The Economist

[jv00927]

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Hi! I just started reading the The Economist a couple days ago at the library. I have heard from many SDNers that reading The Economist regularly could improve comprehension for the verbal section of the MCAT (I'm taking it next year). I really enjoy reading some of its articles. But I'm having trouble reading articles that I do not have background about especially the ones dealing with international politics and world current events. How should I approach this problem? Should I just keep on reading the articles even if they do not make so much sense to me? For MCAT verbal preparation, what questions should I be asking myself about the article after I have read it? Thanks in advance!

 

[willthatsall]

I wouldn't bother with it, if I were you. The opportunity costs of you reading the economist are probably greater than the benefits.

 

[sdnstud]

Yes, reading the Economist regularly may improve reading comprehension. A year before I took the MCAT, I suscribed to the magazine and found it to be quite useful. Do not bother with the articles you don't understand. I was an Econ major in college and even I can only understand half the articles each week.

After you read an article, identify the main idea of the article, 3 supporting points to the main idea AND what the author concludes. Don't get caught up with the detail in the article. 👍

BTW, many people will tell you that the Economist is a waste of time and that you should jump right into practice passages. If you're taking the August MCAT (thus, only 4 months to practice), you should ditch the Economist. If you have a year to practice, Economist is an excellent leisure reading material.

Hi! I just started reading the The Economist a couple days ago at the library. I have heard from many SDNers that reading The Economist regularly could improve comprehension for the verbal section of the MCAT (I'm taking it next year). I really enjoy reading some of its articles. But I'm having trouble reading articles that I do not have background about especially the ones dealing with international politics and world current events. How should I approach this problem? Should I just keep on reading the articles even if they do not make so much sense to me? For MCAT verbal preparation, what questions should I be asking myself about the article after I have read it? Thanks in advance!

 

[twicetenturns]

I wouldn't bother with it, if I were you. The opportunity costs of you reading the economist are probably greater than the benefits.

Agreed, don't read the economist to prep for the mcat. You ought to read it because it is generally provides more thought out news reporting than the rest of the media and tends to be fairly politically neutral.

 

[Haybrant]

especially the ones dealing with international politics and world current events. How should I approach this problem?

this is pretty much the only reason to read the economist

if you want excellent reporting and well developed background read the new yorker (not just the cartoons! though they are great) and try Harpers which is more essay big picture format too.

 

[PookieGirl]

One of the best parts about the Economist is that it assumes knowledge. What other news medium does that? Most don't, because they assume that most people don't know what the hell is going on in the world. Thus the beauty of The Economist for those who do have that knowledge.

Some of the material you'll meet with the test is like that of The Economist-- you won't know the background material. So somehow you need to learn to be comfortable with that, and glean what you can from the material. But like others said, if you're prepping for August, I would do passages and instead use The Economist as an interesting reading source. It might also help with your writing sample but since that is of minor importance compared to other sections, you might not want to waste precious time.

 

[Wardens]

To answer your question, if you're a subscriber, check out the online version at www.economist.com . It has a section called "backgrounders" which gives a synopsis of many major world events, countries, people, issues, etc. with links to related articles. It's a great way to get up to speed. Their articles on world politics, science, and book reviews are really great. Although this may sound morbid, I find the person who writes the obituaries to be an amazing writer.

As for the newspaper's politics I would agree that they are unabashedly for free market; however, they do not at all present it as propoganda. For a remarkably refreshing change, they use well-thought arguments and consider alternatives. Their conclusions (at least on the market side of things) are usually similar, in that the market will solve most of the world's problems. On the other hand, there are subtleties to its approach to issues like civil and human rights and unrenewable resources where markets cannot correct for. They are clearly not blind in their thinking.

Oh, and you can definitely never call their economics conservative. Their opinions may reflect the right (or for some crazy reason, what people call the "conservative") side of our country; however, their beliefs are absolutely liberal economic policy.

 

[stoleyerscrubz]

I think The Economist runs about $4 per issue. You can find them in lots on ebay for very low prices. You can find Harper's, Smithsonian, National Geographic, etc. as well.

 

[alec689]

I'm a big fan of The Economist. I read it regularly before the MCAT (in addition to doing practice passages), and did quite well on the Verbal section. I'm also a proponent of reading the NYTimes on-line. It's free, and provides good short passages to read quickly.

I agree with the postings thus far. Don't get bogged down in details. Just focus on the main point of the article, as well as any agendas that lurk in the background. The verbal section is full of questions such as "The author would be most likely to disagree with which of the following four statements...", etc. Also, be sure to force yourself to read quickly. I'm a pretty fast reader, and I only finished the verbal section 10 minutes early (just enough to go back and check/review a few answers).

Prepare consistently though, and the verbal section will be a pleasurable break from the tedium of the science sections. Good luck!

 

[Haybrant]

you, well, everybody, should make it a point to read the nytimes op/ed pieces daily

 

[Biscuit799]

you, well, everybody, should make it a point to read the nytimes op/ed pieces daily

or you could not, and save yourself from being pummeled with horse manure.

 

[Biscuit799]

I wouldn't bother with it, if I were you. The opportunity costs of you reading the economist are probably greater than the benefits.

Ha.

The opportunity costs may not be too high, as long as your demand curve for reading the economist may be relatively inelastic, thus a large change in costs would yield a relatively small change in consumption of reading. Also you have to make sure that you're on the outer edge of the production possibilities curve, that way your operating at maximum productivity.

 

[masterMood]

just make sure you thoroughly understand teh articles when you read them and not end up completely confused like i usually do. ummmm, i find that looking up words in a dictionary (and there are a lot of them) becomes a huge pain in the ass, so if you're nearby a computer, i recommend you download a program called Wordweb (dictionary software, uses princeton definitions) to look up words quickly, and if you want to work yourself (interest-wise) to The Economist, read NY Times and perhaps Wired News.

edit: besides the previously mentioned magazines, can you people mention some more newspapers that are good (NY Times, National Geographic, ???).

None of that Time magazine and US News bull**** as their stuff is relatively embellished/overstressed.

 

[Biscuit799]

just make sure you thoroughly understand teh articles when you read them and not end up completely confused like i usually do. ummmm, i find that looking up words in a dictionary (and there are a lot of them) becomes a huge pain in the ass, so if you're nearby a computer, i recommend you download a program called Wordweb (dictionary software, uses princeton definitions) to look up words quickly, and if you want to work yourself (interest-wise) to The Economist, read NY Times and perhaps Wired News.

edit: besides the previously mentioned magazines, can you people mention some more newspapers that are good (NY Times, National Geographic, ???).

None of that Time magazine and US News bull**** as their stuff is relatively embellished/overstressed.

Many universities allow their students to access articles in scientific journals. These are an excellent resource in MCAT Verbal preparation. Any discipline will do, although I'd personally stick to a field that you feel comfortable in (i.e. bio if you're a bio major, psych if you're a psych major).