Does anyone else disagree with this MCAT strategy?

[LiFre]

So a certain prep company (that rhymes with shmaplan) has a CARS strategy that goes like this:
1. Skim the passage and decide whether you save it for later or not, depending on its difficulty.
2. Read the questions.
3. Read the passage all the way through
4. Do the questions (while skipping the hard ones)
5. Go back to the hard ones.

Reading the questions first, saving passages for later, and skipping questions all seem like gigantic time wasters. Also if you need like over 512, you really need to do well on every passage, instead of pretty much guessing on the hard ones. They pretty much have the same strategy for science and they even say to try the questions first before reading the passage.

Did anyone have success with this?

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[LoveBeingHuman:)]

It’s a horrible strategy. And the MCAT knows this which is why it’s common to see very difficult passages (such as an artistic analysis of Picasso by an 18th century writer) with easy questions or very easy passages (such as an article on HIV that looks like it came out of a blog written by a high school senior) with very nitpicky questions that drive you crazy.

 

[Lawpy]

So a certain prep company (that rhymes with shmaplan) has a CARS strategy that goes like this:
1. Skim the passage and decide whether you save it for later or not, depending on its difficulty.
2. Read the questions.
3. Read the passage all the way through
4. Do the questions (while skipping the hard ones)
5. Go back to the hard ones.

Reading the questions first, saving passages for later, and skipping questions all seem like gigantic time wasters. Also if you need like over 512, you really need to do well on every passage, instead of pretty much guessing on the hard ones. They pretty much have the same strategy for science and they even say to try the questions first before reading the passage.

Did anyone have success with this?

All you need to do to excel in CARS/verbal is the following:

1. Take a 5 second break before reading the passage (so that you can clear any nervous jitters and distracting thoughts)

2. Read the passage slowly and thoroughly. You need to understand the author's main argument. Why did the author write this passage? What is their argument? Read actively. See how each paragraph relate to the previous paragraph (i.e. if this paragraph were deleted from the passage, how would the author's argument be affected?). You need to follow the author's reasoning and have a solid grasp of their argument. Forget the details and focus on the argument.

3. After reading the passage, take a few seconds to summarize the author's argument in your head to make sure you understood the passage well.

4. Answer the questions based on the author's argument and the author's point of view. Questions will ask how the author thinks about this. You'll be asked to clarify, expand or refute the author's argument. Don't use any outside knowledge and only answer based on what's in the passage.

Test prep companies have various ways to tackle CARS, but they all reduce to actively reading the passage, understanding the author's main argument and using the author's argument to answer questions. Once you have the author's argument firmly in your grasp, answering questions becomes much easier and you'll be able to finish the section with time to spare and ultimately get a high score.

 

[SuaveCardigans]

All you need to do to excel in CARS/verbal is the following:

1. Take a 5 second break before reading the passage (so that you can clear any nervous jitters and distracting thoughts)

2. Read the passage slowly and thoroughly. You need to understand the author's main argument. Why did the author write this passage? What is their argument? Read actively. See how each paragraph relate to the previous paragraph (i.e. if this paragraph were deleted from the passage, how would the author's argument be affected?). You need to follow the author's reasoning and have a solid grasp of their argument. Forget the details and focus on the argument.

3. After reading the passage, take a few seconds to summarize the author's argument in your head to make sure you understood the passage well.

4. Answer the questions based on the author's argument and the author's point of view. Questions will ask how the author thinks about this. You'll be asked to clarify, expand or refute the author's argument. Don't use any outside knowledge and only answer based on what's in the passage.

Test prep companies have various ways to tackle CARS, but they all reduce to actively reading the passage, understanding the author's main argument and using the author's argument to answer questions. Once you have the author's argument firmly in your grasp, answering questions becomes much easier and you'll be able to finish the section with time to spare and ultimately get a high score.

+1

Read EK cars book if you want more help

 

[freedoctor17]

I hated Kaplans cars strategy. It works for some but for me personally I just ignored their cars book completely. I agree with lawper and that's the method I used and what worked best for me. Just do a lot of practice that way until you get in the habit of immediately thinking about those things while reading it. And don't try to rush as that'll be a not mistake. You'll just end up having to reread.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Skipping what looks like a difficult passage for you is not a time waster. It’s called prioritizing (I think Kaplan calls it triage). If you skip the really hard ones until the end, you maximize your points by making sure you get the most time for every other passage, then use the rest of the time on the one or two that have language or topics you find difficult.

Personally, I’ve found that if you just read a lot on your own (including papers and nonfiction), none of the passages will seem terribly difficult to get through.

 

[Pooker_]

So a certain prep company (that rhymes with shmaplan) has a CARS strategy that goes like this:
1. Skim the passage and decide whether you save it for later or not, depending on its difficulty.
2. Read the questions.
3. Read the passage all the way through
4. Do the questions (while skipping the hard ones)
5. Go back to the hard ones.

Reading the questions first, saving passages for later, and skipping questions all seem like gigantic time wasters. Also if you need like over 512, you really need to do well on every passage, instead of pretty much guessing on the hard ones. They pretty much have the same strategy for science and they even say to try the questions first before reading the passage.

Did anyone have success with this?

From what I remember that company specifically said not to read the questions when I used it...odd.

 

[21Rush12]

Read passage, answer questions. The two part secret to CARS. Three parts of you include ‘think critically’.

There’s no magic formula that can substitute for reading comprehension and critical reasoning skills, which is why this subsection is least responsive to test prep.

 

[ekmf27050]

Honestly...

While I read the passage I summarized each paragraph in a brief sentence, mostly to make myself analyze it.
I answered all the passages in order, and I think all the questions in order. Got a 132.

Mileage may vary based on your leisure reading hobbies, but I don't think a super complicated strategy is helpful unless you've already used that particular strategy in undergrad courses or something.

 

[STLouisVuittonDon]

I just read the passages and answered the questions. Part of Kaplan's advice is just trying to make "tips" since you pay over a thousand dollars. If you paid over a thousand dollars for them to just tell you to read and answer the questions, you'd feel dissatisfied. The BIGGEST recommendation I would give on the CARS section is taking 10 seconds at the beginning of each passage to close your eyes and take deep breaths. During the real MCAT, especially during CARS, nerves are absolutely off the charts. You might read the entire first paragraph and then be like "oh my god, this is the REAL MCAT". Maybe you're on passage #4 and still kicking yourself over how hard passage #2 was. Taking deep breaths calms the nerves and clears the mind. The SECOND BIGGEST recommendation is to have AMAZING posture. By passage #7, your brain is going to be fried and your mind might begin wandering. Standing up at a perfect 90 degrees, shoulders locked in, like you're interviewing for the presidency, drastically changed my performance. After each passage, I'd readjust into great posture and re-lock in for the next passage. In all honesty, this test is probably the most important test you'll take in your life, and there isn't any reason you should be slouching.