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GRE-The DEFINITIVE Strategy to Torpedo Reading Comprehension
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24 Sep 2022, 01:07
24 Sep 2022, 01:07
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[A] Introduction to GRE Reading Comprehension
[B] GRE-Best Approach for Medium-Length RC Passages
Introduction to GRE Reading Comprehension
No matter how old you study for this test, no matter which way you take to handle this section or improve your overall verbal score the problem remains unsolved: people DO NOT know how to improve their score, actually because they do not know how to overcome RC passages during the exam.
It is the most neglected and underrated part of the test. Still, it is the most important. That said, for two main reasons:
First of all, people do not want to understand that the quantitative part of the test is crucial for a good score, indeed. That is true but is only part of the story. ETS does not care if you do not know some math formula or pick some questions wrong. They care more about your verbal part, mostly than quant. If you want a score above 160, yes, you must do well on both legs. But if you want a good score for your application and is enough for most cases, you must do well in the verbal part more than in quant. People constantly do the preciseness contrary.
As it turns out, to do well and increase your verbal score, you must do well in RC, no matter what.
Secondly: if you are good at TC and SE is a big deal but is not sufficient. Whenever you deal with a problematic passage, convoluted and awkward, then you are lost. As such, your score is ruined simply because you will find yourself in a situation that is detrimental to your performance: you DO NOT know how to handle a passage in the allotted time. This is at most. Minimum will not understand anything.
How can I understand the difficult passages for the GRE+
- If someone is going to spend a large number of hours, those hours should be spent before the person starts taking on GRE-type problems.
If the student can't read English fast enough, then that's a problem that must be addressed before he/she begins to look at GRE-style problems.
If the student doesn't understand how to read passages for the main point, then that's a problem that must be addressed before he/she begins to look at GRE-style problems. Etc.
How many passages should I practice before reaching a solid base or a really good proficiency+
If the student has gone through those materials and is still having considerable trouble, then one of the following three things (or more than one of them) is true:
(1) the student hasn't taken the time to learn how the problems work and is just randomly trying to memorize things;
(2) the student doesn't understand how to read and process the passages and is reading as though the passages were just fact-fact-fact-fact;
(3) the student isn't yet good enough at reading and understanding professionally written English.
Notice that NONE of these three things will be fixable by a greater volume of practice problems. If any of these three things is going on, additional practice problems won't fix the problem; in fact, another practice is just going to cement the problem. As an analogy, think of someone with a bad golf swing. Now, think of what will happen if this person goes out and takes 10,000 practice swings at golf balls -- the person will still have the same problems, but those problems will now be so thoroughly reinforced that they will be practically impossible to fix.
How much practice should I do+
The official guide 3rd edition provides more than enough practice for RC as well as the Big Book. No student should spend more than 15-20 hours of their entire life practicing specifically for GRE RC. (note that this is a lifetime total -- not monthly, not weekly, but an actual lifetime.) that is plenty of time to learn how ETS writes the wording of its questions, what terms such as "primary purpose" and "inference" mean, etc. beyond this point, GRE-specific studying is simply not going to help, and, in all probability, will make bad habits even worse and more permanent. Reading is a skill that most students learn and start to nourish in the first grade. A skill, however, rarely taught to them after middle school. Rarely after that throughout the college. At least not in a sense specifically tested on the GRE. It is also true that many people feed, polish, and improve their reading skills across their lifespan but are not in a proficiency mood specifically useful for this challenging test. For the GRE, you should practice reading the academic-level composition. Spending even 10 minutes a day familiarizing and dedicating yourself to complex and intricate passages and lectures could make a real difference. With reading comprehension, the GRE is trying a fundamental ability in business: your capacity to look over thick materials and perceive critical and significant data. In business college and the past, this will be significant not just in your day-by-day perusing of influential papers yet additionally in your capacity to figure out dreary business reports and correspondence. But reading on the GRE is not pleasure reading; it takes concentration and discipline to focus on the often-convoluted passages about unusual and unfamiliar topics. This exercise is designed to reward those who can efficiently sort through technical jargon and unimportant details to find the relevant takeaways.
Nonetheless, we do need to get a step back in the story "how to tackle" highly dense, long and short, convoluted passages on the GRE. What I am saying following these words is crucial for a student who aims to the highest score. I would not say that this is more important than the skills I will teach you soon. However, it is at the core of success on the verbal side and the quantitative side. In this way: nailing all the right questions during the verbal exam is like being a badass driver. You are the Ayrton Senna of the situation. The way you drive your car has no secrets. However, to drive a car, you must have a driving license.
Well, understand what the GRE tests are for your driving license. It is your passport to score high.
Nonetheless, we do need to get a step back in the story "how to tackle" highly dense, long and short, convoluted passages on the GRE. What I am saying following these words is crucial for a student who aims to the highest score. I would not say that this is more important than the skills I will teach you soon. However, it is at the core of success on the verbal side and the quantitative side. In this way: nailing all the right questions during the verbal exam is like being a badass driver. You are the Ayrton Senna of the situation. The way you drive your car has no secrets. However, to drive a car, you must have a driving license.
Well, understand what the GRE tests are for your driving license. It is your passport to score high.
What the GRE test+
The GRE is designed to:
• Predict student success in business school, allowing schools to accept those most likely to be successful.
• Measure higher-order thinking abilities through quantitative reasoning and verbal reasoning.
Now, the theory behind the two scopes above from the ETS standing point is eventually based on Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.
The Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, known as Bloom's Taxonomy (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, & Krathwohl, 1956) is one of the most recognized learning theories in the field of education. Educators often use Bloom's Taxonomy to create learning outcomes that target not only subject matter but also the depth of learning they want students to achieve. Bloom's Taxonomy comprises three learning domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor, and assigns to each of these domains a hierarchy that corresponds to different levels of learning.
For our purpose, the domain of our interest is the cognitive domain. The cognitive domain is focused on intellectual skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and creating a knowledge base. It was the first domain created by the original group of Bloom's researchers. The cognitive hierarchy spans from simple memorization designed to build the knowledge of learners to creating something new based on previously learned information. In this domain, learners are expected to progress linearly through the hierarchy, beginning at "remember" and ending at "create."
Simply put, the GRE is a test of how you think, not what you know.
The taxonomy above is still widely used in the most disparate learning environments, And it is constantly updated thanks to the contributions of scholars from every corner of knowledge: economics, psychology, human behavior, and so forth.
However, in my experience, this is enough to explain what the GRE is but not sufficient, in my humble opinion. The GRE is a niche test. It could be intended as a parallel universe in which the student is pushed to the boundaries of their critical thinking. Seein and solve questions from an old evaluation angle or point of view.
Put in simple words, the GRE is a holistic approach to problem-solving. As I pointed out several times, it is a non-zero game. Therefore we do need something that goes and push us even further.
This is a personal elaboration by the author of this guide.
What you MUST know BEFORE attempting any type of RC passage+
The following crucial THREE aspects MUST be carved in a student's mind when he/she approaches any type of RC passage. Like a mantra. Moreover, any tutor must address this before teaching you any possible strategy, or if you are a self-student, you must be aware of these three;
1) - When you read an RC passage, WHY ARE YOU READING THE PASSAGE? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
- Main Idea
The logic of the passage
Purpose or scope of the passage
The tone of the passage - you do not have to identify this precisely, but you should have a sense or "feeling" of the passage. (Most passages are very objective/factual/neutral. There is not really much of an identifiable "tone"). You do not have to identify or pinpoint the tone explicitly unless it is asked by one of the questions along the passage.
WHAT ARE YOU NOT LOOKING FOR?
- You do NOT want to read for DETAILS.
2) - YOU MUST READ FOR SOMETHING?
It is much easier to read FOR something rather than just read a passage.
In order to direct your reading efficiently and effectively - to give you something to read FOR - you must look for two FOCUS questions.
- [1] What is the main point of the passage? What does it tell us?
- [-] What is the point of each smaller unit (usually each paragraph)?
[-] The point is NEVER just to inform or to list a bunch of facts/facts/facts in a sterile sequence
[2] If the passage presents facts or details, WHY ARE THEY THERE? WHAT IS JUSTIFIED/EXPLAINED by those facts or details?
3) - HOW THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF QUESTIONS ON RC FUNCTION
This is important to know how the test works and how it is constructed, which will help you to improve your probability of nailing every single question and the passage as a whole correctly.
What is tested through an RC passage is your way of thinking and the interplay, always between two extremes of the Thinking Spectrum.
This is a personal elaboration by the author of this guide.
Time Management+
The best strategies could be the following:
- RC - paraphrase each paragraph, take notes as you go - helps to remember the text and not go back
- RC - spend more time reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph and ask yourself - why was this sentence/paragraph placed here? What is the author driving with it? Do you see any logical issues/flaws with it?
- RC - don't go back to the text (if you have read it carefully - you will not have to) - fastest and most reliable way through RC
- If you are an international student, it is good to know every word you meet in the question text. Write them in a notebook - word, and definition with an example of how you encountered it. It takes time, but by the time you're done with one word, you will remember it
Verbal Question Approach to RC in Short:
During the exam and for both sections, I need 0:45 x 15 for SCs, 1:30 x 14 for CRs, and that left 40 minutes for RC, which meant I could spend 10 minutes per passage. I would read the passage very carefully and spend probably 5-6 minutes doing it and not feeling rushed as I knew I could read any passage in that period. After finishing the text, I knew I had 1 minute for each question, so I did not need to rush. On the Verbal, I did not keep track of the clock when moving from question to question, but I would note when I started the RC passage and make sure I did not go over the 10 min interval by the end.
DOWNLOADS+
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Sources used+
- Clay Banks on Unsplash
- MGMAT Study Hall Thursdays with Ron Verbal Videos
- Personal Notes
Under Construction
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gmatclubot
GRE-The DEFINITIVE Strategy to Torpedo Reading Comprehension [#permalink]
24 Sep 2022, 01:07
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