Question about the EK technique

[tik-tik-clock]

So, after having done all the passages, when you are reviewing them, and the way they tel you to only go through the questions and answer choices:

1. What is your real goal during this process?
2. When you are doing this, should you do this with the answer in front of you or are YOU supposed to figure out just from the question stems and the answer choices, as to what would be the likely answer?
3.While doing this, Are you supposed to go through all the questions first ( all 7 of them and THEN return to the answer choices) or are you just supposed to go question by question reading the question stems and answer choices for each of them as you go?

I am realling confused what you are trying to do in this proces.

CAn someone please clarify?

Thanks!

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[tik-tik-clock]

Pleaseeeeeee /???????

i am SO frustrated

 

[shantster]

1. My real goal was to rationalize to myself why the correct answer is right and the other ones are wrong. If you can figure this out, then you'll be better able to recognize right and wrong answers when taking the test.

2. I always had the correct answer highlighted in the test itself while I was going through the test again. This helps with the goal of going through the test since you want to know what the correct answer looks like and so you want to know which one is correct.

3. When I went through the test without reading the passages, I read through all the question stems first and then wrote down what I thought the main idea was based just off the questions alone. It helped me focus on the basic information that you can get from the question stems alone. I then went through each question and answer choices.

Hope this helps.

 

[tik-tik-clock]

1. My real goal was to rationalize to myself why the correct answer is right and the other ones are wrong. If you can figure this out, then you'll be better able to recognize right and wrong answers when taking the test.

Hi,

So when you tried to figure out why the right answer is right, did you go back to the passage at all, no right? Just from the questions and the answer choices like you mentioned in your # 3 in this message?

Also I take around 4 minutes to read the passage and then 5 minutes is just not enough for me to answer the questions..

How fast do you reccomend me reading the passage, when I m doing the passage first time around? Do you think I should just skim it for the main idea ( really hard to get the main idea by only skimmg) or should I read thorughly for the main idea?
Thanks

 

[shantster]

Hi,

So when you tried to figure out why the right answer is right, did you go back to the passage at all, no right? Just from the questions and the answer choices like you mentioned in your # 3 in this message?

Also I take around 4 minutes to read the passage and then 5 minutes is just not enough for me to answer the questions..

How fast do you reccomend me reading the passage, when I m doing the passage first time around? Do you think I should just skim it for the main idea ( really hard to get the main idea by only skimmg) or should I read thorughly for the main idea?
Thanks

The first time reviewing the passage, I didn't read the passage at all. The second time, I read through the passage for the main idea and wrote that down. While reading, I made sure I understood why each detail was mentioned and how it could be important to the main idea. Usually I would get an idea of what the main idea was from the first paragraph, and I'd revise my idea of the main idea in my mind. I found that by doing this, I was able to understand the passage better so that I wouldn't need to go back as much, and if I did, then I would know where to look. By going over the tests, I found that I was able to read for the main idea much quicker than I had previously.

Let me know if that doesn't make sense.

 

[abadri421]

The first time reviewing the passage, I didn't read the passage at all. The second time, I read through the passage for the main idea and wrote that down. While reading, I made sure I understood why each detail was mentioned and how it could be important to the main idea. Usually I would get an idea of what the main idea was from the first paragraph, and I'd revise my idea of the main idea in my mind. I found that by doing this, I was able to understand the passage better so that I wouldn't need to go back as much, and if I did, then I would know where to look. By going over the tests, I found that I was able to read for the main idea much quicker than I had previously.

Let me know if that doesn't make sense.

What were your scores like before you did this method and what are they like now? How can you get the main idea from the questions stems, and do u use the EK thing that they say picture the author in front of you etc..

 

[mikedaspawn]

The first time reviewing the passage, I didn't read the passage at all. The second time, I read through the passage for the main idea and wrote that down. While reading, I made sure I understood why each detail was mentioned and how it could be important to the main idea. Usually I would get an idea of what the main idea was from the first paragraph, and I'd revise my idea of the main idea in my mind. I found that by doing this, I was able to understand the passage better so that I wouldn't need to go back as much, and if I did, then I would know where to look. By going over the tests, I found that I was able to read for the main idea much quicker than I had previously.

Let me know if that doesn't make sense.

Hey Shanster, I want to see if I'm getting it right

You scan the questions...try to come up with some sort of connecting idea
Go through each question and review each answer(I'm still blank on how you detect right/wrong answers without glancing at the passage)
Then go to the passage...revise main idea after first paragraph..speed read the rest?

I'm at the same place you're at tik...not enough time...at all...

 

[tik-tik-clock]

Just so Shantster doesnt have to type it again,
this is what she told me:

When reviewing the first time, I answered the questions based off the main idea from the passage and I would eliminate wrong answers that fit into EK's categories of wrong answers (beyonds, etc.). I think that's Lecture 2 where they discuss it. Hopefully you'll start noticing that particular answers "look right" and others "look wrong" so that will help you gain speed through the section. Also, don't be worried if you aren't able to answer too many of the questions on this step since you don't have the passage to help. It's more important that you start to recognize the right and the wrong answers. This whole part was done only when reviewing. It is nice, however, to know that if you are completely stuck on a passage, that you can just read through the question stems to get an idea of the main idea. I would recommend using that as only a last resort on the test though.

For reading through the passage, both during taking the test and while reviewing it, I would come up with what I think the main idea is in the first paragraph and then revise it based on the details in the other paragraphs. It will probably slow you down at first, so it would be good to start practicing doing that on a test that you are reviewing. You'll notice with practice that you should be able to be better at reading the passage for the main idea and understanding why the author brings up a particular point.

Another hint that helped me. If you are having problems coming up with the author's opinion, when reading a passage, it might be helpful if you underline key phrases such as "however", "in addition", etc. I know EK recommends against marking, but I need to mark things when I read for information so that I stay focused.

Hope that helps.

 

[Rocket3004]

This is when you are reviewing, correct?

So you already know what questions you got wrong, and you have already read the passage when you took the test?

Well when using this "method" of answering based on question stems alone/gaining as much info from them (which IMO you can get a lot of info sometimes), in the back of your head, don't you already kinda remember what the passage was about, and if you know your marked answer was wrong, then have a good idea which one was correct, just due to "residual memory of the passage"??