Reading Comprehension

[adrianaw88]

I've been practicing reading comprehension and I'm starting to get more stressed out as I practice. =( I've also read the Foundations of Verbal Book Reading Comprehension Chapters and the Reading Comprehension Strategy Guide. One thing I find is after I read the passage and go to the answer choices, none of the answer choices look good to me. My test is in a month and I'm starting to wonder if its possible to improve reading comprehension. =( As I try to read for the main topic and do a headline list, etc. I find it takes me a long time. Sometimes I'll spend nearly 10 minutes reading a long passage. Should I start without timing myself until I get used to it? Please help!

[tim]

we'll probably be able to help you far better if you tell us what things you are already doing to improve on RC. you say you're making a headline list; what sort of things are you putting on the headline list? what steps are you taking to review your work after you're done with a passage?

[adrianaw88]

Hi Tim,

In my headline list I am putting the main idea for each paragraph. Then I put the main idea for the entire passage. When I review I typically just read through the solutions in the OG guide for each question - regardless of whether I got it right or wrong. Is there something else I should be doing?

[jlucero]

Hey Adriana-

RC is definitely a difficult area for students to improve in verbal. I've seen a lot of different strategies, but one thing that is absolutely needed is just weekly practice with passages from the OG- passages that most of us wouldn't probably read after a long day's work.

It's tough to judge your headline list without seeing one personally. It's good that you have a main point for each paragraph, but do you feel as though you understand the main point of each passage? Are you able to go back and quickly find the part in each passage dealing with the specific question being asked? IMO, a headline list is mostly about making sure you understand what you just read and where to find the important parts of the passage and making sure you didn't just say all the words in the passage in your head but don't know what they meant.

As for reviewing, I'd say it's the same question. You can read their explanation, but reviewing anything in the OG isn't about learning how to do that one question. It's about learning how to adjust the way you work through the RC passages and get better on future ones. So if you find yourself identifying correctable mistakes and working on ways to fix them, great. If not, you're going to find yourself making the same mistakes on future questions. Easier said than done, for sure, but that's what studying the GMAT is all about. Hope this helps.