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RC is so frustrating for me, no matter how well I grasp the passage I always seem to get some answers wrong

I'm getting on average about 3-4 wrong on LR sections, about 0-3 wrong on LG sections, but I always get like 8-10 wrong on RC, which killlls me

I've been spending a lot of time trying to drill RC with absolutely no success

Took the online velocity course, read the Manhattan RC book, been doing a RC section almost every night for the past 3 weeks or so...Am I just doomed in RC? Anyone else suck this bad at RC and can't improve?

Well i sucked HARDCORE in the beginning, read the Manhattan book and improved to about where you are. I would just keep drilling, look for argument structure. Do you have a timing issue or accuracy?

JDot wrote:RC is so frustrating for me, no matter how well I grasp the passage I always seem to get some answers wrong

I'm getting on average about 3-4 wrong on LR sections, about 0-3 wrong on LG sections, but I always get like 8-10 wrong on RC, which killlls me

I've been spending a lot of time trying to drill RC with absolutely no success

Took the online velocity course, read the Manhattan RC book, been doing a RC section almost every night for the past 3 weeks or so...Am I just doomed in RC? Anyone else suck this bad at RC and can't improve?

If you're getting that many questions wrong every time, then (to take a positive view) you have lots of data to analyze. Have you noticed any patterns? Do you seem to miss global questions (e.g., questions about the passage as a whole) more often, or are you mostly missing questions dealing with a specific reference (either by line number or concept). Why do you think that might be?

Looking at the incorrect answers that you are choosing, what was attractive about them that caused you to select them? Are you able to articulate why they are wrong once you go back and review them later?

Also, you should be doing more than 1 RC a day.

I'd do a couple sections untimed. That way you can identify core issues from the questions missed unrelated to timing.

If you're getting that many wrong, skip the passage with the least questions, guess all one letter on it, and spend all of your time perfecting the other three. Even if all 5 of your guesses are wrong and you get one wrong on each of the remaining passages, you're at -8, two points better than -10. However, it's likely that not all of your guesses will be incorrect and you can perfect the other passages. You should be staring at around a -4/-5 if you work this strategy well. I've gotten that many wrong on PT's in RC alone and still scored in the 170's.

Also, I've looked back on several tests where I scored sub-par and realized that this strategy would have benefited me a lot (for example, when I went -8 in RC alone for a 170). Had I skipped a passage and done the other three perfectly, I probably would have scored around a 173 or higher on that test. The thing is, it's really hard to anticipate whether this strategy will be worth it; for often times I'll have no problem with RC. The same goes for my games sections.

A different student used this strategy for LG, and ended up with a 175 (though he states that he happened to have time for all four games on his actual test).

LexLeon wrote:If you're getting that many wrong, skip the passage with the least questions, guess all one letter on it, and spend all of your time perfecting the other three. Even if all 5 of your guesses are wrong and you get one wrong on each of the remaining passages, you're at -8, two points better than -10. However, it's likely that not all of your guesses will be incorrect and you can perfect the other passages. You should be staring at around a -4/-5 if you work this strategy well. I've gotten that many wrong on PT's in RC alone and still scored in the 170's.

Also, I've looked back on several tests where I scored sub-par and realized that this strategy would have benefited me a lot (for example, when I went -8 in RC alone for a 170). Had I skipped a passage and done the other three perfectly, I probably would have scored around a 173 or higher on that test. The thing is, it's really hard to anticipate whether this strategy will be worth it; for often times I'll have no problem with RC. The same goes for my games sections.

A different student used this strategy for LG, and ended up with a 175 (though he states that he happened to have time for all four games on his actual test).

Great advice. Thanks!

LexLeon wrote:If you're getting that many wrong, skip the passage with the least questions, guess all one letter on it, and spend all of your time perfecting the other three. Even if all 5 of your guesses are wrong and you get one wrong on each of the remaining passages, you're at -8, two points better than -10. However, it's likely that not all of your guesses will be incorrect and you can perfect the other passages. You should be staring at around a -4/-5 if you work this strategy well. I've gotten that many wrong on PT's in RC alone and still scored in the 170's.

Also, I've looked back on several tests where I scored sub-par and realized that this strategy would have benefited me a lot (for example, when I went -8 in RC alone for a 170). Had I skipped a passage and done the other three perfectly, I probably would have scored around a 173 or higher on that test. The thing is, it's really hard to anticipate whether this strategy will be worth it; for often times I'll have no problem with RC. The same goes for my games sections.

A different student used this strategy for LG, and ended up with a 175 (though he states that he happened to have time for all four games on his actual test).

Man, i've been trying to put this theory through as acceptable in my head so many times. I'm so happy that someone brought this up, EVEN HAPPIER that you brought it up on RC BECAUSE I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT FOR THIS!!!. I've thought about this strategy for logic games but wow it makes so much more sense on RC. Well done sir, well done.

I think I suck at RC, but I didn't really understand the question this thread is asking.

thsmthcrmnl wrote:I think I suck at RC, but I didn't really understand the question this thread is asking.

I've been trying to find ways to keep random thoughts and distractions out of my head and I've found that following the text with my pencil helps me keep focus. Not sure if it was a one time thing or not, going to keep it up and see if my recent gains maintain but maybe it'll help others as well.

if you're getting that many wrong you're not comprehending/understanding what you're reading. You need to stop at the end of every paragraph, or point of transition, and ask yourself wtf did i just read. I assume anyone can answer this question for a paragraph on just about any topic, if you break it down into smaller chunks it tends to help when putting together the bigger picture.

There are 4 wrong answers to every question, 4 really wrong answers. 1 of these tend to be attractive, but even then it's completely wrong.