Start here · the first lesson of Reading strategy
Reading strategy
Reading Comprehension · for IPMAT Indore, IPMAT Rohtak and JIPMAT
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The idea
RC is the biggest block of the IPMAT Indore VA section: 18 of 45 questions in 2025 and 2026 (three passages of about 6 questions each), with one of the passages written as a conversation. Rohtak sets three shorter passages (about 8–10 questions) and JIPMAT one or two. Reading strategy decides three things: how you read (skim or close-read), which passage you attempt first, and how long you allow each one.
Textbook vs exam method
Textbook method
- Read the whole passage carefully once, noting the main idea of each paragraph.
- Answer the questions in order, going back to the passage for each.
- Identify the author's main point, tone and structure before attempting the questions.
This works when time is unlimited. In a 40-minute section with 45 questions it is too slow, because it gives an easy news report as much time as a dense philosophy passage.
Exam method
Step 1: preview (15 seconds). Glance at the length, the topic and the question stems. Concrete topics (business, health, news) with "according to the passage" questions go first. Abstract topics (philosophy, art theory) with inference and "least likely to agree" questions go later.
Step 2: skim for structure (about 60–90 seconds for 400 words). Read the first and last sentence of every paragraph and note one or two words per paragraph (e.g. P1 problem, P2 cause, P3 fix, P4 limits). Watch the signal words: but, however, yet (turn), therefore, so (conclusion), for example (support), some argue (a view the author may reject).
Step 3: answer, going to the paragraph each question points to. Main-idea and tone questions come from your skim map. Detail, vocabulary and inference questions need the actual sentence, so read the two lines either side of the key phrase.
Step 4: time budget. A good working formula is where is the word count, your reading speed (about 180–220 words per minute in an exam) and about 45–60 s per question. For a 450-word, six-question passage: minutes. In Indore, after about 10 minutes for the 5 TITA para-jumbles and about 15 minutes for the 22 short questions, roughly 15 minutes remain for three passages, about 5 each. So you must skim, not read twice.
Step 5: when to cut losses. If, after 90 seconds, you cannot say in one line what the passage is arguing, mark it, do the next passage, and come back with whatever time is left. Answer only the questions you can prove from the text. Leave the rest blank rather than guessing at −1.