Preparing for VR section by reading journals

[Arjunsi]

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Hi,

I have heard people say that one of the best ways to prepare for the verbal reasoning section on the MCAT was to get good at reading and understanding science articles (ie, peer-reviewed journal articles). Does anyone do this, and if so do you know of any source where you can browse around full-text articles online?

 

[nVictus]

Hi,

I have heard people say that one of the best ways to prepare for the verbal reasoning section on the MCAT was to get good at reading and understanding science articles (ie, peer-reviewed journal articles). Does anyone do this, and if so do you know of any source where you can browse around full-text articles online?

i would say practice is more important. going through the EK101 verbal workbook helps a lot. i went from an initial diag score of 4 in verbal to 10 on the real thing.

i started out trying to read journals/magazines but soon stopped because i didnt think it was worth it. if you have extra time, it wouldnt hurt but i think doing a passage or two is 10-20 minutes well spent versus reading an article.

 

[Tourterm]

Hi,

I have heard people say that one of the best ways to prepare for the verbal reasoning section on the MCAT was to get good at reading and understanding science articles (ie, peer-reviewed journal articles). Does anyone do this, and if so do you know of any source where you can browse around full-text articles online?

I agree with nVictus that practice is more important. Among other things, it helps narrow down your weaknesses and areas you should focus on.

However, reading in depth articles across various genres likely helps too. They do not have to be scientific articles from peer reviewed journals mind you. While "hard" science passage topics show up, there are also passages in the humanities and social sciences. I don't think reading science specific articles, peer reviewed or otherwise, will confer any sort of advantage over non-science articles.

I think opinion / editorial pieces can be useful. They require, at times, the same type of thought processes that the MCAT does to answer their questions. What evidence do they give to support their point of view? What assumptions are they making? How would they likely feel about this other related issue? If the author's argument is valid, what can we expect in the future? Would the existence of (some particular finding) help or hurt their argument, and why?

Others have said, and I would agree, that those people who enjoy reading and have varied interests (ie: they won't be bored by some of the MCAT's more esoteric passages) do well. I'm not quite sure how you can train either of things though...

Oh, and if you are still looking for full text science articles online, I'll risk going with the obvious and say PubMed: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/

 

[DrBowtie]

The best way to prepare for VR is to read passages with questions attached to them. Don't waste your time on other things.

 

[Arjunsi]

The idea isn't to read the articles to learn the subject material, it is to practice reading dense, technically challenging material and being able to comprehend it very well in a short amount of time. In this sense reading scientific articles is practice.

I am a few years away from taking my MCAT, so this isn't a method I intend to employ within a few months before I test. It is something I want to do over a period of a year or two. Planning ahead and studying over a longer period of time has helped me in a lot of classes, so I am sure it will help with this exam, I just can't seem to find any source where I can easily access full texts.

 

[koopa_troopa]

The idea isn't to read the articles to learn the subject material, it is to practice reading dense, technically challenging material and being able to comprehend it very well in a short amount of time. In this sense reading scientific articles is practice.

I am a few years away from taking my MCAT, so this isn't a method I intend to employ within a few months before I test. It is something I want to do over a period of a year or two. Planning ahead and studying over a longer period of time has helped me in a lot of classes, so I am sure it will help with this exam, I just can't seem to find any source where I can easily access full texts.

Verbal is about understanding the main point of the author. You won't really get this practice reading science journals, mainly because scientists explicitly state their purpose in journals. Furthermore, science passages only account for 2 or the 7 passages. You are better off reading articles you are not familiar with (I'm guessing you are a science student,so you should try non-science articles). That will challenge you to understand the material.

 

[cur]

I am a few years away from taking my MCAT, so this isn't a method I intend to employ within a few months before I test. It is something I want to do over a period of a year or two. Planning ahead and studying over a longer period of time has helped me in a lot of classes, so I am sure it will help with this exam, I just can't seem to find any source where I can easily access full texts.

On the 8 AAMC practice tests I took, I got a handful of 12s and 13s, 3 14s and a 15 on VR. I haven't gotten the scores back from my actual test, but I feel those are quite respectable scores.

I attribute these scores to a lifetime as a avid reader. I didn't practice VR extensively beyond taking practice tests, or follow one of the different strategies recommended, (mapping the passage, etc.) but I have read the New york Times every morning for the last ten years.

I think spending some time over the coming years reading challenging literature and news will, without a doubt, improve your MCAT verbal score. I also think it will make you a better doctor, citizen and human being. Pop for a subscription to a national paper that you really enjoy and that makes you think, I don't think you'll regret it.

 

[hawk126]

On the 8 AAMC practice tests I took, I got a handful of 12s and 13s, 3 14s and a 15 on VR. I haven't gotten the scores back from my actual test, but I feel those are quite respectable scores.

I attribute these scores to a lifetime as a avid reader. I didn't practice VR extensively beyond taking practice tests, or follow one of the different strategies recommended, (mapping the passage, etc.) but I have read the New york Times every morning for the last ten years.

I think spending some time over the coming years reading challenging literature and news will, without a doubt, improve your MCAT verbal score. I also think it will make you a better doctor, citizen and human being. Pop for a subscription to a national paper that you really enjoy and that makes you think, I don't think you'll regret it.

This is great advice. I scored 13 in verbal and would agree wholeheartedly with cur. If you're not a committed "reader" and you're a few years away from the actual exam, I'd start buying the economist and the wall street jounal at your local newstand and begin reading non-fiction and biographical genres.

With respect to prep work that can be done immediately preceding the exam, I'd go out and buy as many MCAT prep books as possible and then I'd do absolutely every vr passage/? set. Be mindful of pacing and track the ? types that you struggle with. Knowing your tendencies on ?'s that stump you can help you avoid making preventable mistakes if you're consistently falling for trap answers. It's also important to be practiced at going back to the passage in order to mine details... this was a huge part of my vr section on the real deal.