Reading too fast

[Youngm2194]

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Just a general question about the passage based mcat questions. I know that one essentially has a limited amount of time per passage and that you have to read quickly etc. I've noticed that I read very quickly and skip some important info. It's not awful but I noticed that the answer is simple and explicitly stated but I skimmed over that section. Aside from "just read slower," any tips how to go slower without taking too much time? I'm just going to focus on reading more carefully. And what I mean by reading fast is for example one answer says EMG and the other says EEG and, because I read quick, think both say EEG, and therefore pick the wrong answer despite knowing the correct answer if I actually read EMG vs EEG

 

[NextStepTutor_3]

How long does it take you to read a passage, on average? I know you're not looking for an answer that just tells you to read slowly, but the truth is that it's good to take more time to read the passage itself. I always say that every extra minute you spend reading the passage saves you a minute or more in time that would be spent going back to check an answer (or debating between answer choices). And often, people focus so much on speeding through the reading that they basically end up re-reading the passage again when they get to the questions. If you feel like you're rushing the reading, you're almost certainly risking making avoidable mistakes.

Also, do you highlight? If so, any specific pattern as to what you highlight? If you read too fast but don't want to take up a ton of extra time, it can be incredibly helpful, especially if you focus on certain things over others (I prefer to highlight extreme or opinionated language, names, and dates/years, among other details). Not only does it stand out when you're looking back at the passage and possibly prevent small errors, but it also tends to make you slow down slightly during the most important parts of the passage (after all, just highlighting a word or phrase takes an extra fraction of a second, and can make that area of the passage more memorable). The key is to have a strategy - otherwise you're just blindly reading.

Good luck!

 

[Youngm2194]

I definitely find myself rereading the passage when trying to answer questions. I agree that I should focus more on the passage itself and highlight key points instead of skimming as it may help me understand the passage better. Thanks for the advice