Improving CARS Reading Comprehension

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kryptonxenon

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Hey everyone, I am taking the MCAT on August 20th and am having trouble bringing up my CARS score (granted I just started 2 weeks ago). I've averaging between a 70-75% on the TBR Verbal and NextStep passages. There are 2 things I want to improve:
  • Sometimes I just don't understand what a passage is saying. What can I do to practice (other than just keep taking CARS exams) so that I understand passages fully?
  • I average around 10 minutes per passage, and although this is good enough to finish all the passages I get worried during the last 30 minutes of the section because I think I won't have enough time. I want to improve my ability to read faster AND understand what a passage is saying at the same time. Any suggestions on what I can do to get better at this?

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I was that student that never knew why I was failing the CARS section when I would always walk out of the test feeling like I aced that section. I was that student that always thought CARS is something you cannot study for. I was also that student that took the test twice and got a 123 both times. The only thing I did differently when taking the test the third time around was that I practiced with more stringent time conditions and with many passages. I also took the passages and pasted them onto a microsoft doc and zoomed out to 120% and practice with this zoomed setting so that I can stimulate the real mcat testing situation. I did it!!! I finally broke the 123 barrier and got a 127. The reason why I am saying this is I was extremely depressed that my score was 123 for the longest time and taking the test a third time was a lot of pressure, but I still managed to improve so don't lose hope! You, on the other hand, are starting off with a 127 score so you can really improve if you put in a lot of practice!!!

Now to specifically, answer your question……
I wouldn't suggest any fast reading techniques because you will not understand the passage and if you don't subvocalize you lose track of the author's tone which also helps you remember main ideas and helps you extrapolate information. In fact, try to figure out which sentences in the passage are loaded with transitional ideas and author's tone and highlight them as you read so you can look back less and maybe that will save you time. I honestly believe practice is the only way to reduce your time and not reading techniques.
 
I was that student that never knew why I was failing the CARS section when I would always walk out of the test feeling like I aced that section. I was that student that always thought CARS is something you cannot study for. I was also that student that took the test twice and got a 123 both times. The only thing I did differently when taking the test the third time around was that I practiced with more stringent time conditions and with many passages. I also took the passages and pasted them onto a microsoft doc and zoomed out to 120% and practice with this zoomed setting so that I can stimulate the real mcat testing situation. I did it!!! I finally broke the 123 barrier and got a 127. The reason why I am saying this is I was extremely depressed that my score was 123 for the longest time and taking the test a third time was a lot of pressure, but I still managed to improve so don't lose hope! You, on the other hand, are starting off with a 127 score so you can really improve if you put in a lot of practice!!!

Now to specifically, answer your question……
I wouldn't suggest any fast reading techniques because you will not understand the passage and if you don't subvocalize you lose track of the author's tone which also helps you remember main ideas and helps you extrapolate information. In fact, try to figure out which sentences in the passage are loaded with transitional ideas and author's tone and highlight them as you read so you can look back less and maybe that will save you time. I honestly believe practice is the only way to reduce your time and not reading techniques.

@Aspiring-Doctor, thank you so much for taking the time out to answer my questions. Recently, I've been struggling even more than usual so currently I am working through the Khan Academy passages (which seems to be much easier than other resources) under strict time conditions. Hopefully this will help improve my comprehension when I move onto harder passages.
 
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