The advice to "read faster" for CAT RC is almost always wrong. CAT RC passages are dense, argument-driven texts where missing one qualifying clause can produce the wrong answer. The goal is not to read faster. The goal is to read the right things carefully and skip the right things deliberately.
Speed reading techniques like chunking, peripheral vision expansion and subvocalisation suppression work for narrative or information-dense text. They fail on argument-driven text because the logical connectors, the "however", "therefore", "while", "although", are the most important words in the passage. Speed reading skips or blurs these connectors, which are exactly what CAT questions test.
The only reliable way to read CAT RC passages faster without losing comprehension is to read more of them over time. Reading fluency is the by-product of exposure. An aspirant who has read 200 long-form non-fiction essays over six months reads faster at the same comprehension level than one who has read 20, not because they learned a technique but because their brain recognises argument structures automatically.
What you can do strategically is skim examples and illustrations while reading argument statements carefully. In a CAT RC passage, the author's claim comes first or last in each paragraph. The middle of the paragraph is usually evidence, example or qualification. Once you have the claim, you can skim the evidence faster because you know what it is supporting.
After reading each paragraph, form a one-line mental summary before moving to the next. This slows you down slightly but dramatically improves comprehension and reduces re-reading time. An aspirant who reads three paragraphs carefully and forms mental summaries answers questions faster than one who reads six paragraphs at speed and then re-reads to answer questions.
GRADFLIX publishes one CAT-style essay daily. Reading one essay per day for six months builds the fluency that makes CAT RC feel manageable.
Start Reading TodayThe most reliable way is daily reading from quality non-fiction over months. Strategic skimming of examples while reading argument statements carefully also helps. Avoid generic speed reading techniques which reduce comprehension on argument-driven text.
Generic speed reading techniques generally hurt CAT RC performance because they skip logical connectors which are the most important words in argument-driven passages. Building reading fluency through daily practice is more effective.
A 600-word CAT RC passage should take three to four minutes to read once with full comprehension. Reading faster than this usually means missing critical connectors and qualifications.
After reading each paragraph, form a one-line mental summary of the argument before moving to the next paragraph. This improves comprehension and reduces the need to re-read during question solving.