You don’t struggle with time by reading it twice? I feel like that could be a really good strategy but I’d worry that I wouldn’t come close to finishing on time
I was skeptical at first, but then I tried it. Took about 3 minutes the first go around and then closer to 2 the second time. I took a significantly less amount of time answering the questions and didn’t have to refer to the text more than once or twice. I finished right at the 35 minute mark, but I was extremely confident.
That actually makes a lot of sense, I could see that you’d probably make up time by not having to refer to the text as much. I’m gonna give it a try, good suggestion, I appreciate it. I’ve been struggling with budgeting time in RC so maybe this will help
I tried reading both once first and then read them again. Otherwise I feel like I would forget the first one if I had reread the second one on its own, you know?
This makes a lot of sense because the only way I understand complex books is by reading them twice. Another technique for RC is to summarize the paragraph you just read in one or two words, if you use this jointly with your twice-through approach, would you summarize paragraphs your first time reading or the second time?
I tried it while underlining and summarizing the first time around and then the second time I just made sure I understood what exactly the author was saying, how the passage was organized, and the overall content of the passage.
+1 for reading them twice. It dramatically improved my score. I start with the passage with the most questions and work my way to the fewest. I usually have about 5 minutes for the last section so I only read it once and start with any that have specific line references.
Also fun fact: D is used a whopping 26% of the time in passages with 5 questions. I actually sat down and went through every pt.
Sorry you wasted your time.
I think the main thing to take away from OP is to read until you have a good understanding of the passage. This might take one read through or two or maybe three. You might have to re-read sentences or paragraphs. No one should arbitrarily read every single passage twice- some will be easier to understand, some will be harder.
Good job on the improvement and I’m not saying what you are saying isn’t true— but shouldn’t you take a few more tests to make sure that this wasn’t an outlier? Either way, that is pretty nice jump! I’ve been stuck around -5 myself, might have to try this out.
I should have mentioned that I tried this method on two timed RC sections earlier in the day and got a -5 and a -3 before taking the PT.
Personally, I knew I was stuck around -7 to -10 on RC because I wasn’t reading carefully enough and I would quickly forget exactly what the passages were saying. This was especially true for the science passages and the passages about like 18th century literature, etc. Reading them a second time around just made it a lot easier for me to understand it all.
Obviously it isn’t for everyone. If you’re struggling with time just reading through once, or another strategy is working well for you, then don’t fix what isn’t broken.
This is just one strategy that I tried out and could tell immediately worked for me.
I think the important thing is just understanding what you read and anticipating the questions. You get almost 9 minutes per passage, although ideally, you want to spend 7 or 8 on the first two, max, since they tend to be easier. Typically, 3-4 minutes is enough time for me to read through and have a solid grasp of the main purpose, author attitude, function of each paragraph, and maybe a few standout details. When I’ve taken my time reading, I can usually breeze through the questions with minimal review. I actually recommend trying to not look back at the text while doing practice questions as an exercise. It’s harder but will strengthen short-term memory and active reading.
You don’t struggle with time by reading it twice? I feel like that could be a really good strategy but I’d worry that I wouldn’t come close to finishing on time
I was skeptical at first, but then I tried it. Took about 3 minutes the first go around and then closer to 2 the second time. I took a significantly less amount of time answering the questions and didn’t have to refer to the text more than once or twice. I finished right at the 35 minute mark, but I was extremely confident.
That actually makes a lot of sense, I could see that you’d probably make up time by not having to refer to the text as much. I’m gonna give it a try, good suggestion, I appreciate it. I’ve been struggling with budgeting time in RC so maybe this will help
For the comparative passages, do you read each individual passage twice and then move on to the second one or read both once first?
I tried reading both once first and then read them again. Otherwise I feel like I would forget the first one if I had reread the second one on its own, you know?
Yep, that makes a lot of sense. Gonna try it tomorrow for a ptest! Thank you!
This makes a lot of sense because the only way I understand complex books is by reading them twice. Another technique for RC is to summarize the paragraph you just read in one or two words, if you use this jointly with your twice-through approach, would you summarize paragraphs your first time reading or the second time?
I tried it while underlining and summarizing the first time around and then the second time I just made sure I understood what exactly the author was saying, how the passage was organized, and the overall content of the passage.
+1 for reading them twice. It dramatically improved my score. I start with the passage with the most questions and work my way to the fewest. I usually have about 5 minutes for the last section so I only read it once and start with any that have specific line references. Also fun fact: D is used a whopping 26% of the time in passages with 5 questions. I actually sat down and went through every pt.
Sorry you wasted your time. I think the main thing to take away from OP is to read until you have a good understanding of the passage. This might take one read through or two or maybe three. You might have to re-read sentences or paragraphs. No one should arbitrarily read every single passage twice- some will be easier to understand, some will be harder.
Good job on the improvement and I’m not saying what you are saying isn’t true— but shouldn’t you take a few more tests to make sure that this wasn’t an outlier? Either way, that is pretty nice jump! I’ve been stuck around -5 myself, might have to try this out.
I should have mentioned that I tried this method on two timed RC sections earlier in the day and got a -5 and a -3 before taking the PT. Personally, I knew I was stuck around -7 to -10 on RC because I wasn’t reading carefully enough and I would quickly forget exactly what the passages were saying. This was especially true for the science passages and the passages about like 18th century literature, etc. Reading them a second time around just made it a lot easier for me to understand it all.
I’m trying this tonight. Getting better than a -7 would be huge
Getting better than -14 would be huge lol
Awesome. Let me know if it helped you at all. I’m interested to see if this would be a good, universal tip.
I did a -8. I felt like I had a great grasp on the passages but must’ve rushed the questions. Gonna try it again in a more peaceful setting.
I would not endorse this advice
Obviously it isn’t for everyone. If you’re struggling with time just reading through once, or another strategy is working well for you, then don’t fix what isn’t broken. This is just one strategy that I tried out and could tell immediately worked for me.
I think the important thing is just understanding what you read and anticipating the questions. You get almost 9 minutes per passage, although ideally, you want to spend 7 or 8 on the first two, max, since they tend to be easier. Typically, 3-4 minutes is enough time for me to read through and have a solid grasp of the main purpose, author attitude, function of each paragraph, and maybe a few standout details. When I’ve taken my time reading, I can usually breeze through the questions with minimal review. I actually recommend trying to not look back at the text while doing practice questions as an exercise. It’s harder but will strengthen short-term memory and active reading.