A major part of the entrance examination is Reading Comprehension, which accounts for more than 50% of the VARC section. CAT 2021 will be conducted in November 2021 where you will have 1 complete section on VARC. For you to do well in your entrance examination, you need to do well in Reading Comprehension. RC is one section where the practice needs to start quite early on. This is because language acquisition is an ongoing process, a continuum, which cannot be completed a few months before the exam. This is not to say that the section cannot be cracked and scored well in.
1. Build a sound vocabulary
Words are the foundation of a language. Without words there cannot be language. The foremost thing that you need to build up is a good vocabulary. RC is a collection of words grouped together in the form of passages. To decode the passage, you need to decode the words first. Hence, a good vocabulary precedes good marks in RC. To build a good vocabulary, make sure you are reading the newspaper and picking up words mentioned therein. Maintaining a small diary of difficult words is a good way to add them to your memory. Understanding the origins of the words unlocks a lot of other words with the root word. Generally, keeping an eye out for new words all the time and making an effort to retain them in your head is enough to build a good vocabulary.
2. Understand the passage
To attempt the RC well, you need to understand the passage well. The introduction to the passage will, usually, carry the main idea of the passage. All the subsequent paragraphs will link up with the main idea in some form or the other. Analysing these and preparing a map of ideas in the order in which they appear, in your mind, will help you to understand the passage better and also retain the key points once you start attempting the questions.
3. Analyse the questions
The RC section of the MBA entrance examination can throw up different kinds of questions, but it is quite possible to guess the probable questions, if one looks at the mock tests and previous year question papers. Some possible questions are:
i. Inference based
ii. Central Idea
iii. Tone and style
iv. Logical Reasoning
v. Vocabulary
vi. Re-arrange
Understanding the type of question given and answer required goes a long way in arriving at the right answer and eliminating the wrong ones.
4. Fast and Accurate
The key to attempt RC is to read as fast as you can and comprehend the passage accurately, so that you can start solving the questions quickly. You need to practice fast skimming before the exam, while preparing, so that you are ready to anticipate and deliver. How easy or hard you find the passage will depend solely on how fast and accurate you read the passage and derive the right interpretation.
5. Prepare well
You need to develop the knack of reading through dense passages and finding your way through them. This cannot happen directly in the exam. You need to solve a few passages while you are preparing, so that you build the temperament to go through these complex passages and solve them quickly.
Reading Comprehension can be a boon if you prepare well and have a knack for the English language. On the other hand, it can prove to be your nemesis if you don’t put in the effort.
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