MCAT Verbal and Periodical Reading

[ADeadLois]

Sort of a random question, but I keep hearing that one method to improve your score on the verbal section you should read The Economist and the NYY. I was wondering why those two magazines are always mentioned as the best for the verbal section. Is it a business thing with Kaplan, or do the passages articles resemble articles in these publications?

I guess I'm asking because I've never been a big fan of the style/content of either the Economist and the NYT. I do read magazines like The New Republic, US News, sometimes Time and Newsweek.

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[ND2005]

The reason is b/c those two periodicals are known for actually having high-quality writing (and I hate the NYT, for the record, but I'll acknowledge that the writing is generally at a high level).

Time, Newsweek, USNews, and most metropolitan newspapers are intentionally written at a very low difficulty level. Reading those periodicals may be good entertainment, but they aren't going to make you critically think very much.

 

[sscooterguy]

I think no matter what your preference is, you should get used to all sorts of styles on the MCAT. The list of publications that you like is fine, but its important to read a variety of subjects, authors, and styles to get used to any thing MCAT will throw at you. I personally preferred NYT newspaper, as it is in depth, opinionated, and covers a wide range of topics.

Whatever you read, try to read it once, mentally cite 2-3 important details, sum it up in a quick sentance, list any author bias, and make a projection from it. I read the NYT mostly, some wall street journal, and random periodicals from economist to business week. I would perform the exercise I outlined above after every article, while marking up he paper if I had to. At first it took me a 30-60 seconds after each article to do everything, but after I got accuracy down, I wittled that time to 5-10 seconds. My score improved from 9 to an 11 on sequential MCATs.

Good luck.
sscooterguy

 

[Twitch]

Sort of a random question, but I keep hearing that one method to improve your score on the verbal section you should read The Economist and the NYY. I was wondering why those two magazines are always mentioned as the best for the verbal section. Is it a business thing with Kaplan, or do the passages articles resemble articles in these publications?

I guess I'm asking because I've never been a big fan of the style/content of either the Economist and the NYT. I do read magazines like The New Republic, US News, sometimes Time and Newsweek.

New Republic
US News/Time/Newsweek

As it relates to Economist, New Yorker, et al. they are supposedly better written. Some swear by them - others regard it as just verbal masturbation of a refined level.

 

[ADeadLois]

The reason is b/c those two periodicals are known for actually having high-quality writing (and I hate the NYT, for the record, but I'll acknowledge that the writing is generally at a high level).

Time, Newsweek, USNews, and most metropolitan newspapers are intentionally written at a very low difficulty level. Reading those periodicals may be good entertainment, but they aren't going to make you critically think very much.

Yeah, I hate the NYT too. I guess I'll stick with the New Republic.

 

[lorelei]

As far as I know, it's not a business thing for Kaplan - they are owned by the Washington Post company, and I'm not aware of any financial relationships with any of the magazines you mention. I've been recommending similar reading lists for much longer than I've been working for Kaplan.

Time, US News, Newsweek, and most newspapers are written at about an 8th grade reading level - the vocabulary and (far more importantly) the arguments are not at the level you'll see on MCAT passages.

The New Republic is good. You might try other magazines along those lines - the American Prospect or the Nation, maybe, or National Review or the Weekly Standard on the right. I also recommend the New Yorker and the Atlantic, for less-political magazines (although the Atlantic has been getting more politicized recently, I think). I'd recommend going out of your comfort zone a little, since MCAT topics are varied, but obviously if you can find something that holds your interest so you'll read more, that's good!

 

[sweetstuff25]

Time magazine was pure garbage , half the articles are about afghan/iraq war and crap. had to cancel asap for the economist. I spent 3x the $ for the economist compared to time and i wouldn't haven't any other way. the articles seem to actually have a worldwide perspective with depth required for the mcat. stupid TPR, what r they thinkin giving time mags?

 

[hannahx]

So besides The Economist and The New Republic, any other suggestions??

Input is always appreciated.

Thanks!