Thoughts on VR technique 3 days before exam

[flodhi1]

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So I took AAMC 10 and 11 and totally F'd up on the VR lol but my sciences got better. So I realized I kind of deviated from my previous style. This time i'm trying to go back to the way I did VR for AAMC 3-9 and please tell me what you think?

1) I'm going to quit highlighting because it causes a discontinuation and is really annoying. Not only does it consume ample amount of time but also reduces the comprehension flow.

2) I'm going to read half the passage first and then quickly glance over the questions to see what I can answer. After that i'll kind of have an idea of where the questions/ the passage is directing. Then finish the rest of the other half and then answer all the rest of the questions.
Now the benefit for this in my opinion is that by reading half and switching to the questions im keeping myself engaged instead of just reading the whole passage blah blah blah and getting lost. Plus dividing the passage into two sections will reduce the amount of reading and thus increase my retention and similarity with the material. I know reading questions are time consuming but i'm not going to read absolutely every single one just a couple plus all im doing is using the time I used to spend highlighting.

Please share any thoughts my exam is in 3 days 5/20 and I kind of panicked because my average on the AAMC VR was pretty descent especially AAMC VR 3-9. However I took AAMC 10 and 11 with a different style where I just KEPT reading the ENTIRE passage and because I had spent so much time highlighting and reading could not devote much time to the questions thus could never look back. I answered all of the questions off the top of my head. Yeah didn't work out good at all! However I retook AAMC 10 with the above stated 2 techniques later on in the day without looking at the answers and scored a lot better! Regardless I know this is a dangerous time to experiment since I'm so close to the real deal. However I have to get back to my last style asap thoughts?

 

[SN2ed]

You really shouldn't be changing your verbal strategy AT ALL in the last stretch. Altering a strategy that gave decent results and then switching back will likely hurt your verbal score even though your older strategy worked better. That said, it's best to switch back to your old style. Again, you shouldn't have changed your verbal strategy this late. It will hurt your score.

 

[btc8]

You really shouldn't be changing your verbal strategy AT ALL in the last stretch.

I agree.

You should just read the passage in its entirety and then answer the questions. A lot of time, the first half of the passage is just crap or long-winded diatribes that become apparent, or seek to provide some sort of 'illustration' of the author's main idea towards the end of the passage.

Just read for the main idea, and take a break until the test. Believe me, when a take a few days break from VR, it helps tremendously.

 

[NinjaMed]

If the previous method worked so well for you, continue to use it. You just have to keep telling yourself on test day which method to use, and commit to it. Before each passage, tell yourself again.

 

[flodhi1]

I agree.

You should just read the passage in its entirety and then answer the questions. A lot of time, the first half of the passage is just crap or long-winded diatribes that become apparent, or seek to provide some sort of 'illustration' of the author's main idea towards the end of the passage.

Just read for the main idea, and take a break until the test. Believe me, when a take a few days break from VR, it helps tremendously.

Honestly some of the Natural science passages don't really have a "main idea" it's just a bunch of information jam packed together talking about meteorites and BS. And then they expect you to correlate bits and pieces of information all together. If only it was JUST ONE MAIN point then it would be cake.

 

[btc8]

Honestly some of the Natural science passages don't really have a "main idea" it's just a bunch of information jam packed together talking about meteorites and BS. And then they expect you to correlate bits and pieces of information all together. If only it was JUST ONE MAIN point then it would be cake.

While there may seem like there is not one main point, there HAS to be an overarching idea--otherwise it would be very difficult for AAMC to justify some of the answers to the questions.

Just try to relate the bunch of information that the author provides to one, overarching, global main idea/thesis. These pieces of junk (reptiles eating dinosaurs, glaciers melting, and/or photography acting like a beacon for communism) will support the main idea.

 

[Ismet]

Honestly some of the Natural science passages don't really have a "main idea" it's just a bunch of information jam packed together talking about meteorites and BS. And then they expect you to correlate bits and pieces of information all together. If only it was JUST ONE MAIN point then it would be cake.

I respectfully disagree. There is always a way to sum up the idea of an entire passage. That's one of the questions that you can be sure will be in at least one passage of your MCAT. You have to ask yourself what the author of the passage is trying to say; what is the purpose of writing this? It's not just a bunch of information. They compare theories, outline the evolution of a species...there is always a main idea.

 

[flodhi1]

I respectfully disagree. There is always a way to sum up the idea of an entire passage. That's one of the questions that you can be sure will be in at least one passage of your MCAT. You have to ask yourself what the author of the passage is trying to say; what is the purpose of writing this? It's not just a bunch of information. They compare theories, outline the evolution of a species...there is always a main idea.

LOL those type of questions were very common on AAMC VR 3-9 which is exactly why i did really good. I am an individual that likes to get to the point and answer based on that. AAMC 10 and 11 had a lot of scattered Bull questions. Stuff like What did this word mean or correlate to? or stuff like talking about the absence or presence of minute details. If you don't agree with me on AAMC 11! man I honestly don't know what VR you were taking that day seriously.

 

[coyotelime]

How quickly are you reading the articles?

I think highlighting is helpful for those that are used to it, but may slow you down while reading.

If you can get your article read in 2-2:30(or even 1:30-1:45 for those passages on topics you are actually knowledgeable/interested in) you should be in good shape for the questions. But if you find that you don't retain very much information when reading that fast, just stick to your old method.

I read somewhere that rereading a line because you thought you didn't understand it is a waste of time, so eliminate the habit if you have been doing that.

Of course, all my experience has been with EK 101 so far, so I don't know if the actual MCAT passages will be significantly more difficult. Hope that helped!