MAPP wrote:sephora_addict wrote:
im actually doing pretty well in it. I'll miss like one question, sometimes two in each passage and it's usually because I didn't read the answer choices closely enough. Like a word will trip me up in an answer choice and I end up picking a wrong one. But overall not too bad. I just gotta learn to carefully read each answer choice so I don't make dumb mistakes like that haha
Do you have any specific method for doing RC? For example, annotations, or small summaries after each paragraph, or speed read so there is more time for questions, etc.
Not to hijack the topic, but I've been writing about RC a lot recently, so I thought I'd offer my two cents.
Speed reading isn't a great idea, because you probably won't be able to synthesize the main ideas of the passage, and will have to spend lots of time returning to the passage once you get to the questions. This can be especially damaging with the more abstract questions, like main point, or questions relating to perspective/opinions. With detail-oriented questions, you can always jump back into the passage, and it won't take much time if you know where to look. But to finish an RC section effectively and within 35 minutes means that you have to minimize the amount of time you spend going back and forth.
So when it comes to main point, author's attitude, the major perspectives on the issue, and the general structure/flow of the passage, you should be actively reading for those things during your first read-through. And I don't believe that you can actively read well if you're also speed-reading (unless you've trained that for a looong time). I've advised a ton of students in the past to slow down their reading pace. If you read deliberately and effectively, you'll save time in the long run.
Are you being an active reader? Do you take a second after each paragraph/chunk to quickly recap what you've just read? Doing so can really help you understand the big picture behind the passages better. It also improves your knowledge of the flow of the passage, and where different details that you might later have to search for are located. Are you consciously looking out for author attitude and different perspectives/POVs on the issue?
You should make a habit of doing these, and if short annotations help you work on that, then go ahead and use them. If you really want to reach your full potential at RC, however, you should wean yourself off of making too many notes, if any at all. The truth is, these passages are relatively short, and not all that complicated. With enough practice, there's no reason you won't be able to remember all the most crucial pieces of information presented to you.
And as sephora_addict said, read those answer choices closely and carefully. This is incredibly important for LR as well. In both sections, the difference between two answer choices might come down to a single word that throws one of them off. If you review your missed questions carefully and take notes, you'll be less likely to fall for those same traps in the future.
One of the most valuable and oft-ignored bits of RC advice: make it interesting for yourself. For many students, RC is a battle of concentration and engagement. It's easy to get intimidated and/or bored by these (relatively) big chunks of text which frequently discuss arcane, snore-inducing topics. But if you approach RC with the mindset of "this is my least favorite section," or "I can't wait to be done with this one," you're more likely to miss out on nuances in the passage or lose your focus. So tell yourself whatever you have to to stay engaged, to make the passages, dare I say it, fun?
I will look out for those kinds of wrong answer choices.
