Reading Comprehension Flashcards
RC Generic:
4 RC passages on GMAT, 3-4 questions for each passage, 12-14 RC questions total. Average of 1:50 mins per question. 2-3 minutes to read each passage depending on length.
RC Strategy: Find the Simple Story.
Read each passage first once but do so selectively, focusing on the main ideas while leaving the details for later. First 1-3 sentences of the passage lay the groundwork for the entire passage. Read them carefully, focusing on the easy words that tell the main story, ignoring the complicated words for now. If you get questions about details (mostly the complicated words) you can go back later and read that part of a passage in more detail; At first focus on the main idea.
REMEMBER: In order to understand the main idea of a passage you need to learn to not be distracted by the details when you first read the passage.
When you start a new paragraph in a passage pay attention to the first couple sentences to understand the main idea presented in that paragraph, i.e. why it was added here. You have to understand the main idea of each paragraph. IMPORTANT: Quickly note down the main idea of each paragraph.
As you read the paragraphs looking for the main idea in each, pay attention to big picture, foreshadowing, or change-of-direction language.
When you get to details, focus on why it was added for now.
When you get a primary purpose question, i.e. a question asking about the main idea of a passage or paragraph, eliminate answers that focus too much on certain details or actually contract the passage.
As you go through the answer choices, remember that it’s sometimes possible to find the right answer even if you don’t know why the other answers are wrong.
REMEMBER: The main idea can be anywhere in the passage but most often it’ll be in the first paragraph or the beginning of the second paragraph. The main idea will most often be contained in one sentence but sometimes you have to combine more sentences to get it.
RC Strategy: DETAILS as Supporting Info, Background Info, Counterpoints, Acknowledgement
Information provided in passage can be SUPPORTING information for the main point.
Information provided in passage can be BACKGROUND information, which doesn’t strongly support the point but sets context for information given in the passage.
Information provided in passage can be COUNTERPOINTS that go against the author’s main point.
Information provided in passage can ACKNOWLEDGE a certain point that does not support the author’s main point but doesn’t go against it either.
Information provided in passage can be IMPLICATIONS for the future, looking at what will come after this. (e.g. author could propose the need for more research to get to the bottom of unanswered questions.)
RC: “Big Picture” Language
Big-picture language summarizes or introduces some kind of main idea so pay close attention to it as it helps identify the main idea of a passage.
Some Common Language Clues That Signal a Main Idea:
In general to a great extent Broadly speaking In conclusion In sum In brief Therefore Thus So Hence As a result Overall First, Second etc. To begin with Next Finally Again X argues that X contends that Theory Hypothesis
RC: “Foreshadowing” Language
Author can foreshadow something by dropping a clue about something he plans to say later in the passage. As you read the beginning of a paragraph watch out for foreshadowing language to help you anticipate where the paragraph is going.
Some Common Language Clues That Signal Foreshadowing:
Traditionally For some time It was once believed It had been assumed Some believe, claim, define, attribute It is true that Statement of a Problem or Question Current Theory Conventional Wisdom
RC: “Change-of-Direction” Language
Change-of-direction language can signal some kind of twist, contrast, counterpoint, or return to the main point.
Some Common Language Clues That Signal Change-of-Direction:
However Yet On one hand On the other hand While Rather Instead In contrast Alternatively Granted It is true that Certainly Admittedly Despite Although Actually In Fact Indeed Surprisingly Nevertheless Nonetheless That said Even so Supposedly It was once thought Seemingly
RC: “Detail” Language
When you see language that signals details then pay less attention to understanding every last detail and more to understanding why the detail was added.
Some Common Language Clues That Signal Details:
For example As an example For instance In particular Furthermore Moreover In addition As well as Also Likewise Too In the same way In other words That is Namely So to speak a semicolon
RC: How to Deal With Jargon and Words You Don’t Understand
If you read jargon, scientific words etc., in a passage it can mean one of two thing: If you need to know what the word means the paragraph will give you a definition or contrasting words that let’s you figure the meaning out, if you don’t need to know it the paragraph will move on and you should too as it’s not important for answering the questions.
Also REMEMBER: You don’t need to understand every detail but just the main idea of a passage. When you get to a complex sentence, you can read over it quickly and come back to it if need be later.
RC: Creating a Passage Map
You’ll get two kinds of questions: general and specific questions. A passage maps will help you accomplish two important goals:
- Predict answers to general questions
- Know where in passage to find details needed for specific questions.
REMEMBER: Avoid relying on your memory for specific questions; rather check the passage to answer.
A passage map should reflect these points:
- The main point
- Purpose of each paragraph
- Any other information you could include in the simple story (short summary of the main idea of the passage)
Tactics to abbreviate passage map:
- Abbreviate technical words, hard-to-pronounce names with single letter, an acronym, or much shorter version of word.
- Use arrow to show cause, effect, change over time
- Use colon (:) to attribute info or idea to person or group.
- Mark examples with parentheses or “e.g.”
- Use up and down arrows for increase and decrease
- Use math symbols you know, e.g. >,
RC: Primary Purpose or General Questions:
In primary purpose or general questions try to come up with your own answer to the question before you look at the answer choices and then then go about evaluating each answer based on that. If you can eliminate 4 answers pick the remaining one. If you still have 2 or 3 answers then compare answers to relevant info in passage or compare answers to each other if they are similar.
Help for Eliminating Answers by Disproving Them:
- Often the wrong answers will be one or two words off, i.e. one or two words make it a wrong answer.
- Watch out for extreme words in answer choices such as ALL, NEVER, UNIQUE etc. Trap answers sometimes contain these extreme words that make them wrong.
- Answers can go beyond what is discussed in the passage, sometimes the information in the answer is just a bit too broad, other times it’s way off.
- Sometimes the information in the answer is true as it reflects the info in the passage but it’s not the correct answer to this specific question.
- Answers can be direct contradictions when the passage says the opposite.
- A mix-up is a tricky trap in which the test writers use wording straight from the passage to convey something the passage did not really say.
PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS will ask for you for one of two things most of the time:
- Purpose of particular paragraph in context of whole passage.
- Purpose of particular paragraph in relation to antoher paragraph.
RC: Specific Questions:
Spend 60-90 seconds on each specific question. Most of the time you will have to go back to the passage to answer the question (use your passage map to quickly figure out where to go). Read the 2-3 sentences in the passage again before you pick the answer.
Three Primary Types of Specific Questions:
- Detail Questions: Ask for specific detail stated in passage. (reference your passage map to figure out which paragraph to check for the answer)
- Inference Question: Answer not explicitly stated in passage but can be proven to be true based on info in passage. REMEMBER: information that COULD be true would not be a correct answer for these questions. The correct answer contains a statement that base on the info in the passage MUST be true. Inference questions use words like infer, imply, suggest. ATTENTION: When you see extreme words in answer choices check that it’s supported by the information in the passage. Often wrong inference question answers go too far. Learn to distinguish a valid inference from one that goes too far.
- Specific Purpose Question: Asks WHY author mentions certain information or example. Not as common as detail or inference questions but you will see a couple on test day. specific purpose questions are typically structures to say “the author….in order to…” and you have to finish the sentence with the right answer.
- Except Question: Not as common as first three question types. Indication is the word “except” in the question stem. Except questions are most likely either detail or inference questions. As you go through the answer choices note down true or false (T, F) for each answer choice so you know quickly how you evaluated the choices before you pick the right answer, the one answer for which there is no support in the passage.
Like with primary purpose and paragraph questions try to formulate an answer in your head before evaluating the answer choices.
REMEMBER: In any question type, try to formulate an answer to the question in your head before you look at the answer choices. If you can’t go straight to testing the answers.
RC - Categories of Questions:
- Structure-Based Family
Question Types:
a. describe role of boldface portions of argument
b. describe how a certain piece of information affects the argument.
- Assumption-based Family
Assumptions are not stated in arguments on the GMAT, but they are necessary for the argument for the the author to draw a conclusion. Without the assumtion the argument would break down.
Question Types:
a. Identify the unstated assumtion
b. Which of the following would support the author’s argument most?
c. Which of the following would weaken the author’s argument most?
d. Which of the following must be studied to evaluate the argument?
e. Which of the following identifies something illogical/a flaw in the argument?
- Evidence-Based Family
Arguments don’t have conclusions or assumptions, but only exist of premises.
Question Types:
a. Identify something that must be true based on the given information.
b. Which of the following, if true, most helps explain a discrepancy or apparent paradox in the argument?
