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.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Lsm6]

Just a quick question then, mainly dealing with the essays. Would an acceptable topic for the thread be for example posting some essay prompt and then your essay so that it could be critiqued? Is this the sort of thing that is meant for this thread or is it more of a specific VR/WS question thread type of thing?

Not that i have any essays written or anything, don't plan on writing many until closer to august anyways, but was just curious about what would be suited for this thread.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Futuredoctr]

Could someone outline for me (someone who really knows) how to take a verbal reasoning test? I mean I'm getting absolutely rocked in Verbal (like seriously a 4 and the previous was a 5). I do not underline, and I try for no more than 9 min a passage and I take usually a 20 sec break in between. Its mostly the "how would the author feel/do/say/argue/agree to?" questions that hit me the hardest. Thanks a ton.

 

[lorelei]

To Futuredoctr: That's a really good question, and I think most people have the most trouble with those "what does the author think?" questions. It's a difficult skill to develop, but if you're willing to work at it you can do it.

I think the biggest thing is how you're approaching the passage. In the sciences, you try to read a passage primarily for understanding. In verbal, not only do you have to understand what the author is saying, but why s/he's saying it and how s/he forms the argument.

So try reading some passages, thinking about the following questions:

-what is the purpose of this passage? Why did the author take the time to sit down and write this? (In the sciences, the answer is often "to explain an experiment" or "to teach us about X reaction" but in verbal you're frequently looking for "to convince us of Y argument" or "to defend Z position." The author has some sort of interest, or he wouldn't bother to sit down and write an essay. If you can find the author's bias you're there.)

-what is the purpose of this paragraph or sentence? Is it background information? Is it an explanation of an opinion? Is it supporting examples?

-if I were arguing with this person, where would I attack their argument? Where are there assumptions or personal opinions? I find this strategy useful because it makes you look at how the author is building the argument.

Watch out for key words that show you opinions: these aren't just things like "I think" or "personally" but also clearly, obviously, on the contrary, simply, everyone, no one, pervasive, .... I'm sure people can think of more.
These are words that people usually don't use unless they have some sort of investment in the topic - and thus, a particular viewpoint. Noticing them can help you find out what the author thinks.

There are also key words that help you follow the structure of an argument. Some of these overlap with the above set, but here I'm looking for ways to follow how the author builds his case, more than what exactly the case is. Some of these might be then, however, also, but, primarily, further, in contrast, ....

The overall goal is to see the passage as not just a bunch of information, but an argument.

I would suggest trying to read some passages in this way - you can use other pieces as well, like newspaper columns or opinion pieces in higher-level magazines like The Economist. Practice seeing the argument, don't worry about speed at this point. It sounds like you CAN read fast enough, so work on understanding and once you have that down, practice for speed.

 

[QofQuimica]

Question: Why do some people who are great writers score poorly on the MCAT WS, while others who make grammatical and spelling mistakes score higher? It seems like the WS scoring is completely subjective.

MCAT WS scoring is not as subjective as you are suggesting. This section does not really test people's grammar and spelling, as long as their mistakes do not interfere with their ability to make their points clearly. People who score poorly in the WS do so because they do not follow the essay instructions, which are very specific. You must explain what the statement means, give a specific counterexample, and give specific criteria for when the statement holds or does not hold. Also, your essay must be unified. If you do not complete one of the three tasks, your score drops precipitously (bottom half). If you do not make your essay unified, ditto. But if you do not have perfect grammar, you can still score well as long as you do a good job at answering the three tasks in a unified way.

 

[lorelei]

To Lsm6: At this time that sounds like an acceptable topic to me. It's possible that the thread would end up getting swamped with essays, in which case we'll have to reevaluate, but I think it would definitely be possible.

 

[Shrike]

I have personally tested the idea that structure matters. I intentionally wrote a free-form essay last April, to see what would happen. I performed all three tasks, but not in a particular order as we teach it. I used good examples. I wrote as well as I could under the circumstances. I wrote a lot (I write pretty quickly). Result: S.

Then, in August, I did all the same things but in the nice, convergent structure we teach: define terms, example for thesis, example for antithesis, single-rule synthesis. Result: T.

Not statistically significant, but interesting.

 

[medanthgirl]

What a great thread! Thanks for making this happen.
I will be taking my first MCAT in August, and I'm nervous about the essay - coming up with sources to use as examples or features in an arguement. I know some of the sources say good things to read are the NY times, Newsweek, the Economist. I've tried looking at these but I still don't think they give the greatest material, because I've heard we are also supposed to stay away from controversial topics, so many of the things in those periodicals seem very controversial (Terry Schaivo, Iraq, Michael Jackson, etc etc) and then a lot of it isn't even news!

any ideas or suggestions?

 

[lorelei]

To prepare for the writing sample, you probably want mostly examples. (As Q and Shrike point out, you don't have to be a fantastic writer but do have to follow the directions, and having a mental library of examples makes it easier to do that.) For that, just following the newspaper can be fine. You can also make examples up, of course, and history or any other area you're familiar with works just as well as (or better than) news.

Here's a partial list of periodicals I recommend reading for practice with the type of dense writing you'll find on the Verbal Reasoning section.
The Economist
The Atlantic
The New Yorker
Harper's

These will occasionally discuss controversial topics in world news, but they also talk about culture and non-controversial news topics. Getting used to following the arguments (as I discussed in a previous post) is actually more important for MCAT purposes than learning what the news stories of the day are.

That is why my list doesn't include Newsweek or Time. Those may make enjoyable reading, and allow you to keep up with the news, but they don't provide exceptionally good writing or arguments. They're written at below the high school reading level, and the depth and level of argument is not sophisticated either.

 

[blankguy]

Is there a recommended guideline on how to write up an essay?

 

[lorelei]

The questions for the WS always follow the same format:

{prompt: some sort of opinion statement}

Write a unified essay in which you perform the following tasks. Explain what you think the above statement means. Describe a specific situation in which {the opinion in the prompt would NOT hold true}. Discuss what you think determines whether/when {the prompt is true or not}.

So basically you have three tasks:

1. Explain the prompt.
2. Give a counterexample.
3. Determine when the prompt applies.

In addition to doing those three things, you want to create a unified essay, in which each task works together as a whole. This might mean using related examples, focusing on one particular aspect or criterion, and/or coming up with an overarching theme.

In general, doing the tasks in the order described is a good idea - you want to make it as easy as possible for the grader to score your essay. One paragraph per task is a general rule, but you can have additional paragraphs if you'd like. A good essay isn't necessarily long though, as long as it fulfills all the tasks!

Some comments on the individual tasks:

1. Explain the prompt: defining key words (e.g. what is "society"?) can be helpful here. An example is also useful.
2. Choose a counterexample that's neither trivial nor extreme - you want it to work with your eventual conclusion, so don't use something really contrived or something that's so strong it makes it seem like the prompt can never be true.
3. Resolving the contradiction can be the hardest part. One thing that can be helpful is to develop a list of standard criteria: health, safety, education, that sort of thing.

You don't have to write a definitive answer. Focusing on one aspect of a situation can be OK, as long as you complete all the tasks. Basically as long as you follow all the instructions and your writing is competent enough to be understood by the grader, you are almost guaranteed a 4 (which corresponds to approximately a P overall).

 

[MoosePilot]

What a great thread! Thanks for making this happen.
I will be taking my first MCAT in August, and I'm nervous about the essay - coming up with sources to use as examples or features in an arguement. I know some of the sources say good things to read are the NY times, Newsweek, the Economist. I've tried looking at these but I still don't think they give the greatest material, because I've heard we are also supposed to stay away from controversial topics, so many of the things in those periodicals seem very controversial (Terry Schaivo, Iraq, Michael Jackson, etc etc) and then a lot of it isn't even news!

any ideas or suggestions?

Lorelei summed it up great.

My contribution will be on the nature of time management. From everything I've heard, the importance of the WS is much, much less significant than the importance of the numerically score sections to admissions committees. If you've got nothing but time, this information may not matter to you. Otherwise, I would recommend allotting most of your study time to Verbal, Bio, or Physical. I wrote an essay using very simple rules:

1. Fulfill the tasks assigned (three which Lorelei summed up).
2. Be neat and try not to misspell.
3. Be conservative with time. Conclusion will suck if you run out of time.

I used really trite, outdated, or vague examples (I didn't do any research, like a friend who prepared notecards on various sample examples). I'm not a fantastic writer as a zoo major who has been out of school and in the military for years. I still got a Q, which basically serves to assure schools I'm literate. They've got samples of my writing if they want more than that.

Good luck!

 

[jmugele]

What a great thread! Thanks for making this happen.
I will be taking my first MCAT in August, and I'm nervous about the essay - coming up with sources to use as examples or features in an arguement. I know some of the sources say good things to read are the NY times, Newsweek, the Economist. I've tried looking at these but I still don't think they give the greatest material, because I've heard we are also supposed to stay away from controversial topics, so many of the things in those periodicals seem very controversial (Terry Schaivo, Iraq, Michael Jackson, etc etc) and then a lot of it isn't even news!

any ideas or suggestions?

Joel Klein in Time Magazine has a weekly (or almost weekly) op-ed piece. It's usually only one page long. I think he's a very good writer, whether or not you agree with his politics. He's a great example of how to organize and present an argument in a short space while still being very readable.

 

[jmugele]

Is there a recommended guideline on how to write up an essay?

The classic, of course, is Strunk & White's Elements of Style.

 

[Lsm6]

To Lsm6: At this time that sounds like an acceptable topic to me. It's possible that the thread would end up getting swamped with essays, in which case we'll have to reevaluate, but I think it would definitely be possible.

Yeah, that's kinda what i'm thinking now to, about the swamped thing. Essays could easily make the thread very long and maybe discourage people from reading all of the posts in the thread worried that they may just be someone's essay rather than some good FAQs like what's been posted so far. It was almost just a general question that i thought would be good to clear up for everyone rather than just me wondering if i could post my essays. So due to the fact that they would probably take up too much space, i personally will not be posting them in here, and then maybe later on if there were to be a need for it, another thread could be started for the purpose or something.

But for now, hope everyone keeps the good questions and answers coming, these threads are shaping up very nicely.

 

[Nutmeg]

In my time on SDN, the two most commonly misspelled words seem to be:

Argument (not arguement)
and Definitely (not definately)

Usually the spell checkers get hassled for being pedantic, but on this thread it seems appropriate to point out spelling errors. You don't want to make these mistakes on the test.

Also, some people tend to become complacent and depend on MS Word to sort out their "to, two, and too" mix-ups and their "there, they're and their" mix ups. All of these are important things to keep an eye on (or "important things on which to keep an eye," if you want to get technical). Which brings me to the point that there are a lot (not alot) of instances wherein we generally end a sentence with a preposition (looking at, going to, etc.) If rephrasing the sentence in the above manner makes it sound clumsy (as in the above example) a good idea is to rephrase the matter entirely; e.g., "It is important to keep an eye on these" or "Beware of these common errors,' etc.

Another important point: sentence fragments. (did you catch that that last sentence is a sentence fragment? ) Make sure that every sentence has a verb, and preferably, a subject.

 

[Futuredoctr]

To lorelei: Thank you so much for your advice. When I scored my last one before I talked to you and got a 5 I thought I serioulsy was not going to improve and had this feeling of impending doom. After taking your advice I serioulsy just scored another and got a 9!!! With practice I know I can do better.

Therefore for everyone who is having a REALLY hard time with verbal follow the stratagy lorelei provided with me. What has helped me was turning off my "Science mind" and learning to read for "Why am I being told this?" or after reading the first paragraph, stopping and saying to myself "What am I about to learn about, to do, or be persuaded for or against". Its really about what that "author"(damn him/her ) thinks! LOL.
Thanks a bunch.

 

[mustangsally65]

Yeah, that's kinda what i'm thinking now to, about the swamped thing. Essays could easily make the thread very long and maybe discourage people from reading all of the posts in the thread worried that they may just be someone's essay rather than some good FAQs like what's been posted so far.

If the essays were posted as MS Word attachments, they wouldn't take up a whole page or more as they would if copied into the body of a post. I know there is a size limit to attachments you can post, but it was just an idea.

I've read several personal statements this year, and to contribute to the common mistakes, I've seen a lot of "their, they're and there" mix-ups, as well as the "too, to, and two" problems. These are very easy to figure out once you sit down and learn them. Also, "effect" and "affect" give people a lot of trouble as well. "Affect" is a verb, while "effect" is usually a noun. Look at how it is used in the sentence and you can usually figure out which one you should use. But one of the worst ones has been putting the punctuation after any quote marks, as in "I hate the MCAT", he said; vs. "I hate the MCAT," he said. Punctuation always goes inside your quotations.

I work as an editor, and have lots of proofreading experience if anyone needs help in that area.

 

[Shrike]

Punctuation always goes inside your quotations.

That's what's generally accepted (in the U.S.), but some style manuals are beginning to recognize that this rule ought to be flexible.

The British alraedy do it right, putting punctualtion where it logically goes (inside the quotation marks if if was present in the quoted material, outside if it wasn't, roughly speaking).

Please add its versus it's to the list of common mistakes.

 

[blankguy]

I took my first 30 minute verbal test in examkrakers. I got a 6
The hardest type of questions I find are questions that ask on what the author's stance is concerning what is being covered in the passage, it is so difficult to get a sense of the tone of the author. It felt awkward trying to do the verbal based on their suggested approach.

 

[QofQuimica]

I took my first 30 minute verbal test in examkrakers. I got a 6
The hardest type of questions I find are questions that ask on what the author's stance is concerning what is being covered in the passage, it is so difficult to get a sense of the tone of the author. It felt awkward trying to do the verbal based on their suggested approach.

Adding to lorelei's great suggestions about always considering the author's purpose when reading MCAT passages, I'd like to also point out that most authors of MCAT passages are writing "scholarly articles," not polemics. In other words, it would be highly unusual to read an MCAT passage where the author is ranting and raving like a lunatic. Rather, most passages have a sober, considered, and deliberate tone. Even when an author is expressing disagreement with some other expert in the field, s/he will do so in a reserved manner. This subtlety is a part of what makes it difficult to pick out the author's viewpoint sometimes. But there will still be clues to tell you where the author stands with regard to the topic (positive, negative, or neutral). Look for the opinion keywords that Lorelei mentioned above to help you pick up on this. Also, avoid picking extreme choices for the author's viewpoint, unless the tone of the passage is also extreme. Again, such a passage would be uncommon.

 

[Shrike]

I took my first 30 minute verbal test in examkrakers. I got a 6

EK stuff is known for the difficulty of its scaling; don't sweat a 6 too much. Less well known, but clear to me, is that the passages and questions are qualitatively a little off, by just a little: focusing on the main idea of the passage, as opposed to the details, is relatively more valuable in EK material than on real MCATs.

By contrast, TPR material is qualitatively off in the other direction, by just a little: focusing on details is relatively more valuable in TPR material.

 

[blankguy]

EK stuff is known for the difficulty of its scaling; don't sweat a 6 too much. Less well known, but clear to me, is that the passages and questions are qualitatively a little off, by just a little: focusing on the main idea of the passage, as opposed to the details, is relatively more valuable in EK material than on real MCATs.

By contrast, TPR material is qualitatively off in the other direction, by just a little: focusing on details is relatively more valuable in TPR material.

I think I am being very inefficient reading passages. Are there any exercises I could do to be more efficient reading passages?

What have you done to prepare for essay writing?

 

[lorelei]

Several people have pointed out common spelling and grammar mistakes. It's always a good idea to try and correct these in your writing. However, it's important to know that the MCAT Writing Sample IS NOT a spelling or grammar test. Your score is based on how well you fulfill the three tasks and write a unified essay.

If your spelling or grammar is so poor that the grader has a difficult time following your essay or determining whether you did fulfill the tasks, you will lose points. But spelling "definitely" as "definately" should not lose you any points.

Of course, you want to make your essay as easy to follow as possible, and give the grader the general impression that you know what you're doing, and correct spelling and grammar will help with that, but I wouldn't waste time studying grammar when you could be studying, say, physics.

(As an example, I had a friend in college who suffered from a learning disability which caused him to be a terrible speller - it was so bad that the spellchecker in Word didn't help him because Word couldn't figure out what words he was trying to spell, so I always proofread his papers. He actually outscored me on the MCAT writing sample.)

 

[MoosePilot]

I think I am being very inefficient reading passages. Are there any exercises I could do to be more efficient reading passages?

What have you done to prepare for essay writing?

Well... how exactly are you noticing your inefficiency? What makes you say that?

Perfect practice makes perfect... read passages slowly enough that you get the information you need, then increase your speed over time. If you're having specific problems, then focus on those. For example, if you're not comprehending much information at all on the first read through, I would slow down. It might sound counterproductive, but if you don't get anything out of a really fast read, then it was time completely wasted despite being fast.

 

[Neurolemma]

To lorelei: I understand you got a 15 for verbal. What was your strategy? Did you read the passage(s) and then answer all the questions? Or did you look at the questions then skim the passages and answer the questions? Ever skip any passages? Did you underline? Write stuff in the margins? Did you always finish ahead of time? Any advice for the humanities passage would also be appreciated. Thats the one that seems to give test-takers the hardest time (it can get arcane). Thanks for your advice. Great score btw.

 

[lorelei]

Neurolemma, that's a hard question to answer, because what worked for me doesn't work for everyone else. I bet we could get all the 14-15 scorers to share their strategies and they would all be different. There really isn't one single way to approach it.

That said, here's what I personally did. I would read the passage through, reading critically but not taking a huge amount of time to figure out details I didn't understand. I did make sure that I understood the overall argument and thrust of the passage though. Then I read the questions, answered the ones I knew, and referred back to the passage for the few that I didn't.

I never skipped passages, because for me it was more trouble than it was worth to remember what I had to come back to.

Again, my strategy was what personally worked for me. I'm a fast reader (I did always finish ahead of time), I'm good at grasping arguments, and I had a double engineering/humanities major so I was somewhat used to reading humanities passages. (The art ones were the worst for me.) And I'm not used to marking up textbooks so it never really occurred to me to mark up the passages, though I did occasionally underline or star things that I knew I was coming back to.

In general, I think it's a good idea to read the passage first, because if you can get a handle on the argument (as I described upthread) you will be able to answer several of the questions very quickly, and know where things are when you need to refer back. Whether to underline or make notes is up to you - I essentially mapped the passage in my head, but I think most people do better with some actual marks on the page.

Skipping passages, again, is a personal thing, but I'd recommend only doing it if you come to a passage that's making you freak out for whatever reason. If you're going to be wasting time hyperventilating, go on to the next one, but as long as you can stay calm and tackle the passages one by one I think steaming ahead is probably the best way to go.

If you feel like you need to try out some different strategies, be sure to do it on practice full-lengths well before the MCAT. You may find that a certain technique really helps you, or you may be surprised to find that it doesn't work at all. And you don't want to be showing up on test day, still dithering about whether to read the passage or the questions first. You should have your style pretty much down by then.

I'm trying to think of tips for the humanities passages. I'll get back to you on that.

 

[lorelei]

The only downside to such an approach is that the paragraphs tend to be written with a lot of "..." interspersed between the sentences. I don't know why they do that. No med textbook is written like that. Hopefully... I'll.... get...... used.....to...... that...... way...... of....... reading.

That just shows where they've removed content while editing the passages to be suitable for the MCAT. They take out stuff that's irrelevant or too difficult, but also they cut down on transitions and repetitions, making it more challenging to read.

 

[faluri]

Lorelei-

First of all thanks for all the great advice and for offering to mod this thread.

I had a quick question re: Kaplan materials. I had my first verbal writing lesson and I took that first verbal exam in the review book and I thought it was REALLLY difficult - more difficult than any other verbal exam I have seen before. I think I got 39 correct. Kaplan doesn't actually have a score conversion chart as far as Iknow but in the EK materials that correlates to an 8. I was wondering if Kaplan materials are reflective of the level of difficulty of the actual AAMC material?

Basically - to give you some background - I scored a 12 on the VR diagnostic from Kaplan - I am completely convinced however that that was just a fluke based on my interest in the passages, one topic that I had come across before in a magazine,lucky guesses, etc.

That said - I have been using EK materials prior to Kaplan and have been scoring 8s/9s/10s mostly. I feel like I am not budging or improving at all - and am now even more discouraged after seeing the Kaplan material.

A worry of mine though is that - since I feel Kaplan materials are harder than AAMc [ at least from what I have heard ] I am taking their evaluations with a grain of salt [perhaps too much?] and I will be extremelysurprised come test day.

So - since you have experience teaching for Kaplan - any advice would be reallllly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[frankrizzo18]

I am struggling with the Kaplan verbal reasoning sectional tests. The reports speak nothing of their difficulty. Could someone expand on this? (I know the topical tests are really challenging, just wondering if it is the same case for these tests)

 

[lorelei]

I honestly don't know for sure about the difficulty of the Kaplan VR tests. I didn't take Kaplan myself, and teachers don't get copies of the student material. However, I will see if I can get my hands on a test, and if nothing else take it myself and see how I do. I have heard many students say the Kaplan topical tests are harder than real MCATs and I wouldn't be surprised if that were true.

Do any of the other mods have experience with this? (QofQuimica?)

 

[docwannabe05]

I am consistently scoring 5-6 on VR. Dont know how to fix the problem, but i am not reading and understanding very well. I have a question?? I was told that to enhance VR score, that we should read less passages (6-7), and spend more time thinking about that answers. I was told that this technique will lead to a 9+ score. Any suggestions?
N

 

[lorelei]

I am consistently scoring 5-6 on VR. Dont know how to fix the problem, but i am not reading and understanding very well. I have a question?? I was told that to enhance VR score, that we should read less passages (6-7), and spend more time thinking about that answers. I was told that this technique will lead to a 9+ score. Any suggestions?
N

Have you been doing all full-length practices? I'd suggest getting some practice verbal materials and doing a few passages in a NON-timed environment. Take as long as you need to feel like you've given the passage a full effort, and see how you do. Also, see how long that actually takes. If you end up needing a couple more minutes per passage but that lets you answer a lot more questions right, the fewer-passages strategy might work well for you. And once you get the technique down, you will be able to work on speed, too.

On the other hand, if allowing yourself more time doesn't increase your score, you need to work on how you're approaching the passages and the questions - QofQuimica and I both gave some tips on that upthread.

 

[docwannabe05]

lorelei-
yes i havec been working on full lengh practice tests. I will try your new technique though. After i wrote this my last post, i did check up-post and your tips on trying to understand the authors arguements helped me TREMENDOUSLY. I only wish i had that strategie earlier. Can you recomend any good verbal mcat books plz???
thx
n

Have you been doing all full-length practices? I'd suggest getting some practice verbal materials and doing a few passages in a NON-timed environment. Take as long as you need to feel like you've given the passage a full effort, and see how you do. Also, see how long that actually takes. If you end up needing a couple more minutes per passage but that lets you answer a lot more questions right, the fewer-passages strategy might work well for you. And once you get the technique down, you will be able to work on speed, too.

On the other hand, if allowing yourself more time doesn't increase your score, you need to work on how you're approaching the passages and the questions - QofQuimica and I both gave some tips on that upthread.

 

[blankguy]

How do you guys get the gist of what the author is saying or the tone of the author. I find myself breaking up the passages into paragraphs and trying to get the get a sense of what the overall passage says by trying to "link" the theme of each passage.

 

[faluri]

though I am taking the Kaplan course - I use the EK method for verbal - Basically, just trying to read the passage very critically and sort of get the overall message the author is trying to get across, in addition to his attitude towards the arguments. It definitely takes getting used to though - initially there were passages of which I completely had the wrong perception- in regards to the author's views and bombed the questions, as a result. but practice def helped that out some.

 

[Twitch]

Hi lorelei,

Out of the few AAMC passages I've done, it seems like there is a certain taxonomy of question stems:

1. The main idea of the passage is ...
2. The author would most/least likely agree with ...
3. The word "..." as used in the passage refers to...

There are more that perhaps someone could list out and offer strategies on how to tackle each one. The last one specifically is annoying because now you've got to quickly skim the entire passage to find that one word, unless you pre-read the questions - which I'm not fond of.

So the first passage on 3R, I took untimed and got two wrong. The second passage, I took it timed and still got two wrong. I'm finishing the passage with plenty of time to spare. It has been suggested to me that I slow down and give myself atleast 3 minutes to go through the passage. I always thought I'd run out of time but that hasn't happened.

I wish I could discuss the two questions with you further, however the rules restrict this detailed type of discussion. My conjecture is that one of the two questions I got wrong because I was stubborn not to go back and check something out. So this is salvageable. The second question requires a little more work. Ideally, if I can pick up these two questions, I'm missing on each passage then....woohoo!

Thanks for reading,
-Y_Marker

 

[lorelei]

docwannabe: I'm so glad my suggestions helped you out. Keep me posted and let me know if you get stuck at any point. Unfortunately, I have not spent enough time with any Verbal books to be able to give a good recommendation -- can anyone else jump in here? If not I will try to check out the books next time I'm in Borders but that might be awhile.

blankguy: Breaking up the passage into paragraphs is a great start. It means you're already analyzing each piece of the passage. To analyze the passage as a whole, your goal is going to be to understand not just what the author's saying in each paragraph, but WHY he's saying it, and what purpose it serves in building the overall argument. Try asking yourself what would happen if the paragraph weren't there. Usually it's not just that information would be missing, but that the author's argument would be incomplete or wouldn't make sense. I'm trying to think of more tips for doing this - it's definitely not something that comes easily.

 

[frankrizzo18]

Can anyone speak of the difficulty of the sectional verbal tests from Kaplan? I am really having a tough time! As a matter of fact, I am finding them so hard that I am doing them untimed. Are people doing well on these sectional verbal tests under timed conditions? Thanks

docwannabe: I'm so glad my suggestions helped you out. Keep me posted and let me know if you get stuck at any point. Unfortunately, I have not spent enough time with any Verbal books to be able to give a good recommendation -- can anyone else jump in here? If not I will try to check out the books next time I'm in Borders but that might be awhile.

blankguy: Breaking up the passage into paragraphs is a great start. It means you're already analyzing each piece of the passage. To analyze the passage as a whole, your goal is going to be to understand not just what the author's saying in each paragraph, but WHY he's saying it, and what purpose it serves in building the overall argument. Try asking yourself what would happen if the paragraph weren't there. Usually it's not just that information would be missing, but that the author's argument would be incomplete or wouldn't make sense. I'm trying to think of more tips for doing this - it's definitely not something that comes easily.

 

[blankguy]

docwannabe: I'm so glad my suggestions helped you out. Keep me posted and let me know if you get stuck at any point. Unfortunately, I have not spent enough time with any Verbal books to be able to give a good recommendation -- can anyone else jump in here? If not I will try to check out the books next time I'm in Borders but that might be awhile.

blankguy: Breaking up the passage into paragraphs is a great start. It means you're already analyzing each piece of the passage. To analyze the passage as a whole, your goal is going to be to understand not just what the author's saying in each paragraph, but WHY he's saying it, and what purpose it serves in building the overall argument. Try asking yourself what would happen if the paragraph weren't there. Usually it's not just that information would be missing, but that the author's argument would be incomplete or wouldn't make sense. I'm trying to think of more tips for doing this - it's definitely not something that comes easily.

The problem is when I try to write out the main idea of each paragraph I tend to get hung up on the keywords and details of the paragraph. I also find that I am juggling with the ideas of several paragraphs unable to find the main idea of the whole passage.

 

[stoleyerscrubz]

This a cut and paste by a post made by lukewhite some months ago. Hope it's ok:


On the questions, get good at inferences. While I'm biased, I'd say that Kaplan is exceptional on this point, both in the amount of questions you have available to hone the skill and in the method. The main thing to remember for inference questions is that the right answer MUST be true based on the passage; if it may or may not be true, it's incorrect. This, in my opinion, is the single biggest factor keeping students who score in the 9-11 range from getting to the 12+ range: if you mistake something possibly true for something definitely true, or vice versa, on only a few questions you've automatically taken your score down a few points.

Make sure you understand what certain types of questions look like. Again, Kaplan's excellent on this, both in terms of volume and instruction. If you can glance at a question and know its category, you can spend less time trying to analyze what it's asking; you'll already have a good idea.

And finally, don't fall into the trap of trying to justify every wrong answer choice to yourself--when I take a practice test, I routinely skip answers I don't understand. Chances are that if they don't make sense, they're wrong and you'll find one much better a little below. Students often run out of time because they insist on fully understanding every choice, when you're only rewarded, of course, for picking the right answer.

Get in the habit of doing a couple "scans"...an easy question may only require one scan, while a hard question may first get you down to two answer choices and then allow you to compare them to each other. It's way easier to compare two choices than four!

We perhaps sometimes don't emphasize the inference enough. Not only is it a common problem area for students, but it's really the foundation for all other major question types...the higher-order questions all depend, to some extent, on the ability to make inferences and then do something else.

Remember that an inference will necessarily be very close to what the passage says. I'm constantly flipping back and forth while taking a practice test; missing a particular phrase is often enough to miss the justification for an inference. When you see an answer choice on an inference question, I'd go through these "filters":

1. Does it look wrong? If so, move on
2. Does it look obviously right? If so, you're probably done once you scan the others quickly to be sure.
3. If you're unsure, before evaluating the choice, figure out what it's referring to in the passage (this may be more than one place!) With a good idea of the passage's structure, you can go back, quickly look for relevant words/ideas and compare them to the choice. This is incredibly helpful for narrowing down and clarifying your thought processes.

Too many students try to power through an inference through sheer logic without reference back to the passage, which is deadly. Identify the question as inference, figure out what the likely choices are (usually you can narrow this down to two fairly easily) and then use the passage as your final filter to get down to 1. I'd say that this will get you the right answer 70-90% of the time, with the other 10% involving a little more reasoning and synthesis.

 

[stoleyerscrubz]

Another post by lukewhite. Hope it's ok.

A more specific Verbal tip today since I've been posting fairly broad strategies. This one deals with possibly the worst species of question on MCAT Verbal:

"Which of the following is a claim made in the passage, but not supported by evidence, explanation, or example?"

On the surface, this would seem to be a detail question with some evaluation. Most test-takers approach this by painstakingly locating each choice in the passage and then reading in context to see if it has supporting details. That's the sort of approach that can lose you 1-2 minutes on a single question: not worth it!

As with most MCAT Verbal, the trick is to think about it structurally. Where is a claim made in the passage but not supported by e/e/e likely to be? Probably at the end of the passage or the end of a major point. Scan the choices to see if one of them fits that criteria, and then go back to double check.

This won't always work; there's another criterion to try. What sort of claim is unlikely to be supported by e/e/e/? One that is itself evidence, explanation, or example. Does one of the answer choices involve something the author mentioned, but only as an off-topic reference to support the main point? Chances are it's going to be your answer--authors rarely provide evidence for their evidence.

Remember: The Verbal's set up not only to reward people who can get the right answer, but people who can get the right answer quickly. Doing a question fast is as important to your score as doing it correctly!

 

[frankrizzo18]

I find that writing on the side of each paragraph takes a bit of time to do. Plus, I do not find that it helps me much! I am wondering if I am writing the wrong type of information. What do you experts recommend to write in the margins of each paragraph? Please be explicit. In addition, do you experts find reading the questions first helps? My problem with the Kaplan tests is that I read the passage and annotate the living crap out of the passage, then I get to the questions and the annotations do not really help me! I just get overwhelmed because I feel like I have wasted time annotating and have to go back to the passage to located things!! Thanks

 

[QofQuimica]

I find that writing on the side of each paragraph takes a bit of time to do. Plus, I do not find that it helps me much! I am wondering if I am writing the wrong type of information. What do you experts recommend to write in the margins of each paragraph? Please be explicit. In addition, do you experts find reading the questions first helps? My problem with the Kaplan tests is that I read the passage and annotate the living crap out of the passage, then I get to the questions and the annotations do not really help me! I just get overwhelmed because I feel like I have wasted time annotating and have to go back to the passage to located things!! Thanks

It sounds like you are writing way too much. There are two very important things to keep in mind when annotating paragraphs:

1. Your annotations should be SHORT. If you're writing entire sentences, it's too much. You should only be writing a few words or a phrase at most. Also, do not write out whole words if you can avoid it. Abbreviate as much as possible (eg., write "rxn" for "reaction" and "exp" for "experiment.") If you don't know formal shorthand, then make up your own. I use Spanish words sometimes if they're shorter than the English ones, such as "y" for "and," and "sino" for "but rather." Other people might not understand your shorthand, but the only thing that matters is that you do.

2. Your annotations should focus on the passage's ARGUMENT, not the DETAILS. This is difficult for many pre-med students, because it's the opposite of what you generally do in your science classes. Say you have a passage about two competing theories of what causes the greenhouse effect. In an environmental science class, you'd probably be expected to memorize the evidentiary DETAILS for each theory and list them on your test. But on the MCAT, most questions will not be about the details. Rather, they will largely be about the ARGUMENTS made for, against, and by each theory. The details are just there to bolster the author's case. You will be asked questions like what the author means when s/he makes some statement, how to strengthen or weaken an argument, and whether the author would agree with some statement based on his/her position in the passage. So, to do well on the MCAT VR, you need to focus your attention on the arguments themselves, rather than on the evidence given to support or refute them.

Lorelei's previous post about pretending to debate with the author is a good suggestion for teaching yourself to focus on the arguments rather than on the details. You might also try asking yourself whether the author takes a side in a debate, and if so, which one and why. In some passages, the author will present one side of a controversy, but then agree with the opponent. In others, s/he will simply present both sides and remain neutral.

 

[hippocampus]

what do you do when you dont understand the passage, and even if you read it slowly, you still dont understand it? also, when you read the answers the MC questions, it also still does not make any sense.

 

[QofQuimica]

what do you do when you dont understand the passage, and even if you read it slowly, you still dont understand it? also, when you read the answers the MC questions, it also still does not make any sense.

The first thing to do is to follow the immortal words inscribed on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Don't Panic. You don't have to understand everything in the passage in order to understand the main argument of the author and answer the questions. If the argument itself is what confuses you, try to at least figure out if the author is positive, negative, or neutral toward his/her subject. That will help you answer questions that ask you things like if the author would agree or disagree with such-and-such a position. My other suggestion would be to do a passage like this last. Finish every other passage in the section, and THEN come back and do the one that is hard to comprehend last. That way, if you spend too much time agonizing over it, it won't affect your work on the other passages, which you have already completed.

lorelei, shrike, anyone have any other ideas?

 

[aspiringdoctor]

PLEASE HELP,
I've practiced the verbal section of Kaplan for nearly a week, but never finished on time and always get the Roman numeral questionS wrong, please help

I studied for two weeks for verbals, but didn't improve at all. I feel so discouraged. Can someone help me? What did I do wrong? Did I approach the section wrong?

THANKS

 

[lorelei]

The first thing to do is to follow the immortal words inscribed on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Don't Panic. You don't have to understand everything in the passage in order to understand the main argument of the author and answer the questions. If the argument itself is what confuses you, try to at least figure out if the author is positive, negative, or neutral toward his/her subject. That will help you answer questions that ask you things like if the author would agree or disagree with such-and-such a position. My other suggestion would be to do a passage like this last. Finish every other passage in the section, and THEN come back and do the one that is hard to comprehend last. That way, if you spend too much time agonizing over it, it won't affect your work on the other passages, which you have already completed.

lorelei, shrike, anyone have any other ideas?

Hm... I'm not sure if I have much to add to that. Q's advice is great, especially about not panicking!

Have you noticed any patterns in which passages do this to you? For example, is it always art passages, or always philosophy? Or is it just the fact that some are more difficult than others? If it's a particular topic, it MAY help to find several essays or a book on that topic. NOT so that you can learn all about it (Verbal doesn't require outside knowledge!) but so that you can become familiar with the way writing in that subject tends to approach things, and maybe feel a little more comfortable with the topic.

I'm not sure what else to do - I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who's successfully worked through a problem like this. (PM me.)

 

[lorelei]

PLEASE HELP,
I've practiced the verbal section of Kaplan for nearly a week, but never finished on time and always get the Roman numeral questionS wrong, please help

I studied for two weeks for verbals, but didn't improve at all. I feel so discouraged. Can someone help me? What did I do wrong? Did I approach the section wrong?

THANKS

First of all, QofQuimica and I both gave some advice upthread about tackling Verbal, so if you haven't checked that out it might give you a hand.

How are your practice scores? Do you think if you could just finish on time you'd be OK? And are you spending your time mostly on the passages or on the questions? Or is it more a problem of being able to get the answers right?

If you're spending too long on the passages, you should remember that you don't need to read for minute detail, as long as you remember where the details are - you can always come back. Try to get the structure, not every single piece of content. If you're spending too long on the questions, you may be overanalyzing. Keeping in mind the general idea and purpose of the passage can help there. Or if you're taking too long going back to the passage for answers, you might want to work on your mapping, so you can have a cheat sheet as to where various points are discussed.

For the Roman numeral questions, the strategy I like to use is elimination. See if any of the choices (I, II, or III) jump out at you - if II is definitely wrong, eliminate all the choices that have it, and if II is definitely right, eliminate all the choices that DON'T have it. Then go through the choices, focusing on which ones will eliminate the most answer choices. You can often figure out the answer even if you don't know whether one of the numerals is right or wrong.

 

[hippocampus]

Hm... I'm not sure if I have much to add to that. Q's advice is great, especially about not panicking!

Have you noticed any patterns in which passages do this to you? For example, is it always art passages, or always philosophy? Or is it just the fact that some are more difficult than others? If it's a particular topic, it MAY help to find several essays or a book on that topic. NOT so that you can learn all about it (Verbal doesn't require outside knowledge!) but so that you can become familiar with the way writing in that subject tends to approach things, and maybe feel a little more comfortable with the topic.

I'm not sure what else to do - I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who's successfully worked through a problem like this. (PM me.)

the passage had a lot of detail. a lot of review books say dont focus on the details, focus on the big picture. but.. how do you *not* focus on the details if you dont even understand the details? i feel that you need to understand the details to understand the big pic (?).

since you dont understand the details, you will just find yourself skimming the passage (since you think details dont matter) in hope of finding the big pic, and in the end, you are clueless on what the passage was about. (well, thats how it was for me )