Verbal: Get it to 2, pick the wrong one

[texandoctobe]

Hey everyone,

I take my MCAT June 17th and I'm still having problems with my verbal section. I'm making 8's and 9's on the physical and the biological (my goal really--go texas & high gpa!) but I always end up making 7's and 8's on my verbal passages. The highest I've gotten on AAMC is a 7 and EK101 an 8.

My problem is this: I'll narrow it down to two answer choices and I almost ALWAYS pick the wrong one. No matter how long I take on the question or how much bullsh*t I can come up with I always pick the wrong one. My grade could be improved by so many more points if this wasn't the case. Did anyone on here have the same problem I have and were able to overcome it?

Thanks

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[rjns11]

Hey everyone,

I take my MCAT June 17th and I'm still having problems with my verbal section. I'm making 8's and 9's on the physical and the biological (my goal really--go texas & high gpa!) but I always end up making 7's and 8's on my verbal passages. The highest I've gotten on AAMC is a 7 and EK101 an 8.

My problem is this: I'll narrow it down to two answer choices and I almost ALWAYS pick the wrong one. No matter how long I take on the question or how much bullsh*t I can come up with I always pick the wrong one. My grade could be improved by so many more points if this wasn't the case. Did anyone on here have the same problem I have and were able to overcome it?

Thanks

Do exactly what you've been doing and decide upon one out of the final two. Then switch your answer. You'd then go from always incorrect to always correct.

 

[anbuitachi]

^I agree too, if you can guarantee almost to pick the wrong one out of 2, then pick the one you think is wrong instead.

 

[seriusdoc]

lol...

 

[loua0731]

When I had it narrowed down to two, I'd always re-read the question stem so I would make sure to have a clear idea of what the correct choice should address. Then I'd compare the two remaining choices to each other and pick the one that seemed best!

 

[SmokeyJunior]

^ agree, the question stems are wonderful

 

[AnthroMD]

Terrible idea.

Do exactly what you've been doing and decide upon one out of the final two. Then switch your answer. You'd then go from always incorrect to always correct.

 

[AnthroMD]

Great idea.

When I had it narrowed down to two, I'd always re-read the question stem so I would make sure to have a clear idea of what the correct choice should address. Then I'd compare the two remaining choices to each other and pick the one that seemed best!

 

[ready2rumble10]

When I had it narrowed down to two, I'd always re-read the question stem so I would make sure to have a clear idea of what the correct choice should address. Then I'd compare the two remaining choices to each other and pick the one that seemed best!

This is a great idea.

To the OP, do you try to predict the answer after reading the question stem? Maybe that will help you fare a bit better after narrowing down your answer choices.

 

[devils2011]

I also find that sometimes (not all the time) one of the answer choices will be almost verbatim from the passage. Keep an eye out for that when you are going through the passage looking for evidence for one of the answers.

 

[klmnop]

Do exactly what you've been doing and decide upon one out of the final two. Then switch your answer. You'd then go from always incorrect to always correct.

Wasn't sure if this was a joke or not... I kinda grinned to myself, but then realized it was serious. I don't recommend this.

I'll narrow it down to two answer choices and I almost ALWAYS pick the wrong one.

That's the point of the verbal exam. Its designed to be narrowed to two plausible choices, and any reasonable person can argue either of them, but unfortunately there is only one. Without the kaplan explanation of the types of questions i would have been lost. IMO verbal is the one thing most people could benefit from a course.

 

[klmnop]

I also find that sometimes (not all the time) one of the answer choices will be almost verbatim from the passage. Keep an eye out for that when you are going through the passage looking for evidence for one of the answers.

this is rare and is seen far more in the SAT and ACT. the point of the mcat verbal is not reading comprehension, but to understand the purpose of text from a multitude of viewpoints. often they will throw an answer in there that is a fact taken from the text, that in actuality has nothing to do with the question. be aware.

 

[rjns11]

Wasn't sure if this was a joke or not... I kinda grinned to myself, but then realized it was serious. I don't recommend this.

No, it was just a joke. At least you started with the intended grin.

 

[klmnop]

No, it was just a joke. At least you started with the intended grin.

k good, for some people this could actually work, if literally they get it wrong every time. but then you are making two guesses, that you picked the wrong one, and that switching it would be correct. when in doubt just spell abracadabra on your answer sheet.... though i think there are some e's as well...

 

[rjns11]

k good, for some people this could actually work, if literally they get it wrong every time. but then you are making two guesses, that you picked the wrong one, and that switching it would be correct. when in doubt just spell abracadabra on your answer sheet.... though i think there are some e's as well...

Drawing Christmas trees will help get some E's in there. All this great advice is going to guarantee a 45!

 

[klmnop]

Drawing Christmas trees will help get some E's in there. All this great advice is going to guarantee a 45!

personally i like to make mine look like lightning bolts, though its not a paper exam anymore so this isn't fun

otherwise i would recommend these fullproof strategies:

 

[texandoctobe]

Hah you guys are funny

I never really paid attention the question stem after reading it the first time. I'd get it down to two plausible answer choices and then pick the wrong one.
I've changed it up. I'm making sure I understand what the question wants from me and then answering. My AAMCs for verbal before went like this:
AAMC3-7
AAMC4-7
AAMC5-6

My new AAMC verbal (I never went over the solutions for the verbal the first time..too pissed off)

AAMC3-9
AAMC4-10
AAMC5-13

I just took test 6 today and score this: (I went over on the verbal though (timing off my phone not on their system))
AAMC6- 9 + 9 + 9= 27!

I hope it's gonna be a good trend. 27 is my target score on the MCAT

Thanks & good luck!