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quick question:

Do you mark (box or underline, etc) while you read an RC passage or you mark after reading each paragraph? thanks

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.

Never.

I underline while reading. It helps me focus. I end up underlining about half the passage tbh. Maybe more.

I used to do this

shifty_eyed wrote:I underline while reading. It helps me focus. I end up underlining about half the passage tbh. Maybe more.

then this

naillsat wrote:mark after reading each paragraph? thanks

but now I am starting to do this

thestalkmore wrote:Never.

99.9luft wrote:I used to do this

shifty_eyed wrote:I underline while reading. It helps me focus. I end up underlining about half the passage tbh. Maybe more.

then this

naillsat wrote:mark after reading each paragraph? thanks

but now I am starting to do this

thestalkmore wrote:Never.

lol, same here.

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.