Comparative Passages

[kavyakarthic]

Hello,

I'm struggling with Comparative Passages and I have some questions on how I can improve my score.

1. What strategy is better for going from -3 wrong on these passages to -1/0 wrong? I've tried reading each passage individually and trying to answer questions based on individual passages. I've also tried reading both passages together and understanding similarities/differences before answering the questions. I have found that diagramming is helpful, but I don't think I'll have enough time to diagram each passage before approaching the questions.

2. What's the best way to practice questions with this passage type?

Thank you!

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Kavy,

It sounds like you don't have the accuracy to NOT diagram both passages. It's about efficiency, and that improves with practice. Pay attention to the same things you pay attention to in single passages, with the addition that at the end of the second passage, you want to think about comparing them a bit. You want to go deeper than positive/negative. Think about the tone, audience, main point and so on. Where does one passage diverge from the other? What viewpoints are present?

Comparative passages are all about the distinctions between the two pieces, so you don't want to read one, then do the questions. You need to read both before moving on. Are you getting -0/1 on full passages? If so, think about the difference in your strategy. What do you do on longer passages that you are skipping for the comparative reading? If you are doing the same things, then think about really focusing in on the comparison before jumping into the questions.

Reading comp diagramming/note taking is about doing the work up front. You want to invest in that work before going on to the questions so that you can increase both your accuracy AND speed in going through the questions.

I'm not sure what you mean by your second question. Generally, the types of questions asked in comparative reading are similar to those in longer passages. There are additional questions that ask you to compare the two in some way, but those are typically prove family questions. Practice in untimed scenarios going back to find the part of the passages that proves your answer choice for those question types. You also want to practice figuring out how to find the information you would need quickly, so pay attention to what sorts of notes and diagramming are efficient for you for that.

Keep up the good work!