RC Advice!

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From the sounds of it-- Search & Destroy does not work on the DAT as well as it use to. So here is the problem-- thats the way I've practiced on a couple of test before I realized it was most likely going to fail me on the DAT--

I have 4 days till D-Day & I want to figure out some sort of strategy for test day that will work.. as well as find some good practice RC test, I have the Kaplan RC that comes with the course.. BUT I was thinking of investing in Crack Reading--which one is more accurate? any advice on a good strategy ? ( actually reading through the passage doesn't really work for me, I end up just forgetting what I just read)


??

 

[HannibalLecter]

From the sounds of it-- Search & Destroy does not work on the DAT as well as it use to. So here is the problem-- thats the way I've practiced on a couple of test before I realized it was most likely going to fail me on the DAT--

I have 4 days till D-Day & I want to figure out some sort of strategy for test day that will work.. as well as find some good practice RC test, I have the Kaplan RC that comes with the course.. BUT I was thinking of investing in Crack Reading--which one is more accurate? any advice on a good strategy ? ( actually reading through the passage doesn't really work for me, I end up just forgetting what I just read)

??

I am going to break it down for you:

1) RC strategies and why there has been upheaval on SDN about not using S&D. You should not forget this strategy on test day. I would recommend actually going into the test with your mind focused on doing this first. This is your main strategy because guess what the DAT used to have like 43 out of 50 questions S&D in previous tests. But they have recently switched over to 33 out of 50 questions S&D and rest passage theme focused. You should still do S&D because guess what 33 is still the majority of the test.

2) A strategy that might work for you but maybe not:
I have been trying to VicVipz reading strategy and I can't seem to master it. But I kind of forgot about the real principle: reading. Go ahead look at the questions before you start having a habit of remembering keywords. Then going paragraph by paragraph and destroying questions as they come up. The thing with this strategy was that it was more questions focused and I kind of forgot what was the main theme for RC: Which was actually reading the passage. Try reading a passage at slow pace vs. fast pace. You will realize that you are only losing about 2 minutes per passage. Is that a lot of time wasted, I think not especially when you look back at questions that are more theme based and more concept based and you are able to answer them. I feel like people give too much emphasis on S&D but actually reading the passage like you were interested and reading it at a slow pace should knock out any questions that you might face on the DAT RC.

3) I think a combination of Kaplan based RC and a couple of Crack DAT reading passages should work wonders for your practice. If you feel that you are short on money and want to still invest in good theme based passages I suggest Examkrackers Passages for MCAT 101 verbal or MCAT verbal/ math. Both are good as well.

Good luck.

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

From the sounds of it-- Search & Destroy does not work on the DAT as well as it use to. So here is the problem-- thats the way I've practiced on a couple of test before I realized it was most likely going to fail me on the DAT--

I have 4 days till D-Day & I want to figure out some sort of strategy for test day that will work.. as well as find some good practice RC test, I have the Kaplan RC that comes with the course.. BUT I was thinking of investing in Crack Reading--which one is more accurate? any advice on a good strategy ? ( actually reading through the passage doesn't really work for me, I end up just forgetting what I just read)


??

You do know you have to read a lot when you get into dental school right?
And you have to be able to remember what you read to pass the exams?

lol. just kidding. crack the dat reading is pretty accurate to what you'll see on the real dat, as it has more inference/tone questions, along with some search and destroy. i usually read the entire passage, while mapping out keywords (barron's dat strategy), and after reading each question, i would know exactly which paragraph the answer is on and jump straight to that paragraph.

i was also worried about the reading section and i bought crackdat reading, topscore, achiever and tried some examkrackers verbal. examkrackers was probably 100 times harder than the actual dat, so i'm not sure if i would recommend it.

crackdat reading comes with 5 tests (15 passages), so if it's really bothering you, buy it, try it and at least you won't say 'what if'.

 

[bittersweet008x]

haha yes I am aware but it wont be with my all nerves hitting me in full swing every time I read a sentence.

okay I got CDR, Ill go through a couple of test these next few days & try reading at a slower pace as well as write down keywords...thanks for the advice!

question though-- how long do you both spend on reading the passage?

 

[HannibalLecter]

Average: 7-8 minutes per passage

The ratio should be: 20:40 in that 60 minute time frame (40 for questions)

 

[bittersweet008x]

okay great! I took a CDR this morning and thats about the time I spent-- just need to practice reading the questions carefully..

but the whole reading at a slow pace & writing down keywords, worked well!
-- I even remembered what I had read 🙂.. I think trying to read at a fast pace didn't work for me..

anyways..
thank you!!

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

okay great! I took a CDR this morning and thats about the time I spent-- just need to practice reading the questions carefully..

but the whole reading at a slow pace & writing down keywords, worked well!
-- I even remembered what I had read 🙂.. I think trying to read at a fast pace didn't work for me..

anyways..
thank you!!

glad that strategy is working for you!

To answer previous question, it's 10 min reading, 10 min questions per passage for me.