kaostonite said:
I received a 400 score on the Readin Comp
Time management is key. Make sure u have been measuring how long it takes you to complete each passage.5 points :
1 . Try to get through the harder passage 1st. What is harder ? - that is for you to decide- If there is a lot of scientific jargon and you are not very comfortable with the topic in the passage- get that done 1st.
2. TRUST YOURSELF - if you are reading the questions and feel that you know the answer to the questions without having to refer back to the passage - by all means tick that answer and then when you have time, you can come back to check the answer through the passage. For example, in my OAT I had a passage on the body and aging - since I had completed a course on the "Physiological aspects of aging" - I knew the answer and didn't waste time trying to confirm the answer going back to the passage.
3. SKIM not READ. Skim to make sure you understand the jest of each para - If I remember correctly, Kaplan stresses this as well.
4. Read the Questions 1st - so you know what to be looking for in the passage. break up the questions in digestable chunks i.e. -read 4 questions and then go to the passage - MOST OF THE QUESTIONS (75%) are laid out chronologically so that the 1st 4 questions will be answered before the last 8 questions.
5. TRUST YOUR 1st instinct - for those questions that you are short on time and have to make and educated guess - always trust your 1st instinct as to what the answer may be
Hope that helps
Good Luck
The most important thing is to recognize what method is good for YOU. After getting advice from this forum, you should do some practice tests and really try to pick out what works for you. To each his/her own, as the saying goes.
For example, I too received a score of 400 on reading comprehension. However, my methods were somewhat different from the post above.
1) Skimming all the passages to find the hardest would be a waste of time for me. It'd make me anxious and nervous, and I'd spend too much time on this.
2) I confirmed every answer before going on to the next passage. I find going back to check answers takes more time than if you had just comfirmed immediately (i.e. you'd know exactly where to check, but if you went back later, you'd have to re-familiarize yourself with the passage.) But...that's only because I am speedy and have never not had enough time to finish properly.
3) Practical advice. I skim AND remember the structure of the passage so I'll know roughly where to find answers which reduces searching time. However, don't skim too much as you do need to understand some stuff. When I did the test, I usually knew the answers right away (or narrowed it down to 2), and only went back to confirm. I think if you are always looking back trying to root out the answer (i.e. can't answer any questions right away after reading the passage) this takes up precious time. I never make marks on my passages because a) it never seems to help me, and b) it takes me too much time.
4) I have never been able to take tests this way, but I know many people who do. If I read the questions first, it makes me read less well...I know this is probably badly expressed on my part. Basically, I just can't read the questions first and I believe it is actually a negative if I do. TONS of people do this, and it'll probably work for you, but I'm just trying to demonstrate that you must search for methods that work for you.
5) Good advice, although it is easier said than done, lol.
Please note that I am not criticizing the previous poster. I'm just trying to show that even though we had different methods, we got the same score. FIND OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!!
Also, 230 is really low compared to your other scores. Perhaps you don't read particularly well in general? If this is the case, I would suggest increasing the amount of daily reading you do - newspapers, magazines (NOT sports- or fashion-related ones, but mags with decent articles), and even fiction books. This will help you read faster at the very least. Personally, I read a lot outside of schoolwork, especially newspapers which I think will teach you how to skim BUT get the important points. I've also taken a lot of humanities (LOTS of required readings) and done above-average amounts of reading for my sciences (because I don't go to classes much, lol). So, I am used to reading both science and non-science material. At the very least, reading a variety of material will make you comfortable with the whole entire concept of reading and understanding foreign material from the get-go.
Basically, what I'm trying to get across is that if you don't read well, or don't understand much of what you read, THIS is your main problem and trying to discern the best "methods" (i.e. read questions first, highlighting major topic points, etc) won't really help you.
Once again, I'm sorry if I insulted you, but given your decent scores of 310+ in other areas, it made me suspicious.
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