Reading Comprehension

[rei89]

I've been using Kaplan's method and ran out of time most of the time. Any idea on how to improve the score? My average is only around 280 right now.

Thanks!

 

[hurricaneuro]

I tried Kaplan's method (cause I took the class) but for me, it was useless. By the time I wrote down thoughts for all the paragraphs time was almost up. I just reverted back to reading and answering, but practiced that many times.

 

[eleganteye]

maybe you're reading too much while you're skimming or writing down too much. I think I do something similar to Kaplan's method. I number the paragraphs and write down one or two key words per paragraph. I usually look at the first and last line, and if any unusual words or if any names catch my eye without actually reading it, I write it down.

Don't try to read it when you're looking for keywords. You're probably doing the thing where you're trying to skim but then you go back to reskim/reread the word and so it's taking too much time. Try to stay relaxed and only look for words. Ignore the sentences until you actually read the questions. This works pretty well for me. I can get through each passage in about 2 minutes of keyword search and then hunt back through for the questions and spend about a minute on each question. And like the other topics, if you can't find something skip it. It's too easy to get caught up in the 'which of these statements is incorrect' questions. That's usually where I lose most of my time.

I hope this helps.

 

[rei89]

Thank you both for the reply! Yes, that is what I find about the Kaplan method is that I spend around half the time doing the mapping and too much key words. I'll try just skim and do questions at the same time, and maybe a few words mapping.

 

[velossien1]

That's what I ended up doing. I tried the Kaplan way like twice and ran out of time both times. I just took the OAT (like an hour ago haha ) and just skimmed the reading, getting an idea of what the basic paragraphs were about and then just went on answering questions. Sooo much faster. I actually ended up with ten minutes of extra time to go over my questions. It was weird... haha

 

[kayy]

i found it helpful to read some of the questions beforehand so i knew what i was looking for while i read thru the passage...that just made the whole process of lookin for the line w/ the answers much easier