Improvement in Reading Comp

[valentina07]

Hi,

What is the best way I can go about improving my reading comp scores? It's the section I struggle with the most.

For logic games, I learned how to draw out the scenarios. For logical reasoning, I learned how to tackle each type of question and their characteristics. But when it comes to reading comp, most of the questions are based on the substance of the passage itself. So, I can't identify similar patterns and trends in which questions I'm getting wrong. I don't know what I can do to improve my score in this section.

[Luke Haqq]

Hi Valentina07!

As a starting point, one thing you can do to aid in improving your reading comprehension score is to review any PowerScore materials you might have on the subject. That can be helpful as a start to make sure you are understanding basic concepts and strategies. For example, the "VIEWSTAMP" analysis involves identifying the Viewpoints, Structure, Tone, and Argument/Main Point, and taking the time to identify those after you've read a passage can go a long way in making the questions more approachable.

Without knowing more about your situation, another thing you can do is make sure you are marking up the passage, though doing so sparingly. Marking up the passage can help you better understand the passage as a whole and how the paragraphs relate to one another. In addition, your notations can also make the questions easier and faster to address. You don't want to over-notate, of course, as that can take up time and make the markup less useful.

Finally, you can use PowerScore's materials to drill yourself on reading comprehension passages. The drills on their own will hopefully aid in improving your score, but just as important is reviewing after you've taken a drill or practice test. The reviewing is essential for understanding why you selected wrong answer choices, and understanding why the right answer choices are correct. As you take more and more reading comprehension passages and review them, the better your score will likely become.