RC: do you mark while reading or after each paragraph? Forum
- naillsat
- Posts: 146
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 11:48 pm
RC: do you mark while reading or after each paragraph?
quick question:
Do you mark (box or underline, etc) while you read an RC passage or you mark after reading each paragraph? thanks
Do you mark (box or underline, etc) while you read an RC passage or you mark after reading each paragraph? thanks
- princeR
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:10 pm
Re: RC: do you mark while reading or after each paragraph?
I had been marking forever, and am now moving into not marking at all. I see that my timing is WAY better, my accuracy is roughly the same, but I have a better grasp on the overall theme of the passage. I still need to fine tune it, but honestly, I think you shouldn't mark at all, but that's just me. However, I do talk to myself as I read and think about the purpose of each paragraph after I have read it, but I don't mark anything.
- thestalkmore
- Posts: 96
- Joined: Sun Feb 28, 2010 5:11 am
- shifty_eyed
- Posts: 1925
- Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:09 pm
Re: RC: do you mark while reading or after each paragraph?
I underline while reading. It helps me focus. I end up underlining about half the passage tbh. Maybe more.
- 99.9luft
- Posts: 1234
- Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2010 4:32 pm
Re: RC: do you mark while reading or after each paragraph?
I used to do this
then thisshifty_eyed wrote:I underline while reading. It helps me focus. I end up underlining about half the passage tbh. Maybe more.
but now I am starting to do thisnaillsat wrote:mark after reading each paragraph? thanks
thestalkmore wrote:Never.
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- princeR
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:10 pm
Re: RC: do you mark while reading or after each paragraph?
lol, same here.99.9luft wrote:I used to do this
then thisshifty_eyed wrote:I underline while reading. It helps me focus. I end up underlining about half the passage tbh. Maybe more.
but now I am starting to do thisnaillsat wrote:mark after reading each paragraph? thanks
thestalkmore wrote:Never.
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- Posts: 3086
- Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:05 pm
Re: RC: do you mark while reading or after each paragraph?
I mark up the passage while reading it, including a short note at the end of each paragraph (which viewpoint(s) it's supporting mostly/role in the author's argument).
However, it's important to not over-mark. After doing this for so long, I can pretty much tell what features of the passage are going to show up as questions/answers, so I rarely mark anything that doesn't end up being important. Best way to start developing this sense in yourself is to take 5 minutes after reviewing the questions. Check two things:
1) Did I mark up everything in the passage that showed up in the questions/answers? If no, then you missed something important. Figure out a general way to describe that feature (e.g. "It was a description of a commonly-held belief") and highlight them in the future.
2) Did I mark up anything that didn't show up? If yes, then you marked up too much, and you should ignore similar features in the future.
This will be a balancing act between 1 and 2; sometimes, you'll mark up something that doesn't show up in the questions, but generally will. After doing this for a few dozen passages, however, you'll get a good sense for what's fodder for questions/answers, and what isn't. There's a definite pattern - I can generally tell you what at least 5/7 questions will be just from reading the passage.
However, it's important to not over-mark. After doing this for so long, I can pretty much tell what features of the passage are going to show up as questions/answers, so I rarely mark anything that doesn't end up being important. Best way to start developing this sense in yourself is to take 5 minutes after reviewing the questions. Check two things:
1) Did I mark up everything in the passage that showed up in the questions/answers? If no, then you missed something important. Figure out a general way to describe that feature (e.g. "It was a description of a commonly-held belief") and highlight them in the future.
2) Did I mark up anything that didn't show up? If yes, then you marked up too much, and you should ignore similar features in the future.
This will be a balancing act between 1 and 2; sometimes, you'll mark up something that doesn't show up in the questions, but generally will. After doing this for a few dozen passages, however, you'll get a good sense for what's fodder for questions/answers, and what isn't. There's a definite pattern - I can generally tell you what at least 5/7 questions will be just from reading the passage.