alum Member

  August 2014 45 karma

  Thanks Chase62442 I will try
• 1 Like

  danielznelson Alum Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  August 2014 4181 karma

  Agreed. I consistently lost 7-10 points in RC but lost only 4 in my last prep test. I have not studied a second for this section yet, but instead really zeroed in on each and every passage in order to attain a higher score. For me, the third passage was the biggest struggle - I had already completed two and still had one more to go (which is usually the hardest and thus most demanding). As such, I often clocked out.
  
  Once I made every intention of focusing, the questions were easier, I had more time to complete the final passage, and my increasing confidence allowed me to gain even more confidence (sort of a compounding effect). It's a pain in the butt to do, so acknowledging that and being honest with yourself is to me crucial. Then, ignore the temptation that inevitably follows from this and work in whatever mode works for you. I'm not sure if this will help others including yourself, but getting into an "attack mode" helped me to view the section as a challenge, one that I instantly became hungry to beat.
• Nilesh S Alum Inactive ⭐

  August 2014 3438 karma

  What works for me is that I have found out that the questions will focus on some predictable things... what is the passage structure, what is the main point of the passage, what is the author's opinion... when a term is used in a particular paragraph, what is its function... I have therefore trained my self to read the passages that way.