about reading comprehension in DAT

[ippie]

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How do you guys practice reading comprehension?
What kinds of the topics do they ask in the exam?
Could anybody that already took DAT post the topic of reading comprehension you encountered in the real exam?
Do you recommend any reading material?
I am very poor at fast reading. Please help me!

 

[DDS:)]

Do a search a the forum, a lot people posted their topics they had on real DAT, but you might get diff. topic, since the computer choose randomly.

ps: I am very bad at RC too.

 

[ippie]

Thank you so much. but what do you mean the forum? DAT forum or dental forum? Do they have function to search selectively by the keyword "reading"? I cannot find any fuction like that. I am new here. Thank you again! 🙂

 

[SugarNaCl]

I am a slow reader too. First time I took the DAT I had a pretty bad 16 in RC. I retook it in April...2yrs after the first, and got a 21. First time I took it, I thought I would complete 2 of the 3 passages and that would be good enough if I did well. This time, my strategy was a bit different. I generally read through the first 5 paragraphs writing key words next to the paragraph number. By the time you get through 5 of the 13-19 passages, you have a clue as to what the passage is about, the tone and how it is directed. After that, I just wrote key numbers and a few words as I lightly skimmed through (not read intensely). I had no problem picking out key words from the passage related to the questions. I am a VERY slow reader, and I ended up with about 3 minutes to spare...that was good for me!

 

[dWiz]

RC is one of the easiest sections on the DAT. I didn't read any passage, i just looked for the answers and got a 23

 

[flylab101]

RC is one of the easiest sections on the DAT. I didn't read any passage, i just looked for the answers and got a 23

Just like how I looked at all the GChem Questions and got at 29

 

[armorshell]

Just like how I looked at all the GChem Questions and got at 29

He means he read each question, then searched the passage for the answer, as opposed to other methods (kaplan's key method)

 

[flylab101]

He means he read each question, then searched the passage for the answer, as opposed to other methods (kaplan's key method)

Oh, thanks for the clarification

 

[FatalExtraction]

ya so i tried using kaplan's method which is alright i guess...i didnt change at all though from my diagnostic up until now so i dont think its helping me improve much (i got an 18 on my diagnostic and have been getting 18s ever since)...im interested in trying out new methods and i've heard that some people just skip right to the questions - which to me is mind boggling...i can imagine myself running out of time before the first passage is over...is this method really what i think it is -skip to the questions and just read and re-read until u get what ur looking for? or is there more to it? thanks for all of your help

 

[armorshell]

The way it always works for me is I skim through until I find the answer, and by the 4th-5th question I have a pretty good idea of what's going on in the passage.

BTW I've been scoring 21-23 on topscore and achiever

 

[fancymylotus]

hrm.not sure if this is indicative of anything since ive only done kaplan tests,but i got a 25 RC on the diagnostic. the material was pretty simple,sciency but not THAT sciency. the main complaint of the other kids in my class about this section was that they 'ran out of time entirely on the second passage'...i guess the trick is to read fast and pick out important details,and try to remember where in the passage they are so when you have to go back and look,you dont end up rereading the whole thing.

 

[dWiz]

hrm.not sure if this is indicative of anything since ive only done kaplan tests,but i got a 25 RC on the diagnostic. the material was pretty simple,sciency but not THAT sciency. the main complaint of the other kids in my class about this section was that they 'ran out of time entirely on the second passage'...i guess the trick is to read fast and pick out important details,and try to remember where in the passage they are so when you have to go back and look,you dont end up rereading the whole thing.

time was never an issue for me, because i never read the passages, i just searched for answers, and had time to go over the questions again as well. Skimming it fast doesn't really do anything because the passages have a lot of info/detail, and u dont really remember anything, so theres no point in doing that. The only thing you need to know is what the passage is talking about, and by the time you answer the first couple of questions you get it. i'm not even that good in reading/writing, and i managed a 23 by doing this. somebody on sdn gave this advice, it worked for me, so i want to share it with u guys

 

[prez_al]

Agreed. RC is more like WS (word search). Screw the Kaplan way... Kaplan way (1st attempt) = 18, My way (2nd DAT) = 22. But I was also fortunate to have an entire passage on protein structure when I wrote the DAT and didn't have to read the passage first. But the strategy that worked best for me was to read the questions and find the answer in the passage, since RC is straightforward compared to VR on the MCAT. You save a lot of time doing this, esp if you can read fast. I had about 12 mins to just verify all my answers and twiddle my thumbs! Good luck!