Frustrated with verbals

[chiddler]

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I'm getting very frustrated with my verbal practice passages and i'm looking for advice.

Some suggest skimming the reading, others suggest to actively read it. Some suggest reading the questions first, whereas I found that I forget them as I focus on the passage.

First question(s) is: do you just go with what you are comfortable with? Should I be constantly experimenting with different approaches or practice the approach that i've been using?

After completing the passage, it is recommended to do a "post game analysis" in asking questions such as "how would I not repeat this mistake again?". The vast majority of my errors are "I didn't understand this paragraph very well."

Second question: This is not a very specific error; how do I improve?

I put a timer for 7 minutes and I work as fast as I can, but find myself on question 5/7 at the 7 minute mark. Ok. Now what?

#3: How do use the time limit to reduce the amount of time I spend on passages? Not limited to verbal I suppose, but all sections.

thank you.

thankyouverrymush.

 

[kehlsh]

why would u time urself when you cannot even finish all the q's

what i would suggest is to work on passages without timers until you get 6/7-7/7 most of the time then proceed with timings

that's what i did for 1-2 weeks then i worked on timings last 2 weeks of verbal prep

hope it helps

 

[chiddler]

why would u time urself when you cannot even finish all the q's

what i would suggest is to work on passages without timers until you get 6/7-7/7 most of the time then proceed with timings

that's what i did for 1-2 weeks then i worked on timings last 2 weeks of verbal prep

hope it helps

Thanks for the advice. What's the point of doing it without a timer?

 

[MedPR]

I'm getting very frustrated with my verbal practice passages and i'm looking for advice.

Some suggest skimming the reading, others suggest to actively read it. Some suggest reading the questions first, whereas I found that I forget them as I focus on the passage.

First question(s) is: do you just go with what you are comfortable with? Should I be constantly experimenting with different approaches or practice the approach that i've been using?

After completing the passage, it is recommended to do a "post game analysis" in asking questions such as "how would I not repeat this mistake again?". The vast majority of my errors are "I didn't understand this paragraph very well."

Second question: This is not a very specific error; how do I improve?

I put a timer for 7 minutes and I work as fast as I can, but find myself on question 5/7 at the 7 minute mark. Ok. Now what?

#3: How do use the time limit to reduce the amount of time I spend on passages? Not limited to verbal I suppose, but all sections.

thank you.

thankyouverrymush.

I was timing myself in the beginning and though I finished in time, I felt rushed. I wasn't doing really well (4/7, 5/7 mostly). After about 5 passages I stopped timing myself and took my time reading the passages, trying to absorb as much as I could. I started doing a lot better, mostly 6/7 and quite a few 7/7 and I was finishing in about the same time and still always under time.

I think that originally I was rushing through the passage and ultimately having to refer back to the passage for every question. Try turning off the timer and take your time reading through the passage. Read it once and make it count.

Occasionally I refer back to justify my answer, but I almost never have to re-read entire paragraphs or sections to give myself an idea of the answer.

 

[MedPR]

Thanks for the advice. What's the point of doing it without a timer?

You have to develop your strategy slowly. Get good at it first, then apply the time constraint.

Learn to walk before you run 😉