RC - Reading the Questions First? Forum

[davyboy]

Has anyone attempted or advocated this method?

Obviously, it wouldn't help with global questions, but for questions that require a specific detail it might be helpful?

Thoughts?

[loomstate]

I've never heard of this with RC. My first impression is that it might be a big waste of time considering the fact that you can get a general idea of which questions will be asked by just reading the passage.

[dirtrida2]

I've never heard of this with RC. My first impression is that it might be a big waste of time considering the fact that you can get a general idea of which questions will be asked by just reading the passage.

The positives I have heard from this idea:

Allows you to get a quick understanding of what you are about to read, specifically the content/topic.

You can pin-point a few specific questions beforehand.

The negatives:

You will have to re-read the questions stems again anyway.

A lot of the questions are inevitably global/inference.

---

Just remember that no method is a proven winner, you just have to find out what works for you. Give it a shot on a PT, it can't hurt you; heck you might find that it helps.

Everyone's mind works differently and you must take the time to understand your own. Asking for approval on a message board to tackle the test in one perspective will only lead you astray. This does not mean that I think you shouldn't ask for help/tips, there is a lot of wonderful information on this board; just make sure that you have fully tested each method against your own learning/testing style.

[Mik Ekim]

I have, unfortunately, heard of this --

Don't do it -- it is an unnecessary waste of time and energy --

I suggest you focus on the big picture as you initially read through a passage, rather than distracting yourself with other goals, such as looking out for answers to specific questions. This big picture understanding is often necessary even for answering specific questions, and you can always go back to the passage when you need to --

good luck.

[lsatkid007]

I thought about reading the RC questions first to give me a clue about what to look for in the passage. I know the RC passages will ask questions about MP, AA, Purpose, Role of each paragraph. I wanted to know if skim the questions will help you get a clue about what the passage is about.

I also would love to hear thoughts on this topic.

[scottyc66]

Has anyone attempted or advocated this method?

Obviously, it wouldn't help with global questions, but for questions that require a specific detail it might be helpful?

Thoughts?

On specific questions you'll have to look back again anyways, the minimal gain isn't worth the time spent IMO

[dirtrida2]

I thought about reading the RC questions first to give me a clue about what to look for in the passage. I know the RC passages will ask questions about MP, AA, Purpose, Role of each paragraph. I wanted to know if skim the questions will help you get a clue about what the passage is about.

I also would love to hear thoughts on this topic.

You will never know until you TRY IT YOURSELF.

Who cares if it works/doesn't work for others... the only thing that matters is how YOU react to the method.

[Br3v]

Has anyone attempted or advocated this method?

Obviously, it wouldn't help with global questions, but for questions that require a specific detail it might be helpful?

Thoughts?

dont do it

[davyboy]

I have a difficult time determining relevant information vs irrelevant information.

I suppose that will come with practice.

I thought skimming the questions beforehand (and not the answers) would help with that.

[dirtrida2]

I have a difficult time determining relevant information vs irrelevant information.

I suppose that will come with practice.

I thought skimming the questions beforehand (and not the answers) would help with that.

Repetition, repetition, repetition!

It will click, just keep reading those passages. Just look at each paragraph as its own stimulus, each paragraph has a very specific purpose. Also pay attention to the overall flow and how each paragraph links to the others. Don't get too caught up on specifics, making sure you understand the MAIN IDEA is very important. A lot of the questions can be tackled by simply understanding the topic/tone. You will notice that many wrong answers just go too far.

[scottyc66]

I have a difficult time determining relevant information vs irrelevant information.

I suppose that will come with practice.

I thought skimming the questions beforehand (and not the answers) would help with that.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=197717
gotta focus on the right stuff. go to bp shinners' first post, i think it has pretty solid insight.

[Br3v]

I have a difficult time determining relevant information vs irrelevant information.

I suppose that will come with practice.

I thought skimming the questions beforehand (and not the answers) would help with that.

Im a PowerScore guy, and they say it is not a good idea so I listen to them. They have never told me wrong.

[bp shinners]

There is not even a small part of me that thinks this will work well (or at least better than reading the passage first) for a single student. And I rarely make absolute statements like that about prep.

[fruitoftheloom]

I tried this because it's one of the strategies you use on the SAT or ACT (can't remember which one). It didn't work very well. 1) you can guess at least 3-4 questions on the passage right off the bat: what was the author's point/tone, which one of these unrelated things would author agree with, and one-two what did the author mean by xx?

The big issue is that you lose a lot of time. I'm a fast readers, so I can quickly read the passage, read question/answers, look back in the passage and find exactly what I need (even if I have to read the entire thing again), answer, move forward, and complete all questions in time. I still needed to do all of this if I read the questions first, and then I was running out of time.

By all means - try it on a time prep test. Have you read the Powerscores / Manhattan RC books if you're struggling?

[cowmater]

There is not even a small part of me that thinks this will work well (or at least better than reading the passage first) for a single student. And I rarely make absolute statements like that about prep.

I saw the topic and I 100% knew you were gonna weigh in with that opinion

[davyboy]

I tried this because it's one of the strategies you use on the SAT or ACT (can't remember which one). It didn't work very well. 1) you can guess at least 3-4 questions on the passage right off the bat: what was the author's point/tone, which one of these unrelated things would author agree with, and one-two what did the author mean by xx?

The big issue is that you lose a lot of time. I'm a fast readers, so I can quickly read the passage, read question/answers, look back in the passage and find exactly what I need (even if I have to read the entire thing again), answer, move forward, and complete all questions in time. I still needed to do all of this if I read the questions first, and then I was running out of time.

By all means - try it on a time prep test. Have you read the Powerscores / Manhattan RC books if you're struggling?

I've yet to try any books on RC yet... I've been focusing on drilling my LR at the moment.

I'm about -6 on RC and it sucks. It's the only area I have yet to see any improvement.

[Theopliske8711]

This is very often recommended to students for the GRE or SATs. Its a terrible strategy. For the most part, questions on the RC are predictable: main idea/conclusion/argument, one or two inferences, strengthen, weaken, pull directly from the passage. Without having read the passage, the question will not make any sense so you won't remember it... You should be going to the test with an awareness of what is commonly asked.