Verbal Reasoning/Writing Sample Questions Thread

[lorelei]

All users may post questions about MCAT verbal and writing sample here. We will answer the questions as soon as we reasonably can. If you would like to know what VR and WS topics appear on the MCAT, you should check the MCAT Student Manual (http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/studentmanual/start.htm)

Acceptable topics:
-general, MCAT-level critical reading or writing questions
-particular MCAT-level verbal or writing sample questions, whether your own or from study material
-what you need to know about verbal or writing for the MCAT
-how best to approach MCAT verbal passages
-how best to prepare for MCAT verbal reasoning and writing sample
-how best to tackle the MCAT VR and WS sections

Unacceptable topics:
-actual MCAT questions or passages, or close paraphrasings thereof
-anything you know to be beyond the scope of the MCAT

***********

If you really know your verbal or (especially) writing sample, I can use your help. If you are willing to help answer questions on this thread, please let me know. Here are the current members of the Verbal Reasoning/Writing Sample Team:

-lorelei (thread moderator): I am a Kaplan MCAT teacher. On the MCAT, I scored 15 on VR and 43 overall.

This thread will probably work a little differently from the science threads, since there are no formulas to study or reactions to learn. Bear with us as we figure things out.

-MoosePilot: MoosePilot has completed TPR teacher training. He scored 13 on the VR section of the MCAT, and 36 overall.

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[QofQuimica]

Hi -

I wanted to know if on the last year's exam there were two passages with 10 questions on them. So far on the AAMC practice exams 5 and 8, I've noticed that I freak out on those two passages and score very poorly. They tend to be the abstract passages with a lot of garbled language (or at least it seems to me). I hope this will be a trend since I'll save them for last

Hmm, I don't know the answer to that. And it's not too likely that the AAMC will tell us if they'll be doing that this year. If you know that those passages give you trouble though, I think your strategy sounds reasonable.

 

[as1024]

I guess I am not sure what you mean by a template for WS then. The instructions themselves basically give you the outline to follow: explain the statement, give the counterexample, explain when the statement does or does not hold true. Every essay should follow that outline.

=) thanks.
I have a tendency of reading blindly, and it costs me alot of time to read it again. Is there any way I can improve and maybe get rid of this 'habit'? thanx.

 

[QofQuimica]

=) thanks.
I have a tendency of reading blindly, and it costs me alot of time to read it again. Is there any way I can improve and maybe get rid of this 'habit'? thanx.

This is definitely a tendency that will kill your VR score, so you need to work on that. It's very important to read through the passages quickly. Concentrate on getting the main ideas and the author's argument over nitpicky details that are just there to support the argument. Again, lorelei wrote some great posts about this in the VR explanations thread.

 

[Lests55]

I got this from the AAMC Interpretive manual available on their website and can't figure out what they are trying to say...

"Sets of questions in the VR section are presented in order from easiest to hardest. This order is based on the average difficulty of the questions in each set. However, a given set of questions contains both easier and more difficult sections."

Are they saying that as I go from passage one to passage nine they get harder? If so, this is the first I have heard of such a thing....

 

[lorelei]

I got this from the AAMC Interpretive manual available on their website and can't figure out what they are trying to say...

"Sets of questions in the VR section are presented in order from easiest to hardest. This order is based on the average difficulty of the questions in each set. However, a given set of questions contains both easier and more difficult sections."

Are they saying that as I go from passage one to passage nine they get harder? If so, this is the first I have heard of such a thing....

I don't remember hearing that before either! But I don't think you're reading it wrong - it does say that the passages are arranged in order of how difficult the corresponding questions are.

 

[j-med]

When the question refers a specific word or phrase in the exam, do they also give you the line numbers they are referring to?

 

[QofQuimica]

When the question refers a specific word or phrase in the exam, do they also give you the line numbers they are referring to?

In my experience they often do. If you are given the line number, definitely go back and re-read the sentence that contains that line.

 

[j-med]

In my experience they often do. If you are given the line number, definitely go back and re-read the sentence that contains that line.

Whoosh, good to know!
You mean the real MCAT that you took or the higher numbered AAMC practice tests right?
Cos I've done up AAMC 4R, 6R now and they don't seem to have any, which took me extra time to locate those few words. I suppose it's just because the tests are older

 

[QofQuimica]

Whoosh, good to know!
You mean the real MCAT that you took or the higher numbered AAMC practice tests right?
Cos I've done up AAMC 4R, 6R now and they don't seem to have any, which took me extra time to locate those few words. I suppose it's just because the tests are older

Well, I've only taken the real MCAT once post-2002, so I would hesitate to say that it's always true on every test form. But I seem to remember there being line numbers given.

 

[QofQuimica]

The bad part of the Verbal on the real deal is that the passages are sometimes more dense then practice tests. Secondly, there are 2 10 question passages which make it a bit tougher. I seem to recall a lot of history type of passages on my real deal.

Well, passages can come from any subject except the pre-med science subjects. So it's not surprising that you'd see history. If history passages are tough for you, guju, save them for the end. I think most people (including me) find the sciencey passages to be easiest. I remember you saying that you like reading Gould, so hopefully you'll get some evolution passages. But remember, no outside knowledge allowed on this section.

 

[DrVanNostran]

Q, as I take it, you are the MCAT guru, and I seek your advice. As gujudoc has previously mentioned, there are normally 2 10q passages (i hate aamc). What is your advice on this? Go in order, save them for the end, do them right away, or something else?

Im sorry If you answered this before. Im way to sleepy to search and but I cant sleep because I keep thinking about this....

Any advice you can spare would greatly appreciated.

BTW, grats on the PhD again

 

[DrVanNostran]

I got this from the AAMC Interpretive manual available on their website and can't figure out what they are trying to say...

"Sets of questions in the VR section are presented in order from easiest to hardest. This order is based on the average difficulty of the questions in each set. However, a given set of questions contains both easier and more difficult sections."

Are they saying that as I go from passage one to passage nine they get harder? If so, this is the first I have heard of such a thing....

Is this really true?

 

[sweetstuff25]

I got this from the AAMC Interpretive manual available on their website and can't figure out what they are trying to say...

"Sets of questions in the VR section are presented in order from easiest to hardest. This order is based on the average difficulty of the questions in each set. However, a given set of questions contains both easier and more difficult sections."

Are they saying that as I go from passage one to passage nine they get harder? If so, this is the first I have heard of such a thing....

if that's the case should i start working backwards? because if i can tackle the hard passages while my mind is fresh, i can be more accurate. or would that throw me off? doing as many easy passages as possible at the beginning also sounds appealing because you can stack up points faster and just ignore the tough passages at the end when time runs out. hmmm...tough call (note that i have always had to sacrifice > 1 passage because of difficulty or time contraints).

 

[QofQuimica]

Q, as I take it, you are the MCAT guru, and I seek your advice. As gujudoc has previously mentioned, there are normally 2 10q passages (i hate aamc). What is your advice on this? Go in order, save them for the end, do them right away, or something else?

Im sorry If you answered this before. Im way to sleepy to search and but I cant sleep because I keep thinking about this....

Any advice you can spare would greatly appreciated.

BTW, grats on the PhD again

I have to be honest; I didn't really notice how many questions were in each passage. When I did the VR, I actually started from the back and worked my way forward. No real strategic reason; I just felt like it. Many of my students choose to do the science passages first and then the social sciences, i.e., by subject. I would say that if you know that a certain type of passage is harder for you, save those passages for last. Since every MCAT question is worth the same amount, you don't get any extra credit for answering questions from hard passages versus easy ones, so my advice is to get all of the easy points first! If you do decide to skip around, be very, very careful not to mis-grid.

For everyone asking about the order of difficulty of passages: I have never heard anything about the passages being ordered by difficulty before Lests posted that AAMC statement, and I didn't notice that the last passages were particularly difficult in comparison to the earlier ones when I took the test. Like I said, I actually completed the section backwards, so I ostensibly answered the hardest ones first. I think that this is not a huge issue to build your strategy around; note that the second half of that AAMC statement explains that EVERY passage contains both hard and easy questions. Calling questions and passages "hard" is kind of subjective anyway. If you're a lit major, you might find the paleontology passages to be hard, whereas most bio majors find them easier. That is why I don't think you can really have a one-size-fits-all answer. Try to analyze your practice tests to see what's hardest for YOU. Work on improving on those kinds of passages and questions, and on test day, do the passages that you find difficult, whatever those are, last. There isn't any secret passage order formula for acing VR, unfortunately.

 

[Orthodoc40]

Both times I've taken the real test it seemed to me that the passages got harder to understand as it went along. The questions for each passage do vary, so that's irrelevant, but I did feel that the passages got harder to follow, were more complicatedly written, denser - however you'd describe those verbal passages that just make you feel like you're reading gibberish - as you went from #1 to #9.

 

[QofQuimica]

Both times I've taken the real test it seemed to me that the passages got harder to understand as it went along. The questions for each passage do vary, so that's irrelevant, but I did feel that the passages got harder to follow, were more complicatedly written, denser - however you'd describe those verbal passages that just make you feel like you're reading gibberish - as you went from #1 to #9.

Well, apparently you were right based on what Lests posted. Maybe I didn't notice because I did the section backwards.

 

[shantster]

Whoosh, good to know!
You mean the real MCAT that you took or the higher numbered AAMC practice tests right?
Cos I've done up AAMC 4R, 6R now and they don't seem to have any, which took me extra time to locate those few words. I suppose it's just because the tests are older

Actually, I've been noticing that if it's just a word, sometimes it doesn't give you line numbers, which is a pain. Whenever I find a passage like that, though, I find that it does normally have that word show up a few different times in the same type of context of the passage.

 

[Mr. Tee]

Will the real MCAT's questions and answer choices require you to distinguish among very fine shades of gray? I've noticed that Kaplan's later VR material has gotten pedantic in this regard (with the incorrect answers being "distortions").

In the earlier AAMC tests (3R-6R), I don't recall such a level of pickiness, but there was more of such on AAMC 7. I haven't used the AAMC 8 or 9 exams yet, so should I expect a high level of pickiness on 8, 9, and the real thing? Or will they be more like 3R-6R, where the differences among the answer choices are larger, making it easier to spot the correct answer.

 

[QofQuimica]

Will the real MCAT's questions and answer choices require you to distinguish among very fine shades of gray? I've noticed that Kaplan's later VR material has gotten pedantic in this regard (with the incorrect answers being "distortions").

In the earlier AAMC tests (3R-6R), I don't recall such a level of pickiness, but there was more of such on AAMC 7. I haven't used the AAMC 8 or 9 exams yet, so should I expect a high level of pickiness on 8, 9, and the real thing? Or will they be more like 3R-6R, where the differences among the answer choices are larger, making it easier to spot the correct answer.

Unfortunately, the real test will most likely be more like the more recent AAMC tests....3R-6R were all released pre-2003.

 

[NapeSpikes]

Wow, Q, you're purple now!!!

 

[QofQuimica]

Wow, Q, you're purple now!!!

Yup.

 

[md2011]

QofQuimica, drawing from your many years of Kaplan teaching experience, what do you think about difference of verbal among MCAT, GRE and LSAT? Will working on GRE and LSAT verbal help MCAT as well? Thanks

 

[QofQuimica]

QofQuimica, drawing from your many years of Kaplan teaching experience, what do you think about difference of verbal among MCAT, GRE and LSAT? Will working on GRE and LSAT verbal help MCAT as well? Thanks

I have no experience with LSAT, so I can't comment on that. I would say that the GRE verbal section is fairly different than the MCAT VR, and isn't the optimal way to study for it. That being said, it won't HURT you to do it. It just may not be the best use of your time. lorelei, our resident VR goddess, just wrote a great new post about reading to prepare for the MCAT; it's in the VR explanations thread stickied at the top of the page. You might want to check it out if you haven't already.

 

[lorelei]

I proctored a Kaplan practice LSAT this morning, so I took the opportunity to peruse the materials in consideration of md2011's question. Assuming that Kaplan materials are representative of the LSAT stuff out there, I'm going to say that yes, LSAT "Reading Comprehension" will serve pretty well for MCAT VR practice. The passages were fairly dense (though possibly not quite AS dense as MCAT passages can get), and the questions focus a lot on evaluating arguments and understanding the author's viewpoint.

Additionally, for people who want practice with argument questions (specifically strengthening/weakening and implications/assumptions), the LSAT Logical Reasoning would be a great tool. It has other question types as well (including formal logic), so you'd want to sift through and identify the useful questions, but probably the majority focus on evaluating arguments.

The LSAT logic games section, while fun for freaks like me who enjoy that sort of thing, is not likely to have an impact on your MCAT skills.

 

[Green Apple]

I've been having a very tough time with more technical passages on subjects like economics and legal policy. I feel disoriented by the topic-specific vocabulary that are semi-jargon but also makes some common sense, like "firm," or "core workforce". It's particularly confusing when technical language is piled as a concatenation of details, in which case I just feel lost trying to figure out what's the point that all this detail is supposed to support.

Sometimes I can sort of see how the details would lead to a particular point, but then cannot fit the point into the context of the larger argument.

Are there any techniques for dealing with topics that you just know very little about? I feel maybe I should build up some knowledge on specific topics I have trouble with, but I wonder if this will be realistic consider a verbal passage can be about pretty much anything.

 

[QofQuimica]

I've been having a very tough time with more technical passages on subjects like economics and legal policy. I feel disoriented by the topic-specific vocabulary that are semi-jargon but also makes some common sense, like "firm," or "core workforce". It's particularly confusing when technical language is piled as a concatenation of details, in which case I just feel lost trying to figure out what's the point that all this detail is supposed to support.

Sometimes I can sort of see how the details would lead to a particular point, but then cannot fit the point into the context of the larger argument.

Are there any techniques for dealing with topics that you just know very little about? I feel maybe I should build up some knowledge on specific topics I have trouble with, but I wonder if this will be realistic consider a verbal passage can be about pretty much anything.

Reading your message, I couldn't help but laugh at the irony that you find other people's writing difficult to comprehend because of their technical vocab, but you throw in words like "concatenation" yourself.

Ok, so seriously, in answer to your question, no, there are no topics to be studied for the MCAT VR. All questions rely COMPLETELY on the passages, and in fact, outside knowledge can be detrimental and trip you up. It is common for the MCAT passages to use familiar words in new ways, as you've seen, or to be about something you've never heard of before. That's ok. You don't need to understand every little detail in the passage. If you haven't yet, you might want to go up to the VR Explanations thread and read the posts by lorelei and nutmeg about reading for the author's argument. That is THE single most important task that you need to accomplish as a VR test-taker. If you are having trouble understanding the author's purpose, that is a lot bigger of a problem versus not understanding all of the details, and it is something that you will need to practice extensively in order to get better at it. There's really no secret to acing VR; you just need to practice reading dense passages and picking out the author's argument until you train yourself to do this easily.

 

[akinf]

Question

I have only done my Kaplan Diagnostic and two Kaplan verbal tests, however, I am scoring around the same area. 9 on diagnostic, 9/10 on first test, 9/10 on second. I may just be paranoid here, but is this it? How do I improve? Ideally, I figure if I can get 1 question wrong on every passage, and on some none wrong, I should be fine. But I am usually getting 2 wrong on each passage, some perfect, and some 3 or 4. I have been getting better at narrowing down to 2 answers with certainty, but I am having difficulty selecting the right one. Can someone please give me advice as to what to do when I am stuck. Also, I am barely making the timing. Any ways of improving? Thanks.

 

[QofQuimica]

Question

I have only done my Kaplan Diagnostic and two Kaplan verbal tests, however, I am scoring around the same area. 9 on diagnostic, 9/10 on first test, 9/10 on second. I may just be paranoid here, but is this it? How do I improve? Ideally, I figure if I can get 1 question wrong on every passage, and on some none wrong, I should be fine. But I am usually getting 2 wrong on each passage, some perfect, and some 3 or 4. I have been getting better at narrowing down to 2 answers with certainty, but I am having difficulty selecting the right one. Can someone please give me advice as to what to do when I am stuck. Also, I am barely making the timing. Any ways of improving? Thanks.

Nutmeg and lorelei have written several good posts in the VR explanations thread about improving on VR; if you haven't already seen them, you might want to check them out. My advice to you is to figure out what kinds of questions and/or passages tend to trip you up, and focus on improving in those areas. For example, application and incorporation questions (where they give you new info or new scenarios and ask you to figure out how the passage's argument applies) tend to be difficult for many people. If that's a question type that gives you trouble, you need to practice answering lots of them. Likewise, many pre-meds are bio or biochem majors, and the humanities passages tend to be difficult for them. If that's the case for you, then you should practice reading more humanities passages. And so on.

 

[estairella]

This is going to sound stupid, but I just must know, because I'm not sure if I'm simulating the MCATs correctly by myself.

- How many pages of blank/scrap paper do you get for the MCAT?
- Are there any specific pages designated for the WS?
- If so, are the pages lined (like normal Hilroy-brand lined paper) or blank or...? (Is there a sample of the pages for writing on somewhere online?)

If this is the inappropriate thread for it (the WS part is most important, so I put it here), please move it or delete and PM me the answer.

Thanks!

 

[alex_k]

This is going to sound stupid, but I just must know, because I'm not sure if I'm simulating the MCATs correctly by myself.

- How many pages of blank/scrap paper do you get for the MCAT?
- Are there any specific pages designated for the WS?
- If so, are the pages lined (like normal Hilroy-brand lined paper) or blank or...? (Is there a sample of the pages for writing on somewhere online?)

If this is the inappropriate thread for it (the WS part is most important, so I put it here), please move it or delete and PM me the answer.

Thanks!

You get 3-4 (not sure which, I think 3) lined pages for each essay. The lines are a little more spaced out than regular college ruled loose leaf. The pages are handed out in little booklets which also contain the essay topic. The 1st booklet is collected before the second is handed out.

 

[QofQuimica]

This is going to sound stupid, but I just must know, because I'm not sure if I'm simulating the MCATs correctly by myself.

- How many pages of blank/scrap paper do you get for the MCAT?
- Are there any specific pages designated for the WS?
- If so, are the pages lined (like normal Hilroy-brand lined paper) or blank or...? (Is there a sample of the pages for writing on somewhere online?)

If this is the inappropriate thread for it (the WS part is most important, so I put it here), please move it or delete and PM me the answer.

Thanks!

Your questions aren't stupid, but please don't post any more questions in the explanations threads. You should always ask questions in the questions threads. We tried to name all of the threads so that their purposes would be clear.

1) You do not get separate scratch paper for the MCAT, but you can write in the test booklet. There is adequate room in there for you to do as much figuring as you need.

2) The WS essays are done in their own booklets. The proctors will hand you the first essay and writing booklet, and you will have thirty minutes to write the essay. They will then collect all of the essays, count them, and then distribute the second essay booklet. Same procedure.

3) Yes, the WS booklets are lined. I don't know what Hilroy paper is, but the lines are pretty wide-ruled and there is plenty of space for you to cross out something and write in an addition.

 

[akinf]

OK...now I am freaking out. I was first using Kaplan verbal to practice, but some friends told me that it is not representative of the real thing. So, I started doing exam krackers since they said those were better. I was getting 9/10/11 on Kaplan, now for EK, I have gotten 9/8/6/6. So, now I know for sure I am having trouble with verbal. I need to know how to improve. I am pretty good at getting it down to 2 answers, but I end up usually picking the wrong one. I am having trouble getting a general idea of the topics like EK suggests. I don't know why, it just seems really hard to try and summarize the important points in one sentence in between without feeling like I am sacrificing time. Any ways on improving my ability to summarize. Should I focus on transitions, look for certain words that give a hint as to what the main idea in each paragraph is, or am I doomed to getting a 6 forever. My kaplan diagnostic was a 9, same with my first EK verbal test, but now I am down to 6. I thought it was supposed to go in the other direction.

 

[QofQuimica]

OK...now I am freaking out. I was first using Kaplan verbal to practice, but some friends told me that it is not representative of the real thing. So, I started doing exam krackers since they said those were better. I was getting 9/10/11 on Kaplan, now for EK, I have gotten 9/8/6/6. So, now I know for sure I am having trouble with verbal. I need to know how to improve. I am pretty good at getting it down to 2 answers, but I end up usually picking the wrong one. I am having trouble getting a general idea of the topics like EK suggests. I don't know why, it just seems really hard to try and summarize the important points in one sentence in between without feeling like I am sacrificing time. Any ways on improving my ability to summarize. Should I focus on transitions, look for certain words that give a hint as to what the main idea in each paragraph is, or am I doomed to getting a 6 forever. My kaplan diagnostic was a 9, same with my first EK verbal test, but now I am down to 6. I thought it was supposed to go in the other direction.

I know this is easier said than done, but try very hard to avoid focusing on your practice test scores. Remember that practice tests don't count. You could get a 45 on a practice test, and no one will ever know except for you and your mom, if you give her your faux score report to hang on the fridge. The only test that counts is the one that you're taking in August. If you can stand it, I'd go so far as to advise you to not even see what your scores convert to at all, at least not on every test, and especially since doing it is making you so anxious.

Concentrate instead on figuring out what kinds of passages and questions give you problems, and really practice the h*** out of those. For example, many people have trouble with application/incorporation questions, where they give you new info and you're supposed to figure out how it pertains to the argument made by the author in the passage. If that's your problem too, you can guess what the solution is, right? You need to do lots of practice application/incorporation questions. Many pre-meds also have trouble with humanities passages because most of you are bio majors or majors in some other science. Again, if that's the case for you, you need to practice doing more humanities passages. So, first figure out what kinds of passages and questions give you problems, and then practice doing as many of them as you can. There's no secret to doing well on VR; you just have to work on teaching yourself to think like the testmaker. to you.

 

[akinf]

Q, I appreciate your reply, but now I am super super confused. I've been working on Kaplan and EK VR passages, waay more than the science stuff and it just keep doing worse. I feel like I am doing better and everytime I do one, I think to myself, much better, but I do worse.

I just finished my Kaplan Full Length #1 and thought the VR was quite easy and straight forward, however I got a 7, and I got 9 on my diagnostic. I am convinced my diagnostic was a fluke, so I will now disregard that. But I can't seem to figure out what I am doing wrong, I look over the test and feel like I learn something new each time, but I am still doing poorly. I think the worst part is that it seems like I did better but I , in fact, didn't.

Today, I even had 5 minutes left at the end and I took plenty of breaks as I was writing. I am so baffled, it's not even funny. Could I PM you with my test break down and get some feedback?

 

[QofQuimica]

Q, I appreciate your reply, but now I am super super confused. I've been working on Kaplan and EK VR passages, waay more than the science stuff and it just keep doing worse. I feel like I am doing better and everytime I do one, I think to myself, much better, but I do worse.

I just finished my Kaplan Full Length #1 and thought the VR was quite easy and straight forward, however I got a 7, and I got 9 on my diagnostic. I am convinced my diagnostic was a fluke, so I will now disregard that. But I can't seem to figure out what I am doing wrong, I look over the test and feel like I learn something new each time, but I am still doing poorly. I think the worst part is that it seems like I did better but I , in fact, didn't.

Today, I even had 5 minutes left at the end and I took plenty of breaks as I was writing. I am so baffled, it's not even funny. Could I PM you with my test break down and get some feedback?

How long have you been studying hard-core? Do you think you are getting burned out? I know that for me, I was so burned out toward the end that I had to just stop studying altogether for the last three weeks before I took the exam. I was going down with every practice test I took. If you don't think that burn-out is the problem for you, and you feel you are learning something every time you take a test, then I'm not sure that you need to be this worried at this point. You're still two months out from the test, and you've presumably only taken two practice tests so far (diagnostic and FL 1). You have plenty of time to raise your scores. It takes time and consistent practice to improve on VR; unfortunately, there isn't any magic recipe for success beyond that. If I haven't mentioned this to you before, you are better off practicing a little every day (do a passage or two from the EK book each day, for example) instead of trying to do a lot every once in a while.

Again, try not to focus so much on the scores right now. Look for patterns in the types of questions and passages that give you trouble so that you know what you really need to practice on. And then really work on improving in those areas. When you go over the practice tests, don't read the answer key right away. Look at the questions you've missed, and try to figure out for yourself why the right answer is right, and your answer is wrong before you read the explanation. The more you practice doing this, the easier it will become.

lorelei, if you see this, any other suggestions for akinf?

 

[bananaboat]

hello..august '06 will be my second time writing (wrote last august).

last time, i used VR 101 (not properly - no real technique or timing in place), TPR, and AAMC passages.

my problem is, i'm using these materials again (fresh copies of course) and i'm obviously recognizing certain passages. its not that i remember the arguments/questions/answers...but i do feel like i might have a better sense of the 'gist' of the passage than had i read it the first time. how much do you think this is hindering my 'sense of improvement'?

i'm wondering what are some other materials i could use? where can i purchase kaplan verbal practice (other than the full lenghts). i was thinking of maybe ordering the EK-tests ...they should have different passages than EK101, correct?

most importantly, do you think its worth it for me to use materials i used last year? (specifically EK101 and aamc). i feel like i don't have much of a choice.

thanks

 

[QofQuimica]

hello..august '06 will be my second time writing (wrote last august).

last time, i used VR 101 (not properly - no real technique or timing in place), TPR, and AAMC passages.

my problem is, i'm using these materials again (fresh copies of course) and i'm obviously recognizing certain passages. its not that i remember the arguments/questions/answers...but i do feel like i might have a better sense of the 'gist' of the passage than had i read it the first time. how much do you think this is hindering my 'sense of improvement'?

i'm wondering what are some other materials i could use? where can i purchase kaplan verbal practice (other than the full lenghts). i was thinking of maybe ordering the EK-tests ...they should have different passages than EK101, correct?

most importantly, do you think its worth it for me to use materials i used last year? (specifically EK101 and aamc). i feel like i don't have much of a choice.

thanks

It won't hurt you to use the old tests to study and practice your strategies, but I would also get some new tests that you haven't seen before, especially since you said that you remember the passages from the last time you studied. Go to your local bookstore or buy some from Kaplan or elsewhere on-line. Use the new tests to practice under timed, test-like conditions. If you want to test your current ability level, it's not fair to use tests that you've already seen.

 

[DoctorPardi]

I posted a similar question in the main MCAT forum, because I didn't notice this sub-forum and specifically this thread, so if a mod wants to delete it they can .

My question is what should I do to improve my verbal reasoning long term? I am around a year away from taking the MCAT and I wonder what type of long term things I could do to improve my skills?

I will read for pleasure from time to time, but it is not something I do very often, although I do enjoy it, I just do not set away time for it. I feel like I could really make time for it and have fun with it, and be extra motivated to do so if I felt it would help me in some way. I'll usually read fiction books, and recently I have read Kurt Vonnegut and Octavia Butler novels, and I don't read them purely for the enjoyment of the story, but rather to understand the reason they wrote the book. So I hope this is the correct approach in improving my VR skills, trying to understand the authors intent.

So to sum it up:
1) Can you (Q, or anyone else ) suggest magazines that will provide good argumentative essays which I can attempt to analyze in the way I should for the MCAT?
2) Can anyone suggest authors they have liked in the past who write fiction which have greater meaning than a compelling story? (I read a lot of John Grisham, but I don't get any greater meaning out of it, but maybe that's why I need practice? lol, or it could be there isn't much meaning to his novels ).
3)Also if someone can suggest non-fiction authors on pretty much any subject I would appreciate it. I have a few Dawkins books, and several Gould essays laying around that I should really get around to reading .

Thanks!

 

[akinf]

Hey Q

I have a question. I have a friend who scored a 12 on the VR on the april MCAT and she was giving me advice about how to study. She suggest I first do a number of passages without reading the actual passage, but just doing the question to get better at understanding the questions and the type of answer they expect. I think I am going to try it because I think part of my weakness is understanding the type of answer I should be looking for when I read the question. She suggested that once I get a feel for good answers that I should start reading the passages. This method doesn't work with questions where it asks something almost verbatim from the passage, but for the gray areas which is what I think I am having trouble with, she said it helps. Would you outright recommend against this method?

 

[shantster]

Hey Q

I have a question. I have a friend who scored a 12 on the VR on the april MCAT and she was giving me advice about how to study. She suggest I first do a number of passages without reading the actual passage, but just doing the question to get better at understanding the questions and the type of answer they expect. I think I am going to try it because I think part of my weakness is understanding the type of answer I should be looking for when I read the question. She suggested that once I get a feel for good answers that I should start reading the passages. This method doesn't work with questions where it asks something almost verbatim from the passage, but for the gray areas which is what I think I am having trouble with, she said it helps. Would you outright recommend against this method?

EK actually recommends doing this to go over the tests (in lecture 4). Two days after taking the practice test, I went over the questions themselves without looking at the passages and rationalized why the correct answer was correct and the others were wrong. I first read through the question stems without looking at the answer choices and then wrote down what I thought was the main idea from the question stems alone.

Two days later I then read through the passage and wrote down the main idea. I went through the questions and rationalized how you can figure out the correct answer by knowing just the main idea (usually the main idea is subtly suggested in the questions and answers). I then compared the main idea I gathered from the passage to the one I wrote down when I went through the question stems. It's amazing how close you can get by just knowing the questions. That's important in case you get to a passage that you completely don't understand.

I was scoring 9s consistently on the test and I didn't start this method until the end. I got a 12 on the real thing.

I hope that makes sense. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[akinf]

That makes sense. Thanks, Q, I'll still wait for your reply.

 

[QofQuimica]

I posted a similar question in the main MCAT forum, because I didn't notice this sub-forum and specifically this thread, so if a mod wants to delete it they can .

My question is what should I do to improve my verbal reasoning long term? I am around a year away from taking the MCAT and I wonder what type of long term things I could do to improve my skills?

I will read for pleasure from time to time, but it is not something I do very often, although I do enjoy it, I just do not set away time for it. I feel like I could really make time for it and have fun with it, and be extra motivated to do so if I felt it would help me in some way. I'll usually read fiction books, and recently I have read Kurt Vonnegut and Octavia Butler novels, and I don't read them purely for the enjoyment of the story, but rather to understand the reason they wrote the book. So I hope this is the correct approach in improving my VR skills, trying to understand the authors intent.

So to sum it up:
1) Can you (Q, or anyone else ) suggest magazines that will provide good argumentative essays which I can attempt to analyze in the way I should for the MCAT?
2) Can anyone suggest authors they have liked in the past who write fiction which have greater meaning than a compelling story? (I read a lot of John Grisham, but I don't get any greater meaning out of it, but maybe that's why I need practice? lol, or it could be there isn't much meaning to his novels ).
3)Also if someone can suggest non-fiction authors on pretty much any subject I would appreciate it. I have a few Dawkins books, and several Gould essays laying around that I should really get around to reading .

Thanks!

Hi DP,

Welcome to our humble subforum. If you haven't already, you should read lorelei's and Nutmeg's posts in the VR explanations threads. They have some excellent suggestions for improving your VR skills; lorelei in particular wrote a very nice post about reading for the MCAT VR section. Check 'em out.

 

[QofQuimica]

Hey Q

I have a question. I have a friend who scored a 12 on the VR on the april MCAT and she was giving me advice about how to study. She suggest I first do a number of passages without reading the actual passage, but just doing the question to get better at understanding the questions and the type of answer they expect. I think I am going to try it because I think part of my weakness is understanding the type of answer I should be looking for when I read the question. She suggested that once I get a feel for good answers that I should start reading the passages. This method doesn't work with questions where it asks something almost verbatim from the passage, but for the gray areas which is what I think I am having trouble with, she said it helps. Would you outright recommend against this method?

I suggest that you give it a try and see whether doing this works for you. I personally never do that, but one thing I've realized is that the techniques that work best for me may not work best for other people. It's best to be pragmatic and try several techniques if what you're doing now isn't working well for you. The only thing I would outright recommend against is trying a new technique right before or on the real test. Whatever strategies you decide to use, make sure that practice them extensively before test day, and NEVER try a new strategy for the first time on the actual test. to you.

 

[sandman12]

Hey I got a 6 in VR in april and i'm trying to improve for the august. I seem to have the readin methods down and i'm trying new ways to practice but i still dont seem to be improving. I got from 7-10 on kaplan and AAMC practices before I got that 6. Does anyone have any ideas.

 

[shantster]

Hey I got a 6 in VR in april and i'm trying to improve for the august. I seem to have the readin methods down and i'm trying new ways to practice but i still dont seem to be improving. I got from 7-10 on kaplan and AAMC practices before I got that 6. Does anyone have any ideas.

You might want to try the EK method. If you get the EK verbal book (try amazon), they explain their method in there. The biggest help, IMO, is their suggestions for going over the tests after you are done taking them. There's a number of threads in the normal MCAT forum about the EK verbal method if you want to get an idea, but the book will explain it better than you'll get from those threads.

 

[akinf]

Hey I've been working on EK verbal for a while now, and I have noticed an improvement which I am happy about. Things just feel a bit more comfortable and I feel like i am in the zone when I read. Anyways, i decided to try some kaplan verbal tests (since I am registered in the course) and the passages were much harder. The questions weren't, but the actual reading of the passage seemed to require much more brain power. The language was more advanced than EK and the information was more obscure. I am just wondering, what is the best way to deal with this. Keep doing both I guess, or can someone let me know what the real MCAT is more representative of. In addition, the kaplan verbals are much longer than the EK verbal, so finishing quicker was harder. Just wondering what the best way to go about doing this is.

 

[QofQuimica]

Hey I've been working on EK verbal for a while now, and I have noticed an improvement which I am happy about. Things just feel a bit more comfortable and I feel like i am in the zone when I read. Anyways, i decided to try some kaplan verbal tests (since I am registered in the course) and the passages were much harder. The questions weren't, but the actual reading of the passage seemed to require much more brain power. The language was more advanced than EK and the information was more obscure. I am just wondering, what is the best way to deal with this. Keep doing both I guess, or can someone let me know what the real MCAT is more representative of. In addition, the kaplan verbals are much longer than the EK verbal, so finishing quicker was harder. Just wondering what the best way to go about doing this is.

It's great to see that you're improving; keep up the good work!

A lot of people have commented on the same thing that you have, namely that the Kaplan VR passages are different than the AAMC ones. I think that this is one reason why it's good to try tests from more than one source. I personally found, like you, that the Kaplan passages were harder than the AAMC ones, but other people have said the exact opposite, and still others have said that they're equally hard but just different. So I don't know what the real story is. Theoretically, the AAMC passages should be more representative of the real MCAT, since they were put out by the people who wrote it. But that being said, make sure you are doing the AAMC practice tests, and not just the AAMC practice ITEMS, which are definitely easier than the real MCAT.

VR is one of those things where the only way to improve with it is to keep practicing. You're seeing improvement, so you've obviously found a groove for yourself, and I don't think I'd tell you to change anything. If it works, keep doing it. Best of luck to you.

 

[akinf]

Hey

I did kaplan verbal test #4 today, and got a dismal 43/60. Its really annoying because this what I started with about a month ago. Howeve, I was more confident about it, the only thing is for the passages I found challenging, I got murdered. As in, for three passages I got 4 questions wrong, and the rest I either got 1 question or none wrong. I am wondering how to better tackle passages I get uncomfortable with. It wasn't the actual information in the passage, it was the way it was presented. I had trouble getting an idea of the passage, how it was structured, what the authors ideas were and where evidence was presented. I think the main distractor was the vocabulary because I was trying to spend a lot of mental energy trying to fill in logical meanings of words I didn't understand based on what was around, but when you have 2 or 3 words in the same sentence like that, it becomes tough. Anyway to really avoid this or improve? Also, I am doing better in EK, but still having a little trouble with Kaplan. Advice?

 

[QofQuimica]

Hey

I did kaplan verbal test #4 today, and got a dismal 43/60. Its really annoying because this what I started with about a month ago. Howeve, I was more confident about it, the only thing is for the passages I found challenging, I got murdered. As in, for three passages I got 4 questions wrong, and the rest I either got 1 question or none wrong. I am wondering how to better tackle passages I get uncomfortable with. It wasn't the actual information in the passage, it was the way it was presented. I had trouble getting an idea of the passage, how it was structured, what the authors ideas were and where evidence was presented. I think the main distractor was the vocabulary because I was trying to spend a lot of mental energy trying to fill in logical meanings of words I didn't understand based on what was around, but when you have 2 or 3 words in the same sentence like that, it becomes tough. Anyway to really avoid this or improve? Also, I am doing better in EK, but still having a little trouble with Kaplan. Advice?

You can't judge one test versus another based on the number of questions you got right, because they have different scoring scales. A 43/60 won't be worth the same scaled score on every test because of that.

As for words you don't know, try to get a general gist of what the author's argument is, and if you don't know a word (or three!), KEEP GOING. You don't have the time to sit and figure out what every little nuanced detail means. It's very important to pace yourself well on VR so that you don't run out of time. If you don't catch every little thing, so be it. You can answer a lot of questions just from understanding the author's main idea.

 

[googlinggoogler]

I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to attack the verbal section now that the mcat is going to be computerized? I took the TPR last year, and the strategy I learned was to annotate the passages and circle key words. So far I'm around a 9 in accuracy with this strategy. I'm planning on taking the January mcat, and I'm worried that since it's on the computer, I won't be able to use the TPR strategy anymore. Anyone have any tips they could share? Thanx.