Verbal Reasoning Advice

[GoatBoy]

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I need some advice or tips on taking the Verbal Reasoning.

I took th MCAT last summer, and lets just say my Verbal score was less than stellar. The rest of the test went very well and I have no problem with that.

So here is my problem, when I do sample tests my scores are very inconsistent. I'm all over the map, sometimes getting very high (11-12) and sometimes getting very low(6,7,8). When I took the AAMC practice test 3 and 4, both times I ended up with a 10. I cant understand why I am so inconsistent-I know my level of concentration and effort were high on all samples I have taken. I am inconsistent on all types of sample tests I have tried- Kaplan, PRinceton, Flowers and Silver, etc. etc. etc. And on the real thing I ended up with a very poor score. Also, I have tried all methods outlined by Kaplan and Princeton Review and they haven't seemed to help me yet.

So anyone who had a similar problem and took care of it, or jsut anyone who knows what they are doing on the Verbal, please help!!!

 

[joojoobeware]

i was in the exact same position as you...
I think the actual mcats IV, V are very good gauges to how well you'll do on exam day (that is assuming you do the test within the strict guidelines and don't take those tempting breaks.. 🙂
The verbal reasoning is hard, because you can't really study for it.
Just practice as much as you can, read a lot...i mean A LOT of magazines and good articles, esp those opinion and argumentative type topics. And on test day, just warm yourself up before the exam by reading a few passages. And most importantly, relax and go through the test at a comprehensive, yet speedy pace.

 

[oceana]

Some advice on VR. I think it is the only section where you can be very likely to improve, if you follow a formula. All the other sections require outside knowlege and memorization. Here are some things I followed (and my score went up 3 pts on the actual test). Timing is everything. Keep your eye on the clock and think of this section as a marathon. Every practice test should be done under test conditions. That means starting at 8 am. And allow a max. time to complete each passage. Skip over questions you need too much time to answer. I wrote a word or two on the margins of each paragraph to highlight the main idea. After reading the passage, don't focus too much on the details..try to get the overall picture. I think this is how they try to bogg you and make you go back to read the details. Eliminate the answers that make the least sense. I can't emphasize enough to keep your timing for every passage and practice daily..every morning at 8. Skipping and guessing on complete passages can really kill you. These are just some tips that I feel were helpful to me. 😉

 

[Rhiana]

I agree that as the MCAT approaches you should take the verbal reasoning under test conditions. If you have some time this is what i suggest. Do at least one verbal reasoning passage a night. When you answer the questions and before you look at the answer in the back, rate how comfortable you are with your answer. For the ones you had trouble with see what your problems are, could you not find the information, are the answers to confusing, are you not paying attention. By looking at these things you can determine where your problem lies- in the reading or in the answer choices. once you identify which portion is giving you trouble then you can begin strategies to address the problem.

 

[Street Philosopher]

dude... just hope you get one of those 11-12's during the actual test. and practice i guess. 😕

 

[dtreese]

You could also work on speed reading. There are several affordable speed reading books commonly available. Barnes & Noble carries the Evelyn Wood book for about $6, I think

 

[kris]

There are lots of good older threads around on this with in-depth advice.

I couldn't possibly repeat all the info!

Here's one link, and the search function at the top of your page will lead you to others:
http://www.studentdoctor.org/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000681

A special thanks to Kimberly for helping me find this thread again.

--kris

 

[kris]

Here's another decent one:
http://www.studentdoctor.org/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=003117&p=

 

[VC15]

Where could I get some good verbal reasoning passages to practice with? I'm taking the Princeton Review MCAT course this summer, and they'll be offering AAMC IV and V as practice tests, as well as their 3 other TPR diagnostic tests. But obviously I'd like to do more than that...
😕

 

[j66]

PR will give you tons of passages to practice on, you can also get VR books from Kaplan. Also ARCO has some tests (I dont remember the exact title), Flowers and Silver too (I think the last two are probably a little easier than the actual test, while the first 2 are a little harder than actual tests)

 

[StudyShy]

I would also suggest buying several volcabulary-building books. I have just finished my second, and I have noticed that I not only comprehend more that I read but that I read faster and with more confidence. I hope that helps someone. 😉

ohhh, just heard a cool quote on the telly. . .
"YOU'LL NEVER BE LONELY IF YOU LIKE TO READ."

 

[Lis]

I'd suggest identifying patterns from previous tests you've taken--all right answers from 1 passage? Steady pattern of wrong answers when particular types of questions arise?

I've always thought that just reading a lot and getting used to identifying arguments and key info in articles that I actually WANT to read (as opposed to being tested on!) is key. In studying for the MCAT last year, I tended to skim passages first to get a general idea and then go to the questions to see which parts I should pore over. I ended up doing well, so I guess it worked for me.