PM333 Posted August 2, 2015 Report Share Posted August 2, 2015 .. What is your strategy?? I have been practising non-stop and reviewing my mistakes but I consistently have been getting 50% on average (some passages 5/6, and some 1/6 but overall half right). My strategy right now is reading questions beforehand, reading the passage and then tacking the questions again but I still end up doing horribly. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could improve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookchair Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdj78we9jtf2o3mgfvj298j Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 .............................................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PM333 Posted August 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 1. Read the first half of the passage. 2. Start answering some questions. You'll probably answer about half of them. Don't worry about how you can only see one question at a time since the timer pauses when you switch between questions. 3. Read the second half of the passage. 4. Answer the rest of the questions. Adjust previous answers as needed. This helped me and a few friends jump 2-3 points in our verbal/CARS. Should I preview all questions beforehand? Or just start reading the passage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdj78we9jtf2o3mgfvj298j Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Should I preview all questions beforehand? Or just start reading the passage Just read the passage, you probably won't remember or understand the questions if you read them beforehand because you don't even know what the passage is about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sauna Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 My strategy is to read the passage then answer the questions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotASerialKiller Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 My strategy is to read the passage then answer the questions Crap, this is why I did poorly on VR. I would read the passage then do an interpretive dance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sauna Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Crap, this is why I did poorly on VR. I would read the passage then do an interpretive dance. LOL but for real, all these "strategies" recommended by prep companies like ranking passages and previewing the questions are bull**** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSWschnoodle Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 OP - a good strategy will really depend on why you think you are getting the answers wrong. What I would suggest when you are going through practice tests is not just to review the right answer but to think carefully about why you chose the answer you did. If you are misunderstanding the passage the strategies to do better will be different than if you are misunderstanding the question or running out of time or just plain running out of gas in your brain (it's a long exam, CARS takes a lot of focus - I did a practice test where I felt 'on my game' and smoked CARS... then I did one where I thought to myself 'holy crap, I am running on empty here' and I crashed and burned). General strategies? If you are having trouble I would highlight key words as you go. This will help you backtrack in the passage when you go to answer the question. Alternatively, make a few notes about what is in each paragraph as you go. At the end of the day I think the thing that will bring you the most understanding is to critically analyze the reasoning behind why you chose the answer you did and compare that to what you think the reasoning for the correct answer is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WomboCombo Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Part of CARS is to not get psyched out that it's CARS. Know each question has one BEST (a few may sound great) answer and that given the limited resources (time and the passage), it is possible to get it. Learn to read for meaning, not just for memorizing. Changing the way you mentally and actually approach CARS really boosted my score. Just remember - it's totally doable and the answer is somewhere there. The more practice you have, the more likely you can identify a "correct answer" based on your intuition - which goes a long way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Sometimes it might be beneficial to scan quickly the questions and note down key places to focus and then read the passage. Idk if it really helps and i forgot what I actually did on the real exam, but Its a strategy worth considering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PM333 Posted August 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 OP - a good strategy will really depend on why you think you are getting the answers wrong. What I would suggest when you are going through practice tests is not just to review the right answer but to think carefully about why you chose the answer you did. If you are misunderstanding the passage the strategies to do better will be different than if you are misunderstanding the question or running out of time or just plain running out of gas in your brain (it's a long exam, CARS takes a lot of focus - I did a practice test where I felt 'on my game' and smoked CARS... then I did one where I thought to myself 'holy crap, I am running on empty here' and I crashed and burned). General strategies? If you are having trouble I would highlight key words as you go. This will help you backtrack in the passage when you go to answer the question. Alternatively, make a few notes about what is in each paragraph as you go. At the end of the day I think the thing that will bring you the most understanding is to critically analyze the reasoning behind why you chose the answer you did and compare that to what you think the reasoning for the correct answer is. Thanks! Sometimes for me, it's a matter of not understanding what the passage is saying, but sometimes I miss small details. The fact that there is one question per pages scares me because I don't know if I'll have enough time to carefully read the more difficult passages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friendly Magpie Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 .. What is your strategy?? I have been practising non-stop and reviewing my mistakes but I consistently have been getting 50% on average (some passages 5/6, and some 1/6 but overall half right). My strategy right now is reading questions beforehand, reading the passage and then tacking the questions again but I still end up doing horribly. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could improve? This is going to sound a bit weird, but my strategy is to psych myself up and pretend that I'm about to read something really, really interesting. That forces me to pay attention and then it makes it much easier to answer the questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PM333 Posted August 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 This is going to sound a bit weird, but my strategy is to psych myself up and pretend that I'm about to read something really, really interesting. That forces me to pay attention and then it makes it much easier to answer the questions. Hahah I'll try this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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