{"id":11620,"date":"2016-09-04T17:28:09","date_gmt":"2016-09-04T22:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grockit.com\/blog\/?p=11620"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:42:53","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:42:53","slug":"whats-tested-on-the-dat-reading-comprehension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/dat\/whats-tested-on-the-dat-reading-comprehension\/","title":{"rendered":"What's Tested on the DAT: Reading Comprehension"},"content":{"rendered":"

 
\nThe third section of the DAT<\/a> is Reading Comprehension.\u00a0This sections\u00a0contains three passages consisting of\u00a0approximately 14 paragraphs. Each of the three DAT passages will be accompanied by 16\u201317 questions for a total of 50 questions\u00a0per section. The questions associated with each passage are designed to test your ability to read, comprehend, and analyze basic information in a scientific context.\u00a0You will have 60 minutes total to complete this section, so allot 20 minutes\u00a0per passage: up to 8 minutes for reading the passage itself and at least 12 minutes for answering the\u00a0questions. This will give you approximately 40\u201345 seconds per question. Neither every passage\u00a0nor every question should take the same amount of time due to varying difficulty and length, so\u00a0use these numbers as guidelines rather than hard rules.
\nThe passages themselves generally come from published works and always relate to science<\/a>. The intent of the\u00a0author may be to inform, persuade, or speculate, but usually the author\u2019s tone remains roughly\u00a0neutral due to the nature of the content. Subtle clues may indicate an author is for or against\u00a0certain ideas, but these opinions will rarely be extreme.\u00a0Outside knowledge of each field is not required to answer questions correctly in this section, and\u00a0the passages are meant to cover material you do not already know. Nevertheless, rough familiarity\u00a0with the general vocabulary and writing style used in each field can build your confidence and\u00a0speed you up on Test Day. Reading through recent editions of journals, such as the Journal of\u00a0the American Dental Association<\/em> and Science<\/em>, and magazines, such as National Geographic<\/em> and\u00a0Scientific American<\/em>, will increase your familiarity with this type of material.
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Reading Critically on the DAT<\/h3>
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\nOrdinarily, people read for one or both of two reasons: to learn something or to pass the time\u00a0pleasantly. Neither of these reasons has anything to do with the DAT. So what do you really need\u00a0to get from reading a DAT passage that\u2019s different from everyday reading? Broadly stated, there\u00a0are two primary goals in reading a passage: reading for purpose\u2014the why of the text and what\u00a0the author wants you to learn from the passage\u2014and reading for structure\u2014the how of the text\u00a0and the way in which the author presents the ideas. Every Reading Comprehension question type\u00a0fundamentally hinges on your ability to step back from the text and analyze what the author is\u00a0stating, why the author is writing in the first place, and how the author puts the text together.
\nNotice the theme here: it\u2019s all about the author.<\/strong> You\u2019ll get questions about the author\u2019s ideas, her\u00a0purpose, what can be inferred from what she writes in the passage, and how she puts it all together.\u00a0If you understand little more than the author\u2019s intent, you\u2019ll still have enough to get started with the\u00a0questions, so your focus as you read must always be on the author. Therefore, pay attention not only\u00a0to what details are present and where they are but also why they are there. Details are the “what” of a\u00a0passage, and they never exist in a vacuum; they always support an idea.
\nTo make the most of your limited reading time, take quick notes on your noteboard as you finish\u00a0reading each paragraph. These notes will make up your roadmap, a literal map of the passage that\u00a0shows you where to look when you need to go back and find a specific detail. Forming a roadmap\u00a0also helps guide your thought processes during your first pass. You can feel confident reading quickly\u00a0and focusing on the big picture ideas while ignoring most of the details because you will know exactly\u00a0where to look should the need for one of those details arise.<\/p><\/div>
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Reading Comprehension Question Strategy<\/h3>
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\nThe test makers use the same types of questions in every Reading Comprehension section.\u00a0You\u2019ll see some comprehension<\/strong> questions that test about basic facts from the passage, but\u00a0you also can expect other questions that test a deeper understanding of the ideas through\u00a0analysis<\/strong> and evaluation<\/strong>, so it\u2019s important to be prepared for various levels of critical\u00a0thinking. Although you won\u2019t earn any points directly by identifying what type each question\u00a0is on Test Day, identifying question types will help you make efficient predictions and avoid\u00a0wrong answers.
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