How to beat the Reading Comprehension

[Mankiran]

So I've been studying for the OAT for about a month now and have roughly another month to go before I'm taking my exam. I've been putting in anywhere from 2-3 hours every day and I'm making good progress. I took the online Kaplan about a week or two after i started and got a 290 overall. Now I'm taking an achiever exam section by section (#1) and my scores are as follows:

Bio: 330
Chem: 320
Orgo: 350
Physics: 270 (haven't finished studying physics and wasn't doing it too seriously)
RC: 250!!!!
QR: Haven't done it yet

That RC score has really psyched me out. All the other practice sections/passages I've taken I've done pretty well. The Kaplan online test I took I got a 320 on the RC (my strongest section of that test) and I barely took that seriously (no note taking/lazy). What the heck happened here???

Does anybody have experience with the OAT Achiever RC section, is it ultra difficult? Also, what is the best way to improve the RC score?

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[ODwannaB]

I got a 350 in RC on the actual test and I didn't study/practice AT ALL for this section. I noticed that you only need to get 14 or 15 correct out of all the questions to get a perfect score (from the grading scale on the ADA sample test). I skipped the first passage. The second and third passage questions were much easier! I used the search and destroy method. Pretty much skimmed the questions and answers (probably why I got 350 instead of 400 lol). But don't spend too much time on one question. I had plenty of time left to go back to the first passage.

 

[Mankiran]

I got a 350 in RC on the actual test and I didn't study/practice AT ALL for this section. I noticed that you only need to get 14 or 15 correct out of all the questions to get a perfect score (from the grading scale on the ADA sample test). I skipped the first passage. The second and third passage questions were much easier! I used the search and destroy method. Pretty much skimmed the questions and answers (probably why I got 350 instead of 400 lol). But don't spend too much time on one question. I had plenty of time left to go back to the first passage.

You only need 14/15 for perfect? I did not know that! I got 18 on the achiever and that was a 250.

I wish there was some sort standard on these!

EDIT: There are only 15 questions on the sample. LOL, you need a perfect for a perfect.

 

[ODwannaB]

OMG. LOL. I didn't even notice that there are only 15 ques on the sample. Proves that I didn't go over that section. lol. But still skip around to the passages with the easier questions first. I'm not sure if they are in any certain order, but my first passage (and I've heard from others too) was the hardest one. Good luck!

 

[Cafeda]

I scored a 360 RC when I took the OAT recently. This is what I did:

First, I clicked through every single question so that I could get the review button on my screen. Otherwise, you'll have to go back and forth, which takes time. Answer all the questions for a passage before moving on to the next one.

I read the first 2-3 questions before reading the actual passage to get an idea of what answers to look for. Once I answered those, I read the next few questions and then continued reading. For me personally, reading the whole passage before starting takes a lot more time, so I do a seek and destroy method.

Each paragraph is numbered, so on my laminated piece of paper I jotted down keywords for each paragraph. This helped a lot! It was much quicker and easier to refer back to the passage using my notes.

Timing is also important. Try not to spend too much time on any one passage. I aimed to finish each passage within 15 minutes and I actually ended up with a lot of time left over.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

 

[JCodyS]

I used both Kaplan's 5th edition OAT and Princenton Review's Cracking the OAT. I just took the OAT this morning and I did not study at all for the RC section.

However, one of the books gave me a great strategy that worked (I got a 370 in RC).

Each paragraph in an "article" is numbered, use your dry erase board to put the number of the paragraph and a note that reminds you of what the paragraph is about. Do it just by reading the first sentence and/or skimming through.

After you do it for all the paragraphs, start answering the questions.

It acts as a type of index and helps you find the answers much faster. I wasn't pushing it on time with the RC section as much as the Physics or especially the QR.


I say, if you're struggling with physics, keep working on that. If you use a good strategy on RC, you don't need to study for it at all.