Verbal reasoning

[monkeyvokes]

How is everyone preparing for verbal reasoning? What else can I do to increase my score?

My scores in this section are always the lowest. To hopefully improve, I am doing lots of EK passages / practice tests and learning what to look for when I read the passage. I am also eating healthier / exercising to improve my focus when I read.

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[DeeVeeZee]

How is everyone preparing for verbal reasoning? What else can I do to increase my score?

My scores in this section are always the lowest. To hopefully improve, I am doing lots of EK passages / practice tests and learning what to look for when I read the passage. I am also eating healthier / exercising to improve my focus when I read.

I would get the 101 passages in ek if thts what you are referring to then i apoligize. My highest recommendation is the tpr hyper learning book, its pretty pricy but worth it.

 

[monkeyvokes]

I would get the 101 passages in ek if thts what you are referring to then i apoligize. My highest recommendation is the tpr hyper learning book, its pretty pricy but worth it.

Yeah I have been going through ek 1001
What about tpr hyper learning is uniquely effective?

 

[tdod]

double post, sorry.

 

[tdod]

Yeah I have been going through ek 1001
What about tpr hyper learning is uniquely effective?

EK is supposedly the best but TPRH is also good. Practice practice practice. I don't know about other prep books, but i hear that GRE and LSAT is a waste of time so don't even look at those.

 

[Gauss44]

How is everyone preparing for verbal reasoning? What else can I do to increase my score?

My scores in this section are always the lowest. To hopefully improve, I am doing lots of EK passages / practice tests and learning what to look for when I read the passage. I am also eating healthier / exercising to improve my focus when I read.

Well, what problem are you struggling with in VR? Slow reading? Tricky questions? Lack of comprehension?

The solution depends on the problem.

 

[sps27]

Has anybody tried the AAMC Self Assesment for verbal? Are they worth spending money on?

 

[texan2414]

Has anybody tried the AAMC Self Assesment for verbal? Are they worth spending money on?

Absolutely.

Keep in mind that they start off really easy and ramp up in difficulty as you move on to latter ones.

 

[DeeVeeZee]

Well, what problem are you struggling with in VR? Slow reading? Tricky questions? Lack of comprehension?

The solution depends on the problem.

I believe it is comprehension. I am simply getting questions wrong because I can't grasp the concept quickly enough in the amount of time given. I guess the only answer is to do tons of passages.... Mcat got a 5 in vr so have to retake and don't know where to begin to improve

 

[SuperSneaky24]

I found most people do badly in verbal because they approach the questions with the wrong mindset. If you go into the test thinking you're going to do horrible in verbal, you'll do horrible. Your focus and mentality just won't be right to get a high score.

Like Chris Paul says, practice builds the skills that builds confidence. So I'd just practice. I finally managed to break the VR 10 wall I've been stuck on, and it's only through practice that I was able to do so.

 

[oOKawaiiOo]

Like Chris Paul says, practice builds the skills that builds confidence. So I'd just practice. I finally managed to break the VR 10 wall I've been stuck on, and it's only through practice that I was able to do so.

How many passages did you do daily?

 

[SuperSneaky24]

On all my MCAT studying days, I started with 2 verbal passages a day for 2 months. Then eventually increased that to around 4-5 verbal passages for a month.

and I did more verbal whenever I did a FL exam

 

[Gauss44]

I believe it is comprehension. I am simply getting questions wrong because I can't grasp the concept quickly enough in the amount of time given. I guess the only answer is to do tons of passages.... Mcat got a 5 in vr so have to retake and don't know where to begin to improve

Or work on reading strategy. Don't bother remembering anything but the main flow of ideas and who's ideas they are (the author versus someone the author mentions). If you need to go back to the passage to get a detail (like an example or list) just right, that's fine - the main flow of ideas should give away where to look in the passage.

 

[NextStepTutor_1]

You can find more information about strategies to tackle the verbal reasoning here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forums/next-step-mcat-tutor-office-hours.970/

But in general, you should work on timing for the verbal reasoning, learning to map passages and highlight the correct information, and lastly, how to analyze the question stems and the answers. All of that information is listed in the link above.

Hope that helps!

 

[NextStepTutor_2]

I'd also like to point out an underutilized but seriously effective strategy of implementing more MCAT style reading in your daily life. I always push for daily articles from The Economist because they match the reading level, style and even length of the MCAT passages so well. As other posters said, you'll feel more confident when you can analyze these articles automatically and that comes from practice. You get to access a limited number of articles daily unless you have a subscription but you might find your university provides access to it.