Hi
I am back again with the same question. I am doing really bad in verbal. I am getting around 4. Everyone here seems to love EK method for verbal. so I started doing that. I read for the main idea, author's tone; however my score are not improving. I have tired everything, taking notes on the side, highlighting, mental mapping, but when I get to question and see all those choices I get confuse. Then I get most of the question wrong doesn't matter how well I have understand the passage.
I don't know what to do at this point and I don't know what else to try or what I am doing wrong. I am almost done with EK 1001 book and haven't seen any improvement.
Oh English is not native language.
Please give me some advice.
I've had quite the battle with verbal, but things are finally looking good for me.
You have to find a strategy that fits you. For one thing, do not take notes on the side-this may kill your timing. Are you going back to the passage while answering questions? If you are, don't do that either. That will also kill your time and you most likely won't find the answer in the passage anyway (at least not for the inference type questions).
Here's what I do:
Spend about 4 minutes reading the passage. Yes, 4. My score went up when I devoted an extra minute to the passage. I read the passages slow, then answer the questions swiftly. I never go back to the passage until I'm done answering each and every question. I usually have about a minute left after I answer all the questions, since reading the passage slower helps me to understand the passage more, and thus makes it easier to answer the questions. So, 4 minutes to read the passage, then answer the questions without going back to the passage. IF YOU HAVE TIME LEFT OVER: go back to the questions you were unsure of/you marked, and go back to the passage if you think you can find the answer. Only go back when you 1) have time and 2) know what you're looking for (I think EK says this).
When reading the passage:
I highlight key words like "but, yet, however, moreover"-these words either add to or detract from the main idea. I also highlight other words that illustrate the author's personal point of view. Don't get bogged down in details. And don't reread sentences/words you find confusing because you'll most likely be confused when you read them a second time.
When answering questions:
Like I said before, do not go back to the passage. Just don't do it. Use the process of elimination to eliminate obvious wrong answer choices (i.e., extreme answer choices are almost always wrong). The trick is to really narrow it down to 2 answer choices, and if you're stuck, ask yourself "what's the main idea?" The right answer will usually fit within the main idea of the passage.
To sum up, read the passage a bit slower, and answer the questions fast without going back to the passage. If you have time left after answering all questions in the passage, then go back if you know what to look for. Passages slow, questions fast. Try this-it may or may not work. Good luck.
