{"id":29453,"date":"2021-12-05T10:00:35","date_gmt":"2021-12-05T15:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/?p=29453"},"modified":"2022-07-30T01:43:34","modified_gmt":"2022-07-30T05:43:34","slug":"the-master-resource-list-for-gmat-reading-comprehension-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/the-master-resource-list-for-gmat-reading-comprehension-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Master Resource List for GMAT Reading Comprehension, Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything.\u00a0<\/em>Manhattan Prep<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Stacey Koprince<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense.<\/em><\/p>\n

Part 1<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0of this series covered how to read Reading Comprehension (RC),\u00a0and\u00a0Part 2<\/strong><\/a> introduced the first two major question types: Main Idea and Specific Detail. Start with those posts and then continue with this post.<\/p>\n

Inference<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>
\nIn this section, we are going to talk about two big things: how to handle Inference questions and how to analyze RC problems in general (you can then use these techniques on any question type).<\/p>\n

Inference questions ask about specific details in the passage, but they add a twist: we have to\u00a0deduce<\/em>\u00a0something that must be true, given certain facts from the passage.<\/p>\n

For example, if I tell you that my favorite type of book to read is biography, what could you deduce?<\/p>\n

Watch out for the trap: do\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0use your \u201creal world\u201d conclusion-drawing skills. In the real world, you might conclude that I like reading books in general or perhaps that I am interested in history or maybe that I am\u00a0a nerd. (Really?\u00a0Biographies<\/em>\u00a0are my favorite?) These things do not have to be true, though.<\/p>\n

What\u00a0has<\/em>\u00a0to be true? I do not like fiction as much as I like biographies. I have read at least one book in a nonbiography category (otherwise, I would not be able to tell that I\u00a0prefer<\/em>\u00a0biographies,<\/em>\u00a0which implies a comparison).<\/p>\n

What is the difference? GMAT deductions are usually things that would cause us to say \u201cDuh!\u201d in the real world.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy\u00a0favorite category of book is biography.\u201d
\n\u201cOh, so you must not like fiction as much as you like biographies.\u201d
\n\u201cUh\u2026 well, yeah, that\u2019s what \u2018favorite\u2019 means. I don\u2019t like anything else better.\u201d<\/p>\n

A GMAT deduction should feel like a \u201cduh\u201d deduction\u2014something totally boring that must be true, given the information in the passage.<\/p>\n

Why Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Specific questions can come in one other (not as common) flavor: the\u00a0Why<\/em>\u00a0question. Why questions are sort of a cross between Specific Detail and Inference questions: you need to review some specific information in the passage, but the answer to the question is not literally right in the passage. You have to figure out the most reasonable explanation for\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0the author chose to include a particular piece of information.<\/p>\n

Timing<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I mentioned earlier, we really do\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0have much time to read RC passages. Aim for approximately two to two and a half minutes on shorter passages and closer to three minutes for longer ones. Of course, you cannot possibly read everything closely and carefully in such a short time frame\u2014but that is not your goal! The goal is to get the big picture on that first read-through.<\/p>\n

Aim to answer main idea questions in roughly one minute. You can spend up to two minutes on the more specific questions. In particular, if you run across an Except question, expect to spend pretty close to two minutes; Except questions nearly always take a while.<\/p>\n

As always, be aware of your overall time. If you find that you are running behind, skip one question entirely; do not try to save 30 seconds each on a bunch of questions. Also, if RC is your weakest verbal area, and you also struggle with speed, consider guessing immediately on one question per passage and spreading your time over the remaining questions.<\/p>\n

Great, I Have Mastered RC!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let us test that theory, shall we? Your next step is to implement all these techniques on your next practice test while also managing your timing well. Good luck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything.\u00a0Manhattan Prep\u2019s\u00a0Stacey Koprince\u00a0teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. Part 1\u00a0of this series covered how to read Reading Comprehension (RC),\u00a0and\u00a0Part 2 introduced the first two major question types: Main Idea and Specific Detail. … Read More  <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[104,175,212],"class_list":["post-29453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","tag-gmat","tag-manhattan-prep","tag-reading-comprehension"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Master Resource List for GMAT Reading Comprehension, Part 3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Part 1\u00a0of this series covered how to read Reading Comprehension (RC),\u00a0and\u00a0Part 2 introduced the first two major question types.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/the-master-resource-list-for-gmat-reading-comprehension-part-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Master Resource List for GMAT Reading Comprehension, Part 3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part 1\u00a0of this series covered how to read Reading Comprehension (RC),\u00a0and\u00a0Part 2 introduced the first two major question types.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/the-master-resource-list-for-gmat-reading-comprehension-part-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"mbaMission - 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