Best time strategy when starting a section?

[MudpuppyLake]

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When starting any section on the MCAT, is the best strategy to:

1) First count how many passages there are, notice the subject/topics, and then decide how much time to spend on each one roughly while also deciding which passages to solve first or which ones to leave for last?

2) Or just start solving problems right away, keeping about 8-9 minutes for each passage?

If anyone follows a strategy similar to #1, do they find that this strategy is time consuming or not as effective as starting right away? Any advice or strategies would be highly regarded! Thank you.

 

[sunshineman]

I found the best strategy was to complete all discretes right away as they're usually easy and they also give you some confidence heading into the passages. Then I quickly skim through the passages and do the ones I'm really familiar with. For example, if I saw on passage 2 the passage is centered around electrolysis I'd do that passage first. I found I'd always have ample time left to do the last 1-2 passages I needed to carefully read because I was less familiar with the topic. As for verbal....couldn't help you there.

 

[j306c954]

I usually go through them all and mark which questions correspond to which passage, and if I can, I glance over it and jot down the topic. I also do discretes first.

Verbal...lost cause. I usually end up having to guess on a whole passage

 

[Shirafune]

For PS and BS at least, I like doing things in order. Sometimes if I'm having a hard time with one discrete question, information in another passage actually ends up helping me "reason" things out. For example, because of statement X in this previous passage, the answer to this discrete question is probably not A.

As far as picking passages with topics you feel comfortable with, I wouldn't choose passages based on this. I've noticed that even though I feel comfortable with a topic and the passage, the questions can be very difficult. Personally, if I didn't go in order, I would look at the questions in each passage and kind of analyze which ones are straightforward and which are too "conceptual." Most of my problems come from not having the content knowledge AND not being able to deduce an answer from the passage information.