reading comp and time Forum

[shane0515]

Right now Im practicing the reading comp section and Im having trouble with the time. I cant seem to complete these passages in the 8 minutes and be accurate. When I go slower I do a lot better. Can anyone give me any advice on how to increase speed and accuracy on reading comp? Should I just skip a passage on game day and spend more time on the rest of the passages?

Any advice would be great.

[sophia.olive]

Um when you go slower you do better, hum ...... Interesting

[sophia.olive]

Have you thought about skipping the rc section completely..... Or using the search function

[yzero1]

Really the only thing you can do is to keep cycling through passages. The more you do, the more comfortable you'll feel and your time should naturally improve. You can try increasing your reading speed by reading Economist/Scientific America, but I see this more as a long-term solution.

[shane0515]

Should I time myself or just keep doing the passages and just getting comfortable?

[Hedwig]

Should I time myself or just keep doing the passages and just getting comfortable?

You say your accuracy is much better when you go slower. How much better? If by better accuracy, you mean you improve from -15 to -10, maybe you should spend more time working on accuracy. However, if your accuracy during untimed is fairly decent, and you're alright with it, then you should do timed. Perhaps you could try doing the sections timed without writing on the test, then, without looking at the answer key, go through the section again untimed and see what kind of mistakes you're making when you rush, and what kind of mistakes you're making even without being timed.

[3|ink]

Are you constantly re-reading the passage? What kind of quesitons are you missing?

[ly2010]

Skim it once and re-read? It might be horrible advice but it works for me.

I find it really helpful to reread a passage. Maybe you guys disagree? I naturally read super fast but retain a so so percentage of the information. After I read it the second time, I can usually answer all the questions within a few minutes. I really think it depends on what passages you are working. I am going through the Powerscore Reading Bible and the first couple of passages I could do in 6-7 minutes with -0 but once it started getting harder, I spent 9-10 minutes and missed -1 or -2.

[arewhyaen]

Read a passage, break it down to abstract terms after each paragraph(this paragraph does this and does this because), then break the whole passage down when you're done reading. It takes a few seconds and you'll be able to answer most of the questions with more accuracy and speed.

[yzero1]

Skim it once and re-read? It might be horrible advice but it works for me.

I find it really helpful to reread a passage. Maybe you guys disagree? I naturally read super fast but retain a so so percentage of the information. After I read it the second time, I can usually answer all the questions within a few minutes. I really think it depends on what passages you are working. I am going through the Powerscore Reading Bible and the first couple of passages I could do in 6-7 minutes with -0 but once it started getting harder, I spent 9-10 minutes and missed -1 or -2.

Although I don't recommend re-reading the whole thing after an initial run-through, I think a good strategy (as discussed by some other people on TLS) is to put less focus on details (such as specific examples, definitions, etc) on your first read-through and actively sort out information so that you retain the author's main point, purpose, tone etc. Then, when certain questions ask you about specific lines/words from the passage, go back and re-read 5 lines above and below the relevant referenced lines. The rationale for this approach is that passages often contain much more information than is tested, so it's important to not spend too much time reading details that may prove to be useless later on. Also, this approach should be complemented by concise notation, maybe 3-4 words for each paragraph outlining the main point. Lastly, remember to circle key phrases, definitions, names, and other specific info so that you can refer back to them if they are tested in a detail question.

Using this strategy, you should be able to increase your RC section speed while retaining the most important information from passages.

[DGLitcH]

Although I don't recommend re-reading the whole thing after an initial run-through, I think a good strategy (as discussed by some other people on TLS) is to put less focus on details (such as specific examples, definitions, etc) on your first read-through and actively sort out information so that you retain the author's main point, purpose, tone etc. Then, when certain questions ask you about specific lines/words from the passage, go back and re-read 5 lines above and below the relevant referenced lines. The rationale for this approach is that passages often contain much more information than is tested, so it's important to not spend too much time reading details that may prove to be useless later on. Also, this approach should be complemented by concise notation, maybe 3-4 words for each paragraph outlining the main point. Lastly, remember to circle key phrases, definitions, names, and other specific info so that you can refer back to them if they are tested in a detail question.

Using this strategy, you should be able to increase your RC section speed while retaining the most important information from passages.

Good post. Do you think you could expand on what else is considered as "detail" other than examples and definitions. Would evidence provided to support a point be considered as detail? How about facts or characteristics of the topic/issue being discussed. I'm asking this because when I don't read for detail (my definition of detail), my comprehension and ability to answer the questions drop dramatically. Yet when I do read it, it takes me around 3.5-4 minutes to finish the passage but I can answer the questions better. So I am trying to fine tune what detail I need to pay attention to and what detail I don't need to pay attention to, and find a balance on comprehension and time.

[sgtgrumbles]

I think one problem with a lot of the suggested advice of writing a brief summary of each paragraph (e.g. Voyager's reading comp strategy) is that some science passages explain complicated processes that can't be summed up in five words. I took PT 34 over the weekend and attempted to implement Voyager's strategy for the first time. I did fine with the first two passages (democratic reforms by authoritarian rulers and parallels between blues music and spirituals) but got destroyed by the third (environmental factors and acquired characteristics) because I had such a hard time sorting out the science details.

Any suggestions?

[3|ink]

I think one problem with a lot of the suggested advice of writing a brief summary of each paragraph (e.g. Voyager's reading comp strategy) is that some science passages explain complicated processes that can't be summed up in five words. I took PT 34 over the weekend and attempted to implement Voyager's strategy for the first time. I did fine with the first two passages (democratic reforms by authoritarian rulers and parallels between blues music and spirituals) but got destroyed by the third (environmental factors and acquired characteristics) because I had such a hard time sorting out the science details.

Any suggestions?

I took the exact same PT on Saturday and got a -3 on that RC section. It was brutal. However, I'm having trouble remembering the last two passages. Can you give a more vivid description of them?

Instead of writing a brief summar to each paragraph, I write the abstract characteristics of the content of the passage. For instance - "concession w/ revised theory" or "objection".

[sgtgrumbles]

I took the exact same PT on Saturday and got a -3 on that RC section. It was brutal. However, I'm having trouble remembering the last two passages. Can you give a more vivid description of them?

Instead of writing a brief summar to each paragraph, I write the abstract characteristics of the content of the passage. For instance - "concession w/ revised theory" or "objection".

The third, the one that tripped me up, was about "vertical" and "horizontal" methods of passing genetic traits. It began by talking about Jean Baptiste de Lamarck's theory on giraffe's long necks, then it got into cell walls, e. coli, etc.

The fourth was about women's refugee status under UN and other conventions based on the expansive term "social group."

[3|ink]

I took the exact same PT on Saturday and got a -3 on that RC section. It was brutal. However, I'm having trouble remembering the last two passages. Can you give a more vivid description of them?

Instead of writing a brief summar to each paragraph, I write the abstract characteristics of the content of the passage. For instance - "concession w/ revised theory" or "objection".

The third, the one that tripped me up, was about "vertical" and "horizontal" methods of passing genetic traits. It began by talking about Jean Baptiste de Lamarck's theory on giraffe's long necks, then it got into cell walls, e. coli, etc.

The fourth was about women's refugee status under UN and other conventions based on the expansive term "social group."

Oh yeah. The third passage was hard. The second paragraph about taking away cell walls from bacteria was what tripped me up. I couldn't think of exactly how that related to an animal's use of an organ influencing how that organ is passed onto the next generation. I know I missed the first question on the fourth passage as well. I'm sure I mised 2 questions between those two passages.

I think the real strength of actively notating RC is that you're looking for the things that the questions are likely to ask. Ideally, taking notes does more to map out the passage in your mind than on paper. I don't think it does you any particular good to write down the summary of each paragraph. Instead, remember the purpose of that paragraph within the context of the argument.

[northwood]

keep doing them. i find that doing at least one section a day helps. (this also work with games too)

[Nulli Secundus]

What works for me is, read the passage carefully, underlining key phrases that give away author's feelings etc. and then answer questions with minimal rereading. I always have enough time to finish the section without any problems, and I had -0 in my last PT @ RC.

[op-ti]

keep doing them. i find that doing at least one section a day helps. (this also work with games too)

I agree with this. I tried this for the games...and the games are now the easiest section for me.

I'm doing this with RC now and have started to show some improvement.

[shane0515]

For RC should I spend more time carefully reading the passage and answering the questions quickly or reading the passage more quickly and doing the questions slower?

[kazu]

For RC should I spend more time carefully reading the passage and answering the questions quickly or reading the passage more quickly and doing the questions slower?

Answering the questions quickly. Focus on retaining the info so you don't have to go back, or if you do you don't spend too much time looking for it.

[shane0515]

I think my problem is that I read the passage carefully but when I do the questions I spend too much time refering back to the passage to make sure Im right. That wastes quite a bit of time.

[bleu]

I think my problem is that I read the passage carefully but when I do the questions I spend too much time refering back to the passage to make sure Im right. That wastes quite a bit of time.

do that, faster

[shane0515]

how long should I be spending on each question?

[kazu]

Work on not having to refer back to the passage so often, or for so long. For general questions you shouldn't be referring back at all. For those ones which ask details, work on marking the passage or something so you spend next to no time searching for it.

[shane0515]

thanks for the help. Ill give it a shot