GRE & GMAT Reading Comprehension Webinar: June 24, 2020
This webinar discusses how to best approach long reading comprehension passages on both the GRE and GMAT using a sample question from an official diagnostic exam provided by the ETS.
Long Reading Comprehension Process
1. Read the passage and take notes as you go to summarize the information for yourself. Make a 'passage map'.
- There is not necessarily a rule that you have to read the passage up front, but if you have time, it's probably best to do so in order to understand the passage overall. Read approximately 10 lines or a paragraph of text, stop, and then think about the main actor and action of the excerpt to provide your own summary of the information in less than 15 words
- Maintain main actor or action of passage from bullet to bullet to create an overall narrative
- After completing the passage map, summarize overall purpose of the passage in your own words while focusing on the author's perspective
2. Read & identify the question task.
- What?
- Why?
- What must be?
- What matches?
3. Predict what the answer should do in your words.
- If 'what' or 'why' question, you want to predict as specifically as possible using direct info from the passage
- If 'matches' or 'must be' question, predict broadly by summarizing the subject matter from the passage
4. Process of eliminate against your prediction.
- Read all five choices to confirm
- Focus on actions and descriptions for definitive reasons to eliminate
- Note extremes and reversals
- If down to two, default to selecting the option with fewer direct vocabulary terms from the passage and a less absolute claim about the passage (go bland)
Overall Rule
For targeted reading, you must always read at least one sentence above and below for enough context.
For a full listing of our GRE/GMAT webinar videos, click here. This is the fifth one in the series.
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