Jaypees: TIPS Reading

1. Question types          number of questions             question split
2. Read the questions to internalize not just to understand
3. Identifying the real test and the corresponding text
4. Size of paragraphs and their potential to have questions
5. Identifying where to read and what to read for
6. Sign posting paragraphs: write down the major idea in the margin
7. Pull out years, events, names/nouns and jot them down outside
8. Be careful about pithy sentences that begin or end a paragraph.
9. Italics, hyphenation, quoting double or single are indicative.
10.  Be aware of typography. White every answer neatly and seriously.

Be cautious of the following words when you do reading. A fairer knowledge about these pairs help you identify an answer or understand a question or avoid a confusion. These three are key to good scores.

• Synonyms                               antonyms
• Negatives                                Positives (Ideas)
• Negatives                                Double negatives
• Active                          passive (voice)
• Different text tense                  different test tense
• Subordinates                           Mains (Clauses)
• Mains                                       Subordinates (clauses)
• Singulars                                 plurals (verbs and nous)
• Many                                        All ( not same)
• All                                            Most of (not same)
• Prior to                                    until (different )
• Until                                         Before ( not same)
• It is believed that                     It is (absolute)
• Sold                                         bought
• Gave                                        was given
• Neither                                     either
• No way it is                              Neither is it
• However                                  Nonetheless
• Still                                          But
• Yet                                           Notwithstanding
• Besides                                   In addition
• By and large                            Generally
• Same                                      More or less same
• Smallest question                   Longest question
• A strange word                        A word that hasn’t appreared
• Capital letters                          Apostrophe
• Articles                                    Nouns/with adjectives
• For                                           Since
• Reading in between                Reading the main sentence
• Conditionals                            Main ideas
• Similar ones                            Meaningless ones
• Eliminating                              reducing

Reading process:

• Visualize the text area that have you an answer
• Identify the concluding part of lead sentences
• Avoid reading the whole text again and again.
• Questions are framed from certain areas
• Look for: For example: it proves a point.
• Read the question audibly to locate the text missing
• Read the left and right of missing space
• Read aloud the given part with beginning missing
• Read along the given part with end missing.
• Some questions and answers give clues to other answers.
• If a question seems to be taking long: ignore it. You can make 10 mistakes
• If you have no other go, just guess. There is no negative marking.
• When multiple choice gives you no other go. Take the longest answer.
• All yes questions are seen to be the shortest.
• All not given questions are seen to be the longest.
• Writers’ attitude, title/type of the topic etc. will be plain.

All the above ways and means are relative and the reader has to have his or her own comfort zones developed out of practice.

1. All good scorers are good readers.
2. All good scores are a perfect blend of a lot of faculties. There is no shortcut, but there are innumerable tools and tips. They differ though from test to test. The common ones are common for all.