How to do well on reading comprehension section ?

[app4x]

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Hello everyone.
August 21 pcat was over.
I think i did poorly on the quantitative section and especially reading comprehension.
For me, I can manage to improve the quantitative section somehow, but the reading comprehension, I have no idea how to study for it.
Anyone here scored high on reading comprehension please share your methods ?
Im really scared for the reading section

 

[IwantPharmD]

Hello everyone.
August 21 pcat was over.
I think i did poorly on the quantitative section and especially reading comprehension.
For me, I can manage to improve the quantitative section somehow, but the reading comprehension, I have no idea how to study for it.
Anyone here scored high on reading comprehension please share your methods ?
Im really scared for the reading section

Am I the only one who looks forward to the reading section so I can have some time to relax. I would kill if I could cut down that section from 50min to 40 and give 5 more min to chem and 5 more min to math.

 

[fullmetalphrm]

Am I the only one who looks forward to the reading section so I can have some time to relax. I would kill if I could cut down that section from 50min to 40 and give 5 more min to chem and 5 more min to math.

Same here. The fill in the sentence part of the verbal ability is also my 'chill' time since I can always finish well within the time.

Chem and math I just need more time to grasp each question... I can get to the end of the test but have to guess occasionally and can never double check myself really.

I haven't gotten my results back yet, but on the Pearson Practice tests I always got 90%+. I just tend to be good at reading I suppose. The Kaplan book and McGraw-Hill books have some nice tips for it, like they kind of define some of the standard questions. Like what 'tone' actually means, etc from what I remember.

My big thing is I have to make myself READ the section without looking at the questions first. Otherwise I just skim like crazy and waste a lot of time. Underlining helps me as well, like if it compare and contrasts or something many times questions are based around these conventions.

But really, just practice and practice. You should always have enough time if you pace yourself, and many of the questions are quite similar in terms of 'what is the author trying to say and how do they say it'.

 

[SparkLy09]

I got something like an 86. Not outstanding but not bad either.

Honest truth, I brought back my old SAT test taking skills. I suppose this will be harder with the new computer based exams, but I underline and circle what I believe are important while I am reading. It helps me concentrate and not think about anything else other than what the passage is trying to say while I'm reading. Often times, I find that I get bored while reading those passages and start thinking about other things and then miss the whole point of the passage altogether.

Learning to answer the question was huge for me as stupid as that sounds. I found that sometimes I would mark an answer just because it was true. True =/= answer to what the question is asking.

Aside from that, practice is key. There is no way to memorize or anything, just practice reading passages without getting distracted. Also, practicing helps in that you get a feel for the types of questions that they will most likely ask you. It'll get easier as you go on, and also, don't spend too much time analyzing each paragraph, you don't have the time to waste.

 

[app4x]

I got something like an 86. Not outstanding but not bad either.

Honest truth, I brought back my old SAT test taking skills. I suppose this will be harder with the new computer based exams, but I underline and circle what I believe are important while I am reading. It helps me concentrate and not think about anything else other than what the passage is trying to say while I'm reading. Often times, I find that I get bored while reading those passages and start thinking about other things and then miss the whole point of the passage altogether.

Learning to answer the question was huge for me as stupid as that sounds. I found that sometimes I would mark an answer just because it was true. True =/= answer to what the question is asking.

Aside from that, practice is key. There is no way to memorize or anything, just practice reading passages without getting distracted. Also, practicing helps in that you get a feel for the types of questions that they will most likely ask you. It'll get easier as you go on, and also, don't spend too much time analyzing each paragraph, you don't have the time to waste.

hey guys, thanks for the suggestions.
when answer the questions, do you really have to go back the passage and look for the answer ? or just read the passage and remember what the key points then answer the questions w/o looking back ?

 

[IwantPharmD]

hey guys, thanks for the suggestions.
when answer the questions, do you really have to go back the passage and look for the answer ? or just read the passage and remember what the key points then answer the questions w/o looking back ?

I constantly go back and read parts of the passage again.

 

[SparkLy09]

I generally look back but always keep the mindset of not spending too much time re-reading. It's just my system of verification. Usually, I have a good idea of where the answer is and it doesn't take very long to find and re-read the sentence. I also narrow down my choices before looking back because usually 1-2 of the choices will be obviously wrong. Good luck!

 

[fullmetalphrm]

I constantly go back and read parts of the passage again.

Yeah you definitely have time to find the exact answers in the text, this is why I feel confident in this section since I can always find the answers if I 'think on my feet' as opposed to pulling out the info from my head.

 

[sugarnova]

I'm lucky that reading-comp is just one of my strong suits so, I really didn't study much. (I scored 94.) However, I'm thinking that you could pick up an ACT or SAT prep book because a lot of the same types skills covered in RC on those tests can be applied to RC on the PCAT.

I scanned the questions first so that I would have an idea of what pick up on as I read the passage, that really helped a lot.