Insanely Hard Verbal Practice Passage

[TA94]

Hey guys,

First post here, so I apologize if I inadvertently break any forum rules and such.

My question is if anyone has done Practice Test 4 in The Princeton Review Hyperlearning MCAT Verbal Workbook, specifically Passage VI in that practice test. I averaged around 35/40 on the first 3 practice tests, but then on this last test (test 4), Passage VI hit me like a brick wall. I usually have some idea of what's going on in Verbal passages, even the difficult ones, but this passage just seemed unfair. I got 4 out of 5 of the questions wrong, which basically came down to guessing since the passage made no sense and I was running out of time. I only got 1 question wrong total in the other 6 passages, so it was kind of a bummer since I could have had a pretty stellar score.

Has anyone else done this practice test and found that passage to be extremely difficult/not characteristic of typical MCAT verbal passages, or just want to share their experiences with the TPRH MCAT Verbal Workbook in general? I'm not sure if everyone else also had a lot of difficulty on this test, or if I just blanked. Thanks!

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[hometownbrewin]

I find all passages pertaining to art rather incomprehensible, almost like a foreign language. For me I just need to not panic when I read something that sounds like gibberish and instead concentrate as much as possible while maintaining a steady pace and at least attempt to get the big picture. Usually there's one such passage on every practice test that takes a lot more time than the others, I can tell from a glance whether it's on a subject I dislike so I'll save it for the end. Luckily the one you're referring to only had 5 questions associated with it, but if you try AAMC #5 the one on Picasso was a killer for me. The questions were literally WTF

 

[TheOneAndOnlyJamesFranco]

I have just started doing TPRH verbal and I sort of randomly started from passage 43 and working down. I got two 9's on AAMC 3/4 VR and I have been average -2.3 questions wrong per passage..

So I feel that TPRH is a little bit harder than AAMC?

Do you guys find the same? I also think the passages are longer

 

[NextStepTutor_1]

My version of TPRH Verbal may be a little outdated but there is a passage in test #3 that pertains to education that is a real doozy. Using that as an example (and I imagine it's ambiguity is mirrored in the passage you're referring to) the workbook is meant as good practice, as most workbooks are. They never admit to be a perfect depiction of the AAMC style because there's no way they can be. But they, and TPR is included, try their best and sometimes overkill - which is preferable to underkill. So I'd recommend take some passages with a huge grain of salt and move on. Good luck!

 

[DoctorInASaree]

Wow, what an exhilarating and fun passage! I solved it using my verbal strategy. Here I go!

Pre-reading Questions

30. Now I know this passage is about Middle Age + Renaissance poetry. How was it used?

31. Oooh Dante. Religious angle? Focus on Dante when reading the passage.

32. Renaissance and humanism? What does the author mean by this? Find the link as you read the passage.

33. Crux question! This means the passage's crux discusses the similarities between literature and art.

34. PoE question about Renaissance.

So, when reading the passage focus on Renaissance with Dante as an example. To figure out the crux; discern what the author is saying about lit and art.


Reading the Passage

Paragraph 1: Art and science are parallel. Parallel lines have the same slope, but their radii do not converge. This means that they have similar rates of changes, but have different end paths.

Paragraph 2: poetry important -> content. happiness. emotion how do you feel. Think of Shakespeare's sonnets.

Paragraph 3: Poetry is a new way of thinking and describing human nature that goes beyond previous thought. Old thought -> describes physical aspects Poetry -> describes physical (outer world) and also the inner self (reality).

Remember that Dante Q? Now I can answer it. Dante is new thought, Petrarch is old. Dante liberating.

Paragraph 4: Poetry is based on history but seeks to change the content

Paragraph 5: Extra fluff? Author is trying to support his argument that poetry is improving x y z and we see similarities to logic's evolution

Paragraph 6: Complements author's arguments about poetry. Art reveals the inner self - Da Vinci and God and nature, etc.

Paragraph 7: FINAL. Poetry and art reveal the inner self - truth. This is an useless paragraph.

This is a linear passage. Easy peezy

Crux?

During the Renaissance, art and literature strive to depict and describe the inner self - truth. This is complemented with the evolution of science and logic. Departure from the primevil ideas of the Medieval Era. Go team truth!

Answering Qs

30. A
Stated in passage - Paragraph 2: influence of content.

31. They don't complement each other. Petrarch is primitive.
Stated in passage! D "The former becomes a redeeming force". Former is Dante. A is sort of right because yes there is a contrast between Dante and Petrarch, however that's not an accurate depiction of why the author introduced Dante. The author is interested in supporting his/her arguments about poetry not to settle some argument between Dante and Petrarch.

Remember, the author's arguments are there to support the crux of the passage, and not some wild-goose chase.

32. This was a tough one. There are two ways that I would solve this question. By pre-reading the Q I knew to look for the connection between the Renaissance and humanism. This is clearly stated in Paragraph 5. "Renaissance cultivated blah blah in humanistic circles" Example given? Valla. Answer is clearly D.

Sherlock Holmes PoE!

A - All we know about Dante's poem is that it is viewed by the author as liberating and redeeming. Humanistic perspective? There's nothing from the passage to support that.

B - Petrarch = medieval times = before humanism therefore this cannot be correct

C - Borinski was discussing how poetry is - there is no connection to humanism there.

D - PoE states that D is correct.


33. C

Crux question. PoE strategy. Let's go one by one here.

A - What in the what? Art and lit DESCRIBES the inner reality - truth - of nature. Not reject it. This answer choice is the exact opposite of what the author is trying to convey.
B - No, they were emblematic of the changes, not opposing or avoiding the changes.
C - Yes. This was pretty much the point of Paragraph 1 and 5. Art and Science as parallel lines. Same slope remember? Same change.
D - This is meant to use Da Vinci to confuse you. Da Vinci is only used to connect art to poetry. Nothing more and nothing less. Da Vinci may have espoused this sentiment, but that perspective is not mentioned in the passage. Don't get carried away.



34. Straightforward PoE question.

A - Yes. The author states that poetry relies on history, but changes its content
B - Oh, what a red herring question. We only have proof that the changes affected science, literature, and the visual arts and NOT ONE SINGLE OTHER FIELD. This is wrong.
C - Obviously? This is the entire point of the passage. During the Renaissance, art and literature underwent certain changes (along with science, yay science).
D - Paragraph 2 in action here, and remember the conclusion of the passage: poetry exposes the beauty of the inner self, and no other field does that.


Last step - check TPR's answers (5/5 check!). I mean, it's quite obvious that my reasoning doesn't follow theirs 100% of the time, but what works works

Apologies for any grammar mistakes

 

[ayocaptain628]

*amazingness*

omg imagine if there was a Saree type answer key for the verbal self assessment passages
that would literally be heaven

 

[TXhopeful]

Saree....you are everything right now.

And I started one of TPR's Hyperlearning Compendium passages just to get some extra practice with EK 101. The first one I had a 10 on. The next one, I struggled through and ended up getting the entire first passage completely wrong, less than half right on the next, shut the book at that point and stopped grading. I can't say I was completely focused because I was wanting to do other things at 8:30 PM, but I did time it, put my ear plugs in like my normal routine.

I don't need that kind of negativity in my life 2 weeks out from my MCAT.

 

[TA94]

Thanks Saree, that response really broke down the passage for me. I usually don't do the reading the questions before reading the passage thing because I find it sometimes distracts me from really understanding the passage itself, but it seems like a good technique for passages such as this one which are difficult to understand. Being just over two weeks from my MCAT though I think it might be a little too late to change how I approach verbal passages. I will definitely apply your methodology if I come across a "WTF" passage though. Thanks!

My version of TPRH Verbal may be a little outdated but there is a passage in test #3 that pertains to education that is a real doozy. Using that as an example (and I imagine it's ambiguity is mirrored in the passage you're referring to) the workbook is meant as good practice, as most workbooks are. They never admit to be a perfect depiction of the AAMC style because there's no way they can be. But they, and TPR is included, try their best and sometimes overkill - which is preferable to underkill. So I'd recommend take some passages with a huge grain of salt and move on. Good luck!

I did the passage that you are talking about. That one was indeed one of the harder ones, but I would say its still doable. I found the one in practice test 4 to be much harder to complete within the time limit, but maybe that was cause I did practice test 4 right before bed and was pretty tired by then. Who knows! Thanks for the help though!

 

[tluedeke]

I hated those first three essays on AAMC CAR Question Pack #1 - all art and poetry criticisms. They were only a bit tough, but so badly written and boring that I wanted to jam a pen into my brain stem to make it stop.

All it does is make me realize that a sizable number of people in those disciplines are not only incredibly pretentious, but couldn't write a coherent idea if you held a gun to their heads. At least the MCAT committee keeps them employed, writing this rubbish.