|
You see, graduate schools of all types — law, business, medical, and
general — need to know whether their applicants are in the habit of thinking
about what they read, as opposed to simply absorbing and memorizing
text. And so, they set up standardized tests accordingly. They insist
that every standardized test include passages and questions that will
reward the active, critical reader who can read "between the lines."
That's why the person who reads prose critically — who paraphrases it,
analyzes it, and distills it — is reading in a way that grad schools want.
And hence, that person is improving his or her test score!
|
|
Think about it. When was the last time you picked up a book or magazine
and asked these kinds of questions?
- "What's the main idea?"
- "What's the purpose of paragraph 3?"
- "How does the subsection on pages 40 - 41
relate to the author's overall purpose?"
- "Why does the author quote Einstein in paragraph
two?"
The answer, of course, is: NEVER. We only read in everyday life for
two reasons:
- to learn something
- to be entertained
Neither of those purposes has anything to do with your taking a standardized
test! Reading for neither of those reasons will turn into points.
|