Tip #1: Read the Passage First
Some test-takers like to read the first question that appears alongside a passage before reading the passage itself. I don’t recommend that strategy because what tends to happen is that instead of reading the passage holistically and being prepared for whatever questions come their way, these test-takers read the passage with the goal of finding the answer to the first question. Thus, their overall understanding of the passage suffers and they gloss over key points. In the end, they often spend more time going back to the passage and re-reading than they would have if they had simply read the passage first, without the “blinders” on. Don’t allow the first question to narrow your view, either consciously or subconsciously, of what is important information in a passage. As subsequent questions are presented, you will find that you lack the necessary comprehension to answer them.
Another pitfall of reading the first question before you read the passage is that you may be more tempted to simply skim the passage instead of reading it in its entirety, since you already “know” what the first question is asking you to find. However, you are likely to miss many of the nuances, connections between ideas, and relationships between different parts of the passage if you merely skim. You will probably find it harder to interpret the meaning or function of sentences and be more likely to choose trap choices.
So, to better ensure your understanding of an RC passage and your ability to work through RC questions efficiently, read the passage carefully, in its entirety, before you read the first question.
DO: Read the passage carefully, in its entirety before you read the first question.
DON’T: Read the question first and then skim the passage looking for just that answer.
Tip #2: Read for General Understanding
GMAT students sometimes make the mistake of trying to remember or understand every detail in an RC passage, an unproductive strategy. The fact is, you cannot predict which details the questions associated with the passage will focus on and which details will prove irrelevant. It’s also important to realize that while, yes, RC questions may ask about specific facts or processes mentioned in the passage, your overall understanding of what is being discussed, and why, and how, is the essential foundation on which your knowledge of the passage rests. After all, you can always refer back to the passage to locate a particular fact, idea, or detail, but your understanding of how those relate to other facts, ideas, and details in the passage, or relate to the author’s overall argument or motivation, won’t be sitting there on line 6 of paragraph two. GMAT Reading Comprehension is not testing whether you have a photographic memory for detail — if that were the case, then a passage wouldn’t remain on the screen when it came time to answer the questions. What GMAT RC really tests is whether you’re noticing what is going on in a passage and understanding what you read.
So, when you first read an RC passage, read to basically understand what the author is saying. Notice what type of thing the author is saying. Is she presenting a contrast? Disputing a common belief? Showing how a historical development occurred? Taking that last example, when you do your initial read through, you don’t need to then be able to repeat back exactly how the historical development occurred; you can quickly refer back to the passage if a question asks you about a particular detail related to that. However, you should come away from your initial reading of the passage with an understanding of how the author went about saying what she said, the function of each paragraph, how she chose to present the material. What is the author’s main idea? Were any cause-and-effect claims made in the passage? Problems and their solutions introduced? Contrasting viewpoints expressed? Processes explained?
Do you need to understand every bit of jargon the author uses to explain a particular process, theory, etc., or be able to repeat each step in a process? No. In fact, GMAT RC passages will sometimes attempt to distract you with jargon or dense, complicated detail. Your job is to understand what role the information plays in the passage — why is it there? What function does it perform? Remember, RC is not a subject test. You don’t need knowledge of the topic in a passage, or a complete understanding of every word used in the passage, in order to be able to correctly and efficiently answer all of the questions related to the passage.
DO: Read RC passages for basic understanding, to notice what type of thing the author is saying, and to understand the function of each paragraph.
DON’T: Get bogged down in details or distracted by jargon, or try to memorize what you’re reading.
Tip #3: Always Identify the Main Idea
As I touched on earlier, main idea questions ask you to take a bird’s-eye view of a passage and identify the main point or primary purpose of a passage. Since you can just about count on 1 main idea question for each RC passage you see on the GMAT, always identifying the main point or primary purpose of a passage when you first read the passage is a wise strategy. How would you summarize what the passage says? What is the author’s overall message?
Many GMAT students fall into the trap of assuming that the main idea of an RC passage will be stated in either the first or last paragraph of the passage. While that is certainly possible, there is no rule that the main idea has to be in the first or the last paragraph. In fact, some trap answers in main idea questions are strongly worded sentences that are directly related to what is said in the first and/or last paragraph but don’t actually articulate the passage’s main idea, although they appear to.
When identifying the main idea, you want to look at the “big picture,” figuratively and literally. If you assume that the main idea is contained within the first or last paragraph, or the first three sentences, or the first sentence of the last paragraph, etc., instead of considering the passage as a whole, you may end up with a limited understanding of the passage. This is another reason why reading the passage thoroughly before you start reading the questions is a good idea. You don’t want to be influenced by the phrasing or word choices in RC answers, and thus misinterpret the passage or mistakenly home in on certain sentences in the passage that are not as relevant as an answer choice makes them seem. An incorrect choice may use words that are identical to words in the passage, in order to direct your attention away from what is actually the main idea while making you think you’ve hit the nail on the head. Similarly, an incorrect choice might focus on a concept that is mentioned frequently in the passage but isn’t actually the main idea. Thus, it’s smart to identify for yourself what the overall point of a passage is before the GMAT’s deceptive answer choices attempt to misdirect you or narrow your view.
So, when you do your initial read-through of an RC passage, quickly identify what you think is the main point or primary purpose of the passage. Of course, your initial impression is not set in stone; you can always refer back to the passage as you’re deciding between answer choices in a main idea (or any other) question.
DO: As you initially read an RC passage, quickly identify what you think is the main point or primary purpose of the passage.
DON’T: Assume that the main idea of a passage will be stated in the first or last paragraph.
EARN A HIGHER GMAT SCORE
Start Studying With TTP Today!
TRY OUR GMAT COURSE FOR $1
Tip #4: Identify Structural Keywords
Certain words can help you understand the logic of a passage, the function of different elements of the passage, the relationships between ideas and facts, and the intention or viewpoint of the author. These words are like little flags marking key points throughout a passage, so it’s important to recognize the roles they play. Let’s look at some examples of structural keywords and phrases, and the purposes they may serve.
Showing a Cause-and-Effect Relationship: consequently; as a result; thus; therefore; hence; because; accordingly
Indicating a Contrast or Disagreement: however; although; yet; conversely; regardless; in spite of; on the other hand; then again; nevertheless; instead
Indicating Agreement: similarly; furthermore; moreover; in addition; not only, but also
Introducing Examples or Evidence: for instance; in particular; in fact
Introducing a Conclusion: all things considered; in summary; in essence; in any event; all in all
Look out for structural keywords and phrases such as these because they provide important clues, helping you navigate and understand the progression of a passage and telling you what
the author is writing, what her major feelings are, and where she’s headed next. Of course, you don’t have to memorize where these keywords are in a passage; simply notice them as you read and understand the function they’re performing. Furthermore, make sure to always consider keywords in the broader context of the passage because some keywords can be used in multiple ways. For instance, “in fact” may introduce evidence that provides a contrast to evidence previously introduced, “thus” may introduce the author’s conclusion, and “in addition” could introduce further examples.
DO: Be on the lookout for keywords and phrases that indicate cause-and-effect relationships, contrast, or agreement or that introduce examples or conclusions.
DON’T:Look at keywords in isolation instead of considering their meaning and function in the broader context of the passage.
Tip #5: Locate Key Info in the Passage
We’ve already discussed that your overall goal in reading RC passages should be to gain a general understanding of what the author is saying, and why and how she’s saying it. But there is another very important skill that you must hone in order to perform well in Reading Comprehension, and that is the skill of noticing WHERE key information is located in the passage. Again, this is not a memorization game or even an exact science. However, the fact is, RC passages are composed of dozens of sentences, but to answer a question you may need only two of those sentences. Thus, you need to be skilled in finding the right information.
Perhaps the passage is about the history of natural disasters on a certain island. Where did the author mention volcanoes? In the second paragraph, or the fourth? Where did she mention earthquakes? Before or after volcanoes? Now, do you need to memorize (or note down) exactly what she said about volcanoes or earthquakes? No. Attempting to do that is a losing strategy because you don’t know what aspect of any piece of information will be the focus of a question.
Similarly, you shouldn’t attempt to create a line by line list of where every detail you think could be important is located. The point is to have a sense of where in the passage the information is, so that if a question asks you about a particular aspect of that information, you can quickly locate the information you need within the passage.
So, when you read an RC passage, in addition to gaining a general understanding of the what, why, and how of the author’s writing, keep in mind the where.
DO: Get a sense of where key pieces of information are placed in the passage, so that you can quickly locate them if you need to answer questions related to them.
DON’T: Attempt to note what is discussed in a passage line by line.
Tip #6: Always Refer Back to the Passage
I’ve alluded to this already, and it’s certainly relevant with regard to the previous tip, but unless for some wild reason you clearly and unequivocally remember something you read in the passage, you should refer back to the passage EVERY TIME you answer an RC question. Remember, all of the answers you need are within the passage — why not take full advantage of that incredible resource at your disposal? Yes, you’re under a time constraint, so you don’t have an infinite number of minutes to read and reread and pore over every word and detail to make sure you’re not missing anything. However, if you’ve followed my previous tips, you shouldn’t have to do any of that anyway.
Referring back to the passage allows you to confirm or disprove your suspicion about whether an answer choice is correct, refresh your memory about a specific fact or detail, re-examine a relationship to make sure that your understanding of it is accurate,or look more closely at the author’s conclusion to properly apply it to a different context.
If you already have a general understanding of what the passage is saying, how it’s organized, and the author’s tone, then grabbing the additional information you need to decide between answer choices (that are carefully worded in order to trick you) shouldn’t take much time. As I’ll discuss next, RC questions are designed to fool you into choosing trap answers, so relying on memory alone — or your hastily written notes from your initial reading of the passage — is not a foolproof strategy.
DO: Refer back to the passage EVERY TIME you answer an RC question.
DON’T: Answer RC questions by relying solely on your memory and any notes you took during your initial reading of the passage.
Tip #7: Don’t Match Words to Find Correct Answers
RC questions are a veritable minefield of trap answers, and a major way that GMAT question writers lay their traps is by choosing words and phrasing that make right answers look wrong and wrong answers look right. Often, incorrect RC answer choices seem to match exactly what the passage says, whereas correct answers will switch up the wording so that the answer seems less related to what is in the passage. Let’s look at an example.
A passage discusses “an atomic clock located in Colorado.” A very tempting incorrect answer choice says something about “an atomic clock located in Colorado.” The correct answer, on the other hand, says something about “an advanced timepiece placed at a great distance from the researchers.” Nowhere in the passage is the expression “an advanced timepiece” ever used. However, given the context of the passage, the atomic clock could rightly be described as “an advanced timepiece placed at a great distance from the researchers.”
The question writers matched the wording of the passage in their trap choice and changed the wording in the correct answer because they know that doing so will make test-takers second-guess whether to choose the correct answer.
It’s only natural to be thrown by something that “sounds wrong” and tempted by something that “sounds right.” So, you have to be very careful not to simply eliminate choices because the wording doesn’t “match” what is in the passage, and not to choose answers simply because the wording matches the passage’s wording exactly. You must be sophisticated in your thinking and find the choice that really makes sense given what the passage says.
DO: Eliminate answer choices based on meaning and logic.
DON’T: Eliminate choices simply because the wording doesn’t “match” what is in the passage, or choose answers because the wording matches the passage’s wording exactly.
Tip #8: Read Similar Publications for Practice
In addition to honing your skills with realistic GMAT practice Reading Comprehension questions, a good way to accustom yourself to the style and subject matter of RC passages is to regularly read RC-like writing. High-quality newspapers and magazines such as The Economist, Smithsonian magazine, and The New York Times feature writing on many of the same topics and in a similar sophisticated style to the writing in GMAT RC passages, and you can generally access some articles in those types of publications for free online.
Think of that time as “bonus” GMAT prep — after all, there is only so much time you can spend practicing with GMAT questions. But the more exposure you have to RC-type passages, the more comfortable you’ll feel when you see the real thing. Perhaps you already read some RC-like articles every so often. Make doing so a daily habit. Maybe you read The Wall Street Journal on a regular basis; why not add The Atlantic or Scientific American into the mix?
KEY FACT:
The topics and sophisticated style of RC passages are similar to those of publications such as The Economist, Smithsonian magazine, and The New York Times.
If you want to add another level of practice to your “bonus” GMAT study time in RC, when you’re reading a newspaper or magazine article, practice identifying the writer’s main idea. Notice whether there are any cause-and-effect claims made, or problems introduced and solutions offered, or opposing viewpoints or conflicting evidence discussed. Notice the writer’s opinions and tone.
You may end up finding that you come away with a much deeper understanding of what you’ve read than you typically would. Just don’t convince yourself that reading newspapers and magazines can replace practice with realistic GMAT questions. Regardless of how avid a reader you are, you should engage in ample practice finding correct answers to GMAT RC questions.
DO: Get more comfortable with RC-style passages by regularly reading high-quality publications, and practice identifying the main idea and other key elements of articles as you read.
DON’T: Neglect practice with realistic GMAT Reading Comprehension questions just because you’re an avid reader of newspapers and magazines.
[Please visit www.gogogmat.com for more tips for GMAT preparation.]
So, we’ve learned what GMAT Reading Comprehension tests and how RC questions are structured, and discussed 8 key strategies for tackling RC passages. To cap off our discussion, let’s take a look at how to properly pace yourself when working through RC questions on the actual GMAT and in later practice during your GMAT prep.
Comments