Reading The Times/The Journal to Improve Reading Comp?

[Char123]

So I've read that it is a good idea to invest some time (that is if you have time) reading GRE-level like material such as the NY Times or the Wall Street Journal.

Has anyone here had success with this?

Are all articles found on http://www.nytimes.com/, particularly the ones on the home page, GRE-level like material?

Since I don't have that much time left before I take the test (~2 months ish), I would prefer to read only GRE-level material. In other words, I'm not sure how to classify something as GRE-level from nytimes.com and want to avoid reading lower level material. 

Edited August 22, 2013 by charlies1902

[exploregre]

Hey, I think everyone should read materials from eclectic sources, specially which are gre like, in order to get used to face different level of complexity one might face in gre reading. 

You can also find :http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html very helpful..

 

 http://www.theatlantic.com

http://www.newyorker.com/

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/

[Char123]

Hey, I think everyone should read materials from eclectic sources, specially which are gre like, in order to get used to face different level of complexity one might face in gre reading. 

You can also find :http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html very helpful..

 

 http://www.theatlantic.com

http://www.newyorker.com/

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/

Do you have any suggestions on how often I should read an article from a GRE-level publisher? I'm assuming an article/day would be sufficient?

Also, do the articles have to be new? I don't have a subscription. I think I can get older ones for free.

[exploregre]

hey , you dont need up to date materials, old material is ok!!!

 

I suggest at least 45 minutes a day for reading online materials!

 

There are lots of free materials !!

 

http://www.aldaily.com/
http://www.scientificamerican.com/
http://www.economist.com/

[Char123]

hey , you dont need up to date materials, old material is ok!!!

 

I suggest at least 45 minutes a day for reading online materials!

 

There are lots of free materials !!

 

http://www.aldaily.com/

http://www.scientificamerican.com/

http://www.economist.com/

Thanks! 

Do you have any tips on how I should go about reading these materials to best improve my reading comprehension? 

 

I am a little time pressed given that school starts tomorrow and I have a bunch of stuff to do. Realistically, I will probably not be able to devote 45 minutes/day 7days/week, although some days I will have more time, other days I won't. I have about 2 months until the test. 

[exploregre]

Hey for me, there are two purposes for reading gre materials: one is to get familiar with complex gre passage as well as obscure words, other is to be habituated with the stress that one might feel during the gre exam.

 

When reading the materials, one should read actively/ critically: What is the purpose of the  each paragraph? why the author included particular sentence in the paragraph? what is the authors position? Is he supporting or contradicting ?etc. etc. etc.

For improving reading comprehension, you also need to practice reading comprehensions from relevant sources: manhattan, old ets materials. And you might need a guide for strategy; the one I would suggest is: manhattan reading comprehension guide.

 

Lastly, One should read long article because GRE is long hours (almost 4 hour) exam. It is not unusual to be stressed during the exam, so reading long articles for long time might help you to increase your stamina and attention span!

Edited August 26, 2013 by exploregre

[Arezoo]

Hey, 

There is a great extension for Chrome called pervasive GRE. Whenever you visit a website, clicking on it will highlight all the GRE words (those in Barron's) on that page: "Pervasive GRE searches a webpage, and highlights words in the Barron's GRE 4,579 Word list, adding tool tips contain relevant definitions". Good Luck!

[Char123]

hey , you dont need up to date materials, old material is ok!!!

 

I suggest at least 45 minutes a day for reading online materials!

 

There are lots of free materials !!

 

http://www.aldaily.com/

http://www.scientificamerican.com/

http://www.economist.com/

Hmm, instead of reading articles from the news or journals, wouldn't it better if I did a ton of reading comprehension questions? That way, I'd be reading a lot of GRE-level material. Or is there too limited of a collection of those RC passages? 

[exploregre]

I think you have missed my previous answer. If you missed, then check that. I have mentioned that you might need both reading comprehension practice as well as reading online materials. Off course, there are tons of reading comprehension collections in gmatclub.com !!!

[id quid]

Hey, 

There is a great extension for Chrome called pervasive GRE. Whenever you visit a website, clicking on it will highlight all the GRE words (those in Barron's) on that page: "Pervasive GRE searches a webpage, and highlights words in the Barron's GRE 4,579 Word list, adding tool tips contain relevant definitions". Good Luck!

 

Second this recommendation. It makes some interesting choices -- for example, right now it's highlighting the "don" in "don't" to give me that definition -- but even if it doesn't quite make sense, it is at least prompting you with definitions. 

 

A great resource if you do go into reading articles online, for certain. In addition to focusing on your general reading comprehension, you can efficiently boost your vocabulary.

[Char123]

I think you have missed my previous answer. If you missed, then check that. I have mentioned that you might need both reading comprehension practice as well as reading online materials. Off course, there are tons of reading comprehension collections in gmatclub.com !!!

I saw the post. The reason why I am considering just reading GRE passages is that I am a bit pressed on time, so I may not have time to read separate articles as well as do RC passages&questions. Wouldn't you be improving your read comprehension just from reading GRE passages? What is the distinct advantage of reading outside material? 

[Char123]

I tried searching for pervasive GRE, but nothing seemed to be relevant to what was suggested? https://www.google.com/search?sugexp=chrome,mod=11&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=pervasive+GRE

[id quid]

It's for Chrome, so the Chrome webstore has it: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pervasive-gre/oniippcgggpbkcdjekknhmoeambkohmn?hl=en

[exploregre]

I saw the post. The reason why I am considering just reading GRE passages is that I am a bit pressed on time, so I may not have time to read separate articles as well as do RC passages&questions. Wouldn't you be improving your read comprehension just from reading GRE passages? What is the distinct advantage of reading outside material? 

 

Advantage is your are improving your vocabulary as well as being familiar with different level of complexity of the passage, sentence, and topic!

As you are not able to have enough time, it is ok to practice reading comprehension!  

 

When you practice, try to practice at least 2 hour ; it will help you to improve attention span. And you can download reading comprehension from the site I mentioned above! 

Best of luck!

Edited August 29, 2013 by exploregre

[Char123]

Advantage is your are improving your vocabulary as well as being familiar with different level of complexity of the passage, sentence, and topic!

As you are not able to have enough time, it is ok to practice reading comprehension!  

 

When you practice, try to practice at least 2 hour ; it will help you to improve attention span. And you can download reading comprehension from the site I mentioned above! 

Best of luck!

Thanks for all the help. I will try to devote as much time as possible.

Does the GMAT and GRE have similar RC questions?

 

And my attention span "when I'm not under any pressure such as when studying," is horrible...but I never experience attention span problems when taking tests. I tend to excel under pressure. Studying is hard because I always get distracted as I am not under pressure. 

[id quid]

So artificially create some.

 

It's a best practice to replicate the testing environment when you take practice exams, so you're not thrown off by the new factors, so see what you can do. Can you borrow a room in the library for a few hours so you can sit in silence in a strange place? Or maybe even take a practice exam on a public table, with the noise of other people moving around quietly to keep you on your toes. 

Definitely time yourself, though, and stick with it. 

[exploregre]

You can download both GRE and GMAT rc from gmatclub archive. GRE and GMAT passages are similar except some question types in gre (multiple answers, click in the passage etc)