Conclusion
The Importance of Practicing Earnestly
Much of what you’ve learned is intuitive, but some of
it, like Bombing Runs and skimming, is not. No matter how much attention
you’ve paid thus far, unless you complete your training by following
the step methods we’ve presented, you’re putting an artificial ceiling
on your ultimate score. Don’t do that! Achieve your potential; maximize
your score.
Let’s face it: handling RPs is tough. You have a lot to
keep in mind, so we encourage you to keep your practice sessions
short and intense. You’ll need to get used to maintaining a very
high level of concentration in order to maximize your score on RPs,
so don’t burn yourself out.
Without practice, you won’t master RPs. You’ve
learned quite a bit since you picked up this little book, but now
comes the hard part—you have to apply
it to testlike items. You’ll find several practice sets at the end
of this book. Here are some tips for getting the most out of these
items:
- Do not time yourself on the first
few reading passage sets. When you begin, don’t worry about
time at all. Take as long as you need to work through each set.
- Read the explanations for all items,
regardless of whether you got them right or wrong. This last
part is critical—always read all the explanations
for each set’s items. The idea is to develop skills that will help
you score points as quickly as possible. Most important, scoring
a point doesn’t mean you got it in the most efficient manner. The overarching
goal is to apply the methods you’ve learned. Whether you
get all, some, or none of the practice items right doesn’t matter.
After the first set, you may want to start paying
attention to time. Certainly, by the actual test, give yourself
about a minute or so per item.
