Examkrackers Verbal

[BenZq]

Im using the EK 7th edition Verbal book. I'm wondering if there is a modified timing strategy for the 7 passage version compared to the 9 passage old version that is explained in the book. When should you check the timer and how much time should you have left when you check?

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[SN2ed]

Timing:

- ALWAYS complete your practice problems under TIMED conditions
- For BR passages: 6-7 minutes per passage, work towards 6 minutes
- For the EK 30-minute exams….well 30 minutes
- EK 1001, except Bio series: 30 seconds to 1 minute per question
- EK Verbal 101/TPR Verbal: 6-7 minutes per passage, work towards 6 minutes
- EK Bio 1001: 6-7 minutes per passage, work towards 6 and 30 seconds to a minute per discrete
- AAMC FLs: Use their timing

 

[feipar]

May I ask why we should aim to finish 15 minutes early?

 

[SteveJMarist]

May I ask why we should aim to finish 15 minutes early?

Ditto. And isn't it bad practice to force the same time limit on passages that have more/less questions than others? Shouldn't more time be given to a 7 question passage vs. a 5 question passage?

Six minutes for a 7 question passage seems very short.

Hopefully the OP will benefit from this information as well.

 

[BenZq]

Well I don't see where you get 15min early from? EK says that the section should be completed with 2min to spare, no more no less.

I'm still confused about my original question. Is there a specific time that you should check the timer when taking the 60min version- after 4th passage? how long should you have left when you get to this point?

 

[Sinclaire]

Well I don't see where you get 15min early from? EK says that the section should be completed with 2min to spare, no more no less.

I'm still confused about my original question. Is there a specific time that you should check the timer when taking the 60min version- after 4th passage? how long should you have left when you get to this point?

I must be missing something here too, because 7 passages * 6 minutes each = 42 minutes. 60 minutes- 42 = 18 minutes left. Even with 7 minutes each there is 11 minutes left.

 

[SteveJMarist]

Yep. exactly my thoughts. I didn't have an exact "extra time" number like 15 min, but the idea behind 6-7 minute passages seems like overkill, at least for 7 question passages.

Here's what I've been doing: Give yourself 1 min and 20 sec per question on a given passage. 1.33 x 40 = 53.33 leaves 6 and a half minutes for going back, checking your answers, taking too long on a ?, etc.

I might stretch this to a minute 10 seconds... haven't decided.

 

[SN2ed]

Timing is a HUGE factor in verbal, far more than the other sections for most people. That's why it's best to practice under stricter conditions than what you'll face. You need to get in a rhythm where you consistently have extra time. On the actual test, that extra time will act like a buffer against the stress of the real thing. Additionally, the current MCAT has longer verbal passages, by about a paragraph, which will further eat into your time. Most of the people that have practiced under strict timing have been glad since they used up quite a bit of it for the real thing (usually left with only a few minutes). Conversely, people that typically struggle in verbal have a very difficult time finishing before the clock runs out. Almost all of the threads I've read where people are doing poorly in verbal mention timing being the biggest factor. Getting in the habit of finishing minutes before the clock runs out on the practice tests will probably hurt you for the real MCAT. Overall, practicing under strict time conditions helps to ensure that timing won't be much of a problem.

Here's what Vihsadas wrote:

1) Practice under harsher timed conditions than you will encounter on the test. You will have about 8.5 mins for every verbal passage. Get a stop watch and a verbal workbook, and practice finishing every passage in 6.5 mins. When I started doing this, two things happened: 1)Even though I was using less time, my scores did not decrease. They stayed the same. 2) When I became really good at answering the passages quickly, I found that I had time to refer back to the passage on every question. Now, since I can read the passages much more effectively (meaning faster) when I see a question that I'm not sure of, I have time to go back and quickly re-read the 3-4 sentences that pertain to the question. At this point, my scores started to increase.

If you want some more people recommending strict timing, check out the study guides in the MCAT Guide sticky thread or the 30+ thread. When people mention timing, they typically suggest harsher conditions.

 

[NRGStar]

Timing is a HUGE factor in verbal, far more than the other sections for most people. That's why it's best to practice under stricter conditions than what you'll face. You need to get in a rhythm where you consistently have extra time. On the actual test, that extra time will act like a buffer against the stress of the real thing. Additionally, the current MCAT has longer verbal passages, by about a paragraph, which will further eat into your time. Most of the people that have practiced under strict timing have been glad since they used up quite a bit of it for the real thing (usually left with only a few minutes). Conversely, people that typically struggle in verbal have a very difficult time finishing before the clock runs out. Almost all of the threads I've read where people are doing poorly in verbal mention timing being the biggest factor. Getting in the habit of finishing minutes before the clock runs out on the practice tests will probably hurt you for the real MCAT. Overall, practicing under strict time conditions helps to ensure that timing won't be much of a problem.

Here's what Vihsadas wrote:

1) Practice under harsher timed conditions than you will encounter on the test. You will have about 8.5 mins for every verbal passage. Get a stop watch and a verbal workbook, and practice finishing every passage in 6.5 mins. When I started doing this, two things happened: 1)Even though I was using less time, my scores did not decrease. They stayed the same. 2) When I became really good at answering the passages quickly, I found that I had time to refer back to the passage on every question. Now, since I can read the passages much more effectively (meaning faster) when I see a question that I'm not sure of, I have time to go back and quickly re-read the 3-4 sentences that pertain to the question. At this point, my scores started to increase.

If you want some more people recommending strict timing, check out the study guides in the MCAT Guide sticky thread or the 30+ thread. When people mention timing, they typically suggest harsher conditions.

I found the 6.5 minute suggestion far too strict - it is really not much time and forces you to read the passage too quickly. For me, the key to doing well on verbal was a thorough reading of the passage - then I found I could answer questions MUCH faster. This usually took me 8 minutes on the denser Ek passages, 7 minutes on the easier ones. The key is NOT getting hung up on a tough question, make a good guess and finish the test. At the end of the tests i'd have about 5 mins to spare and would usually get 12s on the EK tests. I couldn't break the damn 13 barrier on EK though!

 

[SteveJMarist]

Timing is a HUGE factor in verbal, far more than the other sections for most people. That's why it's best to practice under stricter conditions than what you'll face. You need to get in a rhythm where you consistently have extra time. On the actual test, that extra time will act like a buffer against the stress of the real thing. Additionally, the current MCAT has longer verbal passages, by about a paragraph, which will further eat into your time. Most of the people that have practiced under strict timing have been glad since they used up quite a bit of it for the real thing (usually left with only a few minutes). Conversely, people that typically struggle in verbal have a very difficult time finishing before the clock runs out. Almost all of the threads I've read where people are doing poorly in verbal mention timing being the biggest factor. Getting in the habit of finishing minutes before the clock runs out on the practice tests will probably hurt you for the real MCAT. Overall, practicing under strict time conditions helps to ensure that timing won't be much of a problem.

Here's what Vihsadas wrote:

1) Practice under harsher timed conditions than you will encounter on the test. You will have about 8.5 mins for every verbal passage. Get a stop watch and a verbal workbook, and practice finishing every passage in 6.5 mins. When I started doing this, two things happened: 1)Even though I was using less time, my scores did not decrease. They stayed the same. 2) When I became really good at answering the passages quickly, I found that I had time to refer back to the passage on every question. Now, since I can read the passages much more effectively (meaning faster) when I see a question that I'm not sure of, I have time to go back and quickly re-read the 3-4 sentences that pertain to the question. At this point, my scores started to increase.

If you want some more people recommending strict timing, check out the study guides in the MCAT Guide sticky thread or the 30+ thread. When people mention timing, they typically suggest harsher conditions.

I agree that harsher timing conditions should be utilized. I just don't get why the timing is passage-based and not questions-per-passage based. I don't see the merit in setting a timer for a 7 question passage to be the same as the timer set for a 5 question passage or vice versa. What's your take on 1 min 10 - 1 min 20 seconds per question. For example, that would be 8 min and 10 seconds on a 7 question passage (for 1 min 10 sec per ?). Over the course of 40 questions, this would allow the tester 13-14 minutes of "buffer" time.