DAT RC mapping vs Search and Destroy, which fits you?

Mapping and Search and Destroy are the two most popular DAT RC strategies, and they are nearly opposite. Picking the wrong one for the wrong passage costs you 10 to 15 percentage points on accuracy. Picking the wrong one for your own brain costs you the entire section.

Here is the head-to-head, and the test that tells you which one fits you.

Mapping in 30 seconds

You read the passage in order. After every paragraph, you write a 2 to 3 word label next to it. Author claim. Opposing view. Evidence. Concession. Conclusion. By the end you have a skeleton of the entire passage that fits on one sticky note.

Then you answer the questions. For inference and tone, you use the skeleton. For detail, you go back to the right paragraph based on the label.

Search and Destroy in 30 seconds

You skim the questions first. Then you scan the passage looking for the specific information each question references. You do not read the passage end to end.

Speed-wise, this is the fastest strategy. Comprehension-wise, it is the riskiest.

Which one fits you

Most students fit one strategy clearly. Pick the one that matches your tendencies, not the one that sounds clever.

Mapping fits you if

• You are a methodical reader by default.
• You score better on humanities-style passages than science-style passages.
• You miss inference and main idea questions more often than detail questions.
• Your reading speed is at least 220 words per minute. Mapping costs 90 seconds you have to be able to spend.

Search and Destroy fits you if

• Your reading speed is below 200 WPM. You cannot afford a slow read.
• You score better on science-style passages than humanities-style passages.
• You miss detail questions more often than inference questions.
• You are good at scanning for keywords under pressure.

The test

1. 1
   Take 2 humanities-style passages and 2 science-style passages, all timed.

   Use Mapping on one of each, Search and Destroy on the other of each.
2. 2
   Compare scores within each passage type.

   Which strategy gave you better accuracy on humanities? On science?
3. 3
   Compare time within each passage type.

   Which strategy left you more time to think on questions?
4. 4
   Pick the winner of the score column, not the time column.

   Speed is only useful if you also got the question right.

Why students should not switch mid-section

Under test pressure, decisions cost time. Deciding which strategy to use on the fly costs 15 to 30 seconds per passage, and the decision is often wrong because students under stress over-correct toward the strategy they trust more even when the passage calls for the other one.

Better approach. Pick one as your default. Drill it on 50 passages. Use only that one on test day. The few percentage points you lose on the wrong-passage-type passage are smaller than the points you lose to the cognitive load of switching.

See our full 10 strategies guide for the broader strategy menu.

Related: Science passages · Humanities passages