How to use EK 101 old version?

[DJDakoo]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey,

I have recently been using the old version of the EK 101 Verbal Passages book (printed 2002). I REALLY need to improve verbal and my test is in less than 2 weeks!!...I still havent been able to get past 8's on my practice tests.

When I use the EK 101 book, I find it useless to do 9 passages in 85mins (as structured in the book), so I just do 7 passages in 60mins which ends up being like 45-47qs in total (and making it tougher to work out a score).

Does anyone know of a better way to use the first version of this book?



Also, does anyone know of any other strategies for improving verbal? I have read TONS of help threads on here and have been working on verbal alone for the past 2 weeks, and still have not been able to improve that much😕
I feel that i read too slow and end up using up all my time..with only like 5mins to spare for the last passage!
When I try to just read for the 'main idea', I realize that the questions are too detailed, and force my to go back to the passage...

Any help would be appreciated! THANKS!

 

[SN2ed]

What I did when I used EK 101 was take about 40 questions each time for an hour. If the number went slightly over or under, I'd adjust how much time I have.

Usually, improvement in verbal happens through practice and post-game analysis. You shouldn't really expect to see a jump in score when you're just starting. For post-test analysis:

When I talk about reviewing refer to my previous post: I spend about 2-3x longer to review my practice problems than it takes to do the practice problems. While analyzing, these are some of the questions I ask:

1. What technique did I use? Why did it work/not work? How can I improve it?
2. Was I under any time pressure?
3. Why did I get this question wrong/right? Was it content?
4. What was the author thinking when he/she made this problem? How were they trying to trip me up?
5. Is there any type of problem I miss more frequently?
6. Why do I miss that type?
7. Were there any choices I should have eliminated right away?
8. Did the passage confuse me and if so, why?


Another thing, the questions APPEAR detail oriented, but they aren't 90% of the time. At first, you should NEVER go back to the passage. ONLY use the main idea to answer questions or what you remember. Going back to the passage, especially when you're just starting, is the kiss of death in verbal. You'll eat up far too much time. You do NOT have to read the passage fast, but you can't keep going back.

 

[DEdm]

Just to add to the previous post...

I used the EK 101 passages in VR as well. I did a few practice tests where I did 40 questions in 1 hour. However, if you are having problem finishing the section on time in 1 hour, you could try doing the 85 minute version a few times. I found this helped me a little bit. My reasoning is that after doing 85 minute tests, I felt that the 1 hour version was much easier and allowed me to concentrate better. It is a mental stamina of sorts. That may not work for you but if you get desperate or think that you are not finishing because you find it hard to concentrate the whole time try that a couple of tests.

Good luck on the MCAT. You'll do fine as long as you relax during the real thing!