. Forum
-
Christine (MLSAT)
- Posts: 357
- Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2013 3:41 pm
Re: Specific Detail questions in RC.
EXCEPT Identification/detail questions can be more annoying than their counterparts in terms of time required to source the answers, since you would have to source 4 answers instead of just one.
However, there are ways to reduce up front time cost. This requires a very strong sense of the passage map. The answers to Question 26, for instance, are not found all over the passage, but rather in paragraph 3 - all of them. If we realize from the outset that we can zero in on "taphonomic investigation into the marks on fossilized bones", and that that gives us an extremely limited playing field in which to source the answers, the task becomes a lot less daunting. It shouldn't take too long to mine that short paragraph for all the references!
Question 17 presents more of a challenge, to be sure, since the "characterization of the Communist Party of Alabama before the 1930s" is something discussed throughout the entire passage. But even here, it's interesting to note that all of the answers can be sourced from the 3rd and 4th paragraphs - indeed, the odd-man-out correct answer is actually directly contradicted in the same location. However, it's less clear why we would begin to look here.
For this question, I would highly recommend starting with your memory, but not ending there - this question benefits a great deal from a practiced ability to scan quickly for key words. This is a sheer mechanical skill, and one that can and should be practiced - if you remember something about the "International Labor Defense", scan for those specific words. They only show up once, in lines 35-36. If your mechanical skill for scanning (or "mental Control-F") is honed enough, confirming that (B) is mentioned as a characteristic, for instance, doesn't take but a few seconds. Similarly, if you remember something about attacking "white chauvinism", scan for those words - again, they only show up once, in line 41.
Relying on your memory alone, particularly for Question 17, is really dangerous, since the odd-man-out answer choice here intentionally invokes a key word from the passage that resonates with your short term memory. Being able to *quickly* double check is very much to your advantage here.
However, there are ways to reduce up front time cost. This requires a very strong sense of the passage map. The answers to Question 26, for instance, are not found all over the passage, but rather in paragraph 3 - all of them. If we realize from the outset that we can zero in on "taphonomic investigation into the marks on fossilized bones", and that that gives us an extremely limited playing field in which to source the answers, the task becomes a lot less daunting. It shouldn't take too long to mine that short paragraph for all the references!
Question 17 presents more of a challenge, to be sure, since the "characterization of the Communist Party of Alabama before the 1930s" is something discussed throughout the entire passage. But even here, it's interesting to note that all of the answers can be sourced from the 3rd and 4th paragraphs - indeed, the odd-man-out correct answer is actually directly contradicted in the same location. However, it's less clear why we would begin to look here.
For this question, I would highly recommend starting with your memory, but not ending there - this question benefits a great deal from a practiced ability to scan quickly for key words. This is a sheer mechanical skill, and one that can and should be practiced - if you remember something about the "International Labor Defense", scan for those specific words. They only show up once, in lines 35-36. If your mechanical skill for scanning (or "mental Control-F") is honed enough, confirming that (B) is mentioned as a characteristic, for instance, doesn't take but a few seconds. Similarly, if you remember something about attacking "white chauvinism", scan for those words - again, they only show up once, in line 41.
Relying on your memory alone, particularly for Question 17, is really dangerous, since the odd-man-out answer choice here intentionally invokes a key word from the passage that resonates with your short term memory. Being able to *quickly* double check is very much to your advantage here.
