Reading comprehension in GMAT is totally different from any types of reading I have ever known. The reading passages that I used to know merely require a sound understanding of English. And I am confident that I'm not so bad at this regarding my intensive schooling in gifted English class, where I was pushed to do numerous CPE passages, and my 8.5 IELTS reading. However, when it comes to GMAT reading comprehension (RC), the situation is a real blow to me. GMAT RC requires not only a sound grasp of the English language but also an understanding of the argument structure and of the role of each element in delivering the purpose of the author.
To me, GMAT RC is a blessing in disguise as it will sharpen my reasoning skill and reinforce my ability to develop a thorough argument. At this stage, it has dawned on me that studying for the GMAT exam is not only for the purpose of attaining an outstanding score, strengthening my MSC/MBA application profile, but also for its practical use in real business situations in my future jobs.
I lov'it
Hereby I cite some common guides from https://gmatclub.com/ on how to practice the GMAT Verbal RC in a correct manner :
(1)
Read for structure and purpose
GMAT RC questions won’t, for example, ask you to repeat what line 27 says, but you might have to explain the role that line 27 plays in the author’s overall argument.
So what’s your first job when you read an RC passage? Understand the structure of the author’s overall argument, and WHY the author has written each part of the passage.
Don’t obsess over details
And it’s completely fine if you miss a few details, as long as you can still comprehend the overall purpose behind each paragraph.
If you struggle to understand a few sentences here or there, check to see if you still understand how the paragraph connects with the author’s overall argument. If you still understand WHY the author wrote that paragraph – and how it fits in with the rest of the passage – then there’s no reason to obsess over a few difficult phrases or sentences.
Get engaged
Many of you have heard this advice already: pretend that you’re interested whenever you read an RC passage. If that works for you, awesome.
No skimming, no gimmicks
Don’t fall in love
So don’t fall in love. Instead, always make sure that you’ve found four wrong answers, not one right answer.
Stick with official RC passages
(2)
1. Always read the First and Last sentence more carefully no matter what. GMAT passages are very structured and the first stence will always contain the main idea and set the tone.
2. Watch for trigger words such as "but, however, still, regardless, nevertheless, although" and others
3. Always ask yourself why the author put this example here
4. Pretend that you are very interested in the reading material or another option is to play a game with the author and try to prove the author wrong - pick at every word
5. Always know what the main idea of the passage is, even if the questions are not asking for it
6. It helps to know the vocabulary but you can make it - as long as you know all of the tone and general words, you will be able to tell author's direction. Specifics may not matter, though again, I have found that good vocabulary helps on RC
7. Do whatever it takes to help you read/remember the passage better - write summary notes (even if you never go back to them), paraphrase each paragraph or even sentence, etc.
(3)
Practice reading fictions & non-fictions will certainly go a long way towards improving reading skill. However, mind you, be an active reader by bearing in mind the following points while reading any piece of books or articles:
1. Read for 100% comprehension. Read with a dictionary. Go as slow as you need to in order to understand everything. This is not what you will do on the GMAT but it is necessary to train your reading.
2. Think about how the author structures his/her arguments. What is the main point? What are the facts? What are the opinions? What are the assumptions?
3. Pay attention to grammar structures. Analyze lists, parallelism, and verb tenses. Get comfortable with sentences that have many structurally unnecessary descriptive clauses. Confirm verb agreement.
The main idea is: Be an active reader In the internet age everyone has gotten used to skimming and half-comprehension. For the GMAT we have to train ourselves for a more focused analysis of text.
(4) EGMAT Steps:
(1) Get immersed in the passage: “you CARE about the subject”
- Read the 1st line
- Think about the subject
(2) Absorb info as you read
- Read a set of lines
- Pause
(3) Predict the thoughts thru key words: “help you ACTIVELY understand the passage”
(4) Shorten the technical terms & names: “help to maintain concentration”
(5) Identify and quickly go thru the details
- Note the presence of the detail
- Do not try to understand all aspects of it
(6) Understand sentence structure: “understand the relationships in the sentence”
- S-V agreement
- Parallelism
- Modifier
- Clause
(7) Infer meaning of difficult words
- Context usage
- Word formation
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