{"id":5052,"date":"2011-08-22T10:53:47","date_gmt":"2011-08-22T17:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gre\/?p=5052"},"modified":"2011-09-22T13:55:54","modified_gmt":"2011-09-22T20:55:54","slug":"how-to-approach-gre-reading-comprehension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gre\/how-to-approach-gre-reading-comprehension\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Approach GRE Reading Comprehension"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve already talked about an effective, powerful strategy for dealing with Reading Comprehension<\/a> questions: Active Reading. In this post, I want to focus more on the questions themselves, especially the best approach to avoid getting trapped by misleading answer choices.<\/p>\n

The RAMA Method \u2013 For Success on the new GRE Reading Comprehension<\/p>\n

The RAMA method is one I\u2019ve refined over the years, while tutoring for the GMAT, SAT, and GRE. While there are differences between each test in terms of approach, and what to look out for, the tests are overall very similar. Below is the RAMA I\u2019ve adapted for the New GRE.<\/p>\n

So, you\u2019re probably wondering, what does RAMA stand for? R (Re-phrase), A (Anticipate), M (Match), A (Awareness). Let\u2019s take a closer look!<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Re-phrase question your in own words<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reading the question is the obvious part. The not-so-obvious part is putting the question into your own words. What often happens is you will read the question, and then go back to the passage without understanding what the question was asking in the first place. At this point, you are likely to grasp at words in the passages that look important. Then, you may go back to the passage and simply look for those words in the answer choices. The test writers know this, and will, therefore, make sure that even the wrong answer choices include words from the passage.<\/p>\n

Instead of falling into this trap, it is best to rephrase the question in your own words. The more straightforward your interpretation of the question, the better you will be able to navigate through the passage when looking for the answer.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Anticipate the answer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that\u2019s you\u2019ve re-phrased the question in your own words, you must return to the passage and find the answer. Once you think you\u2019ve found the answer, try to phrase the answer in your own words. If you are noticing a common theme, i.e. putting everything in your own words, that is because doing so is the single most effective away to avoid getting trapped by the answer choices. On other hand, if you immediately begin scanning the answer choices without anticipating the answer, you\u2019ll likely get trapped. This is especially true on primary purpose\/main idea questions.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Match Answer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once you have come up with your own answer, you want to return to the answer choices and match them up with the answer choice that you think is the closest. If none of the answers works, you can return to the passage and read it one more time\u00a0to see if you\u2019ve misinterpreted something. Or, you can eliminate answer choices to see if you are left with one answer. To effectively eliminate wrong answer choices you need an\u2026<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Awareness of Wrong Answers Choices<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the test writers are creating a multiple-choice question, they create wrong answer choices that fall into several categories. Knowing these categories can help you correctly identify and eliminate wrong answers.<\/p>\n