1/7/2017 TheUltimateGuidetoDestroyGREReadingComprehensionCrunchPrepGRE

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The Ultimate Guide to Destroy

GRE Reading Comprehension
57Tips,StrategiesandSpeedReadingTechniquestoAcethe
MostDifficultSectionontheGRE

ByJitta&Sachin

CHAPTER 1

Introduction to Reading Comprehension

WhentryingtoimproveyourGREscore,animportantquestionyouneedto
consideriswhytheReadingComprehensionsectionissoimportant?

RememberthetimeyouweresoexcitedtoreadanarticleaboutCardiovascularCartography?

Meneither.

WhataboutPhytoplanktonDiversity?

OrFancellisfamoussculptureStatuadiVulcano?

No?

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Okay.MaybeastoryofCantorshierarchyofinfinities,orresearchontheremnantsofNeanderthals,
oranexcerptfromabookbySolzhenitsynabouttheSovietforcedlabourcampsystemduringthelate
1920s?

Alright,wegetit.

Youhatethesethingswithallyourheart,andyoureliterallypullingyourhairsoutalready.

Butthinkaboutit.Theonlywayyougettoattendgradschool,isbywritingatestwhereyounotonly
havetoreadthingslikethese,butalsounderstand,andanalyzethemthoroughly.

Weknow.Itlookslikeanuphilltask.Itsoundsboring.Itcompletelydrainsyourbrain.Andatthe
endoftheday,itseemspointless.

Butwhatif,youcanturnsomethingsoesotericintosomethingthatyoureallylovetodo?

Somethingsodestructivetosomethingyoucandestroybyyourself?Thatiswhatyouaregoingtodo.

ThisguideisanultimatereferenceforyoutoaceReadingComprehensionontheGRE,andbolster
yourVerbalscoreevenfurther.

Beforewemoveontothequestiontypesandstrategies,itisimportanttoknowwhytheReading
Comprehensionsectionisimportantforyou.Ifyourunthenumbers,youllnoticethatofatotalof40
questionsonthetwoverbalsectionsyouwillfaceontestday,around20arefromReading
Comprehension.

Nowtherestwowaystolookatthis.YoucaneithersayNo,thisisadisaster!,orWow.ThismeansI
canhave20pointsinmybagalready.Cool!Ifyourethelattertype,thisarticleisforyou.Now
together,letsdestroythemostdreadfulquestiontypeontheGRE.

Whats the Reading Comprehension section all about?

Thetestmakersoftenpurposefullyfillthepassageswithjargonandcomplexvocabulary.Foran
untrainedtesttaker,itwouldtakealotoftimetocomprehendsuchpassages.Becauseweusually
readessaystoretaininformationanddetails,whileontheGRE,readingthatwaywillgetyoubogged
downandconfusedwithunnecessaryinformation.SoyouhavetolearnhowtoreadtoacetheGRE.

OntheGRE,youcanexpectaboutfivepassagespersectionandthesepassageswillhave15
questionseach,foratotaloftenReadingComprehensionquestionspersection.Thesepassageswill
varyfrom15paragraphsinlength.

Now,wheredotheygetthesepassagesfrom?TheGREpassagescanbeacademicornonacademic
andaredrawnfrombooks,magazines,biographies,workofliterature,scholarlyjournalsandtext
books.Thetopicsincludesocialscience,naturalscience,humanities,arts,politicsandeverydaylife
issues,too.Thepassagesmimicthematerialyoullbereadingingradschool,withadvanced
vocabulary,complexsentencestructure,andcomplicatedideas.

Thereare3typesofquestionsyoullhavetoansweronthereadingcomprehension:

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MultiplechoiceQuestionsChoose1answer:Theseareyouraverage,multiplechoicequestionswith5answerchoicesout

ofwhichyoumustselectONLYONEanswerchoice.Youshouldreadalltheanswerchoicesbeforeselectinganychoice.

MultiplechoiceQuestionsChoose1ormoreanswers:Here,youllhave3answerchoices,andyoullhavetochoose

everycorrectanswer,whichcouldbeone,twoorallthreeofthem.Nopartialcreditisawarded,either!Keepinmindthatthese

answerchoicesneedtoevaluatedseparately.

SelectinPassage:Thisisatotallynewsubquestiontype,uniquetotheGRE.Youllhavetoclickonasentenceinthepassage

thatanswersthequestion.

Sofarsogood.Now,letstakealookatanexamplesentenceextractedfromtheOfficialGuide:

IenjoyedADreamofLightandShadow:PortraitsofLatinAmericanWomenWritersforthesame
reasonsthat,asachild,Iavidlyconsumedwomensbiographies:thefascinationwithhowthe
biographicaldetailsofanotherfemaleslifearerepresentedandinterpreted.

Doesthissoundsuperdifficulttocomprehend?Areyoustuck?Well,thisisjustonesinglesentence
andtherewillbeamanysentenceslikethisinasinglepassage,onthetest.

Therealchallengeforyouwillbetoreadthesentencesquicklyandyetunderstandthepassage
structureandprocesstheinformationinthemsoyouwillbeabletoanswerthequestionsthatfollow.
Remember,youarenotreadingthepassagetoknowaboutthebiographicaldetailsofawomanslife
orhowGalileoinventedthetelescope.Youarereadingthepassageonlytoanswerthequestionsand
onceyouhaveansweredthequestions,youdonthavetorememberanypartofthepassage.So,avoid
readingtoretaintheinformation.

Components of a Passage:
TheGREpassagesareorganizedinmanydifferentways.Somepassagesintroducetheproblemand
thenexplaintheauthorssolutionforthatproblem.Somepassagesaskaquestionandansweritlater
inthepassage.Somepassagescriticizeanoldhypothesisandintroduceanewone.Doyouseea
patternhere?Well,mostofthepassagesthatshowuponyourtestwillbemadeupofcertainbuilding
blocks.Byknowingandscoutingfortheseblocksinapassage,youcanmoreeasilyfollowthe
meaningandstructureofthepassage.

Mostpassageshavefourpossiblebuildingblocks:

ThePoint

Background

Support

Implications

Thepoint isthemostimportantpieceofinformationtheauthoristryingtoconveyinthepassage.
Yourjobasareader,istofindthispoint.Bytheendofyourfirstreadthrough,youshouldbeableto
identifythemainpointtheauthoristryingtoconvey.

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Thebackground istheinformationthatyouneed,inordertounderstandthepoint.Sometimes,
theauthormakestwistingstatementsthatmakesitdifficulttounderstandwhetherastatementis
backgroundinformationorasupportingevidence.So,youshouldbecautiouswheneveryousee
additionalinformation.

Support istheadditionalinformationgivenbytheauthorintheformofevidenceorexamples,in
ordertosupportthemainpointthathasbeenmade.Youshouldalwayskeepaneyeatthevarious
evidencesandsupportingexamplesthattheauthorprovides.

Implications aretheaftereffectsofthemainpoint.Theyaretheendresults.Theconsequences.
Implicationsarequiteeasytounderstandwhencomparedtotheotherthreebuildingblocksofa
ReadingComprehensionpassage.

Themainpurposebehindidentifyingthecomponentsofareadingcomprehensionpassage,isto
understandthebasicstructureandorganizationofthepassage.Understandingthisisreally
important,sincetheGREasksyouquestionsbasedonstructure,organization,tone,andmainidea
behindthepassage.So,understandingthesebasiccomponentswillhelpyouanswersuchquestions
quickly.

CHAPTER 2

8 Types of Questions you will see on

Reading Comprehension
Understandingthequestiontypesthatyouwillseeontestdaywillhelpyou
deviseproperansweringstrategiesandeliminationtechniques.

Onanaverage,aReadingComprehensionpassagehas35questionsandtheendofit.Butthese
questionsareofseveralkinds,andeachofthemrequiresadistinctskillsettoanswer.Wehave
categorizedallsuchquestions,andhavealsoincludedthestrategiesyouneedtoimplement,ifyou
wanttosolvethemall.HerearethemostpopulartypesofquestionsyouwillseeontheReading
Comprehensionpassages:

1. Main Idea Questions

Theseareprobablythemostfrequentquestionsyouwillseeonanyreadingcomprehensionpassage.
Mainideaquestionsaskyoutoidentifythemainideaortheprimarypurposebehindthepassagethat
isgiven.Examplequestionsare:

Inthispassage,theauthorisprimarilyconcernedwith?

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Whichofthefollowingwouldbethemostappropriatetitleforthegivenargument?

2. Tone of the Author Questions

Consideredasatrickyquestionbymanystudents,toneoftheauthorquestionsaskyoutoidentifythe
toneoftheauthor,orthepassage.Examplesinclude:

Theauthorsattitudetowardscontemporarycinemacanbebestdescribedas?

Thepassageregardstheideaofmodernartisticactivitywith?

3. Specic Fact Questions

Thesearethequestionsthataskyoutospotinformationthatisspecificallyincludedasafactortruth.
Specificfactquestionswilloftenbeconsequentialinnature.Theyusuallylooklikethis:

Theauthorreferstoexamplephraseinline5,primarilyinorderto?

Accordingtothepassage,thecriticsconsideredtheideasfoundinthenovelistsworktobe?

4. Implied Questions
Impliedquestionsaskyou,asareader,toidentifyanideawhichissuggestedorimplied,either
directlyorindirectly.Forexample,animpliedquestionlookslikethis:

Itcanbeinferredfromthepassagethat,inevaluatingthescientiststheory,someofthecriticswere.?

Thepassagesuggeststhatifthepredictionsofthegeologicaldepartmentweretobetrue,itwouldbe.?

5. Structural Questions
Structuralquestions,asthenamesuggests,askyoutoidentifythetechnique,orthewritingstyle
adoptedbytheauthor,inpresentingfactsorviews.Forexample:

Whichofthefollowingbestdescribesthestructureofthepassage?

Whichofthefollowingbestdescribestheorganizationofthelines17through23?

6. Extrapolation Questions
WidelyregardedasthemosttwistedofallReadingComprehensionquestions,extrapolation
questionsrequireyoutoextrapolateorcomparetheauthorsideastoothersituations,including
situationsthatareanalogous.Inordertoanswerthistypeofquestions,youmustgobeyondwhatis
statedinthepassage,drawaninferencefromthepassage,andthenmatchitwiththesituationsgiven
intheanswerchoices.Examplequestionsare:

Whichofthefollowingsituationsismostcloselyanalogoustothesituationdescribedbytheauthorasanirony,inlines11and12?

Whichofthefollowingdescribesasituationthatisanalogoustothesituationdescribedinthesecondparagraph?

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7. Negative or Exception Questions

Thesearethequestionsthataskyouwhichofthegivenanswerchoicesisnottrueaccordingtothe
authororthepassage,orwhichoftheanswerchoiceswithwhichtheauthorofthepassagewouldnot
agree.Examplesare:

Thepassagestatesallofthefollowingaboutmitochondria,except?

Theauthorassertsthattechnologyhasledusdoallofthefollowingmiraculousexperiments,except?

8. Contextual/Denition of a term or word Questions

Thesearethequestionsthattestyourabilitytoworkoutthemeaningofanunfamiliarword,basedon
contextwithinthepassage.Forexample:

Asitisusedinthepassage,thetermconvivialcanbebestdescribedas?

Theterminchoate,usedbytheauthorinline18,refersto?

CHAPTER 3

7 Trap Answers to Avoid on Reading

Comprehension
Oneofthereasonswhystudentsfinditdifficulttoseparatethewrong
answersfromtherightones,isbecausetheyfallpreytothetrapanswers.

Thereareafewtypesofanswerchoicesthatcanbeeliminatedimmediately,withoutevenconsidering
iftheyarelocallyrightornot.TheanswerchoicesforthequestionsinReadingComprehensionhavea
fewrules,andthoseanswerchoicesthatdontfollowthemcanberuledoutimmediately,usingthe
ProcessofEliminationmethod.Youcandothiseasily,ifyouknowwheretospotthemistake.Heres
abriefguideonhowtospotanswerchoicesthatcanberuledoutrightawayasincorrect.

Ifyoureadilyjumptoconclusionswhenyoucomeacrossthefirstchoicethatlooksgood,thereisa
greatchanceyoumightgetthequestionwrong,becausetherecouldbeotherchoicesthatarefar
better.Butsinceyouhaventreadthemyet,youdontknowit.So,thebestwaytohandlesuch
questions,istonarrowdownanswerchoicesusingtheprocessofeliminationuntilyougetthebest
choice.

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Ifyoureallytryandfollowtheprocessofelimination,youwilleasyfindoutthatfindingouttheright
answerisactuallyreallyeasy.Oneofthereasonswhymoststudentsfinditdifficulttoseparatethe
wronganswersfromtherightones,isbecausetheydonotfollowtheprocessofelimination.To
illustratefurther,takealookatanexampleofwhatthegivenchoicesforaquestionmightlooklike:

Ifyoumisreadthepassage,thislooksright

Mayberightclosecallwithsomesubtledifferencemoststudentsmiss

Correctanswer!

Theoppositeofthecorrectanswer

Somethingcompletelyofftopic,butitsoundsimpressive

So,ifyoureallytakeacloserlook,thereisonlyonerightanswer,andtheremainingarepretentiously
closetobeingright.Belowarethetrapanswerchoicesthatyoushouldeliminateimmediately,no
matterhowappropriate,correctorlogicaltheysound.Wehavealsoincludedexamplesforeachofthe
answertypes,soyouwillhaveaclearcutunderstandingofhowsuchanswerswouldlooklike,onthe
realGRE.

There is only one right answer, and the

remaining are pretentiously close to being right.

1. Answer choices that use extreme or categorical words such as only,

all, always, every, never and exclusively
TheGRE,beinganinternationalexam,triestobeasneutralaspossible,andneverdoesitinclude
suchextremesoundingstatements,words,orphrases.Youshouldneverconsideransweroptions
containingsuchwordsasright,becausetheReadingComprehensionpassageitselfisneutral,and
nevertriestobetooextreme,beitpositiveornegative.

Considerareadingcomprehensionpassagewheretheauthortalksaboutviralfeverthatspread
throughEastAfrica.Exampleanswerchoicesthataremostdefinitelywrong,areshownbelow:

1.Accordingtotheauthor,allwomeninEastAfricasufferfromtheviralfever

2.Accordingtotheauthor,onlywomeninEastAfricasufferfromtheviralfever

3.Accordingtotheauthor,womeninEastAfricawillneversufferfromtheviralfever

4.Accordingtotheauthor,womeninEastAfricahavealwayssufferedfromtheviralfever

2. Answer choices that make use of information that doesnt appear in

the text

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Alsoknownasoutofcontextanswers.Theseanswerchoices,whilelogicallycorrect,donotuse
informationfromthepassage,andhencecanbeconsideredasoutofcontext.Moststudentsmakea
hugemistakehere,bylinkingthelogicgivenintheansweroption,tocommonsense.Remember,you
shouldneverusecommonsenseonreadingcomprehensionpassages.Generalknowledgeusually
doesntapplyhere,becauseitistheauthorsopinionthatreallycounts.So,leaveouttheanswer
optionsthatarebeyondthescopeofthepassage,nomatterhowrighttheyare.

Considerareadingcomprehensionpassagewheretheauthortalksaboutviralfeverthatspread
throughEastAfrica.Exampleanswerchoicesthataremostdefinitelywrong,areshownbelow:

1.Accordingtotheauthor,womeninWestAfricasufferfromtheviralfeverduetoheredity.(WestAfricaiscompletelyoutofscope)

2.Accordingtotheauthor,womeninEastAfricasufferfromtheviralfeverbecausetheyaregenerallyweakerthanmen.(Common

sense,henceoutofscope)

3. Answer choices in which facts are distorted

Ifanansweroptionhasanyofthefactsdistortedorslightlychanged,thensuchanansweroptioncan
neverberight.Onlythoseoptionsthathavetheexactfactstobackthemup,shouldbeconsideredas
right.

Considerareadingcomprehensionpassagewheretheauthortalksaboutviralfeverthatspread
throughEastAfricaduetopoormedicalfacilities.Exampleanswerchoicesthataremostdefinitely
wrong,areshownbelow:

1.Accordingtotheauthor,womeninEastAfricasufferedfromtheviralfeverlastyear,becauseofthecivilwar.(distortedstatement)

4. Answer choices that ask you to make judgments

Anyanswerchoicethatasksyoutoaffirmthatonemethod/approach/thoughtisbetter,ormore
successful,ormoreefficientthananother,canbeconsideredwrongwithoutsecondconsideration.
PassagesontheGREneveraskthereadertojudgeanything,andthejudgmentwillhavealreadybeen
madebytheauthor.Hence,anyansweroptionthatneedsyourjudgment,iswrong.

Considerareadingcomprehensionpassagewheretheauthortalksaboutviralfeverthatspread
throughEastAfrica.Exampleanswerchoicesthataremostdefinitelywrong,areshownbelow:

1.WomeninEastAfricaaremoreeasilypronetosufferfromtheviralfeverthanmen.(asksyoutomakeacomparison/judgment

withoutsufficientproof)

5. Answer choices that include outrageous, illogical, unscientic, or

politically incorrect statements
NopassageontheGREincludescontroversial,oroutrageousstatements.Likewediscussedalready,
readingcomprehensionpassagesareasneutralastheycanbe.TheGREisstrictlyagainstanysortof
discrimination(religious,racial,gender,etc.)anditspassagesnevertrytooffendanyparticularsetof
people.So,suchansweroptionswillneverbetrue.

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Considerareadingcomprehensionpassagewheretheauthortalksaboutviralfeverthatspread
throughEastAfrica.Exampleanswerchoicesthataremostdefinitelywrong,areshownbelow:

1.Accordingtotheauthor,womeninEastAfricasufferfromtheviralfeverbecausetheyareallowedtosocialize.(outrageous

statement)

2.Itisthedutyofawomantositathomeandtakecareofthehousehold.(Politicallyincorrect,genderdiscrimination.)

3.Accordingtotheauthor,womeninEastAfricasufferfromtheviralfeverbecausetheyareusuallypronetodiseases.(illogical)

6. Answer choices that are true, but assume something that is not
mentioned in the passage
Sometimes,thesituationsmentionedintheansweroptionmightsoundtrue,butifyoutakeacloser
look,asmallassumptionwillbemade,whichinvalidatestheentireoption.Thetesttakers
purposefullydothistotestyourlogicalreasoningskills.So,youneedtorememberthatifsome
assumptionhasbeenmadewhichisnotmentionedanywhereinthepassage,thenthatansweroption
canbeconsideredwrong.

Considerareadingcomprehensionpassagewheretheauthortalksaboutviralfeverthatspread
throughEastAfrica.Exampleanswerchoicesthataremostdefinitelywrong,areshownbelow:

1.PregnantwomeninEastAfricaarepronetotheviralfever,becausetheyprobablydontexercisemuch.(anassumptionhasbeen

made)

7. Answer choices that cannot be backed by solid proof from within the
passage
Nomatterhowconvincinganansweroptionmightseem,youshouldnevertreatitastrue,aslongas
itdoesnthaveasolidevidenceorproofthatsupportstheassertion.Theproofcanbeanythingfroma
statistictoanexample,butitshouldbementionedwithinthepassage.Otherwise,youshouldtreat
suchananswerasinvalid.

Considerareadingcomprehensionpassagewheretheauthortalksaboutviralfeverthatspread
throughEastAfrica.Exampleanswerchoicesthataremostdefinitelywrong,areshownbelow:

1.Accordingtoasurvey,womeninEastAfricasufferfromtheviralfevermoreoftenthanwomeninWestAfrica.(nosolidproof,or

detailsofthesurvey)

CHAPTER 4

The 5 Step Process to Destroy Reading

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The 5 Step Process to Destroy Reading

Comprehension on the GRE
Astepbystepprocessforthosebusystudentslookingforsomequick
informationonskyrocketingtheirperformanceontheReading
Comprehensionsection.

Ifyoudonthavethetimetoreadtheentireguide,andarelookingforsomequickinformation,here
isastepbystepprocessyoucandeploy,ifyouwanttoscorehighonthereadingcomprehension
section.Thoughbriefdescriptionshavebeengivenforeachofthesteps,wehavediscussedeachstep
ingreatdetail,inthefollowingchapters.

1. Read the rst paragraph and the rst and last sentences in the other
paragraphs
Whenyoubegintoreadthepassage,youshouldnotreaditinitsentirety.Instead,youmustemploya
smartstrategythatwillsavelotsoftime.Readonlythefirstandlastparagraphsofthepassage,
makingsureyouclearlyunderstandwhatitisthattheauthoristryingtoconvey.Thisisbecause,you
shouldtryasmuchasyoucantonotcomebacktoreadthispartonceyoureadthequestions.Ifyou
didthispartright,youshouldbeabletoanswerquestionsassoonasyouseethem.

Thefirstparagraphcontainsthemainideabehindthepassage,andthelastparagraphcontainsthe
conclusion,andwillgenerallygiveyouanideaoftheauthorstoneandintentions.Now,onceyouare
donewiththefirstandthelastparagraphs,movetotheothers.Evenhere,youmustnotreadthe
entiretext.Remembertoreadonlythefirstandthelastoneortwosentencesintheotherparagraphs
andunderstandthestructureoftheparagraph.Repeatthestepsfortherestoftheparagraphs,and
youwillbeleftwithanoverviewoftheentirepassageinafewsentences.

Forexample,thesemustbethethoughtsinyourmindasyoureadtheentirepassage:Okay.So,the
1stparagraphclaimsthatXYZisanewlyfoundphenomenonandhencemustbewelcomed,the2nd
paragraphsaysitsmustnotbenecessarilytrueandthatweshouldbecarefulaboutit,becauseofa
fewimplications[withexamples],butthe3rdparagraphsaysthatXYZisstillimportanttosolve
majorityofcases,andthe4thandthefinalparagraphconcludesthatalthoughXYZworks90%ofthe
time,itisratherfoolishtothinkthatitistheonlycure.

2. Make notes as you read

MakingnoteswhilereadingthepassageisasmartstudentswayofscoringhigherontheReading
Comprehensionsection.Writingquicknoteswillkeepyourbrainnaturallyengagedandhelpyou
movethroughthepassagedeliberately,whilerememberingmostofthedetailsthatyouhaveread.
Visuallearningisapowerfulwayofrememberingthingsforalongtime,andwhenyoumakenotes
outofthegivenpassage,youarenotonlydoingittorememberitforlonger,butyouarealsomaking
iteasyforyoutorefertothedetailslater.

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Itisalotbetterstrategyspendafewextrasecondsjottingdownhelpfulnotesthantowasteseveral
minuteslookingforthatsentencelateron.Thereareseveraltechniquestotakedownnotes
intelligently.Ifyoureallywanttosavetime,youshouldtryandkeepthenotesassmallaspossible.
Identifythemostrelevantinformation,andwritedownkeywordsorphrasesthataremostrelevant
tothetopicathandthingslikedates,names,theories,definitions.Replaceallthehardsounding
wordswithsimplewordsthatyoucaneasilyunderstand.

Youcanalso,useshorthand,ortextinglingo,alongwithvariousformsofillustrations,symbols,tree
diagrams,relationships,arrows,etc.Thiswillsignificantlyshortentheinformationyouneedtowrite,
andwillmaximizeefficiency.

3. Identify Key Words and Signal Words

TheonlywayyoucansolveanyreadingcomprehensionquestionontheGRE,isbyunderstandingkey
words,andsignalingwords,andwhattheymeantothepassage.Wecannotstresstheimportanceof
keywordsandsignalingwordsanymorethanthis.Whileskimmingthrougheachparagraph,you
shouldscantheentireparagraphforkeywordsandsignalingwordsusedbytheauthor.Theseare
veryimportant,astheymoreoftenthannotaskedinthequestionsthatfollowthepassage.Plus,
whenyouencounteraninferenceoradetailedquestion,youwillknowexactlywheretogointhe
paragraph.

EveryReadingComprehensionpassagehasafewtomanykeywordsandphrases.Thesearealso
knownassignalingwords.WordslikeFirst,second,third,furthermore,ontheotherhand,for
example,namely,foronething,inaddition,nevertheless,forthesereasons,proponentsbelieve,
criticsbelieve,but,however,whether/if,accordingto,therefore,consequently,Incontrast,claims,
goessofarastoclaim,othersargue,etc.

AsyoupracticesolvingmoreandmoreReadingComprehensionpassages,youwillstarttothinklike
thetestmakers,anddevelopasenseforwherethetestmakersarelikelytodrawquestionsfrom.

4. Recap With a Visual Movie

Onceyoufinishreadingtheentirepassage,andfinishwritingdownnotes,youshouldntstartsolving
questionsrightaway.Sinceyouareunderpressure,thereisgreatchancethatyouhaveforgotten
someofthedetailsgivenbytheauthorinpassage,bythetimeyoufinishansweringthefirstquestion.
Sincethefirstquestionismostoftenamainideaquestion,youcaneasilyanswerit,asitisalwaysat
thetopofyourmind.

Butinordertoanswertheremainingquestions,youwillhavetorememberallthedetailsperfectly,
sinceyouideallydontwanttogobackandsearchfortheminthepassageagainandagain.So,what
youneedtodois,whenyouthinkyouarereadytostartansweringquestions,youshouldstopdoing
everythingelse,closeyoureyes,andplayamovieinsideyourhead.Thismoviemustbeavisualofthe
passagethatyouhavejustread,andmusthaveapropersequence.Doingthiswillnottakemorethan
1020seconds,butitwillhelpyoucementtheentirestoryinyourhead.Whenyoucandothis
successfully,startansweringquestions,andyouwillseethedifferenceinhowmuchinformationfrom
thepassageyouareabletoretain.

5. Start Answering The Questions

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Nowwehavealreadydiscussedthevarioustypesofquestionsyouwillfindonthereading
comprehensionsection,itwillbeeasierforyoutoidentifyaquestiontypeandansweritaccordingly,
withaproperstrategy.RememberthatforMultipleSelectquestions,youdontgetpartialcreditsfor
gettingoneortwooptionsright.Youwillhavetochoosetheentireanswercorrectly,byselectingall
applicableoptions,andonlythenwillyouranswerbeconsideredcorrect.

Also,whenansweringMultipleSelectquestions,youshouldremembertotreateachansweroption
separately.Wewilldiscussmoreonthislater.Now,whileansweringquestionsrelatedtothetoneof
theauthororthewritingstyle,youshouldremembertoautomaticallyeliminateanswerchoicesthat
hintthattheauthorisbeingcompletelynegative.Ifananswerchoiceimpliesthattheauthorhasused
drasticorextremelanguagetocriticizethetopiche/shewriteson,thenyoushouldautomatically
disqualifythatanswerchoice.

CHAPTER 5

26 Tips and Strategies to Destroy Reading

Comprehension on the GRE
Themostextensivelistofstrategiesyouwilleverfind,thatwillhelpyouon
yourconquestofthemostdreadedsectionontheGRE.

Now,forthoseofyouwhohavethetime,andthepatiencerequired,letusbeginthisfascinating
journey.Wewillnowdiscusssomeextremelypowerfultipsandstrategiesthatwillhelpyoumaster
thereadingcomprehensionsection.Theseprovenstrategieshavehelpedhundredsofstudentsscore
highonthereadingcomprehensionsectionoftheGRE.Whilethisisthemostexhaustive,detailed
guidethereeveris,itisntcompleteyet.Restassured,wewillbeaddingnewstrategieseverynowand
then,sodontforgettokeepcheckingthisspaceoften.

1. Start Reading Today

Thismightsoundprettystraightforward,butitisverytrue.Itisalsosomethingthatgetsneglected
veryoften.IfyouareplanningtotaketheGREsometimenextyear,youshouldstartreadingalot,
rightfromtoday.EventhoughtricksandtipswillhelpyouimproveyouperformanceontheReading
Comprehensionasatopic,makingreadingahabitwillmakeyouabetterreader,andabetterjudgeof
differentstylesofwriting.Thiswillnotonlymakeyoubetterasanindividual,butwillalsohelpyou
scorehigheronthetest.Therearetonsofbooks,newspapers,andmagazinesatyourdisposal,but
onlyahandfulofthemwillactuallyhelpyouwithyourGREprep.Dontworry,wehavealist.

Someofthebestandthemostresourcefulnewspapersandmagazinesyoucansubscribetoare:

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TheNewYorker(http://www.newyorker.com/)

TheEconomist(http://www.economist.com)

ScientificAmerican(http://www.scientificamerican.com)

MITTechnologyReview(http://www.technologyreview.com)

TheGuardian(http://www.theguardian.com)

Ifyoumakeanhonestefforttoreadtheseeverysingleday,youwillnotonlyimproveyourreading
comprehensionskillsbyleapsandbounds,butyouwillalsocomeacrosshundredsifnotthousands,
ofnewvocabulary.Whichisexactlywhatyouneed,toacetheVerbalsectionontheGRE.

Andifpossible,getintoahabitofreadingfromascreenratherthanaconventionalbook.Allofthe
aforementionednewspapersandmagazineshavetheirownelectronicversionsandwebsitesforyou
toreadfrom,andithelpsifyoureadthemonlineratherthanonpaper,becausethatiswhatyoudo
ontheGRE.Yes,itisratherdifficultandprobablyuncomfortabletoreadfromascreen,andreadinga
conventionalbookseemsrathernice,butthemoreyougetusedtoreadingfromacomputerscreen,
themorecomfortableyouwillbeontestday.Plus,youllbesavingafewtreestoo!

2. Read Before You Sleep

Makeitahabittoreadbeforeyougotobed.No,notFacebooknewsfeeds,funnycatmemes,or
randomtweets,butusefulstuff.Stuffthatwillimproveyourthinkingcapacity,andyour
comprehension.Ifyoucan,tryandreadafewpagesofanoveloranewsitemontheinternet.Tryto
readonyourlaptoporatablet,atleastfor30minutesbeforeyougotobed,andifthatisntpossible,
tryreadingatleastafewpagesofabookbeforegoingtobed.

Thiswillhelpyoualotinthelongrun,becausethemoreyougetyourmindusedtoreading,the
sharperitwillbeonthedayofyourtest.Plus,ifyoucanunderstandcomplexthingswhenyouare
sleepy,imaginewhatyoucandowhenyoureawake.

3. Paraphrase Extensively
Moreoftenthannot,youwillseealotoftechnicaljargoninthepassages.Dontgetintimidatedbythe
terminologythatyouarenotfamiliarwith.TheGREdoesnttestyourabilitytorememberorhavethe
knowledgeoftechnicaltermsandjargon.Evennativespeakerswouldnotknowmuchaboutalotof
termsandvocabularyusedinthepassages.So,allyouneedtodois,replacethatoneparticularterm
withsomefamiliaroreasywordthatyoucanunderstand,andcontinuereadingthepassage.This
situationisparticularlycommonwhenitcomestopassagesonscienceandtechnology.So,ifyou
dontunderstandaword,substitutethatwithacommonlyknownword.

Forexample,thepassagesays:Stomatopodsaremarinecrustaceans.Now,allyouknowisthat
marinemeanssomethingrelatedtowater.So,youcaneasilyreplacethatsentencewithsomething
like:Tomatoesareweirdanimalsinwater.Seehoweasyitbecomes?Ofcourse,itdoesnotmake
anysense,butyouwouldagreethatthelattersentenceisaloteasiertorecollect,evenafterfivetoten
minutesofreading.

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Firstofall,Tomatoesissomethingyoucaneasilyremember,andyoucanstilllinkittotheoriginal
wordStomatopods.Second,theGREisnevergoingtoaskyouwhatexactlyacrustaceanmeans.It
might,however,askyourelevantquestions,whichyoucaneasilyanswerifyouhavereadthepassage
wellenough.Even,inanimprobableeventwheretherecomesaquestionaskingyouthemeaningof
thewordcrustacean,youcanstillansweritwithease,becauseyoualreadyhaveasolidideaofthe
topic,andyoucanmakeaneducatedguessastowhatitmeans.

4. Practice In a Timed Setting

Thereisonlyonemantratosucceed:Practice,practiceandpracticeevenmore.Alotofstudentsdo
followthismantra,buttheyleaveoutonelittleaspect:Time.Itisimportanttopracticeallyourtests
inatimedsetting.Itiseasytosolveaquestionintenminutes,andalmostanyonecandoit.Butdoing
itinunder100secondsiswaytoohard,andonlythosewhohavepracticedforalongtimecandothat
repeatedly.Ergo,thosearetheoneswithhighscoresontheGRE.Youwillalsohavetolearnwhen
youshouldstoptryingandmoveon,andthisonlyhappenswhenyouareusedtopracticinginatest
likeenvironment.

There is only one mantra to succeed: Practice,

practice and practice even more.

Alotofstudentsfailtopracticeinatimedsetting,andhenceendupwithtimemanagementissues
duringthetest.Dontbeoneofthoseguys.Evenifyouarenotwritingatest,andevenifitisjusta
fewpracticequestionsyouaredoingforfun,haveatimerwithyou,andsetitfor100seconds.
Practicelikeathletes.Athletesdontjustjogduringpractice.Theyworkashardastheydowhenthey
areinacompetition.Thatshowyoushouldpractice.Remember,theharderyoupractice,theeasier
thegamewillbe.

5. Ace Sentence Equivalence

ScoringmorepointsontheReadingComprehensionsectiondependsonhowwellyoucansolve
SentenceEquivalencequestions.What?How?

Ifyouareoneofthoseadvancedstudents,youwillfindoutthatSentenceEquivalencequestionsare
realtimesavers.Ifyouareverygoodatvocabulary,andifyouhavepracticedwellenough,youwill
findoutthatSentenceEquivalencequestionscanbesolvedinunderaminute.Yes,weknowofalot
ofstudentswhocansolveSentenceEquivalencequestionsin4050seconds.Andyoucaneasilydoit
under60seconds,ifyoupracticehardenough.

Now,thismeans,youaresavingyourselves30secondsofprecioustimeperquestion.Thatequalsto
about45extraminutesonyourwatch,whichyoucanusetosolvearound23questionsonReading
Comprehension.Itmightsoundcrazyifyouareabeginner,butitstrue.Allyouneedtodoisbecome
amasterofSentenceEquivalence,andBam!YouhavelotsofextratimetosolveReading
Comprehensionquestions.

6. Use Error Logs

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Createanerrorlog.Ifyouarenewtothis,anerrorlogisbasicallyalogwhereyounotedownallthe
errorsthatyoumake,duringyourprep.Itcanbeapracticequestion,oranentiretestdoesntmatter.
Themoreeffectivelyyouusetheerrorlog,themoreclarityyouwillhaveonwhereexactlyareyou,in
termsofreadinesstotakethetest.Theerrorlogalsovalidatesyourstrengthsandweaknesses,soyou
willhavesoliddatainordertomakechangestoyourstudyplan.

Ifyoutryandusetheerrorlogeffectivelyforawhile,youwillbeabletoseeadistinctivepatternof
themistakesyoumakeandtheareasyoumakethemin.Believeitornot,theerrorlogwillbeyour
bestteacher!Youcanonlygetahigherscorewhenyouknowifyouareimprovingconstantlyornot.It
isquiteeasytocreateanerrorlogitcanbeanything,butanexcelfilewouldbethemostpreferred
option,sinceitiseasiertonotonlyuse,butalsomakechangesinthefuture.Makeanexcelsheetwith
theentirelistoftopicsyouaregoingtostudyinthenextfewmonths:Algebra,Geometry,Text
Completion,etc.Andwritedownyourconfidencelevelsinthenextcolumn,onascaleof1to5with5
beingveryconfidentand1beingclueless.

7. Join GRE Forums and Groups

IfthereisoneplacewhereyoucanlearnfortheGREforfree,itisforums.Moststudentsdontprefer
forumsasameansoflearningbecausetheymainlyconsistoffellowstudents,andmoststudents
dontliketolearnfromfellowstudents.Theythinktheyareallatthesamelevel.Butyoucouldntbe
morewrongifyouarethinkingthesame.Firstofall,noteveryoneisatthesamelevel,andsecondof
all,forumsdonthavejustthecurrentstudents.Therearetonsofstudentswhohavealreadywritten
theGREandscoredhighandtherearelotsoftrainerswhohelpoutstudentswithfreesuggestions
andstrategies.

So,ifyoucanparticipateinforumdiscussionsandFacebookgroupsthatarededicatedtoGRE,you
willnotonlylearnsomuch,butyouwillalsoactuallymeetalotofsmartpeopleandlearnfromthem.
Ifyouareoneofthosesmartstudents,youcanalsotryandhelpoutotherstudentswiththeirdoubts
andproblems.Forumsareagreatwayofnetworkingwithotherpeoplewhohavethesameinterests
asyou.

8. How to Skim the Right Way?

Hereisagreattipforyoutoreadtheentirepassagequickly:Readthefirstandlastparagraphsofthe
passageslowlyandverycarefully,rephrasingeachsentenceinyourhead.Ifpossible,writedown
notesonthescratchpaper,paraphrasingthegivencomplexsentencesintosomethingthatyoucan
easilyunderstand.Makesureyouclearlyunderstandwhatitisthattheauthoristryingtoconvey,
becauseideally,youshouldntcomebacktoreadthispartonceyoureadthequestions.Assoonasyou
seethequestions,youshouldbeabletoanswerthem.

Now,onceyouaredonewiththefirstandthelastparagraphs,movetotheothers.Readthefirstone
ortwosentencesintheotherparagraphsinordertovisualizethestructureoftheparagraph.Reading
thismuchwillbeenough,andwillgiveyouabirdseyeviewofwhatisgoingtohappennext,inthat
paragraph.Repeatthestepsfortherestoftheparagraphs,andyouwillbeleftwithanoverviewofthe
entirepassageinafewsentences.

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Forexample,thesemustbethethoughtsinyourmindasyoureadtheentirepassage:Alright.So,the
1stparagraphclaimsthatXhappensveryoften,the2ndparagraphsaysitsnotnecessarilysoand
thattherearequiteafewexceptions[withexamples],butthe3rdparagraphsaysthatXstillholds
trueinthemajorityofcases,andthe4thandthefinalparagraphconcludesthatalthoughXhappens
90%ofthetime,itisratherfoolishtothinkthatXisalwaysboundtohappen.

Seehowthingscanbecondensedintojustafewlines.Havingaclearideaoftheentirestructureof
thepassageallowsyoutoanswergeneralquestionssuchasWhatisthetoneoftheauthor?and
Whataccordingtotheauthoristhemainideaofthepassage?etc.Thesesortofquestionsarevery
easyandcanbeansweredwithin10seconds,ifyouhaveacrystalclearideaoftheentirepassage,
whichcanbeexplainedwithinafewlineslikeweshowedabove.So,basically,ifyouusethisstrategy,
youwillbecapableofansweringabout50%ofReadingComprehensionquestionseasily,withinafew
seconds.

9. Tweet To a Friend
Nowthatwehavediscussedtheabovetechnique,thereisasimilartechniquethatwehavefoundto
beextremelyresourcefulwhilesolvingReadingComprehensionquestions.ItiscalledTexttoa
friendorTweettoafriendformat.Thisformatisfairlysimple.Whatif,assoonasyoufinish
readingaparticularparagraphfromthepassage,youareaskedtosendasummaryofitasatext
messageorasingletweettoyourfriend?Now,youknowthatyoucannotwritemorethan140
charactersinatweet.Whichmeansroughlyaround20words.

So,ifyoucancondensea100wordparagraphinto20words,oratweetsizedparagraph,itmeans
thatyounotonlyhavecompletelyunderstoodthepointsmadebytheauthorinthatparagraph,but
alsohavereducedthetimerequiredtoanswereachquestion.Ifthereare5paragraphsinthepassage,
younowhaveonlyabout80100words,whichisfareasierandfarmoretimesavingtoskimthrough,
whenyoureadquestions.

Thistechniquehasbeentriedandtestedbyusandourstudents,andithasprovedtobeextremely
effectiveinsavingtime.Onanaverage,studentssavedatleast5minutesperpassage(on45
questions)ontheirpracticetests.So,weurgeyoutogiveitatryinyournextpracticesession,andsee
howwellitworksforyou.

10. Look For Keywords

Whilereadingthefirst12sentencesinthebeginningofeachparagraph,youshouldalsoscantherest
ofthetextintheparagraph,especiallylookingoutforkeywordssuchasimportantnames,dates,and
otherstandoutterminologyusedbytheauthor.Theseareveryimportant,astheymoreoftenthan
notaskedinthequestionsthatfollowthepassage.Plus,whenyouencounteraninferenceora
detailedquestion,youwillknowexactlywheretogointheparagraph.

Youmightaskwhythistechniqueisatimesaverwhenyoustillhavetogobackandreadthetextall
overagain.Butthetruthis,evenifyouareeversocarefulaboutreadingtheentirepassagethefirst
timearound,someoftheinference/supportquestionsontheGREaresodetailed,thatmostofthe
timeyouwillhavetogobacktoreadthelinesanyway.So,ifyouhavealreadyfiguredoutthedetails
likenamesanddatesandotherkeywords,youdonthavetowasteadditionaltimeonfindingthemall
overagain.Youknowwhereexactlytogoback.Thissavesquiteafewseconds,believeitornot.

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11. Read Aggressively

Writingquicknotesasyoureadthepassagewillkeepyourbrainnaturallyengagedandhelpyou
movethroughthepassagedeliberately.Moreaboutnotetakinglater,butthisprocessiswhatwecall
AggressiveReading.AggressiveReadingiswhenyouarereadingquicklybutstillunderstandthestuff
thatsinthere.Youarenotsimplyreadingfast,youarereadingfastandeffectively.

Asyouread,jotdownaquicksummaryforeachparagraphonthescratchpaper,andnotethemain
ideasnames,theories,andotherimportantdetailsmentionedinthepassage.Studentsoftenskipthis
notetakingstepbecausetheythinkittakestoomuchtime.Butthinkaboutit:Itismuchbetterto
takeafewextrasecondstojotdownhelpfulnotesthantowastepotentialminutesstaringblanklyat
thescreenlookingforthatsentencethatkeepshidingfromyou.Also,yournoteswillprovideuseful
shortcutsandshortenedphrasesforsomeofthebroaderreadingcomprehensionquestions,which
canactuallyhelpyousavetimeintheend.

12. The Rotten Tomato Technique

Someanswerchoiceslookliketheperfectanswerstothegivenquestion,butinreality,theyareonly
90%correct.Studentsoftentendtoreadonlythe90%andtheirfuturisticbrainstellthemthatthe
remaining10%isgoingtobethesame.So,theythinkthatitistheanswertothegivenquestion,and
sinceitis90%right,itmustbecorrect.Butsadly,theGREtestmakersarefaraheadofyouwhenit
comestosettinguptrapswithinanswerchoices.

Itverysooftenhappensthatthereissomesortofmistakeoranassumptionintheother10%ofthe
answerchoicethatyouthoughtwasperfect.Butoutofexcitementandanxiety,andnottomention
theclockthatisalwayssprinting,youoverlookthatonepartoftheanswer,andselectitasright.Little
doyouknowthattheremaining10%containssomethingthatisblatantlywrong,andthusit
invalidatestheentireansweroption.

ThisiswhyweatCrunchPrepusetheRottenTomatoTechnique.Picturethis:Whenyouarebuying
tomatoesfromthemarket,whatdoyoudo?Youinspecteachtomato100%,andonlyifyouaresure
thattheentiretomatoishealthy,youpurchaseit.Ifyoufindanydarkspot,orarottenpart,thenno
matterhowsmallitis,youputitback.Thisisthesamestrategyyoushouldusetocheckifananswer
optionissuitableornot.Ifeverthereisonethingevenifitisasinglewordthatdoesntseem
right,ordilutestheentiresentence,thenyoushouldtreattheansweroptionasinvalid,andmoveon
tothenextchoice.

So,thenexttimeyouaresolvingquestionsonReadingComprehension,rememberthattheRotten
Tomatotechniquegivesyouhealthyresults.

13. Pause and Play

SometimeswhenyouarereadingalongReadingComprehensionpassage,youreyesfeelglazedand
watery.Ifyoufeelglazedeyesstartingtosetin,lookawayfromthepassage.Byjustturningyoureyes
inadifferentdirection,youwillbe,inaway,hittingaresetbuttononyourbrain.Whenyoulook
awayfromthescreen,orcloseyoureyesforafewseconds,youshouldalsotakeafewdeepbreaths,
andgetsomeoxygenuptothebrain.Justafewsecondsofrestwillmakeahugedifferencetoyour
performance,andyoucanthenreturntothepassage.

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Dontstartthinkingaboutwastingsecondshere.Yourstateofmindisfarmoreimportantthantime,
andifyoureallythinkyourminddeservesafewsecondsofrest,thenmaybeshouldgiveitsomerest.

14. Dont Read Too Fast

Dontreadtoomuchtoofast.Yourbrainhasanaturaltendencytoblockofftoomuchinformationat
atime,andwhenyoureadtoofastwhenyouareunderpressure,yourbrainsimplyblocksthingsoff.
Thisisabitsimilartohowwhenyouforgetsomeonesname,youcannotrecollectitnomatterhow
hardyoutry,butyougetitatalaterpointwhenyouaredoingsomethingelse.Whenevertoomuch
informationisbeingthrownatyourbrain,itcannottakeitallatonce.Andthisiswhyitshutsofffor
afewseconds,orevenminutes,andyoucantgetanythingintoyourheadforawhile.

Thiswillonlywasteyourtimeduringthetest,andwillincreasepressureonyourbrainevenfurther.
Soitisbestforyouifyoucanreadatasteadypace.Ifyouwouldliketoreadfaster,youshould
understandthatspeedreadingcannotbeachievedovernight.Itcomeswithalotofpractice,andyou
shouldstartdoingitrightnow.WehavediscussedaboutSpeedReadingtechniquesingreatdetail.
Takealookatthefinalchapter(//crunchprep.com/grereadingcomprehensionguide#six)ifyou
wouldliketoknowmore.

15. Identify Signaling Words

EveryReadingComprehensionpassagehasafewtomanykeywordsandphrases.Thesearealso
knownassignalingwords.WordslikeFirst,second,third,furthermore,ontheotherhand,for
example,namely,foronething,inaddition,nevertheless,forthesereasons,proponentsbelieve,
criticsbelieve,but,however,whether/if,accordingto,therefore,consequently,Incontrast,claims,
goessofarastoclaim,othersargue,etc.

Thislistisfarfromcomprehensive,butyougettheidea.Asyouworkthroughmoreandmore
ReadingComprehensionpassagesduringpractice,youwillstarttothinklikethetestmakers,and
developasenseforwherethetestmakersarelikelytodrawquestionsfrom.Thiswillbeofgreat
advantagetoyou,becauseifyoucananticipatetheoncomingquestion,youwillbementallyready
withtheanswer,asyoureadthroughthepassage.

16. Focus is Key

ThepassagesonReadingComprehensionaremoreoftenthannotdull,boring,andconcernsubjects
youeitherfinduninterestingorarecompletelyaliento.Butthatisnotsomethingyoushouldworry
about,becauseyouarenotalone.Thetestmakersselectpassagesastomakeeveryonefeel
uncomfortablenotjustyou.So,ifyoufindapassageunfairorsuperhard,rememberthatitisthe
sameforeveryoneelse.Everytesttakerisinthesameboatasyouare.

DontbeatyourselfupovernothavingreadupontheNazicultureorquantumtheoryorthelifecycle
ofdolphins.Thetestgiversdontexpectyoutohaveanyexpertiseonsuchabstrusesubjects.Theyare
onlytestingyourabilitytoreadquickly,toextractandprocessinformationefficientlyandtodraw
inferencesandmakelogicalconnectionsevenwhenyouknownothingaboutthematerial.So,allyou
needtodoissettledown,takeadeepbreath,acceptthechallenge,andstartreading.Maintaining
focusiskey.Whichiswhyweaskstudentstotakedownnotesastheyreadthepassage.Youare
writingnotesprimarilytohelpyoutofocusonthetext.

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17. Practice Active Reading

Itisveryimportanttoreadactively,notpassively.Passivereadingisforknowledge,orforpleasure,
butnottoscorehighonacompetitivetestliketheGRE.Youneedtoactivelyextractinformation,
insteadofpassivelyabsorbingit.Focusonthemainpoints.Bestrategic.Getusedtoreadingonly
certainpartsofapassagecarefully.

Theseinclude:theopeningparagraph,theconclusionandtheopeningandclosingsentencesofeach
paragraph.Theyhelpyouanswerstraightforwardquestionslike:Whatistheauthorsmainpoint?
Whyistheauthorwritingthis?Whatistheauthorswritingstyle?,Whatistheauthorsattitude
towardsthetopic?,etc.

18. Unhear That Song Already

Itisextremelycommonthatyoualwayshavethatonesonginyourheadduringtheentiretimeyou
takethetest.Youarenotaloneresearchshowsthatcloseto90%ofushavethisphenomenon,
popularlycalledasanearworm.Whilethisiscompletelynatural,andthereisnothingwronginit,it
maybeoneofthereasonsyourbraincannotgiveits100%duringthetest.Themoreactivitiesyour
braindoes,thelesseritspendsitsfocusonthetest.

So,beforeyougointothetestcenter,youwillhavetocleanseyourbrainoffthesongthatsstuck
inside.UseUnhearIt(http://unhearit.com)orsimilarwebsites,andgetthatsongoutofyourhead
beforeyouleaveforthetestcenter,orevenbetter,beforeyouenterthetestingarea.Wehavetested
this,anditseemstoworkfinemostofthetime.

19.Rephrase the Original Question

Ifyouthoughtthatyouwillbesafeonceyoufinishreadingthedreadfulpassage,youshouldprobably
holdthatthoughtforawhile.Thequestionsthatfollowthepassageareequallydeceitful,andthey
willneverbestraightforward.Youshouldalwaysbeonthelookoutfortroublingquestionswhich
includedoubleandtripleconceptualquestions.Thismeans,iftheauthorhasincludedmorethanone
conceptorscenario,theremightbequestionsthatarecomplexandlengthyinnature.These
questionsmayalsoincludedoublenegatives,ordoubletriggerwordsjusttoconfuseyoufurther.

Onewaytosolvethesequestions,istobreakdownthequestionpartbypart,andanalyzeit.Thisisa
reallyeffectivestrategy,butittakestimeforyoutobreakdownquestions,andthenfindanswersto
eachpartseparatelyfromthepassage.Instead,youcansimplyreadthequestionsthoroughlyand
carefully,andthenbasedonwhatyouunderstood,youcanrephrasethequestioninyourownwords.
Thisismakethequestionsoundsimpler,anditwillbeeasyforyoutogobacktothepassagein
searchoftheanswerifthequestioniseasiertounderstand.

20. Check the Number of Questions First

BeforeyoudecidehowmuchtimeyoushouldbevestingonaReadingComprehensionpassage,you
shouldseehowmanyquestionsthereareintotal.Beforeyouevenbeginreadingthepassage,checkto
seehowmanyquestionaregiven,andthendecideonthetimeyouwouldliketospendonthe
passage.Iftherearetoomanyquestionsandyouthinkitwouldtakealotoftime,thenitisbetterto
markitandskiptotherestofthesection.Ifyoudontdothis,youllriskreadingtheentirepassage

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andthenfindoutthatyouwanttoskipitaltogether.Thismeans,youwillhavewastedaround45
minuteswithoutanyoutcome.So,makesureyoucheckthenumberofquestionsbeforeyoustart
reading.

21. Be Careful With Multiple Select Questions

WhenyouareansweringMultipleSelectquestions,youshouldremembertotreateachansweroption
separately.Sometimes,itiseasytogetlostinthedetails,andstudentsassumethatiftheyareasked
toselectmultipleanswers,thenitmustmeanthatbothoptionAandB,forexample,mustbetruein
orderfortheanswertobecorrect.

No,thatisnothowitworks.Youshouldbetreatingeveryanswerchoiceseparately,onitsown.Ifyou
arereadingoptionA,dontbotherabouttheotheroptions.SeeifAfitsastheanswer,andifdoes,
selectit.OnlythenshouldyoubemovingtooptionB.WhenreadingoptionB,forgetabouttheother
choices,includingA.Twoanswerchoicescannotbecombinedtoformoneanswer,andhenceyou
shouldtreatthemseparately.

22. Embrace the Passage

Asmuchasyouwishitweretrue,youknowthattherewontbeanyReadingComprehensionpassages
onyourfavoriteTVshows.AllReadingComprehensionpassagesaredesignedtotroubleyouwith
newconcepts,newinformation,andnewquestions.But,ifyouareasmartreader,youwouldnotget
boggeddownbythesheerlengthordepthofquestionsandparagraphs.Instead,whatyoushoulddo
is,embracethepassagecompletely.

Yes,youreaditright.Embracethepassageasifitwereyourfriend.Appreciateitforitsuniqueness,
greatness,anditswealthofinformation,butalsoembraceitforitsstupidity,stubbornness,andits
strangeness.Justaswithyourbestfriend,youshouldunderstandthataReadingComprehension
passagehasitsownflaws,andkeepinmindthatitisalwayslookingtotroubleyou,andwasteyour
time.

Embrace the passage as if it were your friend.

Whileembracingthepassageanditsplusesandminuses,youshouldalsolearntoloveitdespitewhat
itis.Sometimes,itisreallydifficulttokeepyourfocusonthepassage,becausenomatterhowmuch
youtry,youhatetolearnaboutorangutansoraboutthesciencebehindnaturalreflexes.Whatyou
cando,however,istryandfallinlovewiththesubject.Tellyourselfthattodayyoureallywantto
knowwhystarsdie,orwhyRasputinledtohisowndownfall.Youshouldlearntofakeyourlovefor
thepassage,deceiveitwithyourfakeenthusiasm,andthendestroyitwhenitfinallysurrendersto
yourrelentlesspursuit.Thatishowyoumasterboringpassages.Itsoundsevil,butyoucanthelpit.

23. The Tone of the Author Is Never Negative on the GRE

Thisisaveryimportantpointyoushouldremember.TheGREbeinganinternationallyacclaimed
test,doesnteverincludeessaysorparagraphsthatarenegativeinnature.Thetestmakersselectthe
passagesanddesignthequestionssocarefullythattherewontbemuchroomfornegativity.
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Hence,youcansaythatthetoneoftheauthoriseitherneutral(whichismostlythecase),orpositive
orpraisinginnature.Nowthisdoesntmeantheauthordoesnotcriticizeanythinginthepassage.
Yes,therewillbealotofcriticism,butmostofitisconstructive.Meaning,theauthorsaysthat
somethingiswrong,buthe/shealsogivesthenecessaryreasonsbehindtheirstance.So,thisqualifies
thetoneasneutral.

Sometimes,theauthoradvocatesforaparticularreasonoracause,inwhichcase,he/sheisbeing
positiveaboutthetopic.Buttherewillnotbemanyessayswheretheauthorseverelycriticizesand
demeanssomeoneorsomethinginthepassage.Hence,whileansweringquestionsrelatedtothetone
oftheauthororthewritingstyle,youshouldremembertoautomaticallyeliminateanswerchoices
thathintthattheauthorisbeingcompletelynegative.Ifananswerchoiceimpliesthattheauthorhas
useddrasticorextremelanguagetocriticizethetopiche/shewriteson,thenyoushould
automaticallydisqualifythatanswerchoice,andmoveon.

24. Pay Utmost Attention to Tough Reading Comprehension Passages

Theseareverydifficulttounderstand,especiallybecausetheauthorusesseveraltrapstoconfuseyou.
Youwillfindsatiriccommentswhichlooklikepraisesbutareinfactcriticisms,youwillseemultiple
comparisonswherethemainideaiscomparedtoothersimilarscenariossoastoconfuseyouabout
whichofthemisthemainidea.

Oftentimes,theauthorcamouflageshis/heropinionintheformofothersopinions.Thepassagehas
opinionsofotherpeople,butnottheauthors.Youshouldbereallycarefulhere,andseewhetherthe
authorissupportingordisapprovingtheiropinions.Whenyouthinkthingsaregoingbeyondyour
control,stopreading.Markitforreview,andcomebacklaterwithafreshermindset.Maybeyouwill
crackthecodelater.Whywastetimenow?

Beverycarefulwhenyouseetwistedquestions.Sometimesyouwillbeaskedtoprovideanalogies,or
situationsthataresimilartotheonesmentionedinthepassage.Thesearesomeofthedangerous
questionsyouwillsee,becauseeverysituationseemslikeananalogytoabeginner.So,youshould
practicesuchquestionsrigorously,andbeaheadofthecurve.

25. Make Notes Intelligently

Youcanuseseveraltechniquestotakedownnotesinanintelligentmanner.Moststudents,when
askedtomakenotes,writedownafewsentencesaltogether.Butthinkaboutit.Whydoyoutake
notes?Soyoucansavetime.Butifyouarewritingdownafewsentenceseverytimeyoureada
paragraph,areyoureallysavingtime,orwastingitevenfurther?

Ifyoureallywanttosavemoretime,youshouldnotkeepwritingsentences.Instead,youshouldtry
andkeepthenotesassmallaspossible.Nowyoumayask,howdoyoustorelotsofinformationwith
onlyafewwords?

Bybeingsmart,istheanswer.Identifythemostrelevantinformation.Writedownthekeywordsor
phrasesthataremostrelevanttothetopicathandthingslikedates,names,theories,definitions
onlythemostimportantdetailsshouldmakethecut.Eliminateallthefillerwordsandsecondary
details.Replaceallthetoughtorememberlanguagewitheasy,andsimplewords.Paraphrasewith
exaggeration.Writewhateveryouwant,aslongasitfitsthemaintheme,andyouunderstandit.

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Also,useshorthand,ortextinglingo.Replaceshouldwithshd,questionwithques,communicate
withcomm,etc.Thisisreallyhelpfulbecause,ifyouveevernoticed,writingisalotslowerprocess
thantyping.So,useshortenedversionsofwords,andtrywritingwhatyouhaveunderstood,instead
ofrepeatingsentencesfromthepassage.

And,whosaidyouhavetouseonlywords?Youcanuseillustrations,symbols,treediagrams,
relationships,arrows,etc.Thiswillsignificantlyshortentheinformationyouneedtowrite,andwill
maximizeefficiency.

26. The Best Time Saving Strategy

Studentsoftenuseanswergridsinordertosavetime.Butdidyouknowthatthereisanevenbetter
timesavingstrategy?

UsingananswergridwhilesolvingaReadingComprehensionquestionmeansyoushouldkeep
shiftingyourfocuswhilereadingansweroptionsonthescreen,andwhilestrikingoffoptionsonthe
scratchpaper.Somovingyoureyesoffthescreenandoffthescratchpaperrepeatedlyleadstolackof
focus.Ittakestimetoread,andthenstrikeoffoptionsonthepaper.Whywastetimewhenthereisa
betteralternative?

Weusuallyrecommendourstudentstousetheirlefthand(orright,ifyouareasouthpaw)andfold
fingersastheyeliminateeachansweroption.Confused?Dontbe.

Itisprettysimple.Assignoptionstoeachofyourfingers,(A=thumb,B=index,C=middle,etc.)
andfoldfingersasyoueliminatedeachoftheoptions.Thismethodisnotonlymuchsimplertoapply,
butitismuch,muchfasterthananyothermethod.Sinceyoudontneedtowriteanythingonthe
paper,youdontneedtolookdown,andyoucankeepyoureyesonthescreen!

Wehaveaskedourstudentstotestthismethodduringtheirpracticetests,andonanaverage,they
havesaved56secondsperquestion!Now,6secondsmightnotseemlikealottoyou,buttheyare
invaluable.Dontbelieveme?Youdothemath:thereareabout20ReadingComprehensiononthe
GRE.Thats20questionsmultipliedby6seconds=120seconds,ortwominutes.Whichmeans,you
willhaveenoughtimetosolveanothertwoquestions!Andthatshouldgiveyouachancetoincreasea
coupleofpointsonyourfinalscore.

So,thosearethevarioustipsandstrategiesthatyoucanuseeffectively,tocompletelyannihilatethe
ReadingComprehensionsection.Otherguidesusuallyendhere.ButweatCrunchPrepwantyouto
getyourselfacquaintedwithsomeofthemostadvancedtechniquesthatyoucanuseontheGRE.
TheseadvancedspeedtechniqueswillhelpyousolveReadingComprehensionquestionsattheblink
ofanyeye,andyoucanbragaboutyournewlyacquiredskillswithyourfriends.

CHAPTER 6

11 Speed Reading Techniques That Help You

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11 Speed Reading Techniques That Help You

Conquer Reading Comprehension
11ofthemostadvancedspeedingtechniquesthatwillhelpyoureadand
understandReadingComprehensionpassagesatlightningspeed.

Readingislikeexercisingamuscle.Whatthegymistoyourmuscles,readingistoyourmind.And
justlikeyouexerciseyourmuscleseverydayinthegym,youshouldexerciseyourmindeverydayby
reading.

Weallhaveacapacitytoreadmuchfasterthanweactuallydotoday.Ourreadingspeed,justlikethe
sizeofourmuscles,changesaswegothroughlife.Duringschool,wegothroughabout150200
wordsaminute,becausewejustlearnedhowtoreadproperly.Duringhighschool,youincreasethe
speedautomaticallyto300wordsperminute,becauseyourbraindevelopsquitequickly.Whenyou
gotocollege,youhavelotsofotherthingstodo,andverylittletimeavailable,whichiswhyyour
brainautomaticallyadjuststoreading400wordsperminute.

Butthemomentyougetoutofcollege,younomorehaveareasontoreadlotsofinformationevery
singleday.Thatiswhenthebrainstartstorelax,andslowlybutsurely,thereadingspeedgoesbackto
200wordsperminute.ButtheGRErequiresthatyoureadmuchfasterthanthis.Actually,thehigher
yourreadingspeedis,thehigheryourscorewillbe,ontheverbalsection.So,howcanyoudothat?
Howdoyouimproveyourreadingspeeddrastically,inaverysmalltimeframe?

The higher your reading speed is, the higher

your score will be.

Belowaresomefantasticreadingtechniquesthatwe,andourstudentshaveusedwhilestudyingfor
theGRE.Thesetechniquesarequiteadvancedinnature,andittakesseveraldaystoafewweeksfor
yourbraintoadjusttothenewreadingspeeds.Also,thesetechniquesrequiregreatamountsof
practiceandpersistencefromyourend,soifyouthinkyoucannotputinalotofeffortinthecoming
fewweeks,orifyoudonthavethatmuchtimebeforethetest,tryimplementingatleastoneortwoof
thegiventechniques.Ideally,thesetipsareforthosestudentswhoaretargeting165+ontheVerbal
section.But,evenotherwise,ifyouhavelotsoftimeleftbeforeyourtestbegins,youshouldtryand
implementthemall,andpracticeasmuchasyoucan.

1. Chunk Reading
ChunkReadingisperhapsoneofthemostsignificanttechniquesusedbyadvancedreaderstogather
asmuchinformationastheycaninaverylimitedtime.Thetechniqueisrathersimpleand
straightforward:Readmultiplewordsatatime.Normally,youreadeachwordseparatelyandasyou
movealong,youunderstandthemeaningofthesentence.But,thisprocesstakestime.

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Instead,youshouldreadchunksofwordsatasingleinstance,andcompleteeverysentenceina
maximumoftwoorthreeinstances.Forexample,takethesentence:Thequickbrownfoxjumped
overthelazydog.Usually,youwouldreaditasThequick|brown|fox|jumped|over|thelazy|dog.
But,whenyouusethechunkreadingtechnique,youreaditasThequickbrownfox|jumpedoverthe
lazydog.Thereshouldntbeanygapbetweenreadingeachword.Moreadvancedreadersreadthis
entiresentenceinonesingleinstance,thus,reducingreadingtimedrastically.

So,thenexttimeyouseeapieceoftext,readthesentencesinchunksandseehowmuchtimeyouare
savingperparagraph.InatimelimitedenvironmentsuchastheGRE,thistechniquewillsaveyouat
least2secondsper10words.Whichmeans,foranaverageReadingComprehensionpassagethathas
350words,youwillsave70secondsoftime.

2. Dont Vocalize the Text

Whenyouarereadingthissentence,thereisaninnervoiceinsideyouthatisreadingitout,andonly
youcanhearit.Thisiscalledvocalizing,anditisaprocessthebrainimplementsinorderto
completelyunderstandwhatyouarereading.Brilliant,butthereisoneproblemwiththis:ittakeslots
oftime.Youmusthavealreadyheardthefactthatyoucanonlyreadasfastasyoucanspeak.Thisis
because,wehavebeentrainedtodoso,sincechildhood:toreadaloud.Andourbrainshavebeen
hardwiredtoreadonlyasfastaswecanspeak,albeit,notasfastaswewouldlike.

Whenyoureadaloud,ittakestimefortheinformationseenbyyoureyestoreachthebrain,which
convertsthevisualtextintosound,whichyoucanhearasyourinnervoice,andthenthebrainagain
decodesinformationthroughthisinnervoice.Thisisquitearoundaboutprocess.Butithasbeen
observed,however,thatwhenyouarereadingatasuperfastpace,thebraincannotvocalizethetext.
Thisisthereasonwhytheaveragehumantendstoreadatacomfortablepaceinordertoavoidnot
understanding.Itisanaturalresponse,notyourfault.

Butyouarenottheaveragehuman,youareaGREtesttaker.Youcannotaffordtoreadata
comfortablepace,sincetimeisalwaysprickingyoufrombehind.Sowhatdoyoudo?Youstop
vocalizingthetextyouarereading.Now,thisisntaseasyasitsounds,sinceyouaregoingagainstthe
natureofyourbrain.Ittakesatleasttwoweeksforyoutofullytakecontrolofyourbrain.But
meanwhile,youcanuseonetacticthatworksreallywell.

Youshouldmanuallymurmuramonotonoussound,slightlyaloud,sothatyourbraincannomore
useyourinnervoicetovocalizetext.Thebraincannotdomorethanonetaskatatime.So,ifyougive
yourbrainsomethingelsetofollow,itcannotdeployitsvocalizingpower.Trydoingthisasyouread
anytextmaterial:MakeamonotonoussoundsuchasMmmmmmorEeeeeeeeeoranyother
repetitivesoundthroughoutthetimeyoureadthetext.Atfirstitseemsratherdifficulttounderstand
whatyouarereading,butwithinafewdays,youwillseethatyouarenotonlyunderstandingwhat
youread,butyouhavealsoincreasedyourreadingspeed.

Youcanusethistechniqueintheexamtoo,butmakesureyouarenotmakingthosesoundsloud
enoughtodisturbothers.Else,youwillhavetofacetheproctorsanger.

3. Ignore Useless Words

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Wait,what?TheGREhasuselesswordstoo?Notexactly.ButeverysentenceinEnglishhasabout
40%uselesswords.Uselessinthesense,thereisnopointinusingthatwordinthesentence,andone
caneasilyunderstandthemeaningofthesentenceevenifyouremovethewordsentirely.Wordslike
articles(A,an,the),tenseslikeis,areetc.,arenotexactlyvitaltounderstandasentence,inthe
contextofaGREpassage.Theyareonlyusedasornamentstomakethesentencesound
grammaticallycorrect.

Now,thereisnopointinreadingalltheseauxiliarywords,andsince40%ofthepassageconsistof
suchwords,youwillbesavingatleast40%ofthetime.Letusseeanexample,soyouwillunderstand
itevenbetter.ThisexcerptisabouttheGRE,takenfromWikipedia:

TheGraduateRecordExaminations(GRE)isastandardizedtestthatisanadmissionsrequirement
formostgraduateschoolsintheUnitedStates.CreatedandadministeredbyEducationalTesting
Service(ETS)in1949,theexamaimstomeasureverbalreasoning,quantitativereasoning,analytical
writing,andcriticalthinkingskillsthathavebeenacquiredoveralongperiodoftimeandthatarenot
relatedtoanyspecificfieldofstudy.TheGREGeneralTestisofferedasacomputerbasedexam
administeredatPrometrictestingcenters.

Nowtheaboveparagraphtakesabout2025secondsfortheaveragereadertofinish.Andthereare
severalunnecessarywordsinthere.Thetestmakerspurposefullyincludethem,sotheycanwaste
yourvaluabletime.But,weareevensmarter.Weomitallthoseuselesswordsfromtheparagraph,
andrephraseitas:

GREadmissionsrequirementgraduateschoolsUS.CreatedbyETS1949measureverbal
reasoning,quantitativereasoning,analyticalwriting,andcriticalthinkingskills.GREofferedas
computerbasedexamatPrometriccenters.

Theabovesentencetakeslessthan10secondstoreadandunderstand.Doyouseethedifference?
Thisshowshowmuchtimeyoucansaveifyouomitunnecessarywordsfromthepassage.Nowitis
easytodoitwhenyouomititmanually.Butintheexam,youcannotsimpledeletethosewords.The
wordswillbethere,andyouhavetoomittheminyourmind.Thisisnteasy,butitcanbedonewith
practice,andittakesacoupleofweeksatleastforanaveragereadertoreadasentence,andnaturally
omittheauxiliarywords.

4. Avoid Rereading
ThisisoneoftheblundersstudentsmakewhilereadingpassagesonReadingComprehension.They
readaparticularsentence,butattheendofit,theyarenttooconfidenttomoveon.So,whatdothey
do?Theygobackandreaditagaintogetmoreclarity.Now,thisisokayifyoudoitonce,maybe
twice.Butonceyoubegintodothis,youkeeponstoppingandgoingbacktoreadthingsagainand
again.Thiswasteslotsoftime,withoutyouactuallynoticingit.Youthinkitisokaybecauseyouare
understanditproperly,butinreality,itisntokayatall.

Thissituationarisesmainlyduetolackofconfidence.Ifyouareconfidentaboutyourself,youwillbe
contentwithasinglereading,andwillnotthinkofrereadingstuffyouhavejustread.Also,itmight
bebecauseyouaresupertensed,thatyoutotallyforgotwhatyoureadafewsecondsago.Both
situationsarequitedangerous,andyoushouldtryyourbesttoavoidthem.

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Howcanyoudothat?Well,toparaphraseYOLO,thequintessentialjuvenileacronymofthetwenty
firstcentury,rememberYORO,orYouOnlyReadOnce.Thatshowyoudoit.Makeitapointtonot
rereadanysentence.Ifyouthinkaparticularsentencehaslotsofterminologyinitanditis
impossibletounderstanditinonego,tryreducingyourreadingspeedonlyforthatonesentence.
But,neverevergoback.

Thismakesyouconsciousaboutyourreading,andyouwillreadeverywordwith100%concentration.
Hence,youwonthavetowastetimegoingback.But,evenafterallthisyouthinkyouwillhavetogo
back,doitwhenarelevantquestionspopsupafterthepassage.Ifthereisnotevenonequestion
relatedtothatsentence,whybotherreadingitagain?So,ifyouseeaquestiontowhichyouarenot
sureoftheanswer,thenyoucangobackandreadthatpartagain.

5. Train Hard
Wheneveryouhavefreetime,practicereadingsomeofthehardestpassagesthereare.Trysearching
onlineforadvancedscientificresearchpapers,orgotothelibraryandreadbooksaboutscience,
sociology,philosophy,etc.Anddontreadthemforknowledgeorforpleasure.Readthemtoimprove
yourreadingspeed.Readingtoughsubjectmattersandarticleswithgreatspeedimprovesyour
comprehensionskills,andcognitiveabilities.Ifyouareabletounderstandcomplextheorieseven
whenyoureadatagreatspeed,itmeansthatyouwilldoagreatjobontheactualtest.

Justliketheothertechniqueswehavediscussed,thisisntveryeasy,butyoucandoitwithlotsof
practice.Yourbrainslowlygetshardwiredtounderstandingcomplexwordsandsentencesevenwhen
youreadfast.Thishelpsyoualot,becauseone:inthetest,youwontfindpassagesthathard,which
makesthingseveneasierforyou,andtwo:youwillbereadytoreadandunderstandanypassageyou
aregiven,irrespectiveofthetopic.

6. Never Read Modiers

Mostmodifiersarebelievedtobeusefulphrasesthatgivemoreinformationaboutthesubject,ina
sentence.ButontheGRE,thismoreinformationisnotrequiredmuch,andontopofthat,reading
moreinformationmeanstakingmoretimetofinishthepassage.Whichisexactlywhatwearetrying
toavoidhere.Takealookatthisexample:

AdolfHitler,whoiswidelyregardedasasymbolofviolenceandkilling,isactuallyalovingfatherto
hischildren.

Thephrasewhoiswidelyregardedasasymbolofviolenceandkillingisamodifierhere.Itgives
moreinformationaboutthesubject,whichisAdolfHitlerinthiscase.Nowthereisnoneedtoread
thismodifier,sinceitgivesnonewinformationtous.EveryoneknowsthatHitleriswidelyregarded
asasymbolofviolenceandkilling.Andsincethisisjustadditionalinformation,theGREwillnotask
youaquestiononit.Andhence,thereisnopointinreadingit.Bysimplyskippingitoff,youare
savingyourselfafewsecondsoftime.AndthesentenceAdolfHitlerisactuallyalovingfathertohis
childrenmakesperfectsense,andyoucanmoveontothenextsentence.

AtypicalReadingComprehensionpassageontheGREhasabouttwoorthreemodifiers,andifyou
makeitapointtoskipthemall,youaredoingyourselfafavor.Andifatall,inahighlyunlikely
situation,youseeaquestionaboutthatextrainformationinthemodifier,youcanalwaysgobackand

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readit.

7. Make A Visual Movie

Youmusthaveheardthatmostpeoplearevisuallearners.Whatthismeansis,mostofuslearnthings
byeitherseeingthem,orvisualizingthemhappen.Andvisualizingthingswhilereadingisntnewto
useither.Rememberthescenesyourmindcreateswheneveryoureadanovel?Beitacrimescene,a
romanticdialogue,oranextraterrestrialinvasion,wetendtocreatelittlemoviesinsideourheadsas
wereadthestoriesfrombooks.

Thisisagreattalentthatwehumanshave,andyouwillhavetotapintothisresourceifyouwantto
understandpassagesthoroughly.Makesmallvisualmoviesinsideyourheadasyoustartreadingthe
passage.Everypassagehasaheroandavillain.Ithasascenario,andasmallplot.Usethese
attributes,weavetogetheranicevisualstory,andplayitinsideyourbrainwhilereadingtextfromthe
screen.Thisisagreatwayofrememberingthings,andyouwillcertainlynothavetocomebackto
readagain,sincetheimagesarealreadystoredinyourbraininasequence.

So,assoonasyouseeaquestion,youranswerwillcometoyouintheformofavividscenefromthe
movieyoucreated,andyoucanansweritwithease.Thisagain,comeswithpractice,souseyourfree
timeeffectively,andimplementtheseneatlittletricksathome.

8. Use a Pointing Device

Anotherfantasticwaytoimproveyourreadingspeedbyleapsandbounds,isbyusingapointing
device.Anythingfromyourindexfingertoapencilcanworkasapointingdevice.Sincethetextison
thescreen,andthescreenisatadistancefromyoureyes,itcanbedifficulttofixyoureyesonthe
wordsforalongtime.Thisiswhyyoushouldusethepenciloryourfingerasapointingdevice.This
devicetellsyoureyesthattheyshouldbefollowingwhereveritgoes,andthefasteryoumovethe
device,thefasteryoureyeswillscanthroughthewords.AndtheprocesswediscussedunderChunk
Readingcomesintoplay.

Researchshowsthatpeoplewhouseapencilorapenasapointingdevicewhilereading,tendto
improvetheirreadingspeedsbycloseto50%,andstillunderstandtheentirestuff.Thisisbecause,
youreyeswillfollowthepencil,andyourbrainwillonlyfocusonthewordsthatthepencilgoes
through,anditdoesntbotherabouttherestoftheworld.Thisincreasesconcentrationlevels,along
withreadingspeed.Trythistechniquethenexttimeyoureadsomething.Ourprimaryschool
teacherswerentwrongafterallwhentheyaskedustodothesame.

9. Vertical Reading
Thisisprobablythehardestofallspeedreadingtechniques.Asthenamesuggests,youshouldbe
readingtextvertically.Whichmeans,notwordbyword,butlinebylineatatime.Youreyeballshould
movedownwards,insteadofsideways.Itissimilartochunkreading,buthere,thechunkisanentire
lineoftext.Thisisquiteanuphilltaskforabeginner,andonlythefastestreadersintheworldcando
it,butyoushouldtryandgetasclosetoitaspossible.

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Agoodwaytostartis,byreadingnewspapersandmagazines.Inparticular,newspapershavenarrow
columnsoftext,andeachlinehasaround57words.Thisisquiteaneasytaskforabeginner,andyou
shouldtargetreadinganewsitemverticallydownwards.Magazinesaresimilartonewspapers,andif
youcantryandgetscientificmagazines,thatdbegreat.

Remember,thismightseemnexttoimpossibleinthebeginning,butyouareonlytryingtogetbetter.
Youmaynotbeabletoreadlongsentencesinonesecond,butevenifyoucanreadoneshortsentence
persecond,youwillskyrocketyourreadingspeed.

10. Track Your WPM

WPMisWordsPerMinute.Wheneveryouarereadinganythingfromanewsarticletoafiction
novelalwayshavethetimerwithyou.Almostallsmartphoneshaveastopwatchapplication
preinstalled,andyoushouldputthattogooduse.Startthetimer,andthenstartreading.Attheend
of5minutes,checkhowmanywordsyoucouldreadperminute.Or,youcanuseonlinetoolstotrack
yourWPMcount.

Spreeder(http://www.spreeder.com)isanawesomeresourcewhenitcomestokeepingtrackofyour
WPM.Youcancopypastethetextyouwanttoread,setthereadingspeed,andalsohowmanywords
inachunkyouwouldwanttoread.ItisanidealtoolforGREaspirantswhoarelookingtodestroy
ReadingComprehension.Youshoulddefinitelycheckitout.

TheaveragereadersWPMisaround250,butadvancedreaderscangoupto1000.But,sinceyou
arentplanningtobetheworldsfastestreader,youshouldideallysetatargetof500WPM.This
meansyoucanreadtheaverageReadingComprehensionpassageinabout4060seconds!Imagine
thecushionyouwillhaveifyoucanfinishoffreadingandunderstandingapassagewithin60
seconds.Normally,youshouldsetasideatleast56minutesperpassage(includingreadingand
answeringquestions.)Soifyoucanfinishreadingin1minute,youwillhave45minutestoanswer3
5questions,whichwillbeacakewalk,seriously.

11. Use Blocking Devices

Wheneveryouseealongpassage,yougetaminorheartattack.Youkeepthinkingthatifyoucannot
answerallthequestionsattheendofthepassage,itisgoingtobeacompletewasteoftime.This
worrycreepsinatthelastmoment,andspoilsyourmood.Thishashappenedquiteoftenwithour
students,andwegivethemasimplesolution.Concentrateonlyonthesentenceyouarecurrently
reading,andusesomethingtoblockofftheremainingtext.Itcanbeanything:yourpalm,orthe
scratchpaperyouhave,oranything.

Justtrytoblockthetextandmakesureyoucanseeonlyonelineoftextatatime.Thiswillgiveyoua
feelingofthereisonlyonemorelinetogo,andyouwillfinishofftheentirepassagesoonerthanyou
think.

Conclusion
So,thatsaboutit.WehavecometoanendofthisepicjourneycalledtheDestructionofReading
Comprehension.Wehavediscussedabout38invaluablestrategiesthatyoucouldusetoimprovenot
onlyyourreadingspeed,butalsoyourscoresonthereadingcomprehensionsection.

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Thisisbyfarthemostcomprehensiveguideintheworld,tohelpyouacetheReadingComprehension
sectionintheGRE.Ifyouthinkthisisveryhelpful,orifyoureallylovedit,shareitwithyourfriends
rightnow!Ourgoalistohelpasmanystudentsaswecan.Sowhatareyouwaitingfor?Gosharethe
livingdaylightsoutofthisguide!

Wealmostforgot!Ifyouthinkyouwouldliketosavethisguideforfutureperusal,beourguest!
DownloadthisentireguideasPDF,andtakeitwithyou.

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