How do you read The Economist?

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Croc

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I asked a med student the other day about the kinds of section that he read on The Economist to prepare for the MCAT.

He replied, "EVERYTHING. You read EVERY article that's on the magazine. It really helped a lot."

Yea, the question is, how the hell do you read every article? There are well over 30 articles on each section, and there are more than 7 sections. How do YOU read the economist?
 
The Economist is dense to read, I don't know anyone that reads through the entire magazine. Verbal score is probably the most difficult to improve. Some people are just naturally good at the verbal elements of standardized tests. If you have a ton of time to prepare for the MCAT, reading things like the Economist may help, but doing practice verbal passages will probably help the most.
 
People actually read The Economist to prepare for the MCAT? I don't think reading a magazine for 6 months is going to make up for a 20+ year old deficiency.
 
Yes, I do have quite some time until I take the MCAT. I will be taking the MCAT a year from now, so I'd like to start practicing reading.
 
I'm skeptical that it really helps that much aside from simply reading material that you are not accustomed to reading. The problem with the verbal section is seldom that you simply don't comprehend what you're reading, it's the ambiguous questions with even more ambiguous answer choices. There is no room for interpretation, as far as the MCAT is concerned, there is one and only one right answer.
 
I had a long commute so I used to read it cover to cover every week. There are plenty of articles you can skip, especially news about smaller countries which may not interest you. I read it for pleasure, I doubt that it helps at all for the MCAT. Do some verbal passages to practice for that.
 
I think I can speak with some authority on improving your verbal score.

My first MCAT I got a 6 in verbal...four months later I pulled it up to a 10. In those 4 months I did as many practice tests as I could get my hands on.

The key is to analyze why one answer is right vs. wrong. Eventually you get a "sixth-sense" for why one ambiguous answer is likely correct.

You dont need the economist. Do questions. A ****load of them precisely.
 
I think I can speak with some authority on improving your verbal score.

My first MCAT I got a 6 in verbal...four months later I pulled it up to a 10. In those 4 months I did as many practice tests as I could get my hands on.

The key is to analyze why one answer is right vs. wrong. Eventually you get a "sixth-sense" for why one ambiguous answer is likely correct.

You dont need the economist. Do questions. A ****load of them precisely.


So you did nothing other than practice problems for the VR?
 
I agree with the poster above I dont think its going to be a useful exercise in your MCAT prep. Well, it depends on what your background is. For me the most difficult passages were the humanities type passages. I would but examkrackers 101 passages and start practicing - after a while you just see patterns. Also, its a lot of luck I feel I scored ~11-12 on the practice ended with 13 on the real thing. **Practice is the KEY**
 
I agree with the poster above I dont think its going to be a useful exercise in your MCAT prep. Well, it depends on what your background is. For me the most difficult passages were the humanities type passages. I would but examkrackers 101 passages and start practicing - after a while you just see patterns. Also, its a lot of luck I feel I scored ~11-12 on the practice ended with 13 on the real thing. **Practice is the KEY**

Hah, thank you. About Examkracker 101 VB Passages, I have the 2002 edition (which seems a bit obsolete especially because the MCAT has changed so much), and I was wondering if it's still a valuable source to prep for the actual exam.
 
Hah, thank you. About Examkracker 101 VB Passages, I have the 2002 edition (which seems a bit obsolete especially because the MCAT has changed so much), and I was wondering if it's still a valuable source to prep for the actual exam.

Obsolete? The verbal section has been the same for over 20 years.
 
I agree with the consensus here. I did well on verbal from the start but I've always read a lot, especially older literature. I'm also an English major so the questions asked on verbal are similar to what is discussed in my English courses every day. In prepping for the MCAT I read scientific American for about a year and honestly I don't feel it helped. At all. However, doing practice passages (especially 101 verbal by Examkrackers) got me into the mode of reading and reasoning you need to do on the verbal section on the MCAT. If you haven't been an avid reader all your life, the skills obtained from such an experience aren't going to come to you in a year of reading The Economist. The most effective thing you can do is to do as many practice verbal passages as you possibly can. Do some everyday and eventually you will see that it will start to click
 
Although it's not really the point of your question, the way I've been reading the Economist since I started as a twelve year old is to first read the obituary, then the arts section and book reviews, then the science and technology section, then I skip to the front, read the cartoon and editorials, and start reading the world news region by region. I usually skip the business stuff because I find it dull beyond belief, but then, I doubt I'll die (or live) rich. I just find manipulating money dull as heck!

As for the New Yorker, I just read it backwards - I read each article in backwards order (though I don't read it backwards word by word :laugh:). IDK why, I just like reading magazines backwards.
 
Hah, thank you. About Examkracker 101 VB Passages, I have the 2002 edition (which seems a bit obsolete especially because the MCAT has changed so much), and I was wondering if it's still a valuable source to prep for the actual exam.

It's actually the same exact passages, just grouped into different sized "sets" to reflect the length of the current verbal section (i.e., about 10 passages per section on the old MCAT changed to 6 or so on the computer based test). So no worries there if you just stick to doing something like "1 passage per day" like someone else suggested.

As for the Economist, I highly doubt it'll change the way you read in under a year.
 
People actually read The Economist to prepare for the MCAT? I don't think reading a magazine for 6 months is going to make up for a 20+ year old deficiency.

I never got this either, BUT it seems to work for a lot of people, so they must be doing something right. I only heard about people doing this on SDN, when I was already knee deep in MCAT prep. IMO It's hard to assess comprehension because people rarely/never discuss articles or the author's opinion. So you'll read it, and then move on. Well, unless every single one of your friends reads stuff like that, which would be conveinent 😛
 
In my experience, if you're not a good reader, doing a ton of timed practice passages can help you get to about 11-12 by making you efficient at the MCAT VR section. Consistently scoring more than 12 will additionally require that:

1. You're good at reading comprehension (i.e. you have long-term experience with dense reading)
2. Your focus level is very high for the entire verbal section.

I think people often underestimate the value of long term preparation for the VR section. If you're a good reader it means that your starting level will be higher than someone without that skill, but that's not something you can develop in less than one year.

I think WHAT you read is up to you - the MCAT has a huge variety of topics, so reading English literature, scientific journals, news/current events, journals like The Economist, and academic articles in the humanities can all have a positive impact.
 
READ THE ECONOMIST!!!!!!!!!

I highly recommend this.

Also, opinion pages in NYTimes or Wall Street Journal (Chicago Tribune???) are a great way to figure out an author's tone.
 
If you read The Economist expressly for reading comprehension without a reason to enjoy it, I think you'll have a tough time getting through it. I've read the Economist for a long time but only recently subscribed and I read it cover to cover, but because I am involved in debate and take in interest in world happenings.

I think there is a lot more reading out there that you will find interesting and will help your comprehension more than the Economist. Look for classic literature and modern novels with stories you find particularly interesting. Philosophical works and postmodern authors will be much more dense than anything in the Economist, but once again if you don't find it interesting it will be a pain in the ass to read.
 
The Economist is very dry and no-nonsense. You definitely don't have to read the whole thing. If you're going to use it to improve your reading comprehension, just choose a few articles per issue that you find interesting. Read them and then reflect on what the important points were. Try to get to the point where you can read an article quickly and still get the main points out of it. You don't even have to read the Economist. Just read some good literature or philosophy.
 
i bought a year subscription to the economist and it was a huge waste of money in my opinion. I don't know if i ever read more than 4-5 articles.. that stuff is crazy boring and all politics and it seems way too hard to be considered mcat passage material.
 
i bought a year subscription to the economist and it was a huge waste of money in my opinion. I don't know if i ever read more than 4-5 articles.. that stuff is crazy boring and all politics and it seems way too hard to be considered mcat passage material.

I'm honestly concerned if you find The Economist difficult to read. Sure, some of the concepts (especially when they do finance-related articles) can be difficult to understand, but the writing itself is pretty top notch and should be easily understood if you have a decent reading ability. IMO the MCAT passages are more difficult than those in The Economist.
 
I've been reading The Economist for years, and I consider it to be the best all-around source for global current events and business happenings. I can tell I've been reading it too long when I pick up the "Brits vs Europe" tone in much of the writing.
 
I'm honestly concerned if you find The Economist difficult to read. Sure, some of the concepts (especially when they do finance-related articles) can be difficult to understand, but the writing itself is pretty top notch and should be easily understood if you have a decent reading ability. IMO the MCAT passages are more difficult than those in The Economist.

really? I must feel dumb then, cause I remember looking at it a long time ago, and it looked dense and boring and turned me off. Especially since I know absolutely nothing of the economy, finance, business terms/knowledge, political science, etc. All sounds like Japanese 😱
 
really? I must feel dumb then, cause I remember looking at it a long time ago, and it looked dense and boring and turned me off. Especially since I know absolutely nothing of the economy, finance, business terms/knowledge, political science, etc. All sounds like Japanese 😱

Since when does dense and boring equate to being difficult? Unlike the MCAT where you have to infer tone and main ideas, the Economist is a news magazine. They make their point pretty clear, even if it has finance/political terminology. You'll get a lot more out of trying to decipher the works of philosophers like Kant, Heidegger and Kierkegaard than you will the Economist with a lot higher difficult and background knowledge needed.
 
Since when does dense and boring equate to being difficult? Unlike the MCAT where you have to infer tone and main ideas, the Economist is a news magazine. They make their point pretty clear, even if it has finance/political terminology. You'll get a lot more out of trying to decipher the works of philosophers like Kant, Heidegger and Kierkegaard than you will the Economist with a lot higher difficult and background knowledge needed.

Well the boring part, you're right, that was just part of the description of the time I looked at it and wanted to 😴
 
Try and take an interest! There is a lot to learn from it.

It's hard to make yourself be interested in, say, the euro crisis or the politics of oil in Venezuela unless you happen to naturally enjoy the subject. Still, I think every article of The Economist has something related to health care or science around the world. These are subjects the average pre-med would probably appreciate far more than most Economist articles.
 
The guy you asked is either dumb or being a dick. I suspect it's the latter. Anyway just do practice passages. It's the only thing that works for me. Reading outside articles help in the way that it hones your focus and lengthens your concentration period.
 
Just read it...?? There's always plenty of articles in there about a lot of countries and politics of the world... I dunno, I guess I'm into that stuff so I read it for fun (though like others, I skip the business/finance section since it's pretty dull and I'm not interested in the whole manipulating money thing)
 
I'm not killing the verbal (getting nothing but 9's) but it seems to me that if you're scoring low on the section, it's not too hard to increase your score. It gets really difficult around 10 and higher. Anyone who is doing badly should revise or completely change their strategy. I just recently changed mine and it seems to at least "feel" better.

I don't think reading the economist will do wonders for your verbal because it's just going to improve your speed slightly and your vocabulary (if you make an effort). The MCAT wants you not only to understand the passage's main argument but the supporting arguments as well. It wants to test your ability to make accurate inferences without assuming too much. Is the author informing you or persuading you? Can you accurately follow temporal changes in the passage? Can you discern between literal and abstract uses of words?

Since the economist doesn't offer you a synopsis at the end of the article, how are you going to know you truly understood the article you just read? I say your best bet is to do as many passages as you can because those WILL offer an explanation as to why you were wrong or right at the end. Read the economist because it can't hurt but I'm not sure that's your ace in the hole.
 
I'm not killing the verbal (getting nothing but 9's) but it seems to me that if you're scoring low on the section, it's not too hard to increase your score. It gets really difficult around 10 and higher. Anyone who is doing badly should revise or completely change their strategy. I just recently changed mine and it seems to at least "feel" better.

I don't think reading the economist will do wonders for your verbal because it's just going to improve your speed slightly and your vocabulary (if you make an effort). The MCAT wants you not only to understand the passage's main argument but the supporting arguments as well. It wants to test your ability to make accurate inferences without assuming too much. Is the author informing you or persuading you? Can you accurately follow temporal changes in the passage? Can you discern between literal and abstract uses of words?

Since the economist doesn't offer you a synopsis at the end of the article, how are you going to know you truly understood the article you just read? I say your best bet is to do as many passages as you can because those WILL offer an explanation as to why you were wrong or right at the end. Read the economist because it can't hurt but I'm not sure that's your ace in the hole.

Yeah, I agree with you. People on SDN seem to think that by reading difficult magazines for a few months that you're suddenly going to be ready for the VR section. That's not how it works. Reading comprehension and the subtleties tested on the MCAT require years to develop. Taking courses that analyze and critique literature will help. Making arguments for or against a particular literary interpretation will help. Reading a magazine that "smart people" read is not going to help.

IMO you're better served to use that money on prep and practice materials than on magazine subscriptions.

(sent from my phone)
 
I've had a subscription for 2 years. You get faster and faster at reading it. I read it on my commute and usually spend about 2-3 hours reading cover to cover.
 
My dad has a subscription, but I never get a chance to read it when it's relatively current. I prefer the WSJ for that reason, but to each his own.

For VR, I recommend EK 101 Verbal Passages. It was the last bit of material that I studied before the MCAT and the Verbal section was my best score.
 
I asked a med student the other day about the kinds of section that he read on The Economist to prepare for the MCAT.

He replied, "EVERYTHING. You read EVERY article that's on the magazine. It really helped a lot."

Yea, the question is, how the hell do you read every article? There are well over 30 articles on each section, and there are more than 7 sections. How do YOU read the economist?

I get tired of people saying stuff like this and poor pre-meds thinking if they read a magazine they don't like for half a year they'll get some awesome VR score.

It's really more like "If you've been reading the Economist every week for years, you'll probably do pretty decently on verbal". Mostly because if you're the type of person who reads the Economist for fun, you're also the type of person who has read more difficult materials.

If you want to "prep" for the VR section, go do a bunch of VR passages (as has been said before).
 
And if you really want something to improve reading speed, try the "reading trainer" APP. I bought it for like 2-3 dollars and worse comes to worst it's just something fun to do.
 
If it helped, I would have got a 13 and not a ****ty 11.
 
I like the economist a lot; however the subscription costs quite a bit.. does anyone know how you can get a discounted edition?
 
I like the economist a lot; however the subscription costs quite a bit.. does anyone know how you can get a discounted edition?

Dunno about discounted subscriptions, but most university libraries I've been in have a subscription.
 
Jumping into this late but id definitely recommend this! I read the economist to get myself comfortable with passages similar in content to the economist since those passage either a) confuse me or b) bore me to tears haha I ended up getting a 13 on the real thing but got perfects on a lot of practice exams so I seriously think it helped me a lot!
 
The Economist? Is that what you kids read? I typically pick up classics, such as King Lear, Treatise on Man, etc.
 
The Economist is dense to read, I don't know anyone that reads through the entire magazine. Verbal score is probably the most difficult to improve. Some people are just naturally good at the verbal elements of standardized tests. If you have a ton of time to prepare for the MCAT, reading things like the Economist may help, but doing practice verbal passages will probably help the most.

I agree with this and with the ExamKrackers recommendations. The ExamKrackers verbal strategies are effective and the passages in the 101 book are close to the real thing, albeit shorter. I like that the passages are grouped into sections (seven passages, 40 questions, 60 minutes) that mirror the verbal reasoning section of the MCAT.

Truth be told, I think the major trend is that people who have historically been good at reading and critical analysis will also do well on the verbal reasoning section, and vice versa. There will be exceptions of course, but overall someone who struggles with reading likely will fare poorly on verbal reasoning and probably the MCAT in general.
 
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