I give up

[scotties123]

i give up trying to raise my verbal score. i keep getting 10-12 with like 15 minutes left. i dont know wat to do anymore. all i get wrong tho are the stupid arts and music questions. what can i do?!!?!?! i was thinking about getting the New Yorker...

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[badasshairday]

10-12 is freakin solid. Just work on your science and get that up now! I wish I was in your shoes!

 

[MDrunner]

Deep breaths!! 10-12 is nothing to be upset about! Just make sure your science scores are around there and you will be golden!

 

[riceman04]

i give up trying to raise my verbal score. i keep getting 10-12 with like 15 minutes left. i dont know wat to do anymore. all i get wrong tho are the stupid arts and music questions. what can i do?!!?!?! i was thinking about getting the New Yorker...

 

[Kraazy]

Deep breaths!! 10-12 is nothing to be upset about! Just make sure your science scores are around there and you will be golden!

I second that. You already have a solid verbal score, so if you're hitting diminishing returns here, focus on another area where you can still make improvements with less effort/time. And honestly, those artsy-type questions just take a special kind of thinking which isn't easy to just "get" unless you have an extended period of time to work on it. Probably not worth it if you're taking the test soon. G'luck!!!

 

[uzbekistevie]

Hey, 10-12 is certainly solid but if you think you can do better I say go for the gold. Just like the rest of the passages understanding arts/music passages all comes down to pulling out the main idea. Is the author talking about classical vs modern art? Which does the author prefer? What if the passage is about a particular painting and symbolism. Which symbols does the author think are important? Maybe there is a contrasting theory about the symbols. MCAT loves to ask questions about contrasting theories. Really I don't think arts passages are all that different from other passsages. If you get the main idea the questions aren't that tricky.

I don't think reading the New Yorker will make any difference UNLESS you try to figure out a main idea for EVERY article you read. (Same goes for The Economist and whatever else people read to prep for verbal.) Read it like you would an MCAT passage. Ask yourself the types of questions the MCAT would ask such as: What would the author agree/disagree with? Were there contrasting theories? Of those which did the author agree with? Was the author positive/negative toward the topic? etc... That will help you pull out important information no matter what the subject matter is for the passage.

Good luck. Bring that 12 up to a 14!

 

[scotties123]

Hey, 10-12 is certainly solid but if you think you can do better I say go for the gold. Just like the rest of the passages understanding arts/music passages all comes down to pulling out the main idea. Is the author talking about classical vs modern art? Which does the author prefer? What if the passage is about a particular painting and symbolism. Which symbols does the author think are important? Maybe there is a contrasting theory about the symbols. MCAT loves to ask questions about contrasting theories. Really I don't think arts passages are all that different from other passsages. If you get the main idea the questions aren't that tricky.

I don't think reading the New Yorker will make any difference UNLESS you try to figure out a main idea for EVERY article you read. (Same goes for The Economist and whatever else people read to prep for verbal.) Read it like you would an MCAT passage. Ask yourself the types of questions the MCAT would ask such as: What would the author agree/disagree with? Were there contrasting theories? Of those which did the author agree with? Was the author positive/negative toward the topic? etc... That will help you pull out important information no matter what the subject matter is for the passage.

Good luck. Bring that 12 up to a 14!

that honestly just made me feel a whole lot better. thanks. seriously. i was so frustrated, but i think i just need to focus more. i just HATE humanities passages. i get like 5 passages in a row with not a single question wrong. then i get like 2 passages about arts and get every question wrong.

 

[Creightonite]

OP - troll

 

[Retro Virus]

OP - troll

What are you saying, that it's not okay to ask for help with the last 10% of the material if you're already doing fine with the first 90%? Aim high, but not too high, is that it? It's not a troll, it's just a request for help - the OP even pointed out where he/she's having difficulty.

OP, If you have fifteen minutes after completing each VR section that's awesome and I'm envious. Have you tried going back to the humanities passages, reading them in more depth, and reanswering all the questions? If you have the time you can go through each question and look for the specific parts of each passage supporting your answer, then use the highlighting function on them, so that you can look at the big picture and convince yourself that you're satisfied with your answers.

Other than that you might try going back over all the tests you have at your disposal and reading up on why the right answers to the humanities questions are the right ones, as well as why the wrong ones are wrong. If you can identify some sort of trend in your mistakes with those questions you may be able to take steps to correct it.

 

[scotties123]

What are you saying, that it's not okay to ask for help with the last 10% of the material if you're already doing fine with the first 90%? Aim high, but not too high, is that it? It's not a troll, it's just a request for help - the OP even pointed out where he/she's having difficulty.

OP, If you have fifteen minutes after completing each VR section that's awesome and I'm envious. Have you tried going back to the humanities passages, reading them in more depth, and reanswering all the questions? If you have the time you can go through each question and look for the specific parts of each passage supporting your answer, then use the highlighting function on them, so that you can look at the big picture and convince yourself that you're satisfied with your answers.

Other than that you might try going back over all the tests you have at your disposal and reading up on why the right answers to the humanities questions are the right ones, as well as why the wrong ones are wrong. If you can identify some sort of trend in your mistakes with those questions you may be able to take steps to correct it.

thanks for defending me, i didnt respond because i dont know wat OP or troll means lol. and thanks for the advice, i guess ill just take my extra time and redo humanities passages wen im done.

 

[merlinwall]

So maybe timing isn't the problem, but perhaps knowing the time restraints....

Kaplan used to tell folks (I taught there, so I'm guilty) there were only 6 passages per 60 minutes.

Clearly, the reality is 7 passages, 60 minutes.

When I practiced I went through with a pen (or mouse) in one hand and a stopwatch in the other.... I'd mark each paragraph as I finished it with the current time and each question. I found I did best when i spent 3-3.5 minutes on a passage and about 50 seconds per question, aiming for 8.5 minutes per passage (some only take 5, which means I could take more time with some passages' questions). [and EK idea of taking 5 seconds between each passage is amazingly helpful] The point is figuring out what works best for you and how to allocate your time... DO come up with a system. The difference between a 12 and a 15 is only a few questions, which could be based on you spending your time just slightly more wisely.... (That said, a 12 is a great score-- if it's consistent, Congrats!)