Verbal Authors

[James Bond 007]

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I just wonder how others feel about the writing capability of the authors whose passages appear on the MCAT. If I was a writer and my work was selected by the AAMC to appear on the MCAT, I would take this as a sign for much needed improvement in my work. The AAMC only selects passages that are confusing, and personally I believe they select passages that lack the basic rules of clarity taught in freshman English. If the majority of the audience who the work is intended for have trouble understanding or finding a thesis then the author should go back to college or maybe even high school and learn some basic writing techniques.

Please excuse me if my writing is not exceptional; I am not a professional writer, nor do I plan on being one.

It might just be me who feels this way. However, I would still appreciate any comments others may have.

 

[Avalanche21]

I agree 🙂

 

[hlchess]

I agree with you. In high school especially, I was taught that my writing should be clear, concise, well organized, and easy to understand. People shouldn't have to think too hard to figure out the main idea or the conclusions. The MCAT passages definitely do not fit those criteria.

But I guess one of the things the MCAT tests is our ability to understand those difficult and ambiguous passages. If we can do that, it shows that we will be able to think clearly and make good decisions when we're put into difficult situations when we become doctors.

 

[sweetstuff25]

just make sure you don't write like those a$$**** authors on the writing prompt for the mcat.

 

[Dr.VanNostrand]

I doubt the authors are stressing. These passages are edited, taken out of context, and read in a stressful environment. I don't think an author on Dutch artistic exestentialism (or something equally obscure) is going to be too worried if it is difficult to get the main ideas of a 5 paragraph excerpt of their work that is sped-read in 2 minutes.

 

[James Bond 007]

I will make sure that I do not write like the authors on the writing section of the MCAT. Hopefully I will be able to write something in a much shorter time that is pretty clear and concise.