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I've been studying using the AAMC FLs for a few weeks now, and I have noticed my tendencies. My test is in a few weeks, and I really want to polish my test taking habits.
I know breaking the bad habits comes with practice, but if anybody has any specific suggestions of how to prevent yourself from making mistakes during FLs, please share.
Anyway, I think I have gotten better at absorbing the tone of a passage.
When I read from the AAMCs, I usually sit erect, at the edge of my seat (as if I were going to play piano) and read sentences within the passage, not necessarily word-for-word but cluster-by-cluster of words by guiding the mouse pointer underneath the clusters. While I read, it's like there is a newscaster telling me the passage very emphatically and simultaneously, I am paraphrasing what the newscaster is saying into words/ideas that I can understand in a simple way. Also, I try relating ideas over and over again while reading the entire passage. Also, if there is a word that seems to be popping in several portions of the passage, my brain says "IMPORTANT! This must be a part of the thesis if the author keeps talking about it!!!!" Lastly, if I absorb the tone pretty well, while reading the question stem and answers, it seems like I can pinpoint ONE WORD that will allow me to deduce the answer choice as correct or incorrect.
Say the passage is about the esteemed naval commander Captain Crunch, and a question asks about the central thesis...if I don't see the words "Captain Crunch" in an answer choice, I mark it wrong.
I know my strategy seems like it could be a double-edged sword, since test writers like to use words out of context, but most of the time, I have seemed to realize when they ARE using them out of context by ANOTHER word that would change the meaning of the answer choice COMPLETELY.
During my post-game analysis of the last verbal section I took, I realized that my strategy worked well most of the time. There were a few questions that I got wrong, and it seems that I missed them because of missing details. I feel like my pacing for reading the passage itself is good already (I map and it usually takes me 3.5-5 minutes to read and then 2-3 minutes to answer the questions), so I am not sure if I should slow down or what....
For those who have rebuilt themselves into test taking machines, how do you break that tendency?
Also, how do you know when it is okay to extrapolate or make assumptions while analyzing answer choices? I have always read that one must take the passage for what it is and to answer the question at hand by basing one's logic solely on the passage information. There have been occasions, however, in which the answer choices had synonyms or a paraphrase of an idea that seemed (while taking the test) so far off that I thought "This couldn't possibly be right since I would have to jump to a MAJOR assumption" and actually turned out RIGHT! So I ask, when have you all FELT that it was okay to make an assumption?
I know breaking the bad habits comes with practice, but if anybody has any specific suggestions of how to prevent yourself from making mistakes during FLs, please share.
Anyway, I think I have gotten better at absorbing the tone of a passage.
When I read from the AAMCs, I usually sit erect, at the edge of my seat (as if I were going to play piano) and read sentences within the passage, not necessarily word-for-word but cluster-by-cluster of words by guiding the mouse pointer underneath the clusters. While I read, it's like there is a newscaster telling me the passage very emphatically and simultaneously, I am paraphrasing what the newscaster is saying into words/ideas that I can understand in a simple way. Also, I try relating ideas over and over again while reading the entire passage. Also, if there is a word that seems to be popping in several portions of the passage, my brain says "IMPORTANT! This must be a part of the thesis if the author keeps talking about it!!!!" Lastly, if I absorb the tone pretty well, while reading the question stem and answers, it seems like I can pinpoint ONE WORD that will allow me to deduce the answer choice as correct or incorrect.
Say the passage is about the esteemed naval commander Captain Crunch, and a question asks about the central thesis...if I don't see the words "Captain Crunch" in an answer choice, I mark it wrong.
I know my strategy seems like it could be a double-edged sword, since test writers like to use words out of context, but most of the time, I have seemed to realize when they ARE using them out of context by ANOTHER word that would change the meaning of the answer choice COMPLETELY.
During my post-game analysis of the last verbal section I took, I realized that my strategy worked well most of the time. There were a few questions that I got wrong, and it seems that I missed them because of missing details. I feel like my pacing for reading the passage itself is good already (I map and it usually takes me 3.5-5 minutes to read and then 2-3 minutes to answer the questions), so I am not sure if I should slow down or what....
For those who have rebuilt themselves into test taking machines, how do you break that tendency?
Also, how do you know when it is okay to extrapolate or make assumptions while analyzing answer choices? I have always read that one must take the passage for what it is and to answer the question at hand by basing one's logic solely on the passage information. There have been occasions, however, in which the answer choices had synonyms or a paraphrase of an idea that seemed (while taking the test) so far off that I thought "This couldn't possibly be right since I would have to jump to a MAJOR assumption" and actually turned out RIGHT! So I ask, when have you all FELT that it was okay to make an assumption?
