examkrackers verbal 101 passages

[olygt]

I just took the first 80min. verbal passages test and did horrible. I'm planning on going over all the answers, but what is the best way of doing this. It seems like their are too many explanations to just read over and comprehend. What should I be accomplishing while reading the explanations. Thanks....verbal is the worst.

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[BloodySurgeon]

Read every single detail of the explanation. Explanations to questions you got right and questions you get wrong. Even explanations to other choice answers that you may or may have not thought of choosing. Usually the right answer is right not because its the absolute answer but because all other answers choices are wrong.

 

[olygt]

That's what I've been doing, but some of the passages I just can't understand which makes me not understand the explanations and answers. Is it just me or are the passages really hard to comprehend, except for the science ones (of course)? Any suggestions for this?

 

[TropicalGal]

That's what I've been doing, but some of the passages I just can't understand which makes me not understand the explanations and answers. Is it just me or are the passages really hard to comprehend, except for the science ones (of course)? Any suggestions for this?

I guess it depends on how long you have till test day. In regards to the verbal section, if you still have several months, I'd say read through the explanations and try to get a feel for what the passage is about. If you have about a month, I'd say forget reading the explanations and just keep practicing.

 

[whosthis]

its all about the main idea. First just read the passage once. then take a few seconds and think about the main idea. ask yourself questions like

1. Does this author even like what he's writing?

2. Is the author a male/female?

3. What are his/her views

4. What the heck was this passage even about?

5. You can even look at the question stems and reword them to make it a bit easier to comprehend. for ex) "The author of the passage believes that the magazines written by the current era of publishers are?"

that can be reworded simply by saying : the author thinks current magazines are:


simplifying the questions can improve your score, but remember that you have to get the MAIN IDEA in your head because MOST of the time, the questions are based upon what the author thinks and wants. And that can only come from a main idea, you cant go back to the passage and find the answer.

hope this helps! i am trying to master the main idea concept and yes im using the 101 passages EK also. its brutal but you gotta work on it.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

That's what I've been doing, but some of the passages I just can't understand which makes me not understand the explanations and answers. Is it just me or are the passages really hard to comprehend, except for the science ones (of course)? Any suggestions for this?

IMO I felt that EK 101 had some very poorly worded questions and even more poorly worded explanations. Some of the questions definitely had more than one right answer and often times the answer I was sure was right ended up being marked wrong in their eyes. With that being said I ended up scoring fairly similar on the real deal as I did on the EK 101s. 9s and 10s and an occasional 11 on EK 101 and an 11 on the real deal.

Another thing I felt that EK did a bad job at doing was the passages, usually the passages were a lot easier to read then the AAMCs and the real one.

My suggestion would be to take EK 101 with a grain of salt and to take an AAMC and see where you stand there. If you can do well on the AAMCs, chances are you will do well on the real one. Only use EK 101 if you need alot of extra practice.

 

[Jonari]

I have to agree 100% with amwatts, on what he is saying. Majority of the questions, had 2 really really great answers. I was right 50% of the time. The very first time I took the first exam, I got a 4 on it, & I couldn't finish the exam in 1 sitting. I started practicing everyday - it's the first thing I do in the mornings. I wake up, shave, brush my teeth, & start a whole EK exam for 85 minutes.

After the first few sessions, I realized that reading in my head helped me a lot and as well as underlining important information in the passage. My grade went up gradually from 4 to 8, still not the best - but an improvement for me. Today, I took an AAMC test, and unfortunately got a 5 on it. The AAMC passages, are just another league of passages, imo. Just as amwatts stated, use EK only for practice, and use it with a grain of salt.

Btw, there is a really good passage in the EK 101 test booklet, on how to improve reading skills. It's in exam 9, just can't remember which passage. Towards the middle if I remember correctly. Good luck.

 

[patrickd223]

I got a 9 on test 1 from EK 101. This is about one point higher than what I have got on last 3 AAMC practice tests. I also incorporated some of the ideas from the VS EK book though. GL.

 

[Hershi]

so if the ek 101 book is easier compared to the real thing. what would best replicate the real thing when preparing? im actually getting an early start and so im curious if finishing that book essentially will help me?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

so if the ek 101 book is easier compared to the real thing. what would best replicate the real thing when preparing? im actually getting an early start and so im curious if finishing that book essentially will help me?

Besides the AAMC, EK is probably the best there is. I wouldnt say it is easier. THe passages are easier to read and comprehend, but what makes EK difficult is the extremely ambiguous questions and answers.

 

[olygt]

EK 10 wk program says to go over all the questions from test 1, but just by reading the questions stems and answering based on that. Is this a good technique to practice and is it worth the time to do this?