No matter how much you try in reading comprehension, you always narrow it down to two options out of four, feeling that either could be correct. But then you end up marking the wrong one.
Contents
Personal Experience
When I was preparing for MBA exams, I also couldn’t figure out how to choose the right option. Aren’t there any tricks that are very scientific and solid? Today, in this article, I will first share an example with you. I will read out a short paragraph to you. Based on that, I will tell you 10 tricks with which you can guarantee full marks in any reading comprehension.
Announcement
So let’s start, but before that, I have a small announcement and update for the regular subscribers of this channel. Guys, I have finally become an author. My book has been published, and its name is “Formulae & Tricks for Quantitative Ability.” So, if you are preparing for any competitive exam, it is a very concise book for the math section that you can use to revise. We are organizing a giveaway for this, but I will give the details at the end of this article so that we can concentrate on reading comprehensions. Those of you who want to check it out, watch till the end.
How to Read a Paragraph
I’ll pick a short paragraph from a reading comprehension so that I can give you a sample of how to read it. Because if you don’t read it correctly, you will reach the questions very late, and then the tricks won’t work. I am sharing this paragraph on your screen. Let me show you how to read it.
“So, on a so and so date, amidst the chaos of revolution, the so and so party penned a defiant document. With some signatories, including this person and the ever-persuasive this person, the Declaration of Independence declared the thirteen colonies free and sovereign states, severing ties with Great Britain nearly after so and so years of colonial rule.”
Reading Comprehension Tricks
Rule 1: Don’t Memorize
If you noticed, I didn’t mention any names, numbers, or dates to anyone. I didn’t try to memorize anything. I didn’t mention the 4th of July, nor did I take John Adams’ name. I simply said “so and so.” What this does is, if you don’t try to remember anything while reading comprehension, it saves you a lot of time.
Rule 2: Contextualize
There were some words like “sweltering” and “severing ties.” I don’t know the meanings of these words, but I will try to contextualize, meaning I will try to understand their meaning from the sentence. “Severing ties” is written just before “free and sovereign states.” Severing ties with Great Britain means to break or cut the ties. So, in this way, you can find out the context.
Rule 3: Summarize
Once you have read this paragraph, can you tell me in one line what it means? This is done because if a passage has 7-8 paragraphs, I need to remember what was discussed in each paragraph. So, when I read the question, I will know which paragraph I need to go to find the answer.
Moving to Questions
Now that we know how to read an RC paragraph, we will now move towards its questions and discuss how to solve them. If you want to learn these tricks in more detail, you can also join MBA Wallah’s CAT coaching, where their experienced faculty teach these tricks to their batches. Within 5 months, MBA Wallah will complete your entire syllabus from start to finish in their batches.
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The 10 Tricks
Trick 1: Cause and Effect
Suppose a question based on this passage asks, “Why was the Declaration of Independence declared?” And option A states that Thomas Jefferson signed it, so it came into being. This is the wrong cause and effect. Just because Thomas Jefferson signed it does not mean that the Declaration came into being.
Trick 2: Comparison
John Adams isn’t as persuasive as Thomas Jefferson. If we go back to the paragraph, it says “ever-persuasive Thomas Jefferson,” meaning he is very persuasive. But nothing is given about John Adams. In this option, we have compared John Adams with Thomas Jefferson without any basis, which is a faulty comparison.
Trick 3: Extreme Words
Sometimes, options use words that are overly extreme and mention something that is not stated in the passage. If an option says, “It was the most defiant document which was signed by 56 signatories,” the incorrect word used here, the extreme word used here was “most.” The passage mentioned “defiant document” but never said “It was the most defiant document.”
Trick 4: Unknown
Unknown means something is given in the options that was not mentioned in the passage at all. For example, “All the 56 signatories were present in the same place at the same time when they signed the document.” If this option comes up, we definitely know that this option is wrong. Why? Because it is mentioned in the passage that the document was signed and signed by 56 people. But were they present at the same place on the same date? There is no information given about this. So, this is unknown.
Trick 5: Traps
Sometimes, an option seems to answer the question, but it contains a word that makes it incorrect. For example, if the question is, “What did the Declaration of Independence declare?” And an option says, “It declared 13 weak colonies free and sovereign states.” Now, everything else in this option is correct, but the word “weak” makes this option wrong. Why is this not an unknown? Because there is some hint about it given in the passage. It’s not entirely unknown. But at the same time, it’s only a hypothesis. We can’t declare it as truth.
Trick 6: Doesn’t Answer
Suppose the question asks, “Why was the Declaration of Independence declared?” And the option says, “With 56 people who signed the document, the Declaration of Independence was declared.” Now, the option is 100% correct. There is no mistake in it. But the problem is that it doesn’t answer the question. This is a very important trick that you must remember, especially because it appears frequently in the CAT exam.
Trick 7: Numbers
For example, if an option says, “More than half the number of total signatories signed the Declaration of Independence,” we might assume 56 signatories as more than half of the total because sometimes we think the total is 100, and we assume 56 as a percentage. And we think, “Okay, more than half, this is correct.” Sometimes numbers are presented in such a confusing way that we end up making mistakes.
Trick 8: Tone
Sometimes the person setting the paper keeps the meaning of a particular line the same in an option but completely changes the tone. For example, “The Declaration of Independence got finally signed on the 4th of July, getting rid of Great Britain and its miserable colonial rule of the long-lasting 170 years.” So, basically, if we change the tone of an option, then that option becomes incorrect as well.
Trick 9: Irrelevant Information
Sometimes a statement is completely correct, but it is so irrelevant or insignificant that it is considered wrong. For example, “Which of the following tells us about the Declaration of Independence?” And the option says, “It was signed on a very hot day.” Think about it, what relevance does the fact that it was very hot that day have to the Declaration of Independence?
Trick 10: Replica
Sometimes an option matches 100% with the statement in the passage, except for just one very tiny word. For example, if the statement is, “The Declaration of Independence declared 13 colonies free but sovereign states.” In the option, the word “but” is replaced with “and,” this small word change alters the meaning of the entire line. So, these are mainly the 10 tricks that can be used to prove an option wrong or eliminate it in any RC.
Giveaway Details
Now that we have come to the end of the video, let me share more about this giveaway that we are doing. So, this book of mine, “Formulae & Tricks for Quantitative Ability,” you can use it for any exam for revision purposes. I will also make a video to explain how you can use it. A total of 50 people who watch this video and meet 3 conditions will have this book delivered to their homes for free.
Giveaway Conditions
Those 3 conditions are:
- Firstly, you need to like this video.
- Secondly, you need to comment the word “Formula Book.”
- Thirdly, in the video description and pinned comment, there is a form provided. You need to fill out that form and add your details. A list of 50 lucky winners will be randomly generated. Next week, this list will be published on the channel. And these 50 lucky winners will have this book dispatched to them directly.
Conclusion
Thank you so much for reading this, guys. I hope that the rest of the article also helps you.
