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Seeing as the verbal section is the toughest part for most students to do well on, this article gives some good advice
http://www.unmc.edu/Community/ruralmeded/model/preprof/improving_mcat_verbal_ability.htm
Improving MCAT Verbal Ability
My advice is:
Talk about the difficulty of the verbal score whenever you have the opportunity.
Ask what the student's SAT verbal score was as that is an indication of trouble if it was below 650 and English is a first language.
Advise humanities students not to take their verbal ability for granted and to prepare to be challenged by the MCAT.
Tell all students to take a practice MCAT verbal section timed as soon as possible in college (freshman year is not too early) and expect to get an actual verbal score on the actual exam that is one number lower than the practice score.
Ask if the student has trouble recognizing vocabulary and, if so, recommend flash cards.
From freshman year on, encourage students to read such publications as "The Times Literary Supplement," "The New York Review of Books," "The New Yorker," "The Economist," "Atlantic," and to tear out articles to read while waiting for their laundry, waiting on line, etc.
I also developed a reading list, with tremendous input from Columbia University faculty and postbacc premeds, that I give out.
Query the student as to what kinds of mistakes s/he's making to try to identify the problem. Common problems are:
*over thinking the answers because they are not definite, as science answers can be
*slow reading speed and/or poor time management
*particular anxiety about verbal work, akin to math phobia
*falling for the distracter
*not being precise in the reading of the question
For many students, reading the questions (but not the answer choices) first, circling key words or references to specific lines in the text, etc. before reading the passage, works very well.
If you have the resources, hire a tutor (a graduate student is often good) to work run a verbal section prep course, beginning in early February. I have seen excellent results with students for whom English is a second language, who have learning differences, or who come from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds.
Early identification of a verbal section problem means the student has enough time to improve. Some improvement can be made with intensive work between April and August, but a self-diagnosis and a junior year start is much preferred.
http://www.unmc.edu/Community/ruralmeded/model/preprof/improving_mcat_verbal_ability.htm
Improving MCAT Verbal Ability
My advice is:
Talk about the difficulty of the verbal score whenever you have the opportunity.
Ask what the student's SAT verbal score was as that is an indication of trouble if it was below 650 and English is a first language.
Advise humanities students not to take their verbal ability for granted and to prepare to be challenged by the MCAT.
Tell all students to take a practice MCAT verbal section timed as soon as possible in college (freshman year is not too early) and expect to get an actual verbal score on the actual exam that is one number lower than the practice score.
Ask if the student has trouble recognizing vocabulary and, if so, recommend flash cards.
From freshman year on, encourage students to read such publications as "The Times Literary Supplement," "The New York Review of Books," "The New Yorker," "The Economist," "Atlantic," and to tear out articles to read while waiting for their laundry, waiting on line, etc.
I also developed a reading list, with tremendous input from Columbia University faculty and postbacc premeds, that I give out.
Query the student as to what kinds of mistakes s/he's making to try to identify the problem. Common problems are:
*over thinking the answers because they are not definite, as science answers can be
*slow reading speed and/or poor time management
*particular anxiety about verbal work, akin to math phobia
*falling for the distracter
*not being precise in the reading of the question
For many students, reading the questions (but not the answer choices) first, circling key words or references to specific lines in the text, etc. before reading the passage, works very well.
If you have the resources, hire a tutor (a graduate student is often good) to work run a verbal section prep course, beginning in early February. I have seen excellent results with students for whom English is a second language, who have learning differences, or who come from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds.
Early identification of a verbal section problem means the student has enough time to improve. Some improvement can be made with intensive work between April and August, but a self-diagnosis and a junior year start is much preferred.
