The EK verbal 101 Score Improvement Strategies Thread

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ofoshoukno

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I used to hold EK 101 Verbal in contempt, then I realized that it was by far the most similar in comparison to aamc Verbal. So we know that by logic

Improving EK 101 Verbal Scores-->Improving aamc Verbal scores-->Improving MCAT verbal scores

post your post game analysis technique/tips/tricks for EK 101 Verbal

I apologize in advance if this thread has been made.

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Great thread! I am interested to know technique/tips/tricks for EK101 Verbal as well as I begin to do the full-length VR tests in them!
 
Well I've only done one EK101 passage, but I did do decently on it (11). I missed 3 questions which were just silly mistakes, so I should have done much better (12 or 13).

For me, I basically use the strategy outlined by EK. At the end of a passage, I take 10-15 seconds to think over the main idea, author's perspective, any clear counter-points made to assertions in the passage, etc. Then I dive into the questions, looking at the question very closely to see if the wording helps limit any answers (many times it does).

After each passage, I take 5 seconds and clear my mind, then dive into the next.

This way is somewhat methodical, but it works well for me.
 
I think that EK Verbal will lead you astray. The problem is simple. Verbal is a skill. The people who developed EK are good at accumulating info for physics, biology, chem, and orgo, but this sort of thing is no good for verbal on the MCAT (or any MCAT passage for that matter). The topics in their verbal set are ok, but their reasoning is far off the mark. The writers are not teachers. I don't mean to sound bitter, but I started going through the books and realized that they were all wrong (at least for me). I don't want you to waste the same amount of time I did.

I firmly believe that the verbal book has LOTS of incorrect answers and, worse, incorrect reasoning. But, don't take my word for it. I only got a 15 :love:in verbal the first time I took the MCAT and a 14 in verbal the second time.
 
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I think that EK Verbal will lead you astray. The problem is simple. Verbal is a skill. The people who developed EK are good at accumulating info for physics, biology, chem, and orgo, but this sort of thing is no good for verbal on the MCAT (or any MCAT passage for that matter). The topics in their verbal set are ok, but their reasoning is far off the mark. The writers are not teachers. I don't mean to sound bitter, but I started going through the books and realized that they were all wrong (at least for me). I don't want you to waste the same amount of time I did.

I firmly believe that the verbal book has LOTS of incorrect answers and, worse, incorrect reasoning. But, don't take my word for it. I only got a 15 :love:in verbal the first time I took the MCAT and a 14 in verbal the second time.


Could not agree more. When a book averages a typo per page, you have to wonder if there was a similar same lack of thought behind the answer explanations as well. Sure enough, many of the answer explanations do rely on flawed logic or highly subjective interpretations. It seems that EK has underestimated the difficulty of creating high quality verbal reasoning questions. A good moderate-difficulty question takes a while to think up, has to be very carefully worded, and then run by different people for outside opinions. The one dimensional reasoning used in EK makes me think the author didn't really get much input from outside sources. I could sift through the book and easily pull out a question per passage that is either misleadingly worded, has multiple correct answers, has no correct answers (not even a 'best choice' really), or misinterprets a passage's thesis. But alas I don't have time for EK's bull****- I don't even read the explanations anymore. What the book is good for is reading material and help with timing, as long as you understand that AAMC passages are generally longer and less interesting.

As for the OP's logic argument and people saying EK verbal scores correlate well with AAMC scores, ice cream sales correlate well with murder rates too.
 
As for the OP's logic argument and people saying EK verbal scores correlate well with AAMC scores, ice cream sales correlate well with murder rates too.

Then how come everyone who posts in the 30+ strategies thread, always says do EK 101 Verbal?

I understand EK passages may not be 100% and might have some errors(which they claim they fixed in the 2nd edition)
 
Yeah I'm wondering the same thing as ofoshoukno has posited- so many people recommend EK as great practice, claiming it helped improve their VR score "x" points...

Also, when you say many answers rely on flawed logic/subjective reasoning- how many for a 40-question section test? (Just curious, 1-2 or like 4-5+?)
 
Hi,
I am interested in buying EK 101 for verbal and I was wondering what is the latest edition or is there different ones? anyone has any suggestion where I should find one for a good price? Thanks :)
 
There are 2 editions- the 2nd edition is available from the Online Store at www.examkrackers.com.

The 1st edition used to be on Amazon, BN.com, etc but now has been pulled off the shelves. Only used copies are being sold which is why they are listed as >$100 on Amazon, BN.com, etc. If you want one for a good price, probably buying the new 2nd edition directly from EK for $39.99 is your best bet.
 
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