Reading for MCAT (Disclaimer: Potentially Dumb Question)

[nikeshp]

I am at least a year away from the MCAT (just finished freshman year, think I want to take it end of next summer, i will have prereqs done so i think i should be prepared, but thats not the point.

I have decided to start some reading, I heard the New Yorker and the Atlantic are two good things to read. Am I just supposed to read different articles, am I supposed to try to read fast, and I supposed to just make sure I know what every word I read means or do I just casually read the article like I would anything else (when I read, I usually have to keep going back and rereading some parts). Mainly I am just asking how do I increase reading speed and comprehension? I figure I am going to get responses saying my speed and comprehension will increase by itself as I keep reading more, but if this isn't the case, I would appreciate any advice.

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[Brick Walls]

The VR section on the MCAT tests mainly on your ability to critically analyze an article/passage. In other words, you need to be able to do more than just understand the words you read. (Vocab is not as big, like it was on SAT)

It is good that you are starting to read New Yorker and so on...(i hear wall street journal is good as well)...anyways, in my opinion, the best articles that will help are critiques and editorials...in other words, articles that present the author's opinion.

Heres what you should look for when reading:
First, make sure you understand what you read. Then, analyze the article. See if you can figure out why the author wrote the article and how the author felt about whatever he/she was writing about. You should be able to understand what the author is thinking solely based on the his/her usage of words.
This is why a lot MCAT test takers find VR section to be the hardest.

As far as speed and comprehension....first learn what to look for when trying to "look inside" the author's mind. Then, once you get better at it, you won't need to read word for word...you will have an idea of what to look for.

Hope this helps.

 

[DrMattOglesby]

if speed reading is more than just a myth...then learn how to do that!
i dont know of anyone that finishes VR with more than five minutes remaining

 

[LikeClockWork]

if speed reading is more than just a myth...then learn how to do that!
i dont know of anyone that finishes VR with more than five minutes remaining

If you do it right the first time through, you don't need more than 5 minutes to review. Speed isn't the key, comprehension is.

When reading stuff like the Atlantic and New Yorker, read for content and ideas. When I'm pleasure reading stuff like this, I can tend to gloss over parts and lose the articles train of thought if I'm not careful. I suppose you could try passage mapping as you read if you're really into being neurotically prepared. Just try to sum up the general idea of each paragraph after you finish reading it and then the general topic, scope, and purpose of the article as a whole when you're done. That kind of thing will at least get your mind working in the right way for what the MCAT tests.

 

[DrMattOglesby]

If you do it right the first time through, you don't need more than 5 minutes to review. Speed isn't the key, comprehension is.

what i meant by speed reading being a myth or not related to whether or not it had the ability to not only give the reader faster reading--but faster reading with the same comprehension as if read slowly.

 

[LikeClockWork]

what i meant by speed reading being a myth or not related to whether or not it had the ability to not only give the reader faster reading--but faster reading with the same comprehension as if read slowly.

Wait....what?

 

[Maxwell Edison]

what i meant by speed reading being a myth or not related to whether or not it had the ability to not only give the reader faster reading--but faster reading with the same comprehension as if read slowly.

This is an example of the kind of dense writing to expect on the VR.

Or not.

Reading the New Yorker and the Atlantic will do you well for intellectual health, but will not do much good on the MCAT. The goal of reading the New Yorker and company is to enjoy letting the ideas seep in, including subtle nuance. The goal of the VR section is just to pick information out of the passage, and I doubt that you would like reading dense material if you try to read like that.