Missing Passage Information!

[musicalfeet]

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So I'm going through EK1001 Bio and TPRSW for passages for my retake, and I'm beginning to realize while I'm starting to find information from the passage, I'm still missing a significant amount of questions from either not grabbing the right information from the passage, or just missing information from the passage. Sometimes, I'll also misapply the information or misunderstand what they're saying. It's really frustrating...and it's been about 2 weeks with minimal improvement, if any improvement.

Does anyone have any tips???

 

[musicalfeet]

BUMP + Update:

Just did another EK Bio section--it's almost as if I'm getting worse? I'm beginning to miss even more questions which further frustrates me. I could punch a wall right now 🙁. A ton of my missed questions was finding the "right" section of the passage, and completely misinterpreting it and answering it incorrectly. Sometimes the passage/questions seem ambiguous as well--but it's probably just because I can't read correctly. AHHHHH

 

[BigEinstein]

Is English your second language?
Approach the BS passage like verbal. Go paragraph by paragraph and road map
Answer questions based on INFORMATION IN THE PASSAGE.
Answer based on content if it is pseudo discrete.

 

[musicalfeet]

lol..actually its not. AND I often do better on VR than BS. I just have a harder time understanding scientific writing I think. Clearly your post doesn't help much because the issue is that I TRY to go off of the info in the passage BUT I either misinterpret the info, or extrapolate what's given to a new situation incorrectly

 

[BigEinstein]

Okay then I guess I have nothing to contribute. Good luck and hope others can hep

 

[musicalfeet]

Ah I'm sorry if my previous message was rude--woke up on the wrong side of the bed and misinterpreted (once again!) your message as condescending instead of helpful. My bad, I'm really sorry 🙂 but I do thank and appreciate your feedback!

 

[dkr34]

Be patient with yourself. It may take time. Be sure to reward yourself even if you see a small improvement.That will certainly motivate you. Try taking a practice test untimed and make sure you focus first on understanding. Once you're able to understand the reading, test your comprehension by doing the questions. Don't go on to timing yourself until you're able to really understand what is going on in a passage. The hardest thing about this exam is having comprehension and speed simultaneously!

 

[Gauss44]

Get a tutor. It sounds like you are misinterpreting something.

(And when I say, "get a tutor," I mean find a company that lets you hire a tutor by the hour with no future commitment. There are tutoring companies online where you can search your zip code for nearby tutors, choose your own tutor based on his or her profile, and hire by the hour with a money back guarantee for the first meeting. IMO, if a company wants you to hire a tutor you've never met for 15 hours with no money back guarantee, you shouldn't do it.)

You can also use the Q&A section on here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forums/mcat-study-question-q-a.134/

 

[musicalfeet]

Get a tutor. It sounds like you are misinterpreting something.

(And when I say, "get a tutor," I mean find a company that lets you hire a tutor by the hour with no future commitment. There are tutoring companies online where you can search your zip code for nearby tutors, choose your own tutor based on his or her profile, and hire by the hour with a money back guarantee for the first meeting. IMO, if a company wants you to hire a tutor you've never met for 15 hours with no money back guarantee, you shouldn't do it.)

You can also use the Q&A section on here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forums/mcat-study-question-q-a.134/

Do you mean like wyzant and stuff? I was definitely considering it--it's just that I read on here that some people thought it was a waste of money. It might be a good idea though...because it isn't until I read the answer that I'm like 'OMG okay.' At that that point though I would have been wrong already.

 

[NextStepTutor_3]

Do you time these passages? If you're missing a lot of info, it's very likely that you're rushing yourself through the reading. It can help to take a week or two and consciously spend a long time reading each passage before you move on to the questions. Spend this time on analysis (why did they include each sentence? what do the graphs mean, if there are any? what parts of the passage are just repeating info you already know?)

If you do this correctly, it should take at least 15 min per passage, but you'll start to learn how they tend to be structured. Then start to whittle down that time until you're mimicking test-like conditions.

As far as tutoring goes, completely agree with @Gauss44 - all reputable companies offer some sort of money-back guarantee, at least after the first meeting or two.

 

[Gauss44]

Do you mean like wyzant and stuff? I was definitely considering it--it's just that I read on here that some people thought it was a waste of money. It might be a good idea though...because it isn't until I read the answer that I'm like 'OMG okay.' At that that point though I would have been wrong already.

Some tutoring companies and some tutors will allow you to take either a free lesson, to sit in on a lesson, or provide you with a money-back satisfaction guarantee - that will help you decide if what you are getting for your money is worthwhile or not. In your case, I think a tutor will help you. It sounds like you need a live human being who can think about your particular situation and help you get to the bottom of what's going on, then solve it.

Try calling any tutoring companies or independent tutors that you are considering and voice your concern. I am sure that some of them will have protections against "wasting money." Some tutors will let you pay hour by hour, and never commit to more than one hour at a time... And also ask if you get to pick your tutor. In my experience, whether or not tutoring is helpful almost always depends on who you are matched with.

Since you asked, I've hired a few Wyzant tutors before, and personally, I was quite satisfied with their customer service and overall set up. If you find that you don't like Wyzant, try looking around. There are so many tutoring companies and independent tutors....