TestMagic Forums - View Single Post - HOW to Improve your Reading Comprehension Skills

jamesbond007 · 2004 August 13th, 12:31 PM

Hi Friendlydragon,
I understand your point. To become habitual to GMAR reading comprehension and its questioning patterns is sufficient criteria. But I strongly feel that non-native english speakers needs somethings more than this sufficient criteria and that is what I said in above post.
High Reading speed with good comprehension is essential criteria for any compititative exam. You may not felt the need of this, may be because either you are native english speaker or have good english reading speed. There are many others, who fail in reading comprehension area of GMAT just because, they have very less English reading speed (in the range of 100-150). For them, high reading speed is must. Once they got the decent level of reading speed, at least 200 WPM, they can start trying for GMAT reading comprehension strategies.
Let's look at it in other way. We have around 14 reading comprehension, 14 SC and 14 critical reasoning, SAY. all reading comprehension passages and questions and thier all 5 choices have as many as 2000 words. All critical reasoning questions contributes as many as 1500 words and SC, around 1000 words. Total words in Verbal section are aproximately 4500 to 5000. To read these many words, which have highly complicated and unusual structure, a slow reader will take 40 to 50 mins. Because, although a slow reader has 100 to 150 WPM speed, it reduces to less than 100 WPM when reading on computer. Adding to it, the sense of solving the GMAT test will further reduce the speed as a slow reader thinks that good comprehension is better at slow speed. Hence simply consuming 50+ mins in merely reading the text. When he will get the time to think? Everyone knows that each question requires at least a 30 sec to 60 sec for thinking. So total 41 mins requires minimum 20 to 30 mins. This will cross the 75 mins limit and hence all slow readers never could finish the entire test. They have to simply guess last 6-7 questions.
On contrast to this, if high speed reader solving the test, he will have ample time to think compared to slow reader. Given that both, slow and high speed readers think at the same level, high speed reader will eventually get high score.
So it is very essential to every test solver, that the reading speed is above 200 WPM while reading on computer, if he wanted to score 700+.
What do you say? Am I right?

Regards,
JAmesBond007

2004 August 13th, 12:31 PM	#6 (permalink)
jamesbond007 Eager! Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 84	Re: HOW to Improve your Reading Comprehension Skills Hi Friendlydragon, I understand your point. To become habitual to GMAR reading comprehension and its questioning patterns is sufficient criteria. But I strongly feel that non-native english speakers needs somethings more than this sufficient criteria and that is what I said in above post. High Reading speed with good comprehension is essential criteria for any compititative exam. You may not felt the need of this, may be because either you are native english speaker or have good english reading speed. There are many others, who fail in reading comprehension area of GMAT just because, they have very less English reading speed (in the range of 100-150). For them, high reading speed is must. Once they got the decent level of reading speed, at least 200 WPM, they can start trying for GMAT reading comprehension strategies. Let's look at it in other way. We have around 14 reading comprehension, 14 SC and 14 critical reasoning, SAY. all reading comprehension passages and questions and thier all 5 choices have as many as 2000 words. All critical reasoning questions contributes as many as 1500 words and SC, around 1000 words. Total words in Verbal section are aproximately 4500 to 5000. To read these many words, which have highly complicated and unusual structure, a slow reader will take 40 to 50 mins. Because, although a slow reader has 100 to 150 WPM speed, it reduces to less than 100 WPM when reading on computer. Adding to it, the sense of solving the GMAT test will further reduce the speed as a slow reader thinks that good comprehension is better at slow speed. Hence simply consuming 50+ mins in merely reading the text. When he will get the time to think? Everyone knows that each question requires at least a 30 sec to 60 sec for thinking. So total 41 mins requires minimum 20 to 30 mins. This will cross the 75 mins limit and hence all slow readers never could finish the entire test. They have to simply guess last 6-7 questions. On contrast to this, if high speed reader solving the test, he will have ample time to think compared to slow reader. Given that both, slow and high speed readers think at the same level, high speed reader will eventually get high score. So it is very essential to every test solver, that the reading speed is above 200 WPM while reading on computer, if he wanted to score 700+. What do you say? Am I right? Regards, JAmesBond007 Last edited by jamesbond007 : 2004 August 13th at 12:50 PM.