Really upset with my RC practice test score- advice please!

[virtualmaster999]

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Hey everyone

So I took my first RC test back at the end of January and got 43/50, and I used the kaplan 2015 book for this. I was kind of skeptical of my score seeing as I do really bad with reading exams.

Today I took my first RC exam on bootcamp. I did horrible: 21/50. This test felt like a completely different world than the kaplan one. I felt extremely rushed and the questions seemed a lot more in depth. On the first passage, I finished reading it in about 7 minutes but I could hardly remember the main points or what was going on. With the questions I spent about 25 minutes on it. I then decided to attempt search and destroy for the last two passages but I found myself guessing on A LOT of questions. I've never done worse on anything and it sucks. I feel like I need to try a different strategy completely. Should o attempt search and destroy on my next exam (I guess I was doing it wrong)? I've need reading an article almost every day too. How can I improve my score to at least 18-19 for RC? Should I bother taking the Kaplan tests online (I believe it comes with 2 exams)? And also, should I reuse taken exams later on, or even just do sections of the exam, like one of the passages another time? I just feel so disappointed right now.

Any advice helps!! Thanks in advance!


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[beanie5]

I say spend your time practicing with Bootcamp; it's better to be overprepared than under (I didn't look at Kaplan RC, but if it's similar to their science/PAT sections, their RC will be too easy too). I didn't really prep for RC since I'm a strong reader, but from what I remember, Bootcamp felt pretty similar to the real thing (formatting, length of passages, range of subject matter, etc.). I took the DAT twice, and in terms of difficulty, Bootcamp fell somewhere in between the 2 DATs.

I operate best when I have a big picture idea of things before delving into details, so pure search and destroy never works for me. If you're that way too, the following pseudo-search and destroy method might help:

1. Quickly skim through the entire passage - focus not on details, but just getting a feel for where information is located in the passage and how general ideas/concepts in the passage flow; your goal is not to skim for content (though some may happen to stick), but rather just understanding organization.

For example, you might note that paragraph 1 of a passage explains why an experimental drug holds promise, paragraph 2 - the drug's mechanism of action, paragraph 3 - testing methods, paragraph 4 - results/side effects, etc. Note that you are not actually trying to understand/remember details about the mechanism of action, or what the specific side effects are; You're just noting that the passage mentions those things and whether that information is located somewhere in the beginning, middle or end of the passage.

2. Answer questions. Since you already know how the passage is organized, you should be able to locate sections containing the answers quickly. If you need, you can then read just those sections more carefully to find and/or confirm the answers.

On my first DAT attempt, I let myself get bogged down in dense technical details of a crazy hard passage instead of skimming to understand organization. I ended up panicking, and running out of time, and got a 20. On my second attempt, I was disciplined in sticking with this method, finished with time to spare, and got a 29. In between the two attempts, the only additional prep I did was to go through 1-2 Bootcamp passages (not even full sections) just to get my mojo back. My second DAT RC passages ended up being easier than the first one, so that does account for some of the score increase. However, I really think the most important factor for me in the increase was implementing this approach.

Of course, everyone's different so your mileage may vary. But, if you're finding that pure search and destroy isn't working for you, this might be another strategy to look into. Most importantly, if you don't feel comfortable with a strategy, identify what exactly about that strategy is confusing/gives you problems, and try to tweak it to fit your needs.

 

[virtualmaster999]

I say spend your time practicing with Bootcamp; it's better to be overprepared than under (I didn't look at Kaplan RC, but if it's similar to their science/PAT sections, their RC will be too easy too). I didn't really prep for RC since I'm a strong reader, but from what I remember, Bootcamp felt pretty similar to the real thing (formatting, length of passages, range of subject matter, etc.). I took the DAT twice, and in terms of difficulty, Bootcamp fell somewhere in between the 2 DATs.

I operate best when I have a big picture idea of things before delving into details, so pure search and destroy never works for me. If you're that way too, the following pseudo-search and destroy method might help:

1. Quickly skim through the entire passage - focus not on details, but just getting a feel for where information is located in the passage and how general ideas/concepts in the passage flow; your goal is not to skim for content (though some may happen to stick), but rather just understanding organization.

For example, you might note that paragraph 1 of a passage explains why an experimental drug holds promise, paragraph 2 - the drug's mechanism of action, paragraph 3 - testing methods, paragraph 4 - results/side effects, etc. Note that you are not actually trying to understand/remember details about the mechanism of action, or what the specific side effects are; You're just noting that the passage mentions those things and whether that information is located somewhere in the beginning, middle or end of the passage.

2. Answer questions. Since you already know how the passage is organized, you should be able to locate sections containing the answers quickly. If you need, you can then read just those sections more carefully to find and/or confirm the answers.

On my first DAT attempt, I let myself get bogged down in dense technical details of a crazy hard passage instead of skimming to understand organization. I ended up panicking, and running out of time, and got a 20. On my second attempt, I was disciplined in sticking with this method, finished with time to spare, and got a 29. In between the two attempts, the only additional prep I did was to go through 1-2 Bootcamp passages (not even full sections) just to get my mojo back. My second DAT RC passages ended up being easier than the first one, so that does account for some of the score increase. However, I really think the most important factor for me in the increase was implementing this approach.

Of course, everyone's different so your mileage may vary. But, if you're finding that pure search and destroy isn't working for you, this might be another strategy to look into. Most importantly, if you don't feel comfortable with a strategy, identify what exactly about that strategy is confusing/gives you problems, and try to tweak it to fit your needs.

Thanks for the advice!


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[kholley25]

I thought bootcamp was much more challenging than the actual DAT. I found that the latter was pretty straightforward and most questions could be answered with S&D. Just keep practicing and you'll be alright.

 

[Chga]

I agree, the actual DAT had very straightforward questions about the passage.

 

[virtualmaster999]

I thought bootcamp was much more challenging than the actual DAT. I found that the latter was pretty straightforward and most questions could be answered with S&D. Just keep practicing and you'll be alright.

Thanks! Do you know any material for RC that you would say is more representative?


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[Alectrify]

My RC scores on Bootcamp:
16
18
21

Actual score: 22

Several sources agreed that the earlier BC tests contain the more advanced passages, which clearly showed in my scores. Regardless, I'd say BC is still very good for practice because the questions are similar to those on the real DAT. You need to get used to harder passages that are even more difficult than the DAT so that the actual DAT passages will seem like a joke to you.