Tuesday, October 2, 2012


Reading the modus operandi

  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 the 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.
 Please be conscious of these pairs when you go on reading
    • Synonyms                              antonyms
    • Negatives                               Positives
    • Negatives                               Double negatives
    • Active                                     passive
    • Different text tense                different test tense
    • Subordinates                         Mains
    • Mains                                      Subordinates
    • Singulars                                plurals
    • Many                                       All
    • All                                            Most of
    • Prior to                                   until
    • Until                                         Before
    • 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       

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