On the GMAT CAT, expect to see three to four Reading Comprehension passages with approximately three to four questions for each passage. However, you'll only see one question at a time on the screen.

       In nearly every passage you encounter, the author will be trying to convey a specific point. In general, the strategy for the Reading Comprehension passage is:

1) Find the general topic
2) Find the specific focus of the passage
3) Find the author's reason for writing the passage.

This chapter is broken into 3 parts:
I.    6 Tactics for Analyzing a Reading Comprehension Passage
II.   3 Most Common Question Types
III.  4 Step Method of Attacking Reading Comprehension Passages and Sample Essay

 

I. 6 Tactics for Analyzing a Reading Comprehension Passage

A. The writer's purpose and voice
B. Finding the essay's main point
C. Finding the purpose of each paragraph
D. Determining the scope of the argument
E. Determining the structure (Ignore this section if you have limited time to prepare)
F. Don't read, skim

A. The writer's purpose and voice


      It would be nice if the authors of the reading passages came right out and specifically said what they were writing about, what they have to say, and how they intend to accomplish their goal. That, however, is not the style of the writing you will encounter on test day. They will not be hitting you over the head with their points, so you have to read between the lines and look for them very carefully.

    What is the best method to detect the author's point? The author will frequently change his tone when describing the main point of the passage. Notice when the author shifts his voice from an objective, factual description to his subjective viewpoint.

    Attacking a passage is what critical reading is all about: stepping back from the factual content, figuring out the author's views on a topic and how he arrived at them, and looking for the evidence that must be provided. Always be on the lookout for sentences in which the author's voice is coming through and try to skip past the sentences that are purely factual or simply there for support.
    

Try to find the author's purpose and voice in the following passage:

One of the most persistently troubling parts of national domestic policy is the development and use of water resources. Because the technology of water management involves similar construction skills, whether the task is the building of an ocean jetty for protection of shipping or the construction of a river dam for flood control and irrigation, the issues of water policy have mingled problems of navigation and agriculture. A further inherent complexity of water policy is the frequent conflict between flood control and irrigation and between requirements for abundance and those for scarcity of water. Both problems exist in America, often in the same river basins; the one is most typically the problem of the lower part of the basin and the other the problem of the upper part.

Nevertheless, the most startling fact about the history of water projects in the United States is the degree to which their shortcomings have been associated with administrative failures. Again and again these shortcomings have proved to be the consequences of inadequate study of water flow, of soil, of factors other than construction technology, and of faulty organization. In 1959, the Senate Select Committee on National Water resources found that twenty different national commissions or committees charged with examining these problems and seeking solutions had emphasized with remarkable consistency the need for coordination among agencies dealing with water.

What is the author's voice and purpose?

     There is one point in the essay where the author lets his guard down, and his word choice reveals his position. The sentence, "The most startling fact... shortcomings" at the beginning of paragraph two marks a shift in tone. Scholars will choose their words carefully, and the use of "startling", a rather strong word, should send a clear message to the reader about the author's attitude toward his subject matter. That is followed by an exasperated "again and again", suggesting agencies are refusing to learn from experience.

      This is his axe to grind. Indeed, his point is the incompetence of government administrations in charge of water management. In this second paragraph, we discover the author's purpose: the author believes water resources are managed incompetently, and he's writing to call attention to the problem. He then suggests a solution in the last sentence: "Committees charged with examining these problems and seeking solutions had emphasized with remarkable consistency the need for coordination among agencies dealing with water." The bottom line: the author wants "coordination among agencies dealing with water." That is his purpose, and that is why his voice changes the way it does through the passage.

Strategy: As you identify the author's viewpoints, be sure not to "argue with" the author. If your personal understanding or view of the issue happens to contradict that of the author, keep your theories to yourself. The Verbal section is not the place (save your analysis for the AWA Essay section- Analysis of Issue question). The questions test your command of the author's views and how he structures them, not your own. Occasionally, you will be asked about a flaw in the author's reasoning, but those questions are rare.

 

w B. Finding the essay's main point

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