Strategy for DAT Reading Comprehension

[aclementine]

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The passages are a lot longer than I'm used to, and there are much more questions per passage than I'm used to as well.... What's everyone's strategy for this section?

Do you read the questions first, and then read the passage? How do you remember all the things that you have to look for?

Do you skim the passage first, and then answer the questions? How do you remember which paragraph the question is referring to?

Which method is more effective? Are you guys doing it a different way?

Thanks 🙂

 

[Ramil]

The passages are a lot longer than I'm used to, and there are much more questions per passage than I'm used to as well.... What's everyone's strategy for this section?

Do you read the questions first, and then read the passage? How do you remember all the things that you have to look for?

Do you skim the passage first, and then answer the questions? How do you remember which paragraph the question is referring to?

Which method is more effective? Are you guys doing it a different way?

Thanks 🙂

personally what i do i read every paragraph, but not in depth tho just look for key words. For instance, paragraph1 will talk about saliva and its digestive enzymes and 2nd paragraph will talk about position of the salivary glands. As i write these i also write the corresponding number right next to each so at the end i just go back to that specific paragraph, based on what the question is asking. If i see question is about enzyme this and that i straight go to the first paragraph.
It works well for me considering the fact that my English sucks since i moved here 7 years ago.

 

[aclementine]

personally what i do i read every paragraph, but not in depth tho just look for key words. For instance, paragraph1 will talk about saliva and its digestive enzymes and 2nd paragraph will talk about position of the salivary glands. As i write these i also write the corresponding number right next to each so at the end i just go back to that specific paragraph, based on what the question is asking. If i see question is about enzyme this and that i straight go to the first paragraph.
It works well for me considering the fact that my English sucks since i moved here 7 years ago.

Wait.. so you actually write down keywords from each paragraph and number them? And then when you answer questions, you refer to your list, and then find which paragraph it was in? I've never tried that before... have other ppl tried this? do you manage to finish with time to spare?

Also, aren't you allowed to highlight the keywords the passage with your cursor?

 

[dds j]

This strategy is often taught by the kaplan Course Ta's

 

[alanan84]

Here's the trick:

Step one - Read the entire passage as it is designed since it is open in a big window before you get to the questions.

Step two - Answer the questions, referring back to the passage. Again this is very easy since half of your screen shows the question and the other half shows the passage.

Step three - Arrive at the next passage and return to step one.

 

[Chrono]

Are you saying we should read the whole passage, or just skim it before answering questions. Also should we look at questions before reading the passage?

 

[alanan84]

Are you saying we should read the whole passage, or just skim it before answering questions. Also should we look at questions before reading the passage?

I read the whole passage before looking at the questions.

 

[GOLF]

just search and destroy that jank. that's what i did and it paid truckload of dividends. just gotta be alright with riding that bull, señor - it might buck on you, but you gotta hold on and stay calm pistolero. good luck.

 

[aclementine]

does anyone know how the RCT section is displayed on the computer screen?

questions on top half of the screen, and passage on the bottom half?

is the passage inside one of those text boxes that you have to scroll down in?

 

[slm266]

just search and destroy that jank. that's what i did and it paid truckload of dividends. just gotta be alright with riding that bull, señor - it might buck on you, but you gotta hold on and stay calm pistolero. good luck.

i chuckled


Anyways, it seems that we all know of the different strategies. In your studies you will see what works best for your. Try over and over and see which way earns you better scores and leaves you with more time at the end.

 

[alanan84]

does anyone know how the RCT section is displayed on the computer screen?

questions on top half of the screen, and passage on the bottom half?

is the passage inside one of those text boxes that you have to scroll down in?

yes, yes, yes

 

[UIC]

The way I do it is I read the whole passage once, but I read it good. Then I go to the question. After reading the question I am usually able to go back in the passage and pinpoint where exactly the question is comming from because after reading it good, you have an idea of where everything is. It is then a matter of going back to the passage and finding the answer.

 

[dentaldude8]

The reading comp on the DAT is displayed on the computer with the passage on the bottom in a scroll down menu with the questions on top. At least that is how is was when I took it. It is very similar to this format, check out the link- http://dentaladmissiontestprep.com/screenshots.html

In terms of strategy, I just read through the entire passage fast to get a good idea of what it is talking about, and to locate in my mind where the different information is located. Then I went through it question by question and reread sections if necessary.