Inconsistency with Reading Comprehension (need advice)

[FutureDDS_11]

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Hello everyone,

So I have done bootcamp's 3rd full length, and I am all over the place with the reading comprehension.
I am all over the place with the strategies as well
My first test, I used BYU4YOU's strategy (which I really liked the look off) on the 1st passage, then I used the reverse mapping technique on the 2nd passage, I didn't have time for the 3rd passage. => I got a 16 and a lot wrong from that 1st passage, but did well on the 2nd passage. So I decided to try out the reverse mapping on the 2nd test.

2nd test: I did the reverse mapping for the first passage, took me too long, so I did SnD on the 2nd and 3rd => Did horrible on all 3 and got a <15.

3rd Test (1 day later after test 2): I decided to go back to using BYU4YOU's strategy because I liked the look of it out of the other strategies. I was able to complete passages #1 (took me ~25 min) and passage #2 (took me 25 min) which left me with only about 10 minutes on the 3rd passage and I kind of panicked and did SnD. ==> Got an 18 which I was, I wouldn't say happy but not disappointed with, since I barely had time to go over the 3rd passage.

Now, it looks like I am most comfortable with BYU4YOU's method. However, it is taking me a bit too long. I read the first question, then I start reading the passage until I try to read to the 5th paragraph, but sometimes I still don't find the answer to that 1st question, which makes me uncomfortable so I go back to the questions and read the 2nd... Which just makes me all over the place. While I read, I also try to map it out which also takes out of my time. I also tend to spend sometimes 2 minutes or a bit more on one question.
Although my reading is maybe average/on the slower side. I think what I am having trouble with is consistency, and it's not the reading that takes up the extra time but the navigation of the questions.

What advice do you have for me? Will I improve with practice? How did you manage your time so that you did all 3 passages? What did you do when you were stuck on a question (how long did you spend on each question/when did you come back for it)?

I know this is a lengthy post but I am really concerned about this section. I still have 3 weeks from Monday until my test, and I plan on getting more resources like DAT Genius for practice.
Thank you.

 

[slee8]

For me, the actual DAT RC section was much easier than the BC tests. Most of the questions were detail based questions and the passages themselves were much easier to read as well. I'm sure it varies from test to test but it can't be too different. The questions like "the statement is true but the reason is false" never showed up on my exam.

I was scoring 18-20 on the BC tests but got a 25 on the actual DAT.

As for tips, I put myself in the mindset that each passage was its own section with a 20 minute time limit and when I ran into a question I couldn't answer, i just made the best educated guess, marked it and moved on.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Try to stick to the 20 minute limit like the poster above me said. I don't think BY4YOU is effective as much on bootcamp since it isn't in chronological order. I find myself using alot of SnD instead on practice tests. However I can see it working well on the real thing

 

[FutureDDS_11]

For me, the actual DAT RC section was much easier than the BC tests. Most of the questions were detail based questions and the passages themselves were much easier to read as well. I'm sure it varies from test to test but it can't be too different. The questions like "the statement is true but the reason is false" never showed up on my exam.

I was scoring 18-20 on the BC tests but got a 25 on the actual DAT.

As for tips, I put myself in the mindset that each passage was its own section with a 20 minute time limit and when I ran into a question I couldn't answer, i just made the best educated guess, marked it and moved on.

What strategy did you use?
Also I try to keep in mind to stay within 20 min, but I just start thinking "I should probably try to get everything right on this one since I've already read it"
What do you do when you mark it and move on? do you get back to it at the end of that same passage or at the end when you're done with the last passage?

 

[FutureDDS_11]

Try to stick to the 20 minute limit like the poster above me said. I don't think BY4YOU is effective as much on bootcamp since it isn't in chronological order. I find myself using alot of SnD instead on practice tests. However I can see it working well on the real thing

SnD is what I tried doing on the second test, but as you see it ended up poorly. Now I am just afraid to waste another practice exam doing SnD, so I am leaning more towards sticking with BYU4YOU's strategy. It is most likely because I have never done SnD before and it needs practice to get used to it and it also requires someone that can quickly and effectively scan then entire passage, which is a skill that might take me a while to get the hang of.

 

[tccheng91]

I approached RC in a different way. During the actual test, since the proctor at the testing center did not care what I did during my break. I wrote down number 1 to 52 on a sheet as my preparation for RC section. During the test, I read the questions first. For each question, I wrote down the key words from the question stem according to its number. I went over all the questions in two to three minutes for each passage. Then I started reading the passage. I stopped after reading a paragraph and looked through the key word list I created. Then if I saw a key word in this paragraph that matched the key word on the list I created, I would go to that question and answered it right away.

I used this method for all BC tests and got 19 on all the RC sections, but I ended up with a 17 on the actual test. English is not my first language but I don't like to use this as an excuse for my lower RC score. However, I am not going to retake because I did well on my other sections. If I were to retake, I would still stick to this method because it worked best for me.

My advice is there are many different methods to approach RC. You still have three more weeks to figure out which method works the best for you. Good luck!

 

[slee8]

What strategy did you use?
Also I try to keep in mind to stay within 20 min, but I just start thinking "I should probably try to get everything right on this one since I've already read it"
What do you do when you mark it and move on? do you get back to it at the end of that same passage or at the end when you're done with the last passage?

I used a method similar to BYU4you. I read the entire passage except for the last 2-3 paragraph. At that point, I basically knew the entire passage but I didn't feel like reading the last few paragraph would contribute to my understanding of the passage as a whole. If anything it would have some detail based questions that could search keywords for and answer toward the last bit of 20 minutes. So after reading the first 3/4 of the passage I moved on to answering questions and once I hit a question I couldn't answer, I knew it had to be in the last few paragraphs and just searched for the keywords. It sounds weird but it's what made me comfortable and worked for me on the real DAT. Also most of the question on the real DAT was in order with the passage so that method was more effective than BC test.

I know it's tempting to spend alot of time on a single question at that moment, but if you look at whole test, it's better to go with your gut feeling on a question and be able to answer potentially easy question later on, rather than getting that one question right after 5 minutes and straight up guessing the last few questions.

After making an educated guess on those marked questions, I had a few minutes at the end to go over those few questions. Go back to those questions at the end of the passage after answering all 17 questions if you didn't pass the 20 minute mark. If you did, it'll be more helpful to move onto the next passage and come back to those question at the VERY end if you still have time.

And whatever you do, I'm sure your scores will come out better than you expect. Good luck!

 

[FutureDDS_11]

I approached RC in a different way. During the actual test, since the proctor at the testing center did not care what I did during my break. I wrote down number 1 to 52 on a sheet as my preparation for RC section. During the test, I read the questions first. For each question, I wrote down the key words from the question stem according to its number. I went over all the questions in two to three minutes for each passage. Then I started reading the passage. I stopped after reading a paragraph and looked through the key word list I created. Then if I saw a key word in this paragraph that matched the key word on the list I created, I would go to that question and answered it right away.

I used this method for all BC tests and got 19 on all the RC sections, but I ended up with a 17 on the actual test. English is not my first language but I don't like to use this as an excuse for my lower RC score. However, I am not going to retake because I did well on my other sections. If I were to retake, I would still stick to this method because it worked best for me.

My advice is there are many different methods to approach RC. You still have three more weeks to figure out which method works the best for you. Good luck!

I actually tried this strategy and it somehow went well when I tried for 1 passage the first time I did a practice test, but then I tried it on test #2 and my score went downhill instead of up. But you're absolutely right, I will keep tweaking my approach until I get it on the right track.
Thank you!

 

[FutureDDS_11]

I used a method similar to BYU4you. I read the entire passage except for the last 2-3 paragraph. At that point, I basically knew the entire passage but I didn't feel like reading the last few paragraph would contribute to my understanding of the passage as a whole. If anything it would have some detail based questions that could search keywords for and answer toward the last bit of 20 minutes. So after reading the first 3/4 of the passage I moved on to answering questions and once I hit a question I couldn't answer, I knew it had to be in the last few paragraphs and just searched for the keywords. It sounds weird but it's what made me comfortable and worked for me on the real DAT. Also most of the question on the real DAT was in order with the passage so that method was more effective than BC test.

I know it's tempting to spend alot of time on a single question at that moment, but if you look at whole test, it's better to go with your gut feeling on a question and be able to answer potentially easy question later on, rather than getting that one question right after 5 minutes and straight up guessing the last few questions.

After making an educated guess on those marked questions, I had a few minutes at the end to go over those few questions. Go back to those questions at the end of the passage after answering all 17 questions if you didn't pass the 20 minute mark. If you did, it'll be more helpful to move onto the next passage and come back to those question at the VERY end if you still have time.

And whatever you do, I'm sure your scores will come out better than you expect. Good luck!

Thank you very much, and I will definitely try to cut out that temptation, because I feel like it's the thing that's the most significantly holding back my RC score.