View Full Version : Improvement in Verbal is Elusive...


vector07
04-06-2006, 12:17 PM
Hey all,

Looking for some advice for verbal strategy. I started studying for the MCAT in november, and on my first test my verbal was a 10. Since then, I've taken 3 AAMC verbals and 6 EK verbals, and gotten a 10 on every one of them, despite careful consideration of all questions missed after each exam, etc. I don't have a problem finishing--I typically finish with between 10 minutes and 1 or 2 minutes left before the end. I tend not to annotate, because I don't know how exactly to do that. I typically just mark the things that I expect will be asked about in the questions--lists, things that are counterintuitive, etc.

I've tried a few strategies, but none seem to help me improve my score. I've tried the princeton review strat: rank the passages, and attack them from easiest to hardest, so you spend more time on the hard ones (instead of ~9:45 for each). I've tried not going for speed, but working hard to ensure that all passages completed are as right as possible. No change.

As for types of questions missed.. no pattern really. I don't typically miss "easy" questions, but I do make some stupid mistakes. The rest I miss probably because I don't have enough time to carefully review every choice, and find the explicit part of the passage which confirms the correct answer.

Ideas?

DrBowtie
04-06-2006, 12:34 PM
Be aware that at some point you are going to peak. The key is consistently hitting your peak which you seem to have done.

Verbal is one area where studying more won't yield a higher score unless you adapt to their reasoning (which isn't concrete many times).

shantster
04-06-2006, 01:55 PM
I'm going through the questions and answers to figure out why the answer is right in relation to the question/answers and to the main idea. I really don't look at the answer key since I'm just trying to reason to myself why the answers are what they are.