Yet Another Verbal Help Plea

[j306c954]

So I just got my MCAT score back today. I was averaging an 8 in VR on AAMC and Kaplan FL's (which I was alright with given stronger scores in BS and PS). But on the actual thing, I got a 3 in VR (yes, a 3, I am mortified). Makes me thing I accidentally left a whole passage blank or something. I also think a lot of it might have been nerves which ended up getting my timing off, and the fact that I was seated right next to the door which was EXTREMELY distracting (I have ADHD).

Anyways, I am not going to let it get the best of me (what's done is done) and am going to live and breathe verbal until I retake on Sept 18th (last day I can take for the current cycle). My good friend bumped his VR score from a 4 to a 10 in 2 weeks (he is currently in medical school) by doing every single passage in the EC book and post-phrasing very carefully.

I was wondering if anyone had any good/unique VR strategies. My problem is mostly timing (I am kind of a slow reader, now matter how much I practice). So far I have tried the following strategies:

-I always preview the passages very briefly, marking which questions correspond with which passage number
-I have tried doing 16 minutes per every 2 passages and 18 minutes per every 2 passages. I think the latter works best for me because it gives me time to really focus on what the main ideas of the passage
-I have tried both looking at the questions before reading the passage and after reading the passage
-I have tried both making more detailed passage maps and brief passage maps, not sure which works better
-I highlight key words and continuation words (therefore, however, in conclusion, etc)
-And of course, I practice practice practice


One thing I may not be doing well is post-phrasing. I am pretty good at post-phrasing for BS and PS, but not sure the best way to go about post-phrasing for VR. Suggestions? Alternative strategies?


Thanks all!

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[californiaMD19]

I need some advice on VR myself but I have made somewhat large improvements and I feel that I can contribute some advice for your situation. What helped me make improvements was realizing that I usually don't understand why a right answer is right. I don't know if it's the same for you, but when I start looking for the correct answer, I get stuck. Instead of looking for right answers, I look for wrong answers. I look for answers that are contrary to the passage arguments or can't possibly be correct given the info in the passage. I cross these out and often times I am left with just one or two answers. When I'm left with two answers I look back in the passage and try to eliminate one of the answers before making a final choice. I'm also paying attention to extreme answer choices or choices that aren't within the scope of the passage; those aren't usually right.

Before doing this I was scoring 6's, missing on average 15 questions overall, but after I practiced on a few verbal tests I was able to get into the 9-10 range. The main point is, eliminate first. Eliminating answers has a confidence boosting effect; it's much more manageable to choose between two answers than 4!

If you've already done this, just ignore this post! If not, try it out on a verbal passage! Good luck.

 

[j306c954]

I need some advice on VR myself but I have made somewhat large improvements and I feel that I can contribute some advice for your situation. What helped me make improvements was realizing that I usually don't understand why a right answer is right. I don't know if it's the same for you, but when I start looking for the correct answer, I get stuck. Instead of looking for right answers, I look for wrong answers. I look for answers that are contrary to the passage arguments or can't possibly be correct given the info in the passage. I cross these out and often times I am left with just one or two answers. When I'm left with two answers I look back in the passage and try to eliminate one of the answers before making a final choice. I'm also paying attention to extreme answer choices or choices that aren't within the scope of the passage; those aren't usually right.

Before doing this I was scoring 6's, missing on average 15 questions overall, but after I practiced on a few verbal tests I was able to get into the 9-10 range. The main point is, eliminate first. Eliminating answers has a confidence boosting effect; it's much more manageable to choose between two answers than 4!

If you've already done this, just ignore this post! If not, try it out on a verbal passage! Good luck.

Thank you! I will try that out. I too try to eliminate extremes. The answers I usually end up getting wrong are the ones that are "right" but not the MOST right. Very frustrating.

 

[stitchattack]

Have you tried the SA Verbal? I'm also a slow reader..I usually take 3.5-4.5 mins per passage and sometimes even 5 mins for the harder passages. What helped me was when I stopped doing passage mapping because that was taking up too much time. Instead, I tried to focus more on what the author is saying and paying attention to key words. The main thing is to understand what the author is saying and you should be able to answer/eliminate choices based on your understanding. Don't give up..you're only defeated when you stop trying. Also, find out what type of passages you're weak on (humanities, social science, natural science/technology or more specifically, philosophy, literature, etc) and read articles from those fields during your free time.

 

[j306c954]

Have you tried the SA Verbal? I'm also a slow reader..I usually take 3.5-4.5 mins per passage and sometimes even 5 mins for the harder passages. What helped me was when I stopped doing passage mapping because that was taking up too much time. Instead, I tried to focus more on what the author is saying and paying attention to key words. The main thing is to understand what the author is saying and you should be able to answer/eliminate choices based on your understanding. Don't give up..you're only defeated when you stop trying. Also, find out what type of passages you're weak on (humanities, social science, natural science/technology or more specifically, philosophy, literature, etc) and read articles from those fields during your free time.

Thank you for the suggestion! And I did to SA verbal. I will try some passages out without passage mapping and see how it works out for me.
Have you already taken the MCAT?

 

[avocadowallet]

I got my MCAT score back yesterday, so I think we have that exam in common. It surprised me since the passages in VR were easier than many AAMC practice ones, while the questions were harder. I came up with my strategy from doing TPRH VR practice (which, by the way, was probably the best thing I could have done for VR, and I hope someone can find a copy of that to practice with) which is hard passages, easy questions.

It sounds like you have problems with focus. I am much the same way, and found that TPR strategies of making maps and categorizing questions was not helpful. It hurt more than helped. Those strategies eat up a lot of precious time, which you dearly need if you aren't a quick reader. In VR, reading slowly is not as bad as you may think. I'm a quick reader, but I improved my scores by forcing myself to slow down and read at conversation pace.

In all the computer practice I did, I did not let myself touch pencil and paper while I read, but rather I highlighted very aggressively. While painting the screen yellow isn't a good idea, it helped me keep track of what I was doing. Here I might add that I never looked ahead at the questions - keep it simple. Read the passage, answer the questions. Highlight key words, words that suggest opinion, words that change the tone of the piece, weird words, transitions, etc. I had no search function on my exam (maybe it's just unavailable, but there was a search bar on the AAMC practice ones) so I ended up highlighting proper nouns.

If you must organize your thoughts longhand, I recommend doing it after your first time reading the passage. Doing it as you're reading may distract you. As others have said, cross out wrong answers and search for wrong answers. The right answer is the least wrong answer (...obviously, but this more or less means the right answer doesn't immediately look correct).

 

[j306c954]

I got my MCAT score back yesterday, so I think we have that exam in common. It surprised me since the passages in VR were easier than many AAMC practice ones, while the questions were harder. I came up with my strategy from doing TPRH VR practice (which, by the way, was probably the best thing I could have done for VR, and I hope someone can find a copy of that to practice with) which is hard passages, easy questions.

It sounds like you have problems with focus. I am much the same way, and found that TPR strategies of making maps and categorizing questions was not helpful. It hurt more than helped. Those strategies eat up a lot of precious time, which you dearly need if you aren't a quick reader. In VR, reading slowly is not as bad as you may think. I'm a quick reader, but I improved my scores by forcing myself to slow down and read at conversation pace.

In all the computer practice I did, I did not let myself touch pencil and paper while I read, but rather I highlighted very aggressively. While painting the screen yellow isn't a good idea, it helped me keep track of what I was doing. Here I might add that I never looked ahead at the questions - keep it simple. Read the passage, answer the questions. Highlight key words, words that suggest opinion, words that change the tone of the piece, weird words, transitions, etc. I had no search function on my exam (maybe it's just unavailable, but there was a search bar on the AAMC practice ones) so I ended up highlighting proper nouns.

If you must organize your thoughts longhand, I recommend doing it after your first time reading the passage. Doing it as you're reading may distract you. As others have said, cross out wrong answers and search for wrong answers. The right answer is the least wrong answer (...obviously, but this more or less means the right answer doesn't immediately look correct).

Thank you so much! It seems like the general consensus for those who are slow readers like myself is that passage mapping tends to hurt more than help. I am a huge fan of highlighting. In college, I would always bring a highlighter to exams. I will try to utilize the highlighter more.

 

[stitchattack]

Thank you for the suggestion! And I did to SA verbal. I will try some passages out without passage mapping and see how it works out for me.
Have you already taken the MCAT?

Nah, I haven't taken my MCAT yet..the date is creeping up on me though! Based on your SA, you should know what type of questions and passages you need to work on so maybe try to focus on those as well. At first, doing the passage without mapping might seem difficult to do (it was for me) but once you get used to it, it saves you a lot of time. I agree with what @avocadowallet said. I also highlight a lot..not to the point of painting my screen yellow but to help me keep track of where things are. If you were averaging 8's on your AAMC's, I see no reason why you can't get around your average on your retake.

If timing is an issue, give yourself 8 mins/pass when you practice. If you're still not done at the 8 min mark, keep working on the questions but mark where you run out of time so you know how many questions you would have missed if it were the real exam and you ran out of time. Also, don't always look for the right answer for every question, eliminate the obvious wrong ones and go for the "not wrong" answer. Do you know which prep books you're going to do practice with this time around?

 

[j306c954]

Nah, I haven't taken my MCAT yet..the date is creeping up on me though! Based on your SA, you should know what type of questions and passages you need to work on so maybe try to focus on those as well. At first, doing the passage without mapping might seem difficult to do (it was for me) but once you get used to it, it saves you a lot of time. I agree with what @avocadowallet said. I also highlight a lot..not to the point of painting my screen yellow but to help me keep track of where things are. If you were averaging 8's on your AAMC's, I see no reason why you can't get around your average on your retake.

If timing is an issue, give yourself 8 mins/pass when you practice. If you're still not done at the 8 min mark, keep working on the questions but mark where you run out of time so you know how many questions you would have missed if it were the real exam and you ran out of time. Also, don't always look for the right answer for every question, eliminate the obvious wrong ones and go for the "not wrong" answer. Do you know which prep books you're going to do practice with this time around?

Since my good friend that bumped his VR score from a 4 to a 10 in a couple weeks used EC VR 101, I am going to do the same. He said he did every single passage and post-phrased. Since I have access to the Kaplan course, I will probably do some of those timed practice sections as well since they are computer-based.
And I actually didn't do too bad on the SA, but that's only because it wasn't timed. I did it very early in my study process so I did not time myself.

 

[stitchattack]

Since my good friend that bumped his VR score from a 4 to a 10 in a couple weeks used EC VR 101, I am going to do the same. He said he did every single passage and post-phrased. Since I have access to the Kaplan course, I will probably do some of those timed practice sections as well since they are computer-based.
And I actually didn't do too bad on the SA, but that's only because it wasn't timed. I did it very early in my study process so I did not time myself.

I would recommend TPR VR too if you haven't done it yet. I mainly practice with that and EK 101. Make sure you do it under times condition and maybe build your endurance by taking a FL test at least once a week. If your SA wasn't too bad then you probably understand and can answer the questions so your issue would be doing it under timed condition. Were your AAMC VR done under untimed too?

 

[lumberjack89]

I make no claims of universal wisdom here, but my own experience may shed light on yours, and for what it's worth my AAMC VR scores range from 10 to 15, average = 12.

First of all, I've tried a number of those mapping/outlining approaches, and they all made me run out of time and perform worse. Likewise with looking at questions first, or anything else like that. The "strategy" that worked best for me is one you'll find is rarely trumpeted by test companies, because it's obvious, simple, and they can't market it (though EK uses this approach):

Take the 3.5-4.5 minutes you need to accurately and thoroughly read the passage: no skimming, no skipping, no outlining, no nothing. Just read it like it's an email from your best friend about the most interesting topic you can imagine. Then answer the questions. You'll be amazed at how slowing down and taking all the time you need to read and understand the passage will help you: the amount of questions you can answer from memory without making any reference back to the passage will dramatically increase, and overall you'll be spending far less time on the questions.

The only "skipping" I would endorse for the passage reading is when you encounter what is obviously a list, or a string of connected events, e.g. a paragraph with an obvious linear arc: "The Eastern Whatever Park watershed feeds from place x to place y, encountering geological formation z. Then, after passing through Canyon River Park and cascading down Eagle Falls, they make their way to Place A, which feeds into Place B, and finally to the Big Bay." That's just a homespun example of the kind of stuff you don't need to read, because you can almost guarantee there's going to be a question on it, which means you'll be coming back to it later regardless of how closely you read it on your first pass. This happens a LOT in VR passages, I find: there's a list, progression, or chronological arrangement of items/events/names, and one of the questions is almost always about something in the list that you could never remember from a single read, so don't bother: just skim through it, knowing you'll be back for an easy, cherry-picked answer later on.

Other than that, the other thing that really helped me was to stop taking isolated VR passages, and instead take 7 in a row in 60 minutes, just like a full VR test. That gives you a much better feel for the flow of the VR section, because it's simply the case that some passages will take you 5-6 minutes total and be easy while others will be closer to 9 minutes and be much harder.

 

[j306c954]

I make no claims of universal wisdom here, but my own experience may shed light on yours, and for what it's worth my AAMC VR scores range from 10 to 15, average = 12.

First of all, I've tried a number of those mapping/outlining approaches, and they all made me run out of time and perform worse. Likewise with looking at questions first, or anything else like that. The "strategy" that worked best for me is one you'll find is rarely trumpeted by test companies, because it's obvious, simple, and they can't market it (though EK uses this approach):

Take the 3.5-4.5 minutes you need to accurately and thoroughly read the passage: no skimming, no skipping, no outlining, no nothing. Just read it like it's an email from your best friend about the most interesting topic you can imagine. Then answer the questions. You'll be amazed at how slowing down and taking all the time you need to read and understand the passage will help you: the amount of questions you can answer from memory without making any reference back to the passage will dramatically increase, and overall you'll be spending far less time on the questions.

The only "skipping" I would endorse for the passage reading is when you encounter what is obviously a list, or a string of connected events, e.g. a paragraph with an obvious linear arc: "The Eastern Whatever Park watershed feeds from place x to place y, encountering geological formation z. Then, after passing through Canyon River Park and cascading down Eagle Falls, they make their way to Place A, which feeds into Place B, and finally to the Big Bay." That's just a homespun example of the kind of stuff you don't need to read, because you can almost guarantee there's going to be a question on it, which means you'll be coming back to it later regardless of how closely you read it on your first pass. This happens a LOT in VR passages, I find: there's a list, progression, or chronological arrangement of items/events/names, and one of the questions is almost always about something in the list that you could never remember from a single read, so don't bother: just skim through it, knowing you'll be back for an easy, cherry-picked answer later on.

Other than that, the other thing that really helped me was to stop taking isolated VR passages, and instead take 7 in a row in 60 minutes, just like a full VR test. That gives you a much better feel for the flow of the VR section, because it's simply the case that some passages will take you 5-6 minutes total and be easy while others will be closer to 9 minutes and be much harder.

Thank you! Also, what did you do to post-phrase? For PS and BS I have a good method down...I basically have a notebook of my post-phrases from every practice FL with questions I guessed/didn't get right. I write the question and the exact, specific steps needed to arrive at the correct answer. I also make sure to review the content if content was a reason I did not get the question correct. However, I know this method won't really work for verbal. Any recommendations?

 

[j306c954]

I need some advice on VR myself but I have made somewhat large improvements and I feel that I can contribute some advice for your situation. What helped me make improvements was realizing that I usually don't understand why a right answer is right. I don't know if it's the same for you, but when I start looking for the correct answer, I get stuck. Instead of looking for right answers, I look for wrong answers. I look for answers that are contrary to the passage arguments or can't possibly be correct given the info in the passage. I cross these out and often times I am left with just one or two answers. When I'm left with two answers I look back in the passage and try to eliminate one of the answers before making a final choice. I'm also paying attention to extreme answer choices or choices that aren't within the scope of the passage; those aren't usually right.

Before doing this I was scoring 6's, missing on average 15 questions overall, but after I practiced on a few verbal tests I was able to get into the 9-10 range. The main point is, eliminate first. Eliminating answers has a confidence boosting effect; it's much more manageable to choose between two answers than 4!

If you've already done this, just ignore this post! If not, try it out on a verbal passage! Good luck.

Also, what do you do to effectively post-phrase for VR?

 

[j306c954]

Have you tried the SA Verbal? I'm also a slow reader..I usually take 3.5-4.5 mins per passage and sometimes even 5 mins for the harder passages. What helped me was when I stopped doing passage mapping because that was taking up too much time. Instead, I tried to focus more on what the author is saying and paying attention to key words. The main thing is to understand what the author is saying and you should be able to answer/eliminate choices based on your understanding. Don't give up..you're only defeated when you stop trying. Also, find out what type of passages you're weak on (humanities, social science, natural science/technology or more specifically, philosophy, literature, etc) and read articles from those fields during your free time.

Also, what do you do to effectively post-phrase for VR?

 

[Uafl112]

I need some advice on VR myself but I have made somewhat large improvements and I feel that I can contribute some advice for your situation. What helped me make improvements was realizing that I usually don't understand why a right answer is right. I don't know if it's the same for you, but when I start looking for the correct answer, I get stuck. Instead of looking for right answers, I look for wrong answers. I look for answers that are contrary to the passage arguments or can't possibly be correct given the info in the passage. I cross these out and often times I am left with just one or two answers. When I'm left with two answers I look back in the passage and try to eliminate one of the answers before making a final choice. I'm also paying attention to extreme answer choices or choices that aren't within the scope of the passage; those aren't usually right.

Before doing this I was scoring 6's, missing on average 15 questions overall, but after I practiced on a few verbal tests I was able to get into the 9-10 range. The main point is, eliminate first. Eliminating answers has a confidence boosting effect; it's much more manageable to choose between two answers than 4!

If you've already done this, just ignore this post! If not, try it out on a verbal passage! Good luck.

I tried this the other day and POE is GREAT. After you do that, you honestly just pick the answer that makes the most sense even though it isnt worded EXACTLY how you have it phrased in your head

 

[House D.O.]

Okay so heres my advice (im like you in verbal but I have seemed to improve slowly and steadily)

Personally for you i think you problem is ur practice is not harshly timed enough. Do each passage in no more than 8 minutes. Sn2ed says to work towards 6 mins per passage! :O thats crazy but it shows you how harsh your practice should be so you can realize how to be efficient and concise before sitting for the exam. I do three passages in 25 minutes or 2 passages in 16 minutes. Focus on trying not to go back to the passage, that in my opinion is the main reason people run out of time. If you see a question that says something like "In paragraph 7 the author said "blah blah blah" to emphasize?" DONT go back to that paragraph UNTIL you have read all the answer choices. Seems intuitive but I use to just go to paragraph 7 and then read the questions. Most of the times you will be able to remember what the authors argument or point was and than save time searching for it.

Also I write out the main idea after reading the passage because it forces me to understand wtf this passage is talking about (EK method)

 

[stitchattack]

Also, what do you do to effectively post-phrase for VR?

I go over the answers and read the explanations, whether I get them right or wrong. But I think your main issue is the timing so get your passages to under 8 mins and you should be fine.

 

[j306c954]

I go over the answers and read the explanations, whether I get them right or wrong. But I think your main issue is the timing so get your passages to under 8 mins and you should be fine.

Yea, I'm really trying, but a big part of it is because of my ADHD. I even took a standardized test on reading speed with comprehension, showing that when un-timed I scored above average, and then when I was timed it was below (in a nutshell). I qualified for extended time on all my exams in college, even on the ACT in high school. I know I'm not stupid just not a fast reader haha

 

[stitchattack]

Yea, I'm really trying, but a big part of it is because of my ADHD. I even took a standardized test on reading speed with comprehension, showing that when un-timed I scored above average, and then when I was timed it was below (in a nutshell). I qualified for extended time on all my exams in college, even on the ACT in high school. I know I'm not stupid just not a fast reader haha

I hear you. I'm a slow reader so don't feel bad. When I can spend like 12 minutes on a passage, I do much better. Since you don't have a lot of time left, try tackling 1 FL VR every day or every other day..some passages may take longer than 8 mins while others may take less. TPR Hyperlearning Verbal gives you like 40 something practice passages and 4 FL and EK 101 has 14 so that's a lot for you to do.

 

[j306c954]

I hear you. I'm a slow reader so don't feel bad. When I can spend like 12 minutes on a passage, I do much better. Since you don't have a lot of time left, try tackling 1 FL VR every day or every other day..some passages may take longer than 8 mins while others may take less. TPR Hyperlearning Verbal gives you like 40 something practice passages and 4 FL and EK 101 has 14 so that's a lot for you to do.

Ya I was planning on doing one full VR section (timed of course) from EK101 every day

 

[stitchattack]

Ya I was planning on doing one full VR section (timed of course) from EK101 every day

Great plan. The beginning tests are easy but it gets harder as you move forward so don't get discouraged. It's to build up your endurance and improve your timing

 

[j306c954]

Great plan. The beginning tests are easy but it gets harder as you move forward so don't get discouraged. It's to build up your endurance and improve your timing

I didn't even do very well on the first one I hadn't eaten yet though so I was really hungry the whole time haha

 

[j306c954]

I would recommend TPR VR too if you haven't done it yet. I mainly practice with that and EK 101. Make sure you do it under times condition and maybe build your endurance by taking a FL test at least once a week. If your SA wasn't too bad then you probably understand and can answer the questions so your issue would be doing it under timed condition. Were your AAMC VR done under untimed too?

Nah the AAMC VR's were all timed

 

[lumberjack89]

I think the thing I most benefitted from in the post-game analysis was understanding why I got the questions right that I guessed on: there are certain features/elements that many questions have in common, certain things they're looking for, etc. and if you can start to develop a feel for what sorts of directions the test writers are trying to guide you into taking on the answers, you'll be better prepared to guess on a similar question type in the future. There's only so many question types that they can ask, and the more familiar you get with why you're guessing right the better you'll be able to do it next time.

 

[j306c954]

6 on the first practice VR section from the EK101 book, 7 on the next :/ Tends to be MINOR details I miss in either the passage or question

 

[itsthat1guy]

No advice but i just wanted to say that you have a great attitude and good luck

 

[j306c954]

No advice but i just wanted to say that you have a great attitude and good luck

Thanks, that means a lot If you are taking the MCAT soon good luck to you as well

 

[itsthat1guy]

Thanks, that means a lot If you are taking the MCAT soon good luck to you as well

Took it on 8/27 but thanks anyway

 

[stitchattack]

6 on the first practice VR section from the EK101 book, 7 on the next :/ Tends to be MINOR details I miss in either the passage or question

As long as you did those under timed condition, keep it up! 6 then 7 is still a pt improvement. 8 on next one!

 

[j306c954]

As long as you did those under timed condition, keep it up! 6 then 7 is still a pt improvement. 8 on next one!

Got a 6...my pup interrupted me in middle bc he had to go outside to pee so it really screwed up one of the passages -_-

 

[stitchattack]

Got a 6...my pup interrupted me in middle bc he had to go outside to pee so it really screwed up one of the passages -_-

lol better lock that door for no distractions next time!

 

[j306c954]

lol better lock that door for no distractions next time!

Haha if I lock the door its worse, he won't stop scratching on it