RC: Read Qs first vs. Read passage first Forum

stcait · Post by **stcait** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:41 pm

Hi,

I know it can depend on person to person, but just wondering which one people here prefer to do.
It would be great if you can provide reasons.

Thanks!

basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:47 pm

Post removed.

stcait · Post by **stcait** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:59 pm

How much info do you usually retain?
I found it's hard to remember all details, but I run out of time time if I often go back to the passage to check the info (esp Qs like "the author described X in order to..." or "which one of the following best defines the word Y" when no specific line reference is given), so not sure what to do

One of my friends who got 170+ said she read questions first, and I tried to do that too, but then I found it's hard to see the big picture bc focus too much on remembering Qs.

Clemenceau · Post by **Clemenceau** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:04 pm

I'm all for reading the Q first on LR. But RC I feel like it would be too distracting/time consuming

ShenmueRemake · Post by **ShenmueRemake** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:07 pm

Read passage first except for a quick look for the dual passages. There are sometimes a super nasty detail oriented passage that asks "both passage mentions which of the following." The answer choices are all 1 word, and usually the right answer is mentioned in passing to the point of being irrelevant to the passage. I would do a quick look through of a question like this.

basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:08 pm

Post removed.

stcait · Post by **stcait** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:17 pm

basedvulpes wrote:
stcait wrote:How much info do you usually retain?
I found it's hard to remember all details, but I run out of time time if I often go back to the passage to check the info (esp Qs like "the author described X in order to..." or "which one of the following best defines the word Y" when no specific line reference is given), so not sure what to do
One of my friends who got 170+ said she read questions first, and I tried to do that too, but then I found it's hard to see the big picture bc focus too much on remembering Qs.
I'm certainly no expert on this but I think coming up with a standard approach that helps you focus and then drilling passages is your best bet. I don't feel likes there's any magic to reading passages first or second.

Are you using any prep books for RC? I used Manhattan's RC book and I thought their approach worked fairly well.

I read their older edition of RC.
If they have not changed its content a lot from the previous edition, I think they basically suggest to read opinions of author and see the 2 sides/evidences of each side...did they add anything?
If I have time I want to read the latest edition, but I feel like I should read more passages...

stcait · Post by **stcait** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:29 pm

posted into another place!

basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:30 pm

Post removed.

Dexter97 · Post by **Dexter97** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:54 pm

Post removed.

lymenheimer · Post by **lymenheimer** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 3:22 pm

I did Kaplan book for LR and RC and, while it may not be at the level of Manhattan or the Bibles, it gave me a method that I could follow and though it didn't help me on the practice questions in the book (I didn't understand the "expert"'s reasoning on certain things), it did help me develop a process that I made work for me. So essentially what Basedvulpes said...Play around with something that you can feel comfortable with and make work for your style. I have read pros and cons for both reading questions first and stimulus first, so it is up to you. Personally, I found reading the questions first diluted my thought process when reading the stimulus, even in LR as I was looking for the flaw or whathaveyou and may have missed a key term that would change the response. As opposed to reading the stimulus and noticing the flaw and then working through the question stem and answers.

stcait · Post by **stcait** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 4:35 pm

lymenheimer wrote:I did Kaplan book for LR and RC and, while it may not be at the level of Manhattan or the Bibles, it gave me a method that I could follow and though it didn't help me on the practice questions in the book (I didn't understand the "expert"'s reasoning on certain things), it did help me develop a process that I made work for me. So essentially what Basedvulpes said...Play around with something that you can feel comfortable with and make work for your style. I have read pros and cons for both reading questions first and stimulus first, so it is up to you. Personally, I found reading the questions first diluted my thought process when reading the stimulus, even in LR as I was looking for the flaw or whathaveyou and may have missed a key term that would change the response. As opposed to reading the stimulus and noticing the flaw and then working through the question stem and answers.

So do you read stimulus first for LR too?
And you focus on understanding contents?

lymenheimer · Post by **lymenheimer** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 4:46 pm

stcait wrote:
So do you read stimulus first for LR too?
And you focus on understanding contents?

Yes. I read the Stimulus for LR. I find it is fairly easy to predict the question based on the structure, though a bit more difficult than predicting certain RC questions. I see if I can instantly find a flaw. If so, then it's likely a flaw question. If there is no flaw, then there are characteristics of other questions that I have become familiar with over many PTs. If I don't predict the question accurately, then I at least have essentially a mental checklist of characteristics of the Stimulus that helps me to narrow down TCR. Granted, LR was my worst section this past time around, I maintain this method throughout PTs (when it has been like -4/-5 for combined sections).

For RC, it was easier for me to try and understand the passage nearly in its entirety, because if I started skimming, I would glaze over and miss key points and transition words. I underlined important words, sentences, etc, understanding what kinds of questions were likely to be on the test and mentally roadmapped where each part was for quick reference from the question to the pertinent section in the passage. This can also be done through margin notes and other ways, but I have a pretty good pictoral recall so I didn't have to waste time writing.

stcait · Post by **stcait** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 5:01 pm

basedvulpes wrote:
stcait wrote:
basedvulpes wrote:
stcait wrote:How much info do you usually retain?
I found it's hard to remember all details, but I run out of time time if I often go back to the passage to check the info (esp Qs like "the author described X in order to..." or "which one of the following best defines the word Y" when no specific line reference is given), so not sure what to do
One of my friends who got 170+ said she read questions first, and I tried to do that too, but then I found it's hard to see the big picture bc focus too much on remembering Qs.
I'm certainly no expert on this but I think coming up with a standard approach that helps you focus and then drilling passages is your best bet. I don't feel likes there's any magic to reading passages first or second.

Are you using any prep books for RC? I used Manhattan's RC book and I thought their approach worked fairly well.
I read their older edition of RC.
If they have not changed its content a lot from the previous edition, I think they basically suggest to read opinions of author and see the 2 sides/evidences of each side...did they add anything?
If I have time I want to read the latest edition, but I feel like I should read more passages...
I'm not sure which edition I read, but that's one of the main things. It basically gives you a standard model for how to approach RC, and I found that I did a lot better and and retained more information when I was actively using it rather than just trying to frantically read the passage as quickly as possible.

Thanks, maybe I'll review the book then

lymenheimer wrote:
stcait wrote:
So do you read stimulus first for LR too?
And you focus on understanding contents?
Yes. I read the Stimulus for LR. I find it is fairly easy to predict the question based on the structure, though a bit more difficult than predicting certain RC questions. I see if I can instantly find a flaw. If so, then it's likely a flaw question. If there is no flaw, then there are characteristics of other questions that I have become familiar with over many PTs. If I don't predict the question accurately, then I at least have essentially a mental checklist of characteristics of the Stimulus that helps me to narrow down TCR. Granted, LR was my worst section this past time around, I maintain this method throughout PTs (when it has been like -4/-5 for combined sections).

For RC, it was easier for me to try and understand the passage nearly in its entirety, because if I started skimming, I would glaze over and miss key points and transition words. I underlined important words, sentences, etc, understanding what kinds of questions were likely to be on the test and mentally roadmapped where each part was for quick reference from the question to the pertinent section in the passage. This can also be done through margin notes and other ways, but I have a pretty good pictoral recall so I didn't have to waste time writing.

Interesting, maybe I want to try it and see whether I can do better on LR...I constantly miss questions between Q15-20 range, so if I read stimulus first it might give me better understanding.

Thanks