Argument based Question in RC

[dddannie6]

Hi,

So I was practicing logic based questions, however, I keep getting stuck on doing the notes and reading the question in time before the 1 and half minute window that is recommended. I know that the strategy for this kind of question is to make a T chart one side pro and another con, find the conclusion and then write the premises on the chart.

I am wondering how I am suppose to find the conclusion before reading the entire section and getting a feel for what is being talked about. If I read the section for just the conclusion then go back and read sentence by sentence to find the premises. Wouldn't that make me lose time? Also what is the best strategy for knowing what to write on your notes and what to exclude.


Also I having the same problem with general RC passages, for some reason I do not understand what to write in my notes and what to skip over. I end up writing out more than what I should and when I get to answering the questions time runs out. Do you have any advice as to how I can remedy this problem?


Best,
Dannialles D

[tommywallach]

Hey Dannialles,

So let's take these one at a time. Your first issue is regarding RC Argument Structure Questions, then you ask something similar about normal RC. First off, recognize that these are fundamentally different question types, and it's only the GRE that pretends they aren't (on the GMAT and the LSAT, ASP's are not lumped in with regular RC, but have their own names: critical reasoning and logical reasoning respectively).

For ASPs, you should read the whole passage, then take notes. You should be able to keep the whole passage more or less in your head. If you can't, you just need to practice more (By a Nintendo DS and Brain Age to work on your working memory! Just kidding...sorta!). In other words, you should be able to locate the conclusion/premises as you read. Then, when you're done, make the T-diagram and fill it in. It's okay to glance back a bit to get the ideas right, but you should have it pretty solid by the end of your first read. Remember to paraphrase and use acronyms so that you're not just copying down the passage. My notes are seldom more than 10 words, and that's everything.

As for regular RC, it's a whole different story, so I'd look at our RC book to get the full gist of it. There are no conclusions or premises to deal with. Your outline is going to be purely structural (i.e. Paragraph 1: Background, Paragraph 2: Old Theory, Paragraph 3: New Theory), rather than content based.

Hope that helps!

-t