Thoughts on the Reading/Verbal Section

[PassEdge]

(If you only want the key takeaways, read the bolded sections)

Hey everyone, I’m Albert Liang. I’m the founder and, as of writing this, do-most-everythinger for PassEdge Test Prep, a startup I recently launched (10 internet points to the first one to guess what it focuses on). I know that for lots of people, the reading section of a big standardized test tends to be the hardest to do well and improve on, and though there are plenty of other tips a strategy posts all over the interwebs, I thought I’d throw in my two cents.

Self-aggrandizing but mandatory credibility stuff: 2400 SAT, 35 MCAT. Historically, Critical Reading/Verbal Reasoning/Whatever It’s Called has always been my easiest section, and I get asked lots of questions about it because it’s the most conserved section across basically every standardized test in the USA. When people asked me about my methodology when taking a CR section, my answer has always been “I just… kinda do it?” Clearly not the deep insight they were probably looking for.

When people asked me how I got so good, the answer is simple: From elementary school up until middle school, I was one of those kids who always had their face buried in a book. Most of it was fantasy of either the magical or the scientific type, and though I loved every second of it, it’s not exactly a strategy I’d recommend to concerned grade schooler parents because a) a social life was something I read about but never actually had and your kid is in grade school let them have their childhood. Anyway, the point is that I had done so much reading when I was younger that I did a lot of the comprehension stuff unconsciously. Again, probably not very helpful.

Since then, though, I’ve given it a lot of thought, and having to write actual reading comprehension sections has given me some unique insights in how the “other side” thinks. Because I decided to get into this particular test prep niche in order to help people, I figured I should probably share my strategies and insights with you guys. So without further filler text, here are my…

 

Thoughts on the Reading/Verbal Section

 

1.      1) Understand what the section requires of you (and what it will do to you)

I believe that the reason many find reading comp to be the most difficult section of the test is because it’s actually testing two very different things at the same time: your logical thinking and interpretational skills. Almost every question will test one, if not both, of these skills, so in order to score well, it’s critical that both of these skills be strong.

Additionally, because of the high-pressure environment of the standardized test, it isn’t enough to be good at these skills in a casual setting. You have to be good at them under stress, as well - “We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training” and all that (Archilochos). I’m not saying that you should do practice tests in a tub full of poisonous spiders or in a sketchy back alley at night (although if you do so and survive, the actual test day will probably seem relaxing in comparison), but you definitely want to try and replicate actual testing conditions as much as you can when you practice, including the stress. For some, added stress is not necessary at all, but for others it may very well be. Timers work, but are an imperfect substitute, so feel free to experiment with more extreme ways of inducing anxiety… as long as they’re safe. Possible ideas include having your friends text you while you’re unable to answer but can still hear the notifications, leaving younger siblings in your room while you practice, and telling yourself you’re not stressed out for the test. I’m  not saying you should do this for every practice session since it would be very draining, but it would be a good idea to do some “stress testing” every once in a while.

It’s always good understand how stress affects you and planning for that so it doesn’t wind up biting you hard come test day. It can be as simple as controlling your breathing to as nuanced as analyzing the mistakes you tend to make as your stress increases. Maybe you tend to second-guess yourself more when the pressure’s on, or maybe you tend to make more silly mistakes because you misread the question itself because you were panicking slightly. Knowledge is power, and the more you know about

 

2.      2) Interpretation: Read things. Lots of things. Maybe even all of the things?

This is repeated so much that it’s trite, but it’s still the best thing anyone can do to improve their interpreting abilities. For reasons I’ll go into, many questions benefit from being able to accurately “feel” out key aspects of an article from a quick read-through. This ability is really difficult to teach, but it’s crucial to develop it since many questions on the test rely on it. As an example, misinterpreting “dry” tone for an “annoyed” one could skew your answers towards the wrong set of connotations. I don’t know of any better way to develop your ear for this stuff other than reading lots of things.

However, it’s important not to read just for the sake of reading. Forcing yourself to read things you find uninteresting will not only burn you out, it will lessen how much benefit you’re getting from the reading. To truly enhance comprehension, you need to really engage with the material, and the best way to do that is to read what you find interesting. That way, you’ll naturally read deeper into the material, and eventually picking up significant details and thematic through-lines will become second nature. Fiction tends to be especially good at cultivating this, since no author worth their salt can resist symbolism or character development.

That being said, try to choose reading material close to the kinds of things you’ll find on the test. It doesn’t have to be exactly the sort of thing you’d find on the test, but stuff like tabloids and technical manuals are probably going to be of limited value.

If your preferred reading somehow doesn’t include scientific studies, Olde Englishe texts, and/or absurdist literature, be sure to read some every once in a while. Yes, they can be dull, opaque, angsty, pretentious, really hard, or all of the above, but they’re some of the best things to sharpen your reading skills on because they’re so difficult – usually much more than the actual test.

Studies test your analytical skills, your attention to detail, and your ability to endure what actual science reads like without falling asleep.

Old stuff is often verbose, excessively florid, and uses far too many words to say something that really could’ve been said much more succinctly and with much greater clarity if the author had only bothered to not write in such an infuriatingly winding, parallely-structured, adverb-y way with words that may or may not have ever existed. Basically, if you can follow sentences like the former, then you’re doing well. It can also help develop your ability to get a working understanding of individual characters, since sometimes they act like they’re on a stage or something.

Absurdist literature is just flat-out difficult to understand because it can be so vague. This really helps with the inferencing, since a lot of the time that’s what’s required to even begin to understand some of the stuff that happens. If you are able to fully understand Joyce’s Ulysses, not only will you probably be set for all reading comps ever, you probably have a tenured professorship at an Ivy League waiting for you.

Studies can be found on Google Scholar, old stuff on Project Gutenberg, and absurdist lit online or at your local library – Kafka, Sartre, and Camus can be good places to start. All of this is free, which is the best price for most things you have to buy.

Finally, if you have someone to discuss the stuff you’ve read with, talk to them. There’s nothing like talking with someone else (or a bunch of someone elses) about things you’ve all read and found interesting. Often, they can tease out little things that you may have missed and give alternate perspectives to your own, which is a great way to improve your own skills. It’s also fine if you (respectfully) disagree with them about something, because…

 

3.     3)  Logic: You should approach the passage as if you have to debate it

Because in a lot of ways, that’s what you’re doing. Every answer choice is a potential argument, and your job is to choose the best one.

Of course, one could argue that it’s more like an interrogation: You’re forced to answer questions against your will, often with very little advance notice of what the subject matter will be on, and if you mess up there will be severe consequences. “Debate” is more header-friendly, though, so let’s go with that.

What does this mean?

It means that the reading comp section is actually one of the most logic-oriented sections on the test. The most important part about a debate isn’t making statements, it’s being able to prove what you said is true. The same is true for the test. You have to know what can and can’t be said given the information in the passage, including being able to know what kinds of logical leaps you can – and more often than not, can’t – make. In fact, the test is often easier than a real debate, since you don’t have to make up and defend your own position, and you know that at least one position is correct at all times. It’s often healthier for your ego, too, since in this case your opponent won’t poke holes in all your flawed arguments and insult your intelligence, parentage, and upbringing.

And you know what the best part is? There is never an answer on the test that can’t be directly proven by something in the text. This is important, so I’ll repeat myself louder: Every single correct answer is supported by the passage. If there’s only one piece of advice you should take away from this section, it’s this. Everything you need to answer a given a question is placed right in front of you.

Just keep in mind the corollary to the above bolded statement: there will never be a correct answer in the section that requires outside knowledge. Like I said, all the information you need to answer the question is in the provided passage. One of the answers may be factually correct, but if the fact is never brought up in the passage, then that answer is not the correct answer to the question. Sorry.

So, with that said, what’s the best way to improve your argumentative reading skills? Though you could go whole ham and start studying up formal debate and argument structure, the more reasonable approach would just to adopt a far more exacting and nitpicky mindset when answering questions that require you to think logically, which are usually inference questions. I’ll go over this in more detail later, but know that in general, the most conservative answer that still answers the question adequately is generally the correct one.

 (To be continued in future posts. Don’t worry, there’s a lot more I want to talk about)