Improve CARS in a month?

[SiakTiDoc]

I've managed to improve my score in all other sections...except CARS. Does anyone have any tips?

My timing per passage is pretty consistent and I don't seem to have any problem understanding the "main idea/thesis" of the passage nor answering those questions (unless it's some crazy convoluted philosophical passage, those eat up my time).

The questions I'm having the most trouble with are the specific detailed questions. ie. what does this word mean, why did the author include ______, or the combo questions (I, II, III).
I end up forgetting where these things are and end up having to re-read paragraphs, thankfully I usually have an idea what each paragraph is about, but I usually still end up having to re-read a paragraph, which isn't an effective use of my time, especially when the passage has 7 questions.

oh and any general CARS trips is appreciated at this point.

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[Medical Muse]

If you are understanding the main idea of the passage, you've accomplished the primary goal for the CARS section. You would have a much harder time improving your score if you weren't getting the main idea. One suggestion to decrease the amount of time you spend re-reading is to preview the questions before you start your first read through of the passage. This will take about 30 seconds initially, but can save you time on the back end. By identifying the specific details you will be tested on, you can note them as you read and cut down or eliminate the re-reading. Some people don't like this technique, but I've found it can be very helpful if done correctly.

In addition, AAMC has gone away from the questions that ask what a specific word means in the passage. They might ask about the meaning of a phrase or why was it included, but rare are the questions that state, "In the context of the passage, _______ most likely means:" Some of the older CARS prep material has an over-representation of these questions based on earlier versions of the MCAT. I wouldn't worry about those questions so much.

One final tip, always use the main idea to guide your answer choice. If the author wouldn't agree with it, then don't pick it. I remember being very frustrated when I would narrow the answer choices down to two and always seem to pick the wrong one. I discovered that I was picking the answer that fit the context of the passage better, but not the main idea. Once I stopped referring back and went with the main idea, my scores went up.

Good luck!

 

[Trollest]

In a month, you can't.

 

[ArteryStudyPainting]

Think like the author. Think like the author is standing in front of you.

And get rid of wrong answers. Work backwards

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[Master Thinker]

I agree with @TBR_Doc on getting the main idea. Most questions center around it and never will the correct choice go against the main idea. However, I don't think reading questions beforehand is helpful.... you're likely to forget what questions are asking after reading the passage

 

[Medical Muse]

I agree with @TBR_Doc on getting the main idea. Most questions center around it and never will the correct choice go against the main idea. However, I don't think reading questions beforehand is helpful.... you're likely to forget what questions are asking after reading the passage

Thanks Master Thinker for pointing out one of the pitfalls of the technique. Previewing the questions can be a waste of time if you try to remember all the questions while reading. Either you forget the questions or you miss the main idea-both result in missed questions. However, if you preview, identify, and remember the specific detail questions only, this technique can be very helpful. There are usually only one or two specific detail question per passage, so identifying/storing these questions in short-term memory is a manageable task along with reading for the main idea. The best way to find out if it works for you is to try it. If it doesn't, find another approach so that you can decrease the amount of time spent re-reading.

And you absolutely can improve your score in a month, but it requires effort. It requires finding your weaknesses and addressing them. It requires deliberate practice. It isn't fun, but it is possible. In my last month, I went from consistently scoring a 13 on the old Verbal (roughly 130 on the new CARS) to getting a 15 on the actual MCAT (132) by fixing my mistakes.

 

[MoDiddy]

What are you scoring now?

 

[SiakTiDoc]

@TBR_Doc I agree with @Master Thinker
I've tried looking at questions before and it worked really well while I was using the EK book to study/do practice tests, but when it actually came to using a computer it was a disorganized mess clicking between questions and not remember most of what I just went through.

It did help me answer questions more accurately though, so I might use that again, it's just knowing when to use it might be problematic, as it was also an added time they was sometimes unnecessary.

PS: Thanks for letting me know about the question update! I encountered quite a bit of those in the older EK101 passage book.

 

[SiakTiDoc]

What are you scoring now?

my highest CARS score was unfortunately only a 126.

 

[MoDiddy]

my highest CARS score was unfortunately only a 126.

What practice test? Have you taken an AAMC

 

[Lawpy]

If you are understanding the main idea of the passage, you've accomplished the primary goal for the CARS section. You would have a much harder time improving your score if you weren't getting the main idea. One suggestion to decrease the amount of time you spend re-reading is to preview the questions before you start your first read through of the passage. This will take about 30 seconds initially, but can save you time on the back end. By identifying the specific details you will be tested on, you can note them as you read and cut down or eliminate the re-reading. Some people don't like this technique, but I've found it can be very helpful if done correctly.

In addition, AAMC has gone away from the questions that ask what a specific word means in the passage. They might ask about the meaning of a phrase or why was it included, but rare are the questions that state, "In the context of the passage, _______ most likely means:" Some of the older CARS prep material has an over-representation of these questions based on earlier versions of the MCAT. I wouldn't worry about those questions so much.

One final tip, always use the main idea to guide your answer choice. If the author wouldn't agree with it, then don't pick it. I remember being very frustrated when I would narrow the answer choices down to two and always seem to pick the wrong one. I discovered that I was picking the answer that fit the context of the passage better, but not the main idea. Once I stopped referring back and went with the main idea, my scores went up.

Good luck!

This is a good suggestion. Understanding the main idea really well and using it to answer the questions are the key to do well on CARS. Even in cases where you find yourself to be in a sudden time crunch and are faced with 3 passages with 10 minutes remaining, you can read the passage quickly to get the main idea, trust that the main idea you got was correct, and answer accordingly. Surprisingly, you can still do well on CARS despite this time crunch.

The main idea is the key to doing well on the CARS/verbal. The other important method that's related is to pick the answer that is least wrong or most consistent with the main idea, unless the question specifically asks you to pick a choice that contradicts/weakens the main idea. Most CARS questions require you to understand, infer, and apply the author's main argument and find out which assertions strengthen or undermine that main argument. As such, knowing and applying these two techniques very well will help you see major score improvements on CARS.

 

[SiakTiDoc]

What practice test? Have you taken an AAMC

This was from NextStep #1.
I did take AAMC #1 and it was pretty low (122) but this was a little over a month back. So I like to believe I made some improvements and it wasn't just the exam, but who knows.
I was planning to save AAMC FL 2 and 3 both a week and 2 before my exam date, and buy another practice exam from Altius for this upcoming week.

 

[JowellHollyBuddy33]

In a month, you can't.

Why not?


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[Trollest]

Why not?


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Because repitition/ memorizing won't work here like in science. You actually have to develop your area of the brain involved with reading.

 

[Zenabi90]

I've managed to improve my score in all other sections...except CARS. Does anyone have any tips?

My timing per passage is pretty consistent and I don't seem to have any problem understanding the "main idea/thesis" of the passage nor answering those questions (unless it's some crazy convoluted philosophical passage, those eat up my time).

The questions I'm having the most trouble with are the specific detailed questions. ie. what does this word mean, why did the author include ______, or the combo questions (I, II, III).
I end up forgetting where these things are and end up having to re-read paragraphs, thankfully I usually have an idea what each paragraph is about, but I usually still end up having to re-read a paragraph, which isn't an effective use of my time, especially when the passage has 7 questions.

oh and any general CARS trips is appreciated at this point.

There's a lot of great advice here. I'll just throw in two more, since your timing seems fine. Utilize the interface.

HIGHLIGHT.

Highlight as you go. If you find something that looks like a main idea, hightlight. If it looks like support or opinion or dissent, highlight. Keep it highlights short and sparse. It can help with the detail recall.
In the questions, highlight "gotcha" words like always, never, sometimes, etc.

STRIKETHROUGH

Immediately strikethrough answers that violate the golden rule test "if any part of the answer wrong, the whole answer is wrong."