RC — Passage Genres & Genre-Specific Tactics

CAT draws RC passages from a stable set of genres — abstract/philosophy, science & technology, economics/business, history & sociology, literature/arts. Recognising the genre in the first 30 seconds lets you predict the passage's structure and pre-empt where questions land.

The genres and their tells

Genre	Reading challenge	Question focus
Abstract/Philosophy	Dense, high inference	Inference, main idea, tone
Science & Tech	Jargon, cause chains	Detail, function, inference
Economics/Business	Trade-offs, models	Inference, application, detail
History/Sociology	Multiple viewpoints	Structure, tone, main idea
Literature/Arts	Figurative language	Tone, vocabulary, inference

Genre-specific tactics

• Abstract: slow down; paraphrase each dense sentence to plain English. Structure > detail.
• Science: track the process and because/therefore links; skim the technical nouns.
• Economics: find the claim-vs-evidence or this-vs-that trade-off — that tension is the thesis.
• History/Sociology: map whose view is whose and how views change.
• Literature: read for tone and connotation; the answer is interpretive.

Exam Tricks & Tips

• 🎯 Genre-tag in 30 seconds to prime yourself for its typical structure and question types.
• 🎯 Pick passage order by genre comfort — if abstract sinks you, attempt it last.
• 🎯 Jargon ≠ difficulty. Science passages reward literal process-tracking, often the easiest accuracy.
• 🎯 Abstract passages hide the thesis in qualifiers ("not merely X but Y") — the but clause is the point.
• 🎯 In multi-view history passages, tag each opinion's owner so tone/inference options can't swap them.
• ❌ Common mistake: using one pace for all genres — abstract needs slow paraphrasing; science rewards faster process-skimming.

Expected exam pattern

Across four passages CAT usually spans 3–4 genres, with abstract/philosophy the most feared and most decisive. Question mix stays constant (main idea, inference, detail, tone, structure, vocabulary) but weights shift by genre.

Quick recap

Identify the genre fast, adjust your pace and focus, and sequence passages by comfort. Abstract → paraphrase slowly; science → track the process; economics → find the trade-off; history → tag viewpoints; literature → read the tone.

Cover the answer, recall, then check. 12 cards on RC passage genres and tactics.

Q1. Name the five common CAT RC genres.
A1. Abstract/philosophy, science & tech, economics/business, history/sociology, literature/arts.

Q2. Why genre-tag a passage in the first 30 seconds?
A2. The genre predicts the passage's structure and where questions will land.

Q3. How should you read an abstract/philosophy passage?
A3. Slowly — paraphrase each dense sentence into plain English; focus on structure over detail.

Q4. Tactic for a science passage?
A4. Track the process and because/therefore links; skim the jargon nouns rather than fearing them.

Q5. What is the thesis usually built around in an economics passage?
A5. A trade-off or a claim-vs-evidence tension.

Q6. Key task in a multi-viewpoint history/sociology passage?
A6. Tag whose view is whose and how views change; the author often adjudicates.

Q7. What do you read for in a literature/arts passage?
A7. Tone and connotation — the answer is interpretive, anchored to word-choice.

Q8. Is jargon a sign of difficulty?
A8. No — science passages often reward literal process-tracking and give easy accuracy.

Q9. Where do abstract passages hide the thesis?
A9. In qualifiers like "not merely X but Y" — the but clause is the point.

Q10. How should genre affect passage order?
A10. Attempt your comfortable genres first; leave your weakest (often abstract) for last.

Q11. Which genre is most feared and most decisive in CAT?
A11. Abstract/philosophy.

Q12. The mistake of using one pace for all genres — why wrong?
A12. Abstract needs slow paraphrasing; science rewards faster process-skimming — pace must match genre.

Not all CAT passages read the same way. An abstract philosophy passage, a data-driven economics passage, and a narrative history passage each hide their answers in different places — and each punishes a different reading habit. Recognising the genre in the first two lines lets you switch to the reading mode that genre rewards, saving time and avoiding genre-specific traps.

What this tests

Adaptive reading: diagnosing a passage's type quickly and adjusting where you slow down, what you map, and which trap you guard against.

The method

Beginner — the five CAT genres

Most CAT passages fall into:

• Abstract / Philosophical — ideas about ideas; few facts, dense argument.
• Science / Technology — a mechanism or finding explained; cause-effect chains.
• Economics / Business — claims backed by trends and trade-offs.
• Humanities / History / Art — interpretation of events, movements, or works.
• Narrative / Literary — a story or personal account; tone and implication matter most.

Intermediate — read where the difficulty lives

Each genre concentrates its questions differently:

• Abstract → structure and logic; map the argument's steps, don't chase examples.
• Science → cause-effect and process; track "because / leads to / results in".
• Economics → trade-offs and the author's evaluation; note "however / on the other hand".
• Humanities → contrasting interpretations; who holds which view.
• Narrative → tone and inference; what's implied, not stated.

Advanced — the FAST CAT approach: pre-load the likely trap

Genre predicts the trap:

• Abstract passages breed over-reaching inference options — stay cautious.
• Science passages breed detail distortions (reversed cause-effect) — verify the mechanism.
• Economics passages breed scope creep — check whether a claim is local or general.
• Narrative passages breed literal readings of figurative language — read for implication.

Naming the genre in line 1–2 primes you to expect the right trap and read at the right depth. Dense abstract passages need slower, structural reading; example-heavy passages can be skimmed between claims.

Worked example

Opening line: "Whether the self is a substance or merely a bundle of perceptions has divided philosophers since Hume."

Diagnosis in one line: abstract/philosophical — two competing views ("substance" vs "bundle"). Reading plan: map the two positions, track which the author leans toward, ignore the temptation to memorise philosophers' names, and brace for inference options that leap beyond the cautious text. A question like "the author would most likely agree that…" will reward the modest option, as abstract passages usually do. You've set your strategy before reading paragraph 2.

CAT relevance

CAT deliberately mixes genres across the four RC passages in VARC, and the abstract passage is often the score-decider because most students read it like a science passage — chasing facts that aren't there. Genre-fit reading is a percentile-mover: it tells you which passage to attempt first (play to your strengths) and how to read each.

Speed tricks & shortcuts

• Diagnose in the first two lines — genre, then reading mode.
• Passage-selection strategy: in a non-adaptive set, attempt your strongest genre first to bank marks and build confidence.
• Mnemonic — "Name the genre, name the trap."
• Abstract and philosophy passages: slow down and map logic. Example-rich passages: speed up between claims.

Worked Example

Problem: Identify the genre of the passage and state the reading tactic and the kind of question it will most likely ask.

It is often said that markets are "efficient", perfectly reflecting all available information. But this comfortable doctrine papers over a stubborn fact: bubbles happen. If prices always mirrored fundamentals, how did tulip bulbs, dot-com shares, and subprime mortgages each soar and then collapse? The efficient-market faith, I argue, mistakes an idealisation for a description.

Solution:
CAT RC passages fall into recognisable genres — abstract/philosophical, science, business/economics, humanities/literary-critical, and argumentative/persuasive — and each rewards a slightly different reading focus.

Genre diagnosis: this passage takes a position and defends it. Signals: scare-quotes on "efficient" and "comfortable doctrine" (loaded, evaluative language), a rhetorical question marshalling examples as counter-evidence, and the explicit first-person stance "I argue… mistakes an idealisation for a description". These mark it as an ARGUMENTATIVE / persuasive passage (a critique of a theory), not a neutral expository science piece.

Genre-specific tactic: for an argumentative passage, read for the author's THESIS and the structure of support/objection — track the claim being attacked (markets are efficient), the evidence against it (tulips, dot-com, subprime bubbles), and the author's own conclusion (efficiency is an idealisation, not a description). Do not get lost in the examples; they are ammunition for the thesis. Note the author's clear anti-efficient-market stance, because tone/attitude and "author would agree/disagree" questions hinge on it.

Likely question types for this genre: (i) main point/purpose ("the author's central argument is that market-efficiency theory over-idealises reality"), (ii) author's attitude (skeptical toward efficient-market doctrine), (iii) function of the examples (to serve as counter-evidence to efficiency), and (iv) "which statement would the author most likely agree with". By contrast, a science passage would more likely ask detail/mechanism questions, and a narrative/literary one would ask about tone and implication.

Matching tactic to genre before the questions arrive lets you pre-load the author's stance and the role of each example — the exact things this genre is tested on.

Answer: This is an argumentative/persuasive passage critiquing efficient-market theory (signalled by evaluative diction, a rhetorical question, and "I argue"). Tactic: track the thesis, the counter-evidence (the three bubbles), and the author's skeptical stance. Expect main-point, author's-attitude, and function-of-examples questions rather than the detail/mechanism questions typical of science passages.