How to prepare for Verbal Reasoning over a span of a year

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Dr.TonySoprano

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What would you recommend is best to do before trying verbal passages, finding a strategy, all that mcat related stuff? I'm talking like before starting to study for the mcat, is there anything I should do to best prepare for Verbal Reasoning? Read a lot of books? magazines? newspaper?

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You don't need to prepare over the entire year. During the last year and a half before I started reviewing I had gotten into reading things like the Economist. It really has helped get through some of the passages that I feel like I would have otherwise slogged through. But long story short, it really isn't necessary. Doing practice passages is the best way to get good.
 
-DON'T do any ek or tprh; you want these for when you do your official review
- reading is good. however, you have been reading your whole life and are probably already very good at it. what you are not good at is reading about things that you know nothing about... so, you must learn about as many fields as possible. you will find that the passages you do worst on are the ones that address topics that you know nothing about. for instance, i od 90 – 100% correct on social sciences and sciences, but 70-85% on humanities. magazine articles are good, as are GE's that make you want to commit suicide like intro art and other pretentious waste-of-time courses.
 
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Read the WSJ, the Atlantic, the Economist, etc. You need as much time as humanly possible if you want to up your reading comprehension, so read every damn day.

As an avid reader of nonfiction, I scored a 12 on verbal with zero practice. VR is a skill that is acquired over time- there are no tricks or shortcuts, just read, read, read.
 
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Just do practice passages when the time comes. I didn't read any of those magazines nor do I read in my spare time and got a 13.
 
Just do practice passages when the time comes. I didn't read any of those magazines and got a 13.
You probably either read regularly or just naturally have strong reading comprehension skills. Rare is the person who can improve their VR score in a few weeks- reading is a lifelong skill. Feel free to look at story after story of people who bombed VR despite all their efforts because they tried to figure it out at the last minute.
 
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You probably either read regularly or just naturally have strong reading comprehension skills. Rare is the person who can improve their VR score in a few weeks- reading is a lifelong skill. Feel free to look at story after story of people who bombed VR despite all their efforts because they tried to figure it out at the last minute.

im dyslexic with at best an average reading sped and comprehension skills. For me at least, understanding the main idea and understanding the nuances of the test was enough to get me my score. I studied VR for 3.5 months doing a few passages a day which took me through EK 101 and TPHW VR. In my opinion preparing for VR long before you even start studying for the mcat probably isn't the best use of your time
 
im dyslexic with at best an average reading sped and comprehension skills. For me at least, understanding the main idea and understanding the nuances of the test was enough to get me my score. I studied VR for 3.5 months doing a few passages a day which took me through EK 101 and TPHW VR
For most, that won't be enough. Feel free to look through SDN for some VR success stories- you won't find many. Those that are successful usually just have strong VR skills to begin with.

I read a lot of nonfiction, didn't practice at all, and scored a 12.
 
For most, that won't be enough. Feel free to look through SDN for some VR success stories- you won't find many. Those that are successful usually just have strong VR skills to begin with.

I read a lot of nonfiction, didn't practice at all, and scored a 12.
you've always read non-fiction or was there a point before starting to study for the mcat that you thought it was a good idea? if you look at my past posts, you can see that I recently did bad in verbal. I'm thinking of taking MCAT 2015 because I don't have the time to retake nor do I want to take the current test again. I want to do better on that verbal section next year.
 
you've always read non-fiction or was there a point before starting to study for the mcat that you thought it was a good idea? if you look at my past posts, you can see that I recently did bad in verbal. I'm thinking of taking MCAT 2015 because I don't have the time to retake nor do I want to take the current test again. I want to do better on that verbal section next year.
I read a lot of news. Have for about 6 years. I used to have very poor VR skills, but got better through repetition. Read a lot for the next 8 months, then do whatever BS strategies people have to boost your VR in the short term. But please, do yourself a favor and read your ass off in the mean time.
 
I read a lot of news. Have for about 6 years. I used to have very poor VR skills, but got better through repetition. Read a lot for the next 8 months, then do whatever BS strategies people have to boost your VR in the short term. But please, do yourself a favor and read your ass off in the mean time.
thank you. I'm not looking for out of this world improvement but at least an average verbal score. thanks.
 
What would you recommend is best to do before trying verbal passages, finding a strategy, all that mcat related stuff? I'm talking like before starting to study for the mcat, is there anything I should do to best prepare for Verbal Reasoning? Read a lot of books? magazines? newspaper?

1. Practice reading quickly and actively, recalling the author's tone and main points.
2. Possibly consider studying the heck out of AAMC's VR Self Assessment* and use those passages over and over with a tutor to learn WHY the correct answers are right, and the wrong answers are wrong. Even doing one passage a week or a passage every other week will make good practice. (VR is often said to be the MCAT section/score "most resistant to change." Practicing early is a good idea, so long as they keep this section in 2015.)

*NOT the AAMC practice tests. Save those until you think you are ready to take the real test. Then they can confirm if you are ready or not.
 
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