How Can I Improve My Reading Comprehension For GMAT?
Every year over two hundred thousand applicants sit for the Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT as it is commonly called. This is a highly competitive and extensive assessment of your logical, quantitative, analytical, verbal, reading, and writing skills. If there is one section in the GMAT test series which is seen as a general problem, it is the reading comprehension skill. While non-native speakers face the problem of language barrier, native speakers end up spending far less time on this section. However, you need good marks in this section as well. Here are some quick and easy tips to help you improve your reading comprehension skills.
Break it down
Break down the entire piece into smaller sections. Concentrate on tackling every individual section at the moment instead of the complete text at once. This will help you get through the whole piece faster as you will not be distracted or stressed out by the sheer length of the entire thing. Once you are done with one section, move on to the next. After finishing all of it, you can go back to the whole thing as one text, with the aim of solving the questions.
Read and note
When you are doing your initial reading, make notes of points which you think might come of use. Simply take down a few notes here and there, paraphrase the section for your own ease. By the end of the piece, you should have a basic summary and an idea of what the author is trying to say. This process helps you concentrate better instead of simply skimming over or getting distracted. Active reading also helps reduce the stress which can affect your focus.
Pay attention to every sentence
The sentence formation is of great importance in your GMAT test. A little variation in the formation of the sentence, a little grammatical or punctuation change can change the entire meaning of the sentence. These little details are something which makes all the difference. Pay attention to the logical structure, format, diction, style and tone of it. The more you pay attention to the individual sentence, the quicker will you be able to grasp the section.
Look for markers
Re-read the text and, this time, look for specific text markers and structural words which seem like something that you might need, when it comes to answering questions later. While it will take some practice to identify the important sections, you will get the hang of it with a few mock tests. In the beginning you can also approach the section by checking out the questions and then returning to the text for the markers.
The reading comprehension section of GMAT is a pretty well scoring part. If you put in a little effort towards improving your skill in this activity, you will be able to see marked improvement in your overall scores. It is not difficult to get a score in the 99 percentiles, it simply needs a little focus and strategic planning.
