I think my key issue with RC is time. With unlimited time (within reason, an extra 5-7 mins. I can bring down my timed error form 7-9 wrong to 3-4 wrong, which is my target. I think even if I had like an hour, I would still miss like 2-3). Do you have any suggestions on how I can speed up before the June exam because right now based of my timing it is taking 3 mins to do the read, 30-45 sec to do a passage map and then the questions. Do you think it might be wise to cut down on the passage map time and just write out key words on the side of the passage?
Is there anything you do when you read to read it fast without losing understanding or being able to get right into the "zone" . Another trend I noticed is that I am slowest in my first paragraph and my last paragraph is sometimes my second slowest or the fastest depending on if I can sense what the conclusion is going to be.
Thank you
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- andrewgong01
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Atticus Finch
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Re: RC Speeding Up Tips
Unfortunately, I think at a certain point there is no real answer to the time crunch in RC.
The passages can be dense and unfamiliar.
The answer choices can be very mean and hinge on a tiny detail that we would have to look up.
Even if we are extremely sophisticated readers of English text, we will barely finish on time. So if one's English reading abilities are anything less than top notch, there's almost SURE to be not enough time.
I would definitely experiment with writing down less (or nothing). I, for example, write nothing down.
The point of taking notes and making a Passage Map is really just to develop the mental habit of stopping periodically, to let your brain process what's it's read, rephrase what it's read in much simpler wording, and take stock of what was important / what wasn't.
I'm always going to read the 1st paragraph much more slowly than all the others. To a certain extent we have to just because we haven't yet been introduced to the topic, so those first few sentences are almost always in need of a couple re-reads.
And we will often slow down for the final paragraph because frequently there are author opinion-takeaways found there, and THOSE are the gold nuggets we're searching for.
You can aspire to pick up time in the middle paragraphs, especially when the 1st paragraph gave you a clear enough sense of the author's purpose/point, and/or when the topic/transition sentences of the middle paragraphs make it pretty clear what the content/function of that paragraph will be.
The other places to pick up time are on bad answer choices (you should NOT be reading every answer choice from start to finish).
You want to have strong prephrases on most questions (already know what you're looking for / already decide which sentence from the passage they are testing), and bail as soon as you feel like the language is going astray of what you want.
A well trained ear for strong/specific wording makes that easier:
(conditional ideas, all, any, none, no, only, unless, depends ... most / typically / probably / usually / generally / tends to)
To experiment with a couple things (although your test is coming up so soon it's not likely that you can implement a very different strategy at this point):
1. Don't write notes .... see what happens
2. Time yourself on individual passages ... 2 mins. Make it happen. You gotta reach the end with an understanding of the author's Purpose, where her Main Point occurred, and what each paragraph covered. Skip over / skim anything that ISN'T necessary to achieving those goals.
3. Try a passage untimed in which you cover up the answer choices and write down your prephrase / Proof Window for each question stem (if possible). The better you get at understanding what these questions are fishing for, the more decisive you can be with picking your answer or quickly filtering out 2 or 3 garbage answers.
The passages can be dense and unfamiliar.
The answer choices can be very mean and hinge on a tiny detail that we would have to look up.
Even if we are extremely sophisticated readers of English text, we will barely finish on time. So if one's English reading abilities are anything less than top notch, there's almost SURE to be not enough time.
I would definitely experiment with writing down less (or nothing). I, for example, write nothing down.
The point of taking notes and making a Passage Map is really just to develop the mental habit of stopping periodically, to let your brain process what's it's read, rephrase what it's read in much simpler wording, and take stock of what was important / what wasn't.
I'm always going to read the 1st paragraph much more slowly than all the others. To a certain extent we have to just because we haven't yet been introduced to the topic, so those first few sentences are almost always in need of a couple re-reads.
And we will often slow down for the final paragraph because frequently there are author opinion-takeaways found there, and THOSE are the gold nuggets we're searching for.
You can aspire to pick up time in the middle paragraphs, especially when the 1st paragraph gave you a clear enough sense of the author's purpose/point, and/or when the topic/transition sentences of the middle paragraphs make it pretty clear what the content/function of that paragraph will be.
The other places to pick up time are on bad answer choices (you should NOT be reading every answer choice from start to finish).
You want to have strong prephrases on most questions (already know what you're looking for / already decide which sentence from the passage they are testing), and bail as soon as you feel like the language is going astray of what you want.
A well trained ear for strong/specific wording makes that easier:
(conditional ideas, all, any, none, no, only, unless, depends ... most / typically / probably / usually / generally / tends to)
To experiment with a couple things (although your test is coming up so soon it's not likely that you can implement a very different strategy at this point):
1. Don't write notes .... see what happens
2. Time yourself on individual passages ... 2 mins. Make it happen. You gotta reach the end with an understanding of the author's Purpose, where her Main Point occurred, and what each paragraph covered. Skip over / skim anything that ISN'T necessary to achieving those goals.
3. Try a passage untimed in which you cover up the answer choices and write down your prephrase / Proof Window for each question stem (if possible). The better you get at understanding what these questions are fishing for, the more decisive you can be with picking your answer or quickly filtering out 2 or 3 garbage answers.
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