Hey,
What is the best way to approach a verbal passage when you only have 3 minutes left?
What is the best way to approach a verbal passage when you only have 3 minutes left?
3 Minutest Left for One Verbal Passage
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this is a hard question to answer. Most ppl would advise you, as I will, to avoid this situation by practicing your timing effectively. I aim for 7 min for short passages, and 8 for long passages, or ones w/ lots of q's. I found that I was doing better on timing (my my vr scores improved) when I got in the habit of doing 3 vr passages in 22 min. I use ek 1001 for vr.
But on the other hand, your question was not, "how do I AVOID having 3 min left"...so I'd say:
-skim the passage, especially noting the concluding paragraph, as well as the first and last sentence of each individual paragraph (I min)
-formulate the main idea (10-20 seconds)
-go thru and mark an answer for each question, w/out even looking @ them. This is a hail mary pass in case you literally run out of time to mark (15 seconds)
- go back and do the questions for the main idea first, and then do the questions for anything you need to refer back to the passage w/ (best case scenario, you've got 1 min 45 seconds, worst case, 60)
W/ that said, practice this a few times. Honestly, if you've got 3 min for a passage, void your test. It'll mess you up so much. I'd need @ least 5 min and 30 seconds to be ok w/ rushing, since it can impact your score a lot.
However, I'm glad you posted this, bc I'm gonna practice a few passages w/ only 5 min. Itd suck to have this happen, and have to void...
If I felt good about the rest of the test I would probably still score it. The only reason I would void is if I did terrible on the whole thing.
I think in 3 minutes you could spend half the time skimming the passage and the rest trying to answer the questions. Just by randomly guessing you will probably get 1 right and by skimming I bet you would get another 1-2. There's usually 5 or 6 questions per passage so that would mean you would probably miss 2-4. That should only drop you 1-2 points unless you are scoring 13+.
There is a chance that you will miss all 5 or 6, but I would hate having to study for, and go through the stress of taking another MCAT without ever knowing what score I would have gotten on the voided one.
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Ok, first off, I don't agree with the void. I think if you have 3 minutes you can still get most right.
What I do is read the first paragraph quickly, then precede to read and the question stems and answer the questions. If you get a detail specific question, then make your best guess and come back to it when you've answered the others.
I've had to do this on a number of my earlier tests and usually end up 5/6 or 6/7 on the last passage. It's really just picking likely scenarios. Oftentimes in verbal the answers are alluded to in the question stem and answer choices. What makes verbal hard is not every individual question, but rather the fact that you have to get almost all of them right to get a great score.
That being said, if you read the stem and answer the question, even if you're not great at reading between the lines, you should still get ~50% of them right with a strong likelihood of getting more correct.
I think EK Verbal has a good example of this technique.
What I do is read the first paragraph quickly, then precede to read and the question stems and answer the questions. If you get a detail specific question, then make your best guess and come back to it when you've answered the others.
I've had to do this on a number of my earlier tests and usually end up 5/6 or 6/7 on the last passage. It's really just picking likely scenarios. Oftentimes in verbal the answers are alluded to in the question stem and answer choices. What makes verbal hard is not every individual question, but rather the fact that you have to get almost all of them right to get a great score.
That being said, if you read the stem and answer the question, even if you're not great at reading between the lines, you should still get ~50% of them right with a strong likelihood of getting more correct.
I think EK Verbal has a good example of this technique.
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Wow you guys are way better @ VR lol...if I had 3 min left for any passage I'd void.
I think trying it yourself is the only way tp know for sure. If you can do well w/ practicing passages in 3 min, obviously don't void. I'd just hate to do well on everything else and have VR bring me down, you know?
I think trying it yourself is the only way tp know for sure. If you can do well w/ practicing passages in 3 min, obviously don't void. I'd just hate to do well on everything else and have VR bring me down, you know?
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I think I would probably scan the questions first in this case. I never do this, but in this case I think I maybe would.. because sometimes there are some questions that are just directly from the passage, and if you're good at scanner could easily find. If you know you're not going to get more than a couple right, might as well make it the questions you know you could probably find, rather than getting a really vague idea and just guessing. I'm really not sure though, tough situation. I hope I improve my timing because I'm a good bit slower than I expected.
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You can definitely improve your timing. It's not easy, but you can do it. I am a notoriously slow reader. I have always hated reading silent passages in groups because people usually read them more quickly than I do. It's not a comprehension thing, more of a comfort habit type of deal.
Either way, my first practice MCAT was a wake-up call for reading speed. I've probably done 30+ full length practices and am just now starting to feel confident that I will have time for the last passage. Just today, with distractions, I ended up with just over 8 minutes for the last passage.
My 2 primary recommendations for reading speed are, 1) Stay attentive and alert while you're reading, constantly pushing yourself forward in the passage and NOT rereading lines. Don't ever get too relaxed, because then you will fall back into your slower reading style. Keep the attention, focus and speed. Whenever you notice you're too relaxed/lackadaisically reading the passage make yourself focus! and 2) Don't dwell on the questions. This is the real time waster. I would spend just as much time on the questions as I would the passage. Just read the question the answers and pick one then move on. You should rarely if ever need to refer back to the passage.
Keep practicing man, your speed will improve. It's all about cutting corners here and there, but it all adds up in the end. 😉
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Thanks man appreciate it. That helps, I do dwell on questions. It's just hard to lock in an answer so quickly with some of these verbal questions, but I will definitely work on that.
The answer to that question is easy if you only got 3 minutes left absolutely do not read the passage. And seen in EK verbal you can get MOST right by just reading the problem. And if you eliminated half of the bad answers for each one you are golden.
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I'm not sure if this will work for everyone, but I tend to take a bit more time on reading the passage (this is more so on ones where I understand and have a clue what the author is talking about) and less time on the questions. I find when I do this I don't have to refer back to the passage very often - esp for detail questions, etc. Though I should make it clear not to read too slow! I usually find I have 7-8 mins left for the last passage if I wasn't distracted during the verbal part.
May not work for everyone, but it seems to be okay so far for me. I'm only getting 9/10s right now, but I haven't started practicing verbal yet, so hoping w/ practice this will go up.
May not work for everyone, but it seems to be okay so far for me. I'm only getting 9/10s right now, but I haven't started practicing verbal yet, so hoping w/ practice this will go up.
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Lol yeah, and ek also tells you it takes about 30 min per passage to do that exercise. Don't get me wrong, it's a great activity, and it raised my score a pt or two when I first studied, but you do need to devote time to thinking it out.
Also, this exact scenario happened to me! the VR screwed my on the 5/22 exam...I aced the other sections, and bombed vr my test center had major noise issues, and I didn't know I could/should reschedule due to them. If I'd voided and rescheduled, I'd be fine again, I didn't know I had that option @ the time.
So, I don't see the answer as being "easy". Most ppl w/ three min left will do very poorly on a passage unless they're very lucky. I'm not willing to count on luck for the mcat, since it definitely didn't work that way for me! Also, I was getting 11-13s on aamc VR, bombed the real thing bc of this exact issue (last passage w/ no time). It didn't matter if I'd aced the other passages, or the rest of the test...sigh. Now I have to retake.
So, yes, I say VOID if you have 3 min left. Or, don't void like me...it's not like life's over or I'm never going to med school. It's just unnecessary, expensive, and a hassle! I wish I'd thought of this stuff more before the test bc I was unprepared for test center issues. I overestimated the importance of knowing stuff, lol... So, that's my experience, take it or leave it.
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Same. I take longer to read the passage, and I answer the question's quick.
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What do you mean by that? What kind of stuff did you overestimate the importance of?
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I mean I didn't consider things like what the test center is like, nervousness, timing. I was fine w/ timing for all sections on fl's, so I figured I'd be ok for the real thing. I think that even if you're good on timing, at least have a plan of what your personal limit is for "outlying" factors thatd make you void and reschedule: If you run outta time on 4 question's, if there's noise, if you get a vicious headache, if you have to pee, etc...I think it's good to plan for those things as much as you can. I figured I'd be fine w/ the test site, and didn't really read any tips/info on anything but the actual mcat CONTENT.
So, to be more specific about what happened the day of my test: in VR, sometimes I have to write out my logic for those questions like, what would provide counter evidence, what invalidates the argument...anyways, my pencil broke! I had to run to the proctor to get another one, since I definitely needed to write-albeit not too much-during VR.
Then, the real issue was that the test site was in a strip mall right next to a church. @ about the 30 min mark in VR they started having an all out faith revival: drums, singing, the works. The noise reduction set they gave me was pitiful in living up to it's function and it kinda hurt. Also, @ this site, they let kids wear their own ear plugs. Of course, I didn't bring ear plugs.
So, I kind of freaked out for about 2-3 min. I want to emphasize again how I've never had test anxiety! Yet, there I was, feeling like my life was over and I was never going to med school. Lol I finally pulled it together, and had to do 4 passages in 26 min. I was zipping along and feeling like I could maybe pull it off... til the last passage. It was some awful thing about ocean navigation, and it had a bunch of question's like: according to the passage, what's one way ppl got lat/longitude readings before gps? How can navigators tell coordinates from the sun? In other words, I needed to read this passage for detail, and I needed time. It was a really hard passage.
I thought bc I had a lot of info in my head I'd do well. I've never had test anxiety issues, so I didn't think thatd happen. Plus, VR was my strength!
To sum up, I think it's worth ppl's time to inform themselves of problems they may encounter, and what they can do about it. I didn't know that if my center was noisy, I could say something to the proctor and reschedule. The noise had nothing to do w/ my abilities, you know? But I didn't expect it, so I hadn't prepared for something like that.
Point is: I think it's a good idea to visit your test site, call ahead to ask questions about whatever you're curious about. Most of all, realize that you can talk to the proctor if the test site has issues. For me, I knew the content and had done well on my fl's. I assumed that was all I needed to worry about.
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Ahhhh, you underestimated...
That makes sense. I would be pissed if some church next door started pulling out the bongos.
I'm actually driving out to my testing site on Monday to check it out, see the headphones and get the general lay of the land. Then I'm going to test my route on Wed during the time I plan on going next Friday and locate a Starbucks, nothing says MCAT like 440 mg of caffeine.
Great tips though.
That makes sense. I would be pissed if some church next door started pulling out the bongos.
I'm actually driving out to my testing site on Monday to check it out, see the headphones and get the general lay of the land. Then I'm going to test my route on Wed during the time I plan on going next Friday and locate a Starbucks, nothing says MCAT like 440 mg of caffeine.
Great tips though.
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It was sooo hard for me to finish the VR section on time too. I would always cut close and would be maybe 1-3 questions left when time ran out. However answering the questions based on the question stem is probably a really good technique with only 3 minutes left....however like everyone else said, its not a situation you want to be in...
What worked best for me (strictly timing wise, im still sucky at VR but im finishing on time and now i can focus attention on questions) was that i timed myself for each passage for 7 minutes flat, instead of 8-830 minutes. This forced me to read faster and also also prevented me from rereading, and spending too much time on questions like other ppl pointed out.
I did that for every passage i ever did for past 2 weeks, and now i finished a full length with 5 minutes left to spare on the VR section. Granted my score absolutely stinks (6-8) but it didnt go down, it stayed the same!! Now that i have spare time i plan on slowing down a bit and reading more critically.
This is just my 2 cents on how this method help me to finish on time. So give it a try for a week. I mean you wont be finishing at 7 minutes every time when you first start if your slow like me but after a couple days you adjust and the passages flow a little better.
What worked best for me (strictly timing wise, im still sucky at VR but im finishing on time and now i can focus attention on questions) was that i timed myself for each passage for 7 minutes flat, instead of 8-830 minutes. This forced me to read faster and also also prevented me from rereading, and spending too much time on questions like other ppl pointed out.
I did that for every passage i ever did for past 2 weeks, and now i finished a full length with 5 minutes left to spare on the VR section. Granted my score absolutely stinks (6-8) but it didnt go down, it stayed the same!! Now that i have spare time i plan on slowing down a bit and reading more critically.
This is just my 2 cents on how this method help me to finish on time. So give it a try for a week. I mean you wont be finishing at 7 minutes every time when you first start if your slow like me but after a couple days you adjust and the passages flow a little better.
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I'd say you have a perfect approach.
My dad actually visited the test site for me-he was out and about near the site, and he and I had planned to drive together the day of the test. My car had reliability issues I wasn't willing to risk lol. It turned out that the test site was really hard to find, so it's definitely good to go before your test.
Also, it's definitely a good idea to do a test run of the whole caffeine thing. I've seen posts where ppl drink energy shots and got bad anxiety bc they hadn't practiced FL's "on caffeine." Personally, I'm practically addicted to it, so I had my caffeine routine down.
Also remember that caffeine is a diuretic, and it dehydrates you. I drank gatorade bc I heard that you don't have to use the bathroom as much bc it has a more similar pH to your blood. Idk what gatorade's pH is, but I found that to be good advice.
Ask your test site if they allow ear plugs. Mine did, surprisingly, but make sure they aren't opened and in the packaging still.
And yes, I underestimated! that's what I shouldve said...
Lol...if someone didn't know what the mcat was, they'd think we were all insane w/ our uber-preparations.
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I think that's good advice. For me, I read as slow as I needed until I was hardly missing any questions. Then I sped up. I figured it was like PS/BS questions: @ first, when you do homework and the like, you take your time to get the right answers. Then you can naturally speed it up for tests.
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Oh absolutely, that makes perfect sense... If you have enough time before mcat thats a good technique... However I guess I'm speaking with a slight bias because my MCAT is July 30th, and when I originally started studying at end of May I was having some trouble finishing. So my goal was to just finish because i tried it the "TPR" way which was to focus on "accuracy" rather than quantity. This put you in a position where you were EXPECTED not to finish 1-3 passages and guess on them. But i bombed that exam with that method... I have some animosity I suppose lol. Now my goal is to finish on time, cuz the more questions you answer obviously the better score. Plus that seems to be the consensus among verbal strategies.
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Say no more! I'd have animosity too lol...I haven't used tpr for anything, but I definitely think it's possible to finish on time. Not to knock tpr, bc lots of ppl love it, but I don't agree w/ their strategy to sacrifice finishing for accuracy.
one thing I did was start w/ 1-2 passages, untimed, and I'd accurately do them (as much as possible). Even tho I didn't time it formally, I'd time myself w/ a stopwatch, and I found I actually finished in 15-16 min. It was the mental anxiety about that tripped me up!
Good luck tho. Let us know how the real thing goes!
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Oh, I'm intimately familiar with the affects of a venti Starbucks drip coffee. I'm more familiar with the affects of two of them though. I cut back because it is a diuretic. I'll have to look into the Gatorade I wonder if it's due to the electrolyte content creating a higher blood osmitic gradient.
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Oh, I'm intimately familiar with the affects of a venti Starbucks drip coffee. I'm more familiar with the affects of two of them though. I cut back because it is a diuretic. I'll have to look into the Gatorade I wonder if it's due to the electrolyte content creating a higher blood osmitic gradient.
Report back-im curious! Haha
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