Verbal strategy help . . . can't improve

[coyfish]

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I have done some searching but couldn't find what I was looking for.

I am stuck at 10 in verbal (rare 9, rare 11)on the EK101 tests. I assume too much or assume too little. Seems like I can't win and the questions I miss don't really have a pattern. Sometimes the wording is just so awkward I don't even get the chance to think about it.

All I have is the EK 101 book so I don't know what types of strats are advocated in the various company review books. I know some advise writing tiny summaries following each paragraph but I stopped doing that. Seems better for me to just highlight the main point in each paragraph and save time.

Started doing 7-8's and now im doing mostly 10's. Still lack confidence though . . . For those who have improved / consistent over 10 scores, what are your strats that have helped you. I don't think reading comprehension is something that can be studied for so maybe im destined for a 10.

 

[Turd Furgeson]

I have done some searching but couldn't find what I was looking for.

I am stuck at 10 in verbal (rare 9, rare 11)on the EK101 tests. I assume too much or assume too little. Seems like I can't win and the questions I miss don't really have a pattern. Sometimes the wording is just so awkward I don't even get the chance to think about it.

All I have is the EK 101 book so I don't know what types of strats are advocated in the various company review books. I know some advise writing tiny summaries following each paragraph but I stopped doing that. Seems better for me to just highlight the main point in each paragraph and save time.

Started doing 7-8's and now im doing mostly 10's. Still lack confidence though . . . For those who have improved / consistent over 10 scores, what are your strats that have helped you. I don't think reading comprehension is something that can be studied for so maybe im destined for a 10.

I'll be taking the MCAT on Friday, but while studying I've developed a strategy that works pretty well for me. Alot of times you just have to pick and choose what approach works best for you through trial and error.

I've been averaging 13's on my AAMC verbal sections, w/ a scattering of 12 and 14... similar score on Kaplan exams, but the curve is much more generous.

I took the Kaplan course and don't follow that strategy at all.

I take the passages in order they are presented. I first read the questions and am able to formulate a good idea of what the passage is about and what I need to focus on while I read. One thing I did learn from Kaplan is that points are scored on questions. If a specific phrase or paragraph is referenced in a question, I make a note and consider it while I read.

The first read-through is pretty fast, just getting an idea of what position/stance the author is taking, what the topic is, and highlighting both important topical sentences and potential supporting evidence. I focus on comprehending the big picture, or what the author is trying to get across.

Then I go through the questions, referring back to the passage often to look for answers or clues. I like to eliminate weak answers first. Even with confusing questions, I remind myself that the answer is listed and I look for the answer that I can select with justifiable evidence from the passage. If its a question dealing with the author's intentions, I try to think about what the implications of each possible answer might be. Like, if A is true, then what implications would that have on the rest of the passage? At this point, it's all about conceptualization, and if you've built a reasonable understanding based upon evidence in the passage, it shouldn't be too difficult to make a good, educated "guess."

I also am a big fan of marking questions to review once I finish the rest of the passages. On the AAMC practice exams, I've maybe missed one that I marked. Sometimes I keep my answer, and sometimes I change it, but coming back to it with fresh eyes definitely has helped me tackle the tougher ones.

Anyway, hope this helps you get over the 10-hump... Try out a couple of these strategies, and if they work, awesome! If not, take strategies other people present... just find something that works!

Good luck.

 

[svora]

@ Turd: wow, 12 on verbal is phenomenal.

this may sound dumb, but i can't seem to score greater than 50% on verbal. i have taken few practice test and verbal kills me.

I read what u said in your previous post, but could you explain your strategy/approach in yet simpler terms. i mean, it's hard for me to finish reading all the passages n' answer the questions in given time frame. I don't really know how to skim through the passage and just scan the passage for answers. (maybe cuz i have never been taught how to do this :🙁 ) I jump around from passage to passage or from questions within a passage because i can't really figure out what to do?? 🙁

what are the basic things that i should do while tackling verbal section. For eg. 7 passages and 60 mins.

i would really appreciate your help. Thanks!

 

[Fletcher Moore]

My strategy is completely the opposite.

Before starting each section I pause and close my eyes and count to five. This helps keep my mind from wandering during the passage. Then I try to read with focus as though God were speaking to me. While reading, if I feel like I am lost and have stopped following the author, I reread what I need to understand. I do not keep going in the interest of time.

On the questions, I take one steady pass through them with my gut reaction. If I do not feel confident in an answer--usually because I feel torn between two answers--I ask myself "Why is this answer choice wrong?" I find it helps when deliberating to think about what the testers are trying to do to trick you. If I can't decide I mark it and move on.

If the question asks, "Which of these is supported by evidence from the passage?" I accept that there's no time to waste reading through the passage looking for bits of information (unless I know exactly where they are). I go with my intuition and mark it so that I can come back and check if I have time.

At the end with my remaining time, I review my marked questions, thinking harder about how they are trying to trick me, and making sure the questions which ask about passage details are correct. Some times I have a lot of time (~10 minutes) and a particular passage was difficult so I reread it and revisit all of the questions. If I do not re-read the passage, I am extremely cautious to change an answer, unless I realize I made an awful error. The passage is not fresh in your mind. So if you are still not sure after revisiting, just leave it on the choice you initially picked.

I have found my biggest enemy is not giving the passage its due time (because I feel pressed for time). That is, reading it and not understanding the author's point or following his argument, and then trying to answer the questions anyway. There will always be one or more questions for each passage that require you to understand the entire argument as a whole or what kind of opinion the author holds.

If I were having trouble making good time (I am not--I usually have plenty left over), I would go through the questions faster. I don't think you gain much with your cursor wavering between two options for longer. If you don't understand it, you don't understand it. That is not to say you should not give each answer and question its due--just that if you read the question and choices and do not "get" what they are going for, then pick, mark, and move on.

 

[Turd Furgeson]

@ Turd: wow, 12 on verbal is phenomenal.

this may sound dumb, but i can't seem to score greater than 50% on verbal. i have taken few practice test and verbal kills me.

I read what u said in your previous post, but could you explain your strategy/approach in yet simpler terms. i mean, it's hard for me to finish reading all the passages n' answer the questions in given time frame. I don't really know how to skim through the passage and just scan the passage for answers. (maybe cuz i have never been taught how to do this :🙁 ) I jump around from passage to passage or from questions within a passage because i can't really figure out what to do?? 🙁

what are the basic things that i should do while tackling verbal section. For eg. 7 passages and 60 mins.

i would really appreciate your help. Thanks!

I'm no expert by any means, but it works for me... What part of it would you like simplified?

And don't be too hard on yourself, if you've only done a few practice tests then you still have a big opportunity to improve your score. Even if you aren't scoring well, approach verbal with confidence and take the questions a challenge directly from the writer of the test... and beat dat ass

If you're jumping around like that, you probably start to feel very flustered and overwhelmed, and that can snowball and cause you to miss questions that you could get points on if you were mellowed out.

 

[Turd Furgeson]

My strategy is completely the opposite.

Before starting each section I pause and close my eyes and count to five. This helps keep my mind from wandering during the passage. Then I try to read with focus as though God were speaking to me.

That's cool man, its all about finding a strategery (ha) that works best for you...

i say this with all due respect, but do you imagine that God is speaking to you because you are religious, or because its an effective approach?

 

[Fletcher Moore]

i say this with all due respect, but do you imagine that God is speaking to you because you are religious, or because its an effective approach?

I don't actually think anything like that. It was just hyperbole meant to convey a level of focus far beyond normal reading.

 

[Turd Furgeson]

I don't actually think anything like that. It was just hyperbole meant to convey a level of focus far beyond normal reading.

Gotcha... clearly I need to work on my reading comprehension.

I was kinda worried your strategy was predicated on God talking to you...

 

[coyfish]

Thanks for the replies guys. I am going to start trying more approaches. It is just hard to differentiate if its my comprehension that sucks or if my strategy is inadequate. I realize everyone is different but I wanted to get a feel for what others do.

So Turd you look at the questions briefly before you read the passage? Maybe ill try that. Only takes a glance to see what some of the referenced quotes look like so you can mark them as you read. Im pretty good at marking / keeping track of the ideas in my head but sometimes I can't find the quote and thats could be a bad mistake come test day.

I have the most trouble with questions that provide a quote / word / description from a particular paragraph. The ones that ask you to make assumptions from either the authors main point or the explicit statement. I am going to go over all the questions that are like that and check for hints in the wording (of the question) that indicate a broad or narrow perspective.

 

[Turd Furgeson]

Thanks for the replies guys. I am going to start trying more approaches. It is just hard to differentiate if its my comprehension that sucks or if my strategy is inadequate. I realize everyone is different but I wanted to get a feel for what others do.

So Turd you look at the questions briefly before you read the passage? Maybe ill try that. Only takes a glance to see what some of the referenced quotes look like so you can mark them as you read. Im pretty good at marking / keeping track of the ideas in my head but sometimes I can't find the quote and thats could be a bad mistake come test day.

I have the most trouble with questions that provide a quote / word / description from a particular paragraph. The ones that ask you to make assumptions from either the authors main point or the explicit statement. I am going to go over all the questions that are like that and check for hints in the wording (of the question) that indicate a broad or narrow perspective.

Yep, that's how I do it... i actually took the real deal this morning and while i had always heard that the real verbal passages were longer, my passages were MUCH longer, and required a little tweaking of the approach... when i was studying and doing practice exams, i would read the questions, note if theres the need to look for specific words or phrases (or even whole paragraphs). i also would usually read the answers to the questions and even consider the conceptual questions a little bit. sometimes you can really have an excellent idea of what you are going to be reading about instead of figuring it out as you go along.

But this morning, with the length of the passages, i cut down my time spent on the conceptual questions and focuses on specifics... but i think with the LENGTH of the passages, its even more beneficial to ID and mark portions that are referenced in question stems because having to scan a really long passage for a particular phrase can be ridiculously time-consuming....

i also can't stress enough the importance of taking the passages under timed conditions... if you aren't, i highly suggest trying... it can really train your mind to think as efficiently as possible.

so it helped me manage the verbal section well, i'll let you know if it correlates to a high score 😀

 

[Brendan c]

Right you are, I am ashamed to talk about some of my verbal scores. There is one verbal guide I think is beneficial, offered by testprep-online. it provided me with an approach to each question type on this section, and it's got good practice passages accompanied to it. Check out on the site they have a free sample of the guide.
When are you taking the test?

 

[TOPS]

Don't they provide line references on the reat mcat?, I took my mcat a while back so can't seem to recall if they did, b/c that makes it much easier to find instead of having to scan the whole passage.