Comprehending RC passages in CAT 2014

For acing the verbal ability section in the CAT and the English section in the other MBA entrances, the key is to crack the reading comprehension passages. This portion of the verbal syllabus is of utmost importance credit wise.

From the long term preparation tips of practising to read and to picking to read from different genres, now is the time that you must read construct a specific short term strategy to tackle this section.
Here are three types of test takers, when it comes to attempting reading comprehension questions:

Type 1- Those who read a passage very fast

Type 2- Those who bring in things from outside of what is mentioned in the passage. The trap for the type 2 is set when the examiner creates an option that has information from outside the passage.

Type 3- Those who read the passage and still have no clue as to what it’s about it is important not to extend the scope of the passage beyond what is actually given there. The type 3 will anyways get trapped if the topic of the passage is just a ‘bit’ difficult to comprehend.

Here are some tips that may help:

• It is most important to try and get into the examiner’s mind. After all, the questions that follow the passage are the ones that matter. More than what the author is trying to say, it is important to know what the examiner is thinking.
• To make it challenging, the examiner is definitely going to lay some traps. And you are not prepared for this if you have no clue of what lies ahead of you. From the examiner’s perspective, he cannot set a good trap if he does not understand the way CAT aspirants would react you in your approach.
• Breeze through a passage by way of skimming helps only if you have some sense of familiarity with the passage or topic.
• Don’t skim all passages: Breezing through a passage by way of skimming helps only if you have some sense of familiarity with the passage/topic.
• Eliminate and not select: In most cases, elimination of choices may work better than selection of the choices.
• Here is an approach to eliminate- BANE. Eliminate choices that are too broad, too narrow, that are alien and too extreme.

Mocks are the best source to apply these tips on the RC passages practised and then analyse as to what works best as per your strengths and weaknesses.

Source: HT Education & Career Launcher