Kaplan's method for rc?

[koolaidman]

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Hi,

Can someone please explain to me what's the method that Kaplan suggests for rc? I have the Kaplan blue book, but there is no mention of strategy for rc. I'm trying different methods - btw, search and destroy doesn't work for me. Lastly, is it possible to get the lesson books and practice tests that you get when you take the Kaplan course without taking the course? Perhaps on Kaplan's website? Thanks.

 

[Contach]

Hi,

Can someone please explain to me what's the method that Kaplan suggests for rc? I have the Kaplan blue book, but there is no mention of strategy for rc. I'm trying different methods - btw, search and destroy doesn't work for me. Lastly, is it possible to get the lesson books and practice tests that you get when you take the Kaplan course without taking the course? Perhaps on Kaplan's website? Thanks.

ill sell my stuff to you..

 

[chessxwizard]

Try different strategies for reading comprehension on separate tests -- keywords, summarizing, one sentence per paragraph -- and see which best works for you.

 

[koolaidman]

price? what does the price include? did you find the Kaplan stuff helpful? is the stuff any different from the Kaplan blue book?

 

[visbimmer79]

1. Just scan the passage...really quickly

2. Jot down key words, summaries, scopes

3. When u solve actual questions, go back to the appropriate passages, and read only a few sentences until you get the answer..

 

[DiscoBalls]

1 Hr section, 20 minutes per passage

Look at the first question, if it is a tone question skip it, if not read until you can answer it. Save the tone questions until you have read the entire passage, answering detail oriented questions as you go. By the time you are done reading, you'll prolly have answered half the question and will only be 10-15 minutes into your time allotted for the passage. The tone and detail questions are easy at this point as you know what the article is about for tone question, and you know what paragraphs to refer to for the details

Don't forget if you skip a question

 

[Vicviper]

The Kaplan method is to use about the first 5-8 minutes of your time for each passage reading it (but not as though you were studying it), and then jot down any key terms you think look important in each paragraph.

I took the Kaplan class, and this kind of worked for me, but I found that I was making the maps far too detailed. It always ended up hurting me, because It would then take me even more time reading through my map!

Eventually I stated reading the first 3 questions, and then read the passage through, and only jotting down MAJOR key words, (these are often anything the passage actually defines). As I would read the passage, I would answer one of those questions when I came to it, and then look at the next question and keep moving on in that fashion. This worked much better for me, and I started getting 22-23 regularly. After talking with my Kaplan teacher, she said that this is how she actually did it.

Then the night before the DAT I was taking a full practice test and I found that I was just about out of scratch paper, and I wanted to use the rest on QR, so I didn't really make a map. Instead, I read through every question (not the answers) for each of the 17 or so questions for a passage in detail, really noticing key words, and then I would start to read the passage. Any time I came upon any word in the passage that looked like it even might be a key word, I went through the questions looking for it. I was able to answer about 80% of the questions the first read through, and then I just hunted around for the remaining ones, and if I was looking for one answer, and found words sounding like they may have been related to another question, only then did I jot a quick note down. I didn't think I was going to do very well, but I ended up getting a 29 on the practice test.

So, pretty impressed, I tried that on test day and I ended up getting a 30 in RC. 😀 So try it out! I know everyone has their own strategy for RC, and this might work for you! But be careful, it may be risky if you're a slow reader, but I usually finished each section with a minute or so to go. Good luck!

 

[rewJW]

I realize this sounds like those old Hooked On Phonics commercials but, "Kaplan RC method worked for me!" 😀 I got a 23 on RC. Once I learned Kaplan's method, I practiced using it and decided it worked much better for me than other methods like search & destroy or answer questions as you go along. I would recommend the Kaplan materials to anyone as a good grounds to start studying (but don't stop there!), but I felt the classroom was unnecessary -- if I were to do it all over again I'd just do the online classroom and do it on my own. The key to RC though I think is likely figuring out what works for you and practice, practice, practice. I used Top Score and Kaplan's online tests to practice.