Hi,

Can someone please make me some suggestions regarding Critical reasoning and reading comp. sections. I am doing well on SC section but unfortunately I am having timing issues on the RC and CR sections.

i) CR

TIMING ISSUE:

Here is how I am doing the CR questions: I read the question stem, read the stimulus and make the T-diagram. By the time I am done with this, I already know the structure and conclusion and then I pre-phrase the answer in my mind (or at least have an idea what kind of answer I should expect) and then approach the answer choices. I use process of elimination for answers and then when I am down to two or three choices, I compare them and pick one.

The problem with this process is that it's taking me about 4 minutes (double the amount of time it should be). What can I do to speed up my process?

I tried doing CR questions without doing T-diagrams (to speed up the process) but the problem is it's difficult for me to keep all the pieces of the arguments (premise, conclusion) straight in head and my error rate goes up.

II) RC

TIMING ISSUE:

This section is in a real bad shape. I have severe timing problem in this section. For RCs I read the passage and take notes. When I read the whole thing it takes me really long to read and answer the questions. Almost 1.5 - 2times the alloted time for a long/short passage.

I have gone through all the strategies as discussed in "Thursdays with Ron" but see the problem is that when I skim a lot and focus only on the structure, I don't really understand the passage and I get almost all specific detail questions wrong.

I am still not sure how much balance should I keep between reading for general idea/structure/tone and still keeping and eye on details to understand the main idea of the passage. Please suggest.

Another problem:

In general idea/main purpose questions sometimes I am down to two choices and then those choices are so close that it's so hard for me to eliminate the wrong one and I get tricked in marking the wrong one.


Please make some suggestions on improving timing on CR and RC sections. Every time I take a practice test I run out of time on Verbal section.



Also another question -

Regarding the practice material that I am using for CR and RC -

I am using LSAT RC and CR books for practicing, the problem is that these books are really good but -

* For RC, the passages are longer and more abstract
* There are no explanations

Do you recommend using LSAT RC for practicing RCs or some other prep. material for practicing RCs and getting upto speed for computer adaptive testing.

Same question for CR -

I am using LSAT CR and it doesn't have explanations

What practice material should I be using for CR and RC at this point when I really need to get rid of the timing issues on both the sections. Also can I post questions on MGMAT forums related to LSAT RC and CR?

Your response would be much appreciated!

The General forum would be a great place for this question, if you will please repost: general-gmat-strategy-questions-f9.html

_________________
Jamie Nelson
ManhattanGMAT Instructor