Does EK 101 Verbal get harder?

[phunky]

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Has anyone else noticed that EK 101 Passages get harder as the book goes on? It seems like tests 11-13 are way harder than the earlier ones.

(Yes, I am doing passages on Thanksgiving =P)

 

[TXhopeful]

I've been wanting to try out a verbal book just for passages and practice. Can't attest to the increasing difficulty of this one, but would you recommend it for studying? I'm taking the March 22, 2014, MCAT and want to find a good one to use.

 

[valkener]

I remember the difficulty fluctuated quite a bit, but most importantly that most learning occurs towards the end with VR. I'm not sure what exactly is behind this phenomenon but many people start improving in VR only shortly before the MCAT. It might be because there are less formulas and techniques to master, it's more a way of analyzing and thinking. Just keep on pushing hard and you will eventually improve.

If you really want to know where you are at, take Full-length AAMC tests and see how you are doing on average (with say 3-4 tests).

 

[phunky]

I remember the difficulty fluctuated quite a bit, but most importantly that most learning occurs towards the end with VR. I'm not sure what exactly is behind this phenomenon but many people start improving in VR only shortly before the MCAT. It might be because there are less formulas and techniques to master, it's more a way of analyzing and thinking. Just keep on pushing hard and you will eventually improve.

If you really want to know where you are at, take Full-length AAMC tests and see how you are doing on average (with say 3-4 tests).

I've taken 3 AAMC FLs so far, and my Verbal has ranged from 10 to 15. It's really a crap shoot for me =P.

As for EK 101, I definitely recommend it. Good practice, although I'm not really sure if I've gotten any better at Verbal. It is HARD to improve. I recently started TPHR Verbal and I might like it a bit better. It seems a bit more similar to AAMC. You can find *cough*torrents*cough* if you can't afford it.

 

[nctw]

I've noticed this as well. After taking FL 3 and not doing as well on the VR section as I had hoped (9), I actually felt like EK might have lead me astray. By that, I mean there were 3-4 questions on the AAMC test that I thought were trying to "trick" me as I felt like EK does on occasion (causing me to change my answer). Still though, EK is great practice, although I too like TPR better for verbal (although not their strategies).

 

[phunky]

Still though, EK is great practice, although I too like TPR better for verbal (although not their strategies).

I don't really believe in Verbal strategies. When I get questions wrong, it's usually do to lapses in attention. I think the best approach is to just skim the questions (in case any of them ask about a specific word or phrase from the passage), then just read the passage.

 

[nemo123]

EK isn't really representative of the AAMC exams at all. If you want to get a question right on EK, all you need to do is take the question very literally and the passage very literally (absolutely no interpretation). On the other hand, AAMCs require that you interpret a little bit. I was scoring 12-13s on EK101 and scored 10-11s on AAMC exams.