Today’s GMAT tip comes from Manhattan Review Germany, a provider of GMAT Prep courses in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich. In this article, they reveal Manhattan Review’s best 5 strategies for tackling GMAT Reading Comprehension questions. In fact, the tip is so detailed that we had to split it into two parts!
Reading Comprehension is probably the least fun part of the GMAT. The texts are frequently turgid, their subject matter is arcane, the questions are difficult to understand and the answer choices seem indistinguishable. Nonetheless, there is no way to avoid Reading Comprehension. There will be at least three, maybe four, passages to read in the test and at least 12, maybe 14, questions to answer in total. So it is good to go in with a positive attitude and with a clear strategy to extract maximum points in the minimum amount of time. Here are five tips to guide you:
Don’t expect to be stimulated
The texts are often dull, poorly written and concern subjects you either find uninteresting or know little about or have difficulty understanding. Don’t worry about that. Everybody is in the same boat as you. Don’t beat yourself up over not having read up on ceramics or superconductors or the lives of amphibians or the latest research on medieval poetry. The test givers don’t expect you to have any expertise on abstruse subjects. They are testing your ability to read quickly, to extract and process information efficiently and to draw inferences and make logical connections even when you know next to nothing about the material. Do keep in mind that there will be at least one passage that involves an issue in the natural sciences.So, settle down, grit your teeth, accept the challenge and start reading. Learning to focus is key. Before the test, practice reading esoteric texts to find out what best helps you to concentrate while you’re reading. Making notes is usually helpful. Remember: You’re not writing notes that you intend to use to prepare for finals. You’re writing notes primarily to help you to focus on the text.
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