impressions of examkracker 101 verbal passages

[Papi]

Hi everyone.

I was just wondering how people were doing w/ these passages as compared to AAMC's.

On AAMC's, I've averaged 9-12's

But when I do the 101 passages, I'm getting 8 - 10.

The passages are excellent reading materials, but I feel some of the questions are a little ambiguous and other answers can deduced logically.

Does anyone else feel this way? How have you been doing in exam kraker's 101 passages as compared to the AAMC's verbal\princeton\Kaplan verbal?

Please share your experience.

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[Mr. Z]

So far I've done the first five exams. I got an 8 on the first one, and all the rest i've recieved a raw score of 47 everytime. If Ek's passages are anything, they are consistent. In comparison i've scored a 12 for aamc IV, and on aamc V I had 10-11.

I think Ek's passages are right on the money, good length, proper complexity etc... However, i'm not sure if I can say the same about their questions. Overall, i think the questions are a good approximation of the mcat, but there are times when they are "off". I can't really put my finger on it yet. It seems like the questions can too frequently be answered by going back to the passage, and finding the answer quote for quote. This seems to be at odds with their method of the main idea and not going back to the passage. I find myself going back to the passage more on Ek's exams than on aamc, and I think it has to do with the way the questions are written. Who knows, maybe i'm just getting delusional from too many passages. Regardless, its good practice.

 

[Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]]

I liked the passages; they seemed to be close to the real test. However, some of the questions are either just stupid or worded bad. Sometimes the explanations do not make sense. There is always one such question for every passage.

 

[blackbird03]

I agree with Mr. Z. I felt Ek 1d was perfect in capturing MCAT verbal. The 101 passages, however, have passages that are easier to read, but questions that are difficult to answer because they ask for a close understanding of the question stems. I also thought that the passages were more logic-based/detail than AAMC ones. I'd have to say that it can only be good practice if one already knows how to capture the main idea, and wants to train in the art of questions stems and answer choices. I think it can be detrimental to do these passages towards the end because you may find that AAMC passages are usually much more abstract, and that it can be difficult to pick up the main idea in those. Do not be intimidated by the harsh grading, and only take AAMC test to gauge verbal progress. Other comments. suggestions are appreciated.