Reading Comp

[yummymelon]

Well I just took the pcat for the first time during the RC i had a minor panic attack and as a result failed miserably (or so i think--definitely just bubbled in 5 randomly---which is pretty fail right?).

I took the pearson practice tests, 50-70% first time, 80-100% second time and 20-40% third time (probably because my boyfriend was playing some ******ed game and was making really loud annoying clicking noises I didnt notice it at the time, but all of a sudden i was really agitated and couldnt understand anything! it was only a few days later when the same thing happened on some practice passages taht i made the connection. I think this experience contributed to my freak out and made me super stressed for the real thing)

I have also come to realize that i didn't have a plan for how i wanted to approach the passages...on the forums I've seen these mentioned: which do you think works best, or is it just a personal thing?

1. Read passage, then answer
2. Look at questions quickly, then read passage, and answer
3. Look at questions quickly, then read and answer questions as you come across the answer

So at the start I freaked and started reading really fast....but now that i think about it reading super fast shouldnt really matter too much...At 200 wpm, it should take maybe 3 minutes to read each passage leaving 5 minutes for questions. If you read at 300 wpm, you get and extra minute, but this seems to be a small amount of time, esp since theres 6 questions per passage, so 10 seconds doesnt seem too significant. Overall it seems to be more important to read slower and get more out of it.

Since Dr. Collin's reading comp is lacking I was wondering if you guys could comment on how to study for reading comp. I've looked though the forums and it looks like there a bunch of options for this section: speed reading book, ExamKrackers Verbal or 101 passages, LSAT passages, GRE passages, or a Kaplan class. However will the timing will be different...so would you say do 6 passages in 50 minutes?

Ive also thought about reading scientific american. I think nature and science are overkill. but also keep these questions in mind and maybe even answer them.

What is the main idea?
Why did he write the article?
What is the structure of the passage?
How does the author make main points?
Are there specific details? What are they?
Are there implied ideas? What are they?
Can the info be applied?
What is the tone of the author?
Given that our percentiles are based on the first time takers between 2004 and 2007 (or something?) any idea on how many you can get wrong and still get a 70%? obviously it also just depends on how lucky you are with getting core/experimentals wrong.

Also I'm wondering if I should just go head and plan on taking the pcat in august (i randomly bubbled in 5 on the RC and probably got more wrong) or wait to get my scores and take in october.

Also does anyone know how pharm schools would regard a B in quantum chem and analytical chem? B+ in biochem and orgo II.

anyways thanks and i ramble

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[jnmnh]

I didn't study for RC (had to focus on quant & chem for my first PCAT) but I tried the passages in the Kaplan book. They suggest reading the 1st paragraph, skimming the Q's then reading the passage. Skimming the Qs seemed like a waste of 90 valuable seconds to me.

I just read the 1st paragraph, said to myself the main idea, and read the rest of the passage. I underlined 2-3 things per paragraph (names, key points) to use as landmarks when I went back to answer questions. Then it was pretty fast to know where to look for most questions.

Like I said, reading the Q's first seemed like a waste of time because you're not gonna remember the 8 questions and be circling answers as you read. Just read the passage (so that you know spatially where different points are) and refer back for the Qs.

Also-- for each passage just circle the answers in your test book. Then bubble them after each passage. That keeps you focused on the material and not in transition.

 

[JJVmom]

Thanks for thinking through your technique options. I did really well on the Pearson and Collin's practice tests and always had about 10-15 minutes left over. Saturday, I ran out of time. I couldn't believe it. When 5 minutes was announced, I went into panic mode and bubbled in the rest. I was planning on RC pulling up my composite. It's a fine line b/t reading fast and not getting the info so that you have reread to look for answers, and reading too slow so that you don't have enough time. I know Kaplan's technique says to look at the questions first, but I feel that wastes precious time. I'm going to do lots more practice tests before Aug!

 

[SarahLorraine]

I read the passages thoroughly and then answered the questions. I tried to avoid looking back through the passage to answer the questions. But I did look back quite a few times. I read as slowly as I needed to to really understand the main idea and the tone. It felt like I was reading so slowly, but it was the most efficient use of my time that way.

For "what was the point of paragraph #3" type questions, I skimmed back over the first and last sentences of that paragraph.