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Panicky reading in RC
apawalter
Member
Hey all! I find that whenever I do RC (and sometimes even during LR) I feel panicky and rushed which causes me to not absorb what I'm reading properly. This only happens to me on timed PTs as during BR or when I'm not under time constraints I can read the passages fine and get the questions right. Also this doesn't happen to me during LG as I feel much calmer during that section haha. Does this happen to anyone else? Or does anyone have any tips on how to stop this and calm down when reading?
Thanks everyone 
Comments
I can remember feeling more rushed when I was first starting out with timed RC sections and on PTs. I think it can largely be addressed through doing more timed practice.
Have you done many timed PTs or timed RC passages? If not, you probably just need to work on timed practice. If you can get all the questions right during BR and/or while doing sections untimed, I don't necessarily think you're biggest problem is not knowing how to approach the passages, but more so in how to pace yourself.
I know exactly what you mean!
I always felt what you are feeling when I did RC, but it eventually just went away. I had felt this way with EVERY section on a timed PT at first for a while, but then it got narrowed down to just RC since it is my worst section.
I know this may not be what you want to hear, but just try to think positively about the section. Mindset influences a lot, as you can tell, and positivity is key to doing well on this test and overcoming this panic you feel. Trust me, I've been there. I just slowly shifted away from thinking too negatively about things, and kept on doing timed PTs. Now this worked for me so idk if it does for others, but at first it may feel like a waste of time, I know, but it will eventually fade away as it did for me.
best of luck!
Thanks for the responses!
@"Alex Divine" yes I have done quite a few PTs and timed RC, but maybe I'm just the type of person who needs to a million before I feel comfortable haha! I do still miss a few in BR/untimed but I just meant that my score is much better in BR/untimed and I don't feel panicky while reading in untimed!
@TheMikey you're right mindset is a lot, I'll work on being more positive about my RC abilities! Fake it till you make it, isn't that what people say haha
haha, yes. fake it until you make it actually works!
good luck!
Thank you @TheMikey good luck to you too!!
thanks
I always felt I bombed the section!
What helped me is to develop a systematic notation method and convinced myself that I could miss around 5 Qs!
Thanks @"Testing..." for the tip!!
Let's see what could be causing this then...
What strategy do you use while tackling RC?
This is actually really important because if you are just sort of reading the passage and then hitting the questions, you're almost certain to have these issues when time comes into play. You need to make sure you're actively reading and looking out for main point, author's purpose, author's opinion on XYZ, opposing viewpoints, all that stuff you see asked commonly in the answer choices. In short, you need to use a consistent strategy that helps you locate, understand, and remember these things.
A good skill I've developed that has increased my time and score in RC is learning to skim for the answers quickly. To do this you need to have a good idea where the topic being asked about it. If you know that you'll be able to quickly go back and find textual support. It's hard because you often can't find a keyword that the answer choices are asking about, but usually you can find one that is a synonym or a phrase that implies the correct answer. For instance, a question may ask you about what the passage meant when it said "All dogs go to heaven." If you go back and skim you may only find "every canine can expect salvation...." This is why it's important to have a mental map of where these things were talked about in the passage.
You may also want to experiment with the time you spend reading vs. answering the questions. I find I personally do better when I get through the passage fairly quick and give myself more time on the questions. Other people score just as well taking more time upfront and are able to answer the questions quickly. The fact that smart minds disagree on this tells me there is no one right way.
Thanks so much for your detailed response @"Alex Divine" my strategy in RC is to spend about 4 minutes reading and then around 5 minutes answering the questions, but this may fluctuate depending on the difficulty of the passage/questions. I do look out for those things while reading and will notate any major shifts/names/authors opinion, but I could probably do a better job to look out for those things, so thanks for the reminder! Yes I've been thinking about working more on my mental mapping/memory method rather than always having to go back to the passage to check. Was there anything that you found supper helpful to first implement mental mapping? And yes maybe experimenting with reading/answering question time is a good idea for me too!
Again thanks so much
No problem! RC is my favorite section
To implement mental mapping I do 2 things. One, I visualize the information in my head like a movie. I find that actually visualizing what the passage is talking about helps me not only understand better, but remember more of the important details.
The second thing is be good at summarizing each paragraph in about 3-5 words. Nothing too detailed. I find that when I can distill a paragraph down to 3-5 words, it is way more likely that I truly understand it.
To practice doing both of these things I used 7Sage's RC Memory Method and used a bit of Manhattan's RC book, too. I practiced on tons of RC passages from the first 35 PTs. I also practiced doing a bunch of RC untimed (with a count up timer) and I practiced pushing the pace until I was going I was able to go -0 in 35 minutes.
@"Alex Divine" awesome thanks for all that info! I will work on implementing those techniques
my pleasure!
Best of luck
Hey @lipsitz yes I could definitely use some help, thank you for the offer! What's your technique in RC or what did you do to be able to get so good at this section?
I used to do this as well! In fact, my RC scores kept dropping from my initial PT and I kind of gave up on it thinking that it was just the section that I would do poorly in. Considering that I am a voracious reader and have always killed RC sections on other standardized tests, this was odd. But in retrospect, I realized that it was totally a mind game and once I was able to adjust my attitude and relax a bit, it shifted things. Now I just read the passage like I read any other article I am reading, I stopped notating as much (now I barely notate, I just try and read), adopted a more "I-don't-give-a-sh*t" attitude (I am so sick of studying, so it helps), studied LESS (if I miss a day, whatever, no big deal), get more sleep, etc. and somehow that drastically improved my RC scores in particular but helped overall and especially helped me get consistently high scores. Easier said than done, I know, but I wouldn't underestimate how panicking can bring your score down. Maybe work on other techniques, but make sure you take care of yourself as well/try not to force it.
Hey @bridgetka thanks so much for this
You're right I do have a habit of over studying and not relaxing. But I will work on it, because your right being more chill about this will probably help me haha!