Reading Comprehension Strategies

[jennifer20]

Hey everyone, I was wondering for those of you who got 24+ on RC, how would you recommend preparing? I've gotten 20 ish both times, and want to kill it in November. I feel like it's a speed read, and I'm a slow reader... so would it help to read books over the summer and maybe some scientific literature? What else would you recommend?

[Kentucky Fried Blaziken]

Mentally map the passage is what I'd say, as in while reading, note where they talk about certain things. Do NOT attempt to actually memorize or note details, just that for example, this passage starts talking about an event, then goes on to the background of it, then goes on to author's opinion. That way, when asked a detail question (pretty much most of the exam) you know where to look. Also sometimes passages will talk about a random thing that doesn't belong to the paragraph's theme, note these so that you can find them easy. (you can underline so this is very fast and productive)

 

With this method you barely even have to actually read the passage lol, I only had one question where the answer wasn't immediately obvious as soon as I looked in the right paragraph, and had to spend the next 10 minutes re-reading the passage to find out. Still had over 30 mins left so speed reading is not really an issue. 

[dds2020]

If you're referring to the Canadian DAT version of the RC, I'm sure you've noticed that the order of the questions follow the order of the passage, so that makes it much easier than the American version (although the Canadian version gives you less time). The strategy that worked for me was I read a paragraph or two, and then looked at the question, flipping back and forth. 1-2 paragraphs, and then 1-2 questions. Everyone has a diff strategy, so I'd recommend practicing RC tests using diff strategies to see which one produces the highest score consistently, and then stick with that one.

[jennifer20]

Thanks! I did that too. I read 1-2 paragraphs then answered first couple questions and kept going back and forth. Would you say you're a fast reader? I think I just need to increase my speed.

[uoft2020]

I did search and destroy lol

[dds2020]

Thanks! I did that too. I read 1-2 paragraphs then answered first couple questions and kept going back and forth. Would you say you're a fast reader? I think I just need to increase my speed.

 

I'm by no means a quick reader. Under normal conditions, I have to read things over and over for it to stick. The RC isn't what I consider to be "normal" reading; you're being tested on content (for 90%+ of the questions iirc) via multiple choice questions (as opposed to being expected to recall what you read). So a lot of scanning-for-key-words* + multiple choice strategies come into play. E.g. sometimes you can eliminate answers that are very obviously wrong, and then you're narrowed down to 50/50. At this point, you can probably go back to the paragraph and find the key word(s) that help you choose which one is right. Or if you're taking too much time on the 50/50, you might consider taking a leap of faith and going with your gut.

 

*scanning-for-key-words = speed reading. you likely won't understand what you just read by scanning, but the goal is to eliminate answer choices rather than understand what you just read

[Lebron James]

I did search and destroy lol

Same here haha. Seemed to be by far the fastest method for me.

[dmdHopeful]

Funny story for me. Took the DAT last November, and used Crack the DAT for most of my RC practice. The default setting gave 60 minutes, and I was practicing with this setting THE WHOLE TIME (scoring around 22-24 each time). With about 1.5 weeks left until the actual test day, my friend told me that the RC was only 50 minutes. I started freaking out because the method I was using at the time (simply reading the entire passage and answering the questions) would certainly not cut it. Ended up using search and destroy for the remainder of my practice material, and ended up scoring a 27! It was really scary for me to make the switch in strategy, especially what I considered to be such a risky strategy at the time. As long as you stay calm and try not to panic if the details you're looking for don't surface right away, then this strategy works!

[swagdds]

If you're referring to the Canadian DAT version of the RC, I'm sure you've noticed that the order of the questions follow the order of the passage, so that makes it much easier than the American version (although the Canadian version gives you less time). The strategy that worked for me was I read a paragraph or two, and then looked at the question, flipping back and forth. 1-2 paragraphs, and then 1-2 questions. Everyone has a diff strategy, so I'd recommend practicing RC tests using diff strategies to see which one produces the highest score consistently, and then stick with that one.

 

I did something very similar to this. I would read the question first so I know what I need to pay more attention to and then I would turn to the passage and read until I found the answer to the question. I would then go to the next question and read until I found the answer. Most questions follow the order of the passage but if the questions seemed to be an "overall theme" question I would wait until I finished reading the passage to answer. 

 

I think I got 27 on RC by using this method.