How long to see improvement in VR??

[daleader]

Hi all,

This probably isn't something new but I'm just extremely concerned. I started practicing for verbal since 12 days ago and sort of had the time to study every other day or so. I have done 6 passages from EK verbal (not 101, the book), and around 10 passages from PR Verbal (not workbook, the verbal book) and I'm averaging around 4/7, sometimes 2,3,5. Ive been doing these UNTIMED and one passage at a time. I know I suck at it and its probably my worst section but I'm just wondering how many of you guys started like me and then improved? How long did it take for you to improve?

Thanks

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[Copernicium]

When I first started, my EK (101) scores were around 2/7's and 3/7's. My first few scored EK verbal tests were around 5. It probably took me a month or two to get them around an 8 or 9.

Also you should always time your verbal passages

 

[Gauss44]

Based on what you said in the topic, I would suggest getting a tutor. If you work with a tutor who scored fairly well on verbal reasoning, you are very likely to improve much faster. The reason for this is that verbal reasoning has patterns that a tutor can train you to see. A tutor might be able to check your reading skills and give you tips for that as well. If you go it alone, you will probably improve, just not as quickly.

How much longer it will take you on your own depends on whether you are smart enough or lucky enough to recognize why your incorrect answers are incorrect, to spot patterns on your own, etc. Some people get stuck in a rut where they continuously overlook something necessary to get a question right. A good tutor can usually point you in the right direction and keep you from wasting time going in circles.

Hi all,

This probably isn't something new but I'm just extremely concerned. I started practicing for verbal since 12 days ago and sort of had the time to study every other day or so. I have done 6 passages from EK verbal (not 101, the book), and around 10 passages from PR Verbal (not workbook, the verbal book) and I'm averaging around 4/7, sometimes 2,3,5. Ive been doing these UNTIMED and one passage at a time. I know I suck at it and its probably my worst section but I'm just wondering how many of you guys started like me and then improved? How long did it take for you to improve?

Thanks

 

[daleader]

Thanks a lot for your advices.

@Copernicium: can I ask what you did in those 1-2 months (i.e. study routine). Did you do passages every day for 2 months?

You are right about always timing it but if I get them wrong untimed, this shows that I'm lacking another serious component don't you think? Do you recommend timing anyways?

 

[Copernicium]

Thanks a lot for your advices.

@Copernicium: can I ask what you did in those 1-2 months (i.e. study routine). Did you do passages every day for 2 months?

You are right about always timing it but if I get them wrong untimed, this shows that I'm lacking another serious component don't you think? Do you recommend timing anyways?

Yes, always always time verbal or else you'll probably be luring yourself into a false sense of security. I'm sure that if the verbal section had ample time many people would be scoring 13+. Clearly that's not the case.

For the most part I followed the SN2'd schedule and did 2-3 passages almost everyday. Read the explanations for all the answers to get a sense of general things to look out for. I learned to try and summarize each paragraph as I am reading the passage to get a feel for what its main idea is. Contrary to most people, I read the questions first. When I didn't, I would have no idea what the passage was even about. After I started doing this, my scores became higher & more consistent. This takes less than a minute to do. I try to finish reading a passage in ~4 minutes, and try to spend ~4 minutes on the questions.

By no means am I a verbal genius (scored a 10 when my highest AAMC was 9). Try and find what works for you

 

[daleader]

even with ample time I can't score a 9