Reading Comprehension (RC) is an integral part of the verbal ability section when it comes to preparing for the MBA entrance exams. There are various type of RCs, or you can say that RCs come in the exam from various genres. So, here are a few tricks that can help you colve RCs quickly provided that you keep these factors in consideration before solving it. Take a look at the important factors that can affect your speed and level of accuracy in the exam:
1. Reading Speed
2. Reading Comprehension
3. Analytical Ability
4. Reading Range
5. Memory
6. Question Identification
This exercise is formulated with an objective to help you overcome all the possible obstacles that might come in the way of solving the RCs. Here is a closer look at each of the factors that will help you ace good marks in the RCs to fetch higher percentile in the MBA Entrance exams:
Recommended Books for Preparation:
Wiley's ExamXpert Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT 2020
Pocket Guide to Vocabulary (Barron's Pocket Guides)
Let us talk about each of them separately for better understanding.
Reading Speed
Most of the college-going candidates preparing for CAT have reading rate between approximately around 100 to 200 words per minute. In order to answer RC questions a student needs to read at the rate of approximately 600 to 700 words. It must be kept in mind that while answering an RC question, the student is not expected to memorize each and every word/sentence given in the passage. One must have the ability to instinctively make out the main idea given in the passage and not waste time reading material that is peripheral. And instinct comes about by means of constant reading across various themes. So, continuous reading is very important.
Tip: You can use Kindle and other online reading apps to accelerate the pace of your reading. Online reading tools are recommended because MBA entrance exams and conducted online these days. It will help you eyes get accustomed to the screen while you learn to read speedily. Download any app on your mobile that monitors your reading speed and see the difference in few days.
Reading Comprehension
When you are unable to understood a particular word or sentence, it is natural that phrase or sentence twice. Instead, it is advisable that keep reading to comprehend the meaning of the word that creates a block (unless otherwise specified by special devices like underlining a word, italicizing, etc. in which case you can re-read that particular word or sentence.) Sometimes, when you read, the meaning of the word becomes apparent when you read further.
In specific, three kinds of knowledge are required for reading comprehension, namely —
a. Content knowledge: This comes with regular reading. If you read topics from different areas on a continuous basis, you will be familiar with the content in the exam.
b. Strategic knowledge: It refers to making inferences when you read.
c. Meta-cognitive knowledge: This involves checking what have you grasped
Read paragraphs of all the genres. If you are in the habit of reading novels of a particular genre, then take the risk of picking the books from other genres. Start with the newspaper or blogs on the topics where you sense discomfort in reading. Consider all genres such as Science, philosophy, politics, history, non-fiction, fiction, contemporary writing and other section as important.
Analytical Ability
Even if you have understood what the author has stated in the passage, you may not be able to answer all the questions. Some questions examine your ability to analyze. Thus, it is mandatory for you to acquire analytical skills, the ability to read between the lines, so to speak. It can be acquired with practice.
Read a lot and at the end of reading the paragraphs you picked for the day, write its analysis. Get it cross checked by your friend or a mentor who can guide you further on improving the analytical thinking skills.
Reading Range
You usually read what you like. But if you are serious in your preparation, you need to read all kinds of writings. An engineer might have a mental block against a philosophical paragraph; an arts student might have an problem towards a scientific article. And this will slow down your reading speed. The only way to overcome this is to read a lot of such writings.
Get comfortable with every possible genre and open reading range to the technical jargons, to enhance your speed and comprehension.
Memory
This element is related to information retention. The greater your power of retaining information, the lesser the effort in identifying the correct answer. Research in reading comprehension suggests that as you read any text you use your existing knowledge to form new constructs.
Play a few memory booster games that are available online. This will help you exercise your brain and use the leisure time effectively. Here are some recommendations for the android users to boost your brain power.
Question Identification
It is not necessary to solve all the questions given in a particular passage. The best way is to choose the right questions which take less time or are directly answered in the given passage. This saves time and increases the efficiency,
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