There's got to be something wrong with my Verbal approach?

[Futbol99]

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I honestly don't know why I cannot do just a little DECENT on this part!
I speak and comprehend English fluently, I was just never the one to read books as a kid.
It seems like there's no hope to bring my VR score up to the average score! I have been studying the MCAT (sometimes passively) since October, but the VR wasnt consistent, however I tried to get many practice passages in. I always seem to get around 3-4 out of 7 almost all the time, except for a few rare moments that I get 5 6 or 7 out of 7 which eventually leads to a score of 5,6 or 7. I use TPRH online passages, TPRH book, EK 101, and I have Kaplan that I never used yet. I took the TPR class, although I didnt pay attention in VR classes, as I dont like their strategy.

I really just want a 9 on this section, Im not aiming for 11+. Why is it like impossible to reach a 9 for me? What am I doing wrong? It seems that many people don't have troubles getting 8+, especially 8 is like a diagnostic score for many. Im getting really angry about this and dont know how to approach any passages anymore, and lost my confidence. I have read the EK tips, but it doesnt seem to be working.

What are some general things you do that you suggest I should just to improve my score by just a bit? I'm trying to read external article frequently, so I will see how that plays out, but what about mcat VR? I seem to have trouble reading fast and comprehending simultaneously. Am I supposed to keep alert on some parts of the passage and zoom through others? I just want to be able to read through it, understand it, and pick out important information. Do you sound out your words? How fast do you read?

Any help is VERY much appreciated!!! I honestly believe I can reach that 9, I just dont know how to approach it!

 

[R35]

The most striking information I gathered from your post was:

I was just never the one to read books as a kid.

Because that is important, I feel. I'm going to speak generally here, so feel free to disagree. I think performance in verbal reasoning depends heavily on how much you read and wrote when you were young - by the time you go to take the MCAT, you can read faster and have a higher ability for comprehension.

Now that's not to say those who never read can't do well on the VR - certainly people can get high scores through brute force studying, but that's very tough. I generally think high VR scores are ingrained in childhood with those people who actively read.

Don't let me discourage you. With enough practice you can do well. But on top of practicing for VR, I would suggest casual reading. Novels, books, magazines, whatever. It'll build your skill set, though oif you plan to take it soon I don't know how much it can do for you. Reading dense material like The Economist or 1400 page books will do something, eventually.

This post is getting long, but in short, active reading will help you out more in the long run than strictly attacking VR practice books with brute force. I'm able to complete EK's verbal tests in ~40 minutes, still have time to review my answers, and get 12-14s. But I credit that to all the reading I do in my free time.

Anyway, my $0.02. Hopefully you get something out of it.

Lastly, if you ever need help with anything, don't hesitate to PM me! I visit these forums frequently and I'll try to help you out with whatever you want. Good luck!

 

[Futbol99]

The most striking information I gathered from your post was:



Because that is important, I feel. I'm going to speak generally here, so feel free to disagree. I think performance in verbal reasoning depends heavily on how much you read and wrote when you were young - by the time you go to take the MCAT, you can read faster and have a higher ability for comprehension.

Now that's not to say those who never read can't do well on the VR - certainly people can get high scores through brute force studying, but that's very tough. I generally think high VR scores are ingrained in childhood with those people who actively read.

Don't let me discourage you. With enough practice you can do well. But on top of practicing for VR, I would suggest casual reading. Novels, books, magazines, whatever. It'll build your skill set, though oif you plan to take it soon I don't know how much it can do for you. Reading dense material like The Economist or 1400 page books will do something, eventually.

This post is getting long, but in short, active reading will help you out more in the long run than strictly attacking VR practice books with brute force. I'm able to complete EK's verbal tests in ~40 minutes, still have time to review my answers, and get 12-14s. But I credit that to all the reading I do in my free time.

Anyway, my $0.02. Hopefully you get something out of it.

Lastly, if you ever need help with anything, don't hesitate to PM me! I visit these forums frequently and I'll try to help you out with whatever you want. Good luck!

I was scared of this answer, but I knew I had it coming. I didnt realize that until my consistent bad scores told me so.
I am supposed to be writing on April 11. I feel like I don't think that's enough time to bump my score to a 9 by the time it comes even if I read 2-3 hours per day. What is your opinion on this? IS there a way to bounce in this short time and do you have a recommended strategy in my case balancing causal reading and VR passages to at least see some improvements?

And any strategies I should work on while doing practice reading/and reading verbal passages? Just try to read fast and comprehend at the same time, or...?

Thank you!

 

[R35]

How long does it take you to do a practice test? If you still have time left over, you could do one of two things (or both!):

1) Go back and review questions that gave you trouble, or
2) Go slower on the problems and stretch out your time.

I'm going to speak about EK, because that's all I use. How are you attacking the passages and questions? Do you read the question, then go back and read the lines in the text? Or do you try to make outside connections?

Much of the VR depends on recall and ability to remember certain details. Are you able to frequently remember details they ask you about, or do you have to go back?

You have sufficient amount of time to boost your score. You might need to try a different strategy and see how that works out.

Here's what I do: (Try this a few times and see how it works out for you)

About every two lines of reading, I close for about 5-10 seconds and absorb what I just read. If you can train to read fast, this certainly isn't a problem. Then, at the end of each paragraph, I try to recall everything I just read.

I do that for each paragraph for each passage. If I can store the details, I won't have to go back and find the lines to re-read it.

 

[Futbol99]

How long does it take you to do a practice test? If you still have time left over, you could do one of two things (or both!):

1) Go back and review questions that gave you trouble, or
2) Go slower on the problems and stretch out your time.

I'm going to speak about EK, because that's all I use. How are you attacking the passages and questions? Do you read the question, then go back and read the lines in the text? Or do you try to make outside connections?

Much of the VR depends on recall and ability to remember certain details. Are you able to frequently remember details they ask you about, or do you have to go back?

You have sufficient amount of time to boost your score. You might need to try a different strategy and see how that works out.

Here's what I do: (Try this a few times and see how it works out for you)

About every two lines of reading, I close for about 5-10 seconds and absorb what I just read. If you can train to read fast, this certainly isn't a problem. Then, at the end of each paragraph, I try to recall everything I just read.

I do that for each paragraph for each passage. If I can store the details, I won't have to go back and find the lines to re-read it.

I think this is a really great idea actually!
I think its great because at first, when I started, I used to read slowly, and find myself forgetting the details. Then I started speeding up a bit, but when I tried the method of reading the questions first, then going back to the passage, it DID help increase some scores, but it wasn't consistent because depending on the passage, I would take too much time out of reading the questions, and not enough time tor read the passages. Then I tried to learn some basics of speed reading, and it's alright, but definitely feel I don't comprehend as much as I could be, and I can feel I'm missing some important details. When that feeling doesnt "click" inside my head, I know I'll score low because I didn't get the catch every VR has. However, I never tried speed reading and taking quick seconds at the end of each paragraph, to absorb what I need...
You had no trouble with timing doing this method? I guess in the long run it's helpful because if I rush reading one time through, I will definitely forget a lot of details, and the big points mentioned for using in application, then I spend too much time pondering on questions, trying to take a good guess, and wasting around 5 minutes, whereas if I took a little more time to understand it, I would score a few questions better.
Does that make sense to you? Is this correct? How much time apporx. did you spend between reading and answering?

Thanks a lot btw!

 

[R35]

I think this is a really great idea actually!
I think its great because at first, when I started, I used to read slowly, and find myself forgetting the details. Then I started speeding up a bit, but when I tried the method of reading the questions first, then going back to the passage, it DID help increase some scores, but it wasn't consistent because depending on the passage, I would take too much time out of reading the questions, and not enough time tor read the passages. Then I tried to learn some basics of speed reading, and it's alright, but definitely feel I don't comprehend as much as I could be, and I can feel I'm missing some important details. When that feeling doesnt "click" inside my head, I know I'll score low because I didn't get the catch every VR has. However, I never tried speed reading and taking quick seconds at the end of each paragraph, to absorb what I need...
You had no trouble with timing doing this method? I guess in the long run it's helpful because if I rush reading one time through, I will definitely forget a lot of details, and the big points mentioned for using in application, then I spend too much time pondering on questions, trying to take a good guess, and wasting around 5 minutes, whereas if I took a little more time to understand it, I would score a few questions better.
Does that make sense to you? Is this correct? How much time apporx. did you spend between reading and answering?

Thanks a lot btw!

I don't have a timing problem. I can finish practice tests in 40 minutes using that method above. I'll have enough time to read some tough passages twice, or go back and re-check questions/answers, etc. As for how much time it takes me to read a passage, I'm not sure; I haven't really calculated that!

A good exercise for strengthening reading comprehension is to get a dense article or what have you, and after each paragraph write down the main points. Do that for each paragraph until you finish reading the topic. Then compare your notes with the material and see how many details you accurately remembered.

 

[Futbol99]

Awesome, thank you so much! At least it gives me hope to try something new.

So to recap on your strategy:
- At the end of each paragraph you take a few seconds (5-10?) to summarize what you read (summary or do you ask yourself for specific things)?
- You go to the questions and try to answer. Anything you thing you look out for when answering questions? (I know the strong statements usually have warning)

Do you ever go back into the passage? Do you ever re-read anything? While you're reading are you pointing your attention to specific things (authors voice etc, or that will come by trying to comprehend whats being written?

Sorry for being very precise, just looking to improve on my techniques, and very much appreciate your help.

 

[Futbol99]

I don't have a timing problem. I can finish practice tests in 40 minutes using that method above. I'll have enough time to read some tough passages twice, or go back and re-check questions/answers, etc. As for how much time it takes me to read a passage, I'm not sure; I haven't really calculated that!

A good exercise for strengthening reading comprehension is to get a dense article or what have you, and after each paragraph write down the main points. Do that for each paragraph until you finish reading the topic. Then compare your notes with the material and see how many details you accurately remembered.

Just to get you a notification ^ lol.

 

[TheAnonymous]

Thanks for creating this thread! These are great tips

 

[R35]

Awesome, thank you so much! At least it gives me hope to try something new.

So to recap on your strategy:
- At the end of each paragraph you take a few seconds (5-10?) to summarize what you read (summary or do you ask yourself for specific things)?
- You go to the questions and try to answer. Anything you thing you look out for when answering questions? (I know the strong statements usually have warning)

Do you ever go back into the passage? Do you ever re-read anything? While you're reading are you pointing your attention to specific things (authors voice etc, or that will come by trying to comprehend whats being written?

Sorry for being very precise, just looking to improve on my techniques, and very much appreciate your help.

Hmm, a bit of both I guess. I repeat what I just learned and make connections. For example if a paragraph mentions Canadians spend more on winter coats than any other country in the world, I'll make the assumption it's cold year round and probably super cold. (A rudimentary example, but being Canadian I couldn't help it! 😛)

When answering questions, I'll look for key words that could potentially give hint to the subtext of the passage, or toward the author's inclinations. I can't think of any specific examples, but if the passage is about education and the author mentions something like "...most students are great with computers because they use them a lot". Why would he mention that? What does it have to do with education? Is he implying students spend too much time with computers, and not enough on education? Is he trying to say education scores are falling?

Not the best examples, but I hope it gets the point across. And yes, I do sometimes go back and re-read the passage if a question makes no sense. Sometimes they confuse the hell out of me, and I'll scan each paragraph.

 

[Futbol99]

Hmm, a bit of both I guess. I repeat what I just learned and make connections. For example if a paragraph mentions Canadians spend more on winter coats than any other country in the world, I'll make the assumption it's cold year round and probably super cold. (A rudimentary example, but being Canadian I couldn't help it! 😛)

When answering questions, I'll look for key words that could potentially give hint to the subtext of the passage, or toward the author's inclinations. I can't think of any specific examples, but if the passage is about education and the author mentions something like "...most students are great with computers because they use them a lot". Why would he mention that? What does it have to do with education? Is he implying students spend too much time with computers, and not enough on education? Is he trying to say education scores are falling?

Not the best examples, but I hope it gets the point across. And yes, I do sometimes go back and re-read the passage if a question makes no sense. Sometimes they confuse the hell out of me, and I'll scan each paragraph.

Awesome, Thanks a lot buddy!
I'll give this strategy a try and try to practice more, then let you know how it is!
Thanks again !

 

[R35]

No worries. Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck on the studying.

 

[PhysioG318]

Awesome, Thanks a lot buddy!
I'll give this strategy a try and try to practice more, then let you know how it is!
Thanks again !

Wow this is some good advice as i am also struggling with my verbal not being consistent. @Futbol99 I also never read as much as a child wish I would have thought but we can't change the paston the present. I will def be using these awesome tips to help improve my score. Good luck @Futbol99!🙂

 

[Futbol99]

Wow this is some good advice as i am also struggling with my verbal not being consistent. @Futbol99 I also never read as much as a child wish I would have thought but we can't change the paston the present. I will def be these awesoe tips to help improve my score. Good luck @Futbol99!🙂

Thanks Oprah 😉
Good luck...It would be a dream come true for my VR to reach at least a 9-10 somehow.

 

[TheAnonymous]

Thanks Oprah 😉
Good luck...It would be a dream come true for my VR to reach at least a 9-10 somehow.

Wow this is some good advice as i am also struggling with my verbal not being consistent. @Futbol99 I also never read as much as a child wish I would have thought but we can't change the paston the present. I will def be these awesoe tips to help improve my score. Good luck @Futbol99!🙂

same here guys, I really need to score 9/10 on VR to be accepted somewhere... it's really a dream ..

 

[PhysioG318]

same here guys, I really need to score 9/10 on VR to be accepted somewhere... it's really a dream ..

Hopefully with all this practice and excellent tips we can reach our VR goals. I would be happy with a 9 if I'm lucky! Anything higher I might literally poop myself lol

 

[ilovemedi]

No worries. Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck on the studying.

@R35 Thank you for the helpful insight. You also said you mainly use EK... I thought the EK approach was to relate most answers to the MAIN IDEA and almost never refer to the passage (AKA look at the question stems for hints). HOWEVER, I did some FL's and noticed that "main idea/never referring to passage+question stems=hints" isn't working well...

 

[brood910]

Never referring back to the passage is almost impossible unless you have incredible working memory or unless all the questions are about the main point.

 

[madmuttal]

i agree...even for detail questions, I force myself to cancel as many choices as possible using intuition and critical thinking before going back to passage (used to be hard impulse to control). By doing this, this forces me to read effectively/actively on the first place....also after doing the passage (while reviewing), just don't look at the answer explanations...always try to come up with your own reason/logic for striking out a choice ..that way you develop reasoning skills....

 

[brood910]

Just to let you guys know
EK's reasoning is terrible.
TRPH's isnt bad.
AAMC's = makes perfect sense.

 

[R35]

@R35 Thank you for the helpful insight. You also said you mainly use EK... I thought the EK approach was to relate most answers to the MAIN IDEA and almost never refer to the passage (AKA look at the question stems for hints). HOWEVER, I did some FL's and noticed that "main idea/never referring to passage+question stems=hints" isn't working well...

Some of EK's explanations make no sense at all. I don't know what kind of approach they go by, but I read the passage and try to relate every question back to it. Like other users haave said, you'll almost certainly need to refer back to the passage a few times, if not for every question. There's no way to answer them without going back.

The main problem most people face is timing - if they spend time going back, how will they have enough time to finish the test? I guess this works for me because I can read quickly and still have considerable tie left ove. I really think learning to read faster will help out more than brute memorization of the passage.

 

[FedExDoctor]

Everyone hates on TPRs verbal strategy. Although I don't agree with a lot of what they say (I'm taking the class now) some of their pointers help a lot and tweaking their strategy isn't that bad (i.e. never totally skip a passage, but if you get to one of those "killers" you can save it for last). All in all if you're reading actively and consistently there is no reason why you shouldn't be pulling 8-10 no matter the strategy you use. The problem is concentrating and not getting distracted for 60 minutes. Getting above a 10 now thats another beast.

 

[MedDreams1991]

Hopefully with all this practice and excellent tips we can reach our VR goals. I would be happy with a 9 if I'm lucky! Anything higher I might literally poop myself lol

When I waas studying for the MCAT I was consistently getting 7 or below for the first month and a half of practice!! There is nothing more heartbreaking then trying your hardest and not seeing any improvement 🙁 . On the MCAT (after refocussing my approach on VR) I scored an 11 in that section. I saw my score and burst into happy tears for almost an hour.

 

[Happy_Puppy5000]

Everyone hates on TPRs verbal strategy. Although I don't agree with a lot of what they say (I'm taking the class now) some of their pointers help a lot and tweaking their strategy isn't that bad (i.e. never totally skip a passage, but if you get to one of those "killers" you can save it for last). All in all if you're reading actively and consistently there is no reason why you shouldn't be pulling 8-10 no matter the strategy you use. The problem is concentrating and not getting distracted for 60 minutes. Getting above a 10 now thats another beast.

FedExDoctor, one of the big question is how do you define "killer passage?" What you will generally notice is that what appears to be a very difficult passage (hard to read), tends to have relatively easy questions. I also find the opposite to be true too...

 

[MedDreams1991]

I honestly don't know why I cannot do just a little DECENT on this part!
I speak and comprehend English fluently, I was just never the one to read books as a kid.
It seems like there's no hope to bring my VR score up to the average score! I have been studying the MCAT (sometimes passively) since October, but the VR wasnt consistent, however I tried to get many practice passages in. I always seem to get around 3-4 out of 7 almost all the time, except for a few rare moments that I get 5 6 or 7 out of 7 which eventually leads to a score of 5,6 or 7. I use TPRH online passages, TPRH book, EK 101, and I have Kaplan that I never used yet. I took the TPR class, although I didnt pay attention in VR classes, as I dont like their strategy.

I really just want a 9 on this section, Im not aiming for 11+. Why is it like impossible to reach a 9 for me? What am I doing wrong? It seems that many people don't have troubles getting 8+, especially 8 is like a diagnostic score for many. Im getting really angry about this and dont know how to approach any passages anymore, and lost my confidence. I have read the EK tips, but it doesnt seem to be working.

What are some general things you do that you suggest I should just to improve my score by just a bit? I'm trying to read external article frequently, so I will see how that plays out, but what about mcat VR? I seem to have trouble reading fast and comprehending simultaneously. Am I supposed to keep alert on some parts of the passage and zoom through others? I just want to be able to read through it, understand it, and pick out important information. Do you sound out your words? How fast do you read?

Any help is VERY much appreciated!!! I honestly believe I can reach that 9, I just dont know how to approach it!

LAWL I didnt read as a child either and when u look around for help ppl preach reading as a child (which umm doesnt help anymore because thats impossible to do now). I was in the same position as you last year and it is absolutley heartbreaking. This passage is honestly like I wrote it last year when I was studying for VR. I was scoring MAX 7 and I was trying my absolute hardest. I got none of the answers right once, then went and took a shower and just cried. I changed up how i approached VR for the last month and a bit before my test and ended up scoring an 11 . I struggled the SAME way you are struggling. Here's what I did to improve VR... First off use 101 EK passages but only do MAX one a day anymore than that and ur wasting prescious tests. When reading, read as expressively as possible! Use ur hands, mouth it, really act the passage to urself it helps have the content stick! Then do the questions go with the gut it takes practice for ur gut to start knowing the right answer before ur brain so dont panic if it doesnt work immidietly. When u finish the test before couting up ur score REVIEW the questions you got wrong and write down in a journal the questions you got wrong, the right answer and why u think u got that question wrong. Next Day do it again! DO NOT do external reading it is a glorious waste of your time. IF there are no questions you cant tell if your improving, reading actively or really doing anything. OMG AND SUPER IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER NEVER EVER EVER SKIP PASSAGES! you dont know a passage is killer or not till the questions do please lord jesus dont waste ur time 'skipping'.

I really hope this helps, i know exactly how you're feeling and im so happy that I ended up improving because it wasw killing my soul.

 

[TheAnonymous]

LAWL I didnt read as a child either and when u look around for help ppl preach reading as a child (which umm doesnt help anymore because thats impossible to do now). I was in the same position as you last year and it is absolutley heartbreaking. This passage is honestly like I wrote it last year when I was studying for VR. I was scoring MAX 7 and I was trying my absolute hardest. I got none of the answers right once, then went and took a shower and just cried. I changed up how i approached VR for the last month and a bit before my test and ended up scoring an 11 . I struggled the SAME way you are struggling. Here's what I did to improve VR... First off use 101 EK passages but only do MAX one a day anymore than that and ur wasting prescious tests. When reading, read as expressively as possible! Use ur hands, mouth it, really act the passage to urself it helps have the content stick! Then do the questions go with the gut it takes practice for ur gut to start knowing the right answer before ur brain so dont panic if it doesnt work immidietly. When u finish the test before couting up ur score REVIEW the questions you got wrong and write down in a journal the questions you got wrong, the right answer and why u think u got that question wrong. Next Day do it again! DO NOT do external reading it is a glorious waste of your time. IF there are no questions you cant tell if your improving, reading actively or really doing anything. OMG AND SUPER IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER NEVER EVER EVER SKIP PASSAGES! you dont know a passage is killer or not till the questions do please lord jesus dont waste ur time 'skipping'.

I really hope this helps, i know exactly how you're feeling and im so happy that I ended up improving because it wasw killing my soul.

This is a motivation for me big time, thank you a million times.

I'm also struggling with VR, trying to get higher than a 7... Did you happen to review the passages more than once? Did you review them on the same day?

How long did you practice for it? Only 1 passage/day?

Your help is really much appreciated ! I was looking for someone like you for a looong time 😀

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

I don't have a timing problem. I can finish practice tests in 40 minutes using that method above. I'll have enough time to read some tough passages twice, or go back and re-check questions/answers, etc. As for how much time it takes me to read a passage, I'm not sure; I haven't really calculated that!

There is your problem. You are doing things too fast and you think you know about the passage but in reality you don't. Slow down and actually comprehend the passage and questions. Most of the people who score above an 11 on VR had less than 5 minutes remaining but understood the passage as well as they could have.

 

[Futbol99]

There is your problem. You are doing things too fast and you think you know about the passage but in reality you don't. Slow down and actually comprehend the passage and questions. Most of the people who score above an 11 on VR had less than 5 minutes remaining but understood the passage as well as they could have.

Umm, this user doesn't have a problem with the VR. He said he's getting 13-14's with that method, and was giving ME the advice. lol

 

[TheAnonymous]

Umm, this user doesn't have a problem with the VR. He said he's getting 13-14's with that method, and was giving ME the advice. lol

LOL @ Johnny

 

[R35]

There is your problem. You are doing things too fast and you think you know about the passage but in reality you don't. Slow down and actually comprehend the passage and questions. Most of the people who score above an 11 on VR had less than 5 minutes remaining but understood the passage as well as they could have.

Maybe you quoted the wrong person, but I don't have a problem with VR. (Physics, though, is proving to be a challenge! 😛)

 

[MedDreams1991]

This is a motivation for me big time, thank you a million times.

I'm also struggling with VR, trying to get higher than a 7... Did you happen to review the passages more than once? Did you review them on the same day?

How long did you practice for it? Only 1 passage/day?

Your help is really much appreciated ! I was looking for someone like you for a looong time 😀

***I just realized a typo in my originial post! When I said 1 passage a day I meant 1 VR TEST a day! ***

No problem trust me I feel your pain, it's absolutley the worst feeling.. I only reviewed the test once and then when I took another test I would review whether I was getting the same type of questions wrong by looking at my journal trying to see if I was making the same mistakes. I did one VR test a days for a litttle more than a month, I didnt only do EK101 because obviously there's not enough, I didn Kaplan and AAMC aswell. I also didnt do one everysingle day probably 4-5 days of the week.I would do like a kaplan test 1 day , EK the next, Kaplan, EK, AAMC (or something like that). I also had the passage bank for kaplan so some days I would do my 1 test, review it, take a few hour break and work on chem or something and then do one PASSAGE from the Kaplan VR test bank.

Anyone can improve VR you just need to find the right strategy and for me it was being as over the top expressive as I could be. Like seriously day of the test my face was maybe 2 inches from the screen I was using my hands and was mouthing it so much I was ALMOST reading outloud, and I ended up kicking ass went from 7-11 and im a slow reader who NEVER read as a child.

 

[TheAnonymous]

***I just realized a typo in my originial post! When I said 1 passage a day I meant 1 VR TEST a day! ***

No problem trust me I feel your pain, it's absolutley the worst feeling.. I only reviewed the test once and then when I took another test I would review whether I was getting the same type of questions wrong by looking at my journal trying to see if I was making the same mistakes. I did one VR test a days for a litttle more than a month, I didnt only do EK101 because obviously there's not enough, I didn Kaplan and AAMC aswell. I also didnt do one everysingle day probably 4-5 days of the week.I would do like a kaplan test 1 day , EK the next, Kaplan, EK, AAMC (or something like that). I also had the passage bank for kaplan so some days I would do my 1 test, review it, take a few hour break and work on chem or something and then do one PASSAGE from the Kaplan VR test bank.

Anyone can improve VR you just need to find the right strategy and for me it was being as over the top expressive as I could be. Like seriously day of the test my face was maybe 2 inches from the screen I was using my hands and was mouthing it so much I was ALMOST reading outloud, and I ended up kicking ass went from 7-11 and im a slow reader who NEVER read as a child.

can't believe I finally found someone just like me! Up to now, the ONLY strategy that helped me was being expressive, just like you said.... lol your the very first person who said that..

Did you take Kaplan course? I do have access to their online resources (section tests + QBank)... how did you find Kaplan compared to AAMC?

May I ask what your average was on EK / Kaplan / AAMC CBTs? I want to know if I'm on the right track 🙁

thank you very very very much!

 

[R35]

***I just realized a typo in my originial post! When I said 1 passage a day I meant 1 VR TEST a day! ***

No problem trust me I feel your pain, it's absolutley the worst feeling.. I only reviewed the test once and then when I took another test I would review whether I was getting the same type of questions wrong by looking at my journal trying to see if I was making the same mistakes. I did one VR test a days for a litttle more than a month, I didnt only do EK101 because obviously there's not enough, I didn Kaplan and AAMC aswell. I also didnt do one everysingle day probably 4-5 days of the week.I would do like a kaplan test 1 day , EK the next, Kaplan, EK, AAMC (or something like that). I also had the passage bank for kaplan so some days I would do my 1 test, review it, take a few hour break and work on chem or something and then do one PASSAGE from the Kaplan VR test bank.

Anyone can improve VR you just need to find the right strategy and for me it was being as over the top expressive as I could be. Like seriously day of the test my face was maybe 2 inches from the screen I was using my hands and was mouthing it so much I was ALMOST reading outloud, and I ended up kicking ass went from 7-11 and im a slow reader who NEVER read as a child.

Inspiring. I'm going to try this next time I go to practice VR! Thank you and congratulations on your score 🙂

 

[MedDreams1991]

can't believe I finally found someone just like me! Up to now, the ONLY strategy that helped me was being expressive, just like you said.... lol your the very first person who said that..

Did you take Kaplan course? I do have access to their online resources (section tests + QBank)... how did you find Kaplan compared to AAMC?

May I ask what your average was on EK / Kaplan / AAMC CBTs? I want to know if I'm on the right track 🙁

thank you very very very much!

I did take the in-class course...it was a big waste of time, however there online material and online classes were the bomb diggity. My average probs wont help cause i was low balling the 6 and 7s for a while.. But my trend once I switched strategies was a pretty fast climb to 10-14 range. Like probably 2ish weeks. You will have bad days so its not a perfectly linear trend. Be pepared for that.

Kaplan: After a few weeks I was scoring 12-14 (I felt was too high, def a little bloated)
AAMC: After a few weeks I was scoring 9-10
EK: After a few weeks I was scoring 11-12

Speaking of Kaplan there's one practice test.. I dont remember which one it is its like one of the last ones. like 11 maybe.. anyway that test is a JOKE I was scoring 36-38 on the other ones, this last test I scored an 18 with a 4 in VR. So know about that test before u take it!

 

[Futbol99]

@MedDreams1991
Thank you so much! I think one of the problems for we was the losing concentration and not actively reading. I think with integrating everyone's advice here, it would make sense now to try out these strategies! I think timing is the biggest issues still, hoping that these strategies can help me out!
Great to know there are still some people like me that can make some progress! I honestly don't know what I'd do if these strategies dont help, Im reaching the end here lol. As I said, a 9-10 on VR is more than enough for me! I want a 32+ and that's the min. VR I need for compromising the score! Thanks again guys, I'll see how it goes!

 

[TheAnonymous]

I did take the in-class course...it was a big waste of time, however there online material and online classes were the bomb diggity. My average probs wont help cause i was low balling the 6 and 7s for a while.. But my trend once I switched strategies was a pretty fast climb to 10-14 range. Like probably 2ish weeks. You will have bad days so its not a perfectly linear trend. Be pepared for that.

Kaplan: After a few weeks I was scoring 12-14 (I felt was too high, def a little bloated)
AAMC: After a few weeks I was scoring 9-10
EK: After a few weeks I was scoring 11-12

Speaking of Kaplan there's one practice test.. I dont remember which one it is its like one of the last ones. like 11 maybe.. anyway that test is a JOKE I was scoring 36-38 on the other ones, this last test I scored an 18 with a 4 in VR. So know about that test before u take it!

This is SO helpful thanks a lot !!

Regarding your strategy, besides being expressive .. how did you divide your time btw reading and answering the questions? (for me its like 4.5 min / 2.5 min)

And how often did you go back to the passage to answer a specific question? Did you also try to summarize each paragraph in your brain before moving on?

In other words, besides being over expressive, what else did you do?

thanks again

 

[MedDreams1991]

This is SO helpful thanks a lot !!

Regarding your strategy, besides being expressive .. how did you divide your time btw reading and answering the questions? (for me its like 4.5 min / 2.5 min)

And how often did you go back to the passage to answer a specific question? Did you also try to summarize each paragraph in your brain before moving on?

In other words, besides being over expressive, what else did you do?

thanks again

I didnt have the passage reading and answering parts divided by time. I divided the whole test, like in groups of 2 passages, so each 2 passages should take you such and such amount of time, and the last section you knew to hurry ur butt up or not. I usually always JUST finished, but i mean not rushed but comfortably finished. (That didnt happen right away tho the first month when i was getting 6-7s I usually ran out of time the last two passages).

Going back to answer a specific questions was case-specific. If I knew EXACTLY where the answer was then Id go back everytime. If I knew id have to search for it it depended on if I felt I was doing really well for time I would search, if i felt i wasnt doing well for time I would guess an answer right away, flag it, and move on.

I didnt summarize each paragraph, I summarized each sentence. And by summarize the sentence i mean I made sure I understood what the sentence had said (that takes roughly half a second to 2 seconds for each sentence and no more). I felt that in the beginning when I tried to summarize paragraphs they were too long and I had forgotten what they said at the start of the paragraph by the time I got to the end.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Umm, this user doesn't have a problem with the VR. He said he's getting 13-14's with that method, and was giving ME the advice. lol

whoops had a tl'dr moment lol

 

[Futbol99]

I didnt summarize each paragraph, I summarized each sentence. And by summarize the sentence i mean I made sure I understood what the sentence had said (that takes roughly half a second to 2 seconds for each sentence and no more). I felt that in the beginning when I tried to summarize paragraphs they were too long and I had forgotten what they said at the start of the paragraph by the time I got to the end.

Do you mind elaborating on the specifics of your summary more? Reading this makes me question how long that took you to finish reading each passage, let alone have time to answer the questions? You have me sold with this method, but I have a hard time believing I can do this with the allotted time given- I barely have time to rush through the passage and answering questions in ~ 8 mins, although I really like this because at least I will understand what's going on by summarizing what I read! However, I fear timing issues! Any tips?

 

[Jepstein30]

What are some general things you do that you suggest I should just to improve my score by just a bit?
- Learn to identify common answer traps (like out of scope or extreme answers). Typically, you can get down to at least a 50/50 if you can knock out these traps which will help you on questions that you are completely stuck on.

I'm trying to read external article frequently, so I will see how that plays out, but what about mcat VR?
- I'm not sure that you have enough time to really make use of reading other sources critically at this point in time. That's typically something I'd recommend when you are more than 3-4 months out. Focus on developing a strategy for the MCAT itself as opposed to developing your general reading skills with the time you have.

I seem to have trouble reading fast and comprehending simultaneously.
- Practice. Like, screw the questions and just do this with passages (or your external articles.. this would actually be a fair use of them). This is not something that most people just grasp naturally, you need to learn how to get the 'feel' of the paragraph you are reading. Good writing means that every paragraph has a purpose.. you should be reading exclusively for that purpose. What did the author tell you by putting this paragraph in (or conversely, if he had left this passage out, what wouldn't you have learned?)? Don't worry about the other stuff too much.. focus on being able to quickly and accurately pinpoint what the purpose is of each paragraph (which, together, will comprise the main point of the passage).

Am I supposed to keep alert on some parts of the passage and zoom through others?
-Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. There are so many details in any given passage and barely any (if any) will be tested. You don't need to care about the details, you should take notes (mental or otherwise) WHERE those details are so you know where to go if you need to refer to them.. but otherwise, skim past details. If the author is providing examples of a theory he just spoke about.. the actual examples are irrelevant. Just know that he provided proof and that it was in paragraph X. A lot of this ties into what I said above in terms of learning how to get the 'feel'/purpose of a paragraph but generally, you'll want to be more alert on the first and last paragraph (which should both hint at the main idea of the passage) and the first and last sentence of each paragraph (which should hint at the main idea of that passage). Good writing makes those sentences pivotal in understanding what's going on.

I just want to be able to read through it, understand it, and pick out important information.
- Exactly. More succinctly, you just want to read through it and understand ONLY the important information on the first go. The MCAT is more likely to ask you questions involving the purpose of the passage as a whole or individual sections than detail orientated questions. You need to learn HOW to think like the test maker wants you to. How do you review passages after you've done them? I'm a big believer in post-gaming for Verbal as the best way to improve.

Do you sound out your words?
- Personally, no. But do whatever works.

How fast do you read?
- I like to have people read passages for 2-4 minutes depending on ability. Preferably, 3 would be the maximum I'd spend on the passage itself. You don't get points for reading, so don't spend all your time reading. Your goal on your first read-through is simply to identify the main ideas present, get the general gist of each passage and learn WHERE certain details are discussed. You're not reading enough, yet, to answer every question.. and you shouldn't be. You should be re-reading TARGETED areas in the passage for almost every question.. so you're much better off spending time on that question-specific read-through that earns you points than trying to just guess what you'll be asked.

The strategy mentioned above is a good one (and very similar to passage mapping, which I recommend).. just make sure you can balance the time because it will take longer to map each sentence (or group of sentences). You'll get faster as you do it more though. I like breaking it up into passages because that way you can 'map' passages by their purpose. You're basically making puzzle pieces as you go that you will eventually fit together to get the main idea of the passage.. so it's up to you how many puzzle pieces you want to make.

 

[MedDreams1991]

Do you mind elaborating on the specifics of your summary more? Reading this makes me question how long that took you to finish reading each passage, let alone have time to answer the questions? You have me sold with this method, but I have a hard time believing I can do this with the allotted time given- I barely have time to rush through the passage and answering questions in ~ 8 mins, although I really like this because at least I will understand what's going on by summarizing what I read! However, I fear timing issues! Any tips?

I used the word summarize reeeeally loosely. This shouldnt take u even close to a second for every sentence. What I mean is at the end of every sentence do a VERY quick mental check with urself that you actually understood the sentence. Because it happens alot that ur reading and ur reading fast but ur not really understanding what has been said u just understood each word seperately but not together the way the author intended for the sentence to flow.

A way to help with those mental checks is when ur reading expressively also emphasize when there are comas, those bad boys are there for a reason and that reason can change how u understood the sentence.

If you understand each sentence, the main point and the message and all that jazz will come to you subconsciously when ur answering questions.

The Timing issue, with enough practice ull get the timing down. Just accept that there will be questions that u guess, not blind guess but educated guess based on gut feeling. Do NOT be afraid to guess! For every question you dont waste 20 seconds on thats 3 or 4 questions on those last passages (where youd normally be panicking about running out of time) that your able to do comfortably and get right. Points in your pocket.

I want to add that the classic question how long should I spend on reading the passage is really not something you should concern urself with. It takes as long as it takes. Some passages Id read in 3 min and there were some that were really dense with long confusing sentences and it took me 5 min rushing. You know when its taking you longer then ud like so you go faster through the questions. Theres seriously no point trying to read a passage that at ur fastest you could get done in 5min in 3 min. You wont understand it and ull get all the answers to the questions wrong. Sure u might guess more than ud like on that passage but better to get 4 questions right than zero.

I have mad faith in everyone reading this forum for help that you can score 10+ in VR. Like I said I was lowballing 6&7s and I scored in the 90thpercentile for VR.

 

[TheAnonymous]

I used the word summarize reeeeally loosely. This shouldnt take u even close to a second for every sentence. What I mean is at the end of every sentence do a VERY quick mental check with urself that you actually understood the sentence. Because it happens alot that ur reading and ur reading fast but ur not really understanding what has been said u just understood each word seperately but not together the way the author intended for the sentence to flow.

A way to help with those mental checks is when ur reading expressively also emphasize when there are comas, those bad boys are there for a reason and that reason can change how u understood the sentence.

If you understand each sentence, the main point and the message and all that jazz will come to you subconsciously when ur answering questions.

The Timing issue, with enough practice ull get the timing down. Just accept that there will be questions that u guess, not blind guess but educated guess based on gut feeling. Do NOT be afraid to guess! For every question you dont waste 20 seconds on thats 3 or 4 questions on those last passages (where youd normally be panicking about running out of time) that your able to do comfortably and get right. Points in your pocket.

I want to add that the classic question how long should I spend on reading the passage is really not something you should concern urself with. It takes as long as it takes. Some passages Id read in 3 min and there were some that were really dense with long confusing sentences and it took me 5 min rushing. You know when its taking you longer then ud like so you go faster through the questions. Theres seriously no point trying to read a passage that at ur fastest you could get done in 5min in 3 min. You wont understand it and ull get all the answers to the questions wrong. Sure u might guess more than ud like on that passage but better to get 4 questions right than zero.

I have mad faith in everyone reading this forum for help that you can score 10+ in VR. Like I said I was lowballing 6&7s and I scored in the 90thpercentile for VR.

You are the first person who I can relate to in terms of VR advice/tips.. true inspiration

 

[Futbol99]

@MedDreams1991
Respect!
Thanks a ton for your piece of advice, and glad you shared it with us who were in similar positions!
Also thank everyone who posted here, you guys gave me hope 🙂 We'll see what happens a month down the road!

 

[UoCfin]

I am working on the official *15 VR SCORE GUARANTEE LESSON PLAN*
watch out...

 

[golfman7]

So what verbal book do you all recommend? I'm leaning towards buying EK 101 and maybe TPR for extra practice.

 

[TheAnonymous]

So what verbal book do you all recommend? I'm leaning towards buying EK 101 and maybe TPR for extra practice.

I think the consensus is AAMC > TPRHVW > EK101 > Kaplan

 

[golfman7]

I think the consensus is AAMC > TPRHVW > EK101 > Kaplan

Thanks. I will buy the Tpr verbal book and hopefully the tons of reading and writiing I did as a child translates to a high score.

 

[TheAnonymous]

Thanks. I will buy the Tpr verbal book and hopefully the tons of reading and writiing I did as a child translates to a high score.

👍 Good luck

 

[R35]

I think the consensus is AAMC > TPRHVW > EK101 > Kaplan

AAMC has their own review books?

 

[Jepstein30]

AAMC has their own review books?

No but between the AAMC exams, the AAMC Self-Assessment and the AAMC's Official Guide to the MCAT.. there are a substantial amount of actual MCAT passages that you can work into your prep.