Verbsies: The Draupadi Method

[DoctorInASaree]

Update coming this week!

@nomdeplume1234 for you There is at least one mistake in the document...I've corrected it for the next iteration

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[Dreamstoo]

QUESTION: I think the psychological dimension of writing the MCAT is very important - do you guys think I should spent a page or two addressing this? Fear, etc.

Yes, please! And thank you!

Personally I would love this. This is probably my biggest hurdle as of now, my fear for the MCAT.

 

[DoctorInASaree]

Well, that's a wrap on my primer I'll be posting the full guide in a few days. I hope that the guide is of value to someone out there!

I would like to thank a lot of people, so I won't be naming any names but...if you have ever talked to me about the Verbal section or the psychology of writing the MCAT - I would like to thank you so so much

All the best out there!
- Dr Draupadi

 

[Levrone]

I'll be reading this now. thank you

 

[erythrocyte666]

Hi @DoctorInASaree
The primer is certainly very helpful in putting structure/logic to a section that is frequently seen as a crapshoot.
The new part about this strategy imo is deducing the main idea using the question stems (it's so similar to the way Holmes figures out a person's history just by looking at him/her). Do you take a few seconds after going through the questions to summarize your prediction of the author's thesis? It would be great if you can post examples of some other passages from EK/TPR/AAMC and JUST show how/what you infer from the questions (don't have to show a full passage analysis). Also what sort of questions do you disregard in this strategy?
Also, I'd love to know how you approach verbal-type science passages - i.e. the extremely experimental-based bio passages (e.g. the advanced TPRH bio passages) and the extremely text-heavy PS passages dealing with some unfamiliar concept.
Lastly, I thought you already took the MCAT; did you void? I'm pretty sure your worst performance would still be high 30s!

 

[DoctorInASaree]

Hi @DoctorInASaree
The primer is certainly very helpful in putting structure/logic to a section that is frequently seen as a crapshoot.
The new part about this strategy imo is deducing the main idea using the question stems (it's so similar to the way Holmes figures out a person's history just by looking at him/her). Do you take a few seconds after going through the questions to summarize your prediction of the author's thesis? It would be great if you can post examples of some other passages from EK/TPR/AAMC and JUST show how/what you infer from the questions (don't have to show a full passage analysis). Also what sort of questions do you disregard in this strategy?
Also, I'd love to know how you approach verbal-type science passages - i.e. the extremely experimental-based bio passages (e.g. the advanced TPRH bio passages) and the extremely text-heavy PS passages dealing with some unfamiliar concept.
Lastly, I thought you already took the MCAT; did you void? I'm pretty sure your worst performance would still be high 30s!

Okay, I'll post verbal examples tomorrow. Thanks for the feedback

I'll peruse through TPRSWB and post some science passages by Wednesday ish!

 

[Plue00]

Where is the PDF?

May have accidentally skipped over it

EDIT:

I am going crazy looking for this PDF........ ugh

 

[DoctorInASaree]

@Plue00 Sorry, I will be posting that very soon!

\/ Not a huge fan of what is written below, but I thought it may be of some use to someone out there I prefer what I call "automatic post-passage analysis", and I'll be posting verbal examples in a couple of hours to demonstrate that process

Post-Passage Analysis

There is nothing complicated about “post-game analysis”, and there need not be anything scary about it either. As stated earlier, there are two types of arguments: inductive and deductive arguments.

Let’s review!

A deductive argument has three stages: 1. premise(s) 2. inference 3. Conclusion. If it is invalid or has one or more false premises, it will be unsound. An inductive argument: the premises actually provide the required degree of support for the conclusion, and then the argument is a good argument.

Summary: A valid argument transmits truth from the premises to the conclusion. All of the premises must be true for the truth to be transmitted.

• Therefore, an incorrect answer choice is selected because the test-taker has selected an incorrect premise and/or conclusion. This is why the Sherlock Holmes method is important!
• For a deductive argument: you must test premise(s) and inference(s)! If you review my example passages, you will see that I often make statements such as:
o Wild assumption!
o Not supported by evidence in the passage.
o Inference that is not supported by premises
• Always be sure to review your answers in the context of your methodology – inductive and deductive reasoning.
• An author once posed the following question at a book club meeting she attended: John Watson is Sherlock Holmes’ assistant and good friend. He wrote all of the detective cases the Mr Holmes worked on. Question: Why doesn’t Mr Watson display a mastery of deductive reason- ing? Answer: He makes unfounded assumptions, because it is easy. Don’t think like Mr Watson, think like Mr Holmes!
• There are other ways of incorrectly answering a question such as:
o Misreading a question
o Lack of knowledge
• However, all of those cases invariably lead where one has selected an incorrect premise and/or conclusion.

 

[House D.O.]

So Im trying this method and its helpful. Really Only change from my previous strategy is to read the questions before the passage. Does reading the ?'s make reading complex passages easier to comprehend for you guys? Iv been practicing on ek101 which have relatively interesting passages and wonder how this would work for art/philosophy dense passages

 

[DoctorInASaree]

Verbal Examples pdf

I came across a super random passage today...the author was all over the place I may add that in later!

I will post a funny story tomorrow (about the creepy smile guy in my picture ) along with a few Bio/Phys passages from TPR SWB.

 

[Dreamstoo]

Lol I just reviewed that Frankenstein passage awhile back. Was one of the oddest passages I've read. I think I got all of them right. I just remember reading the passage very carefully and spending 4-5 mins on that and 3 mins on the questions.

 

[Dreamstoo]

Hi @DoctorInASaree
The primer is certainly very helpful in putting structure/logic to a section that is frequently seen as a crapshoot.
The new part about this strategy imo is deducing the main idea using the question stems (it's so similar to the way Holmes figures out a person's history just by looking at him/her). Do you take a few seconds after going through the questions to summarize your prediction of the author's thesis? It would be great if you can post examples of some other passages from EK/TPR/AAMC and JUST show how/what you infer from the questions (don't have to show a full passage analysis). Also what sort of questions do you disregard in this strategy?
Also, I'd love to know how you approach verbal-type science passages - i.e. the extremely experimental-based bio passages (e.g. the advanced TPRH bio passages) and the extremely text-heavy PS passages dealing with some unfamiliar concept.
Lastly, I thought you already took the MCAT; did you void? I'm pretty sure your worst performance would still be high 30s!

Yeah I second this, didn't you take the test in October Saree?

 

[erythrocyte666]

@DoctorInASaree
Also, when you read the actual passage for verbal, do you read with the mindset of mapping (knowing which info is where and main idea) or the mindset of classifying the argument as deductively/inductively good/bad --- I know the former is the more common thing everyone does, but I feel the latter forces you to wrestle more with the evidence/conclusions but prob more time-consuming. Your example passages seemed to imply the mapping mindset more.

 

[DoctorInASaree]

@DoctorInASaree
Also, when you read the actual passage for verbal, do you read with the mindset of mapping (knowing which info is where and main idea) or the mindset of classifying the argument as deductively/inductively good/bad --- I know the former is the more common thing everyone does, but I feel the latter forces you to wrestle more with the evidence/conclusions but prob more time-consuming. Your example passages seemed to imply the mapping mindset more.

Right, so both are important. After pre-reading the question stems we're looking for x,y,z, but making sense of the passage is also important. Does deductive/inductive reasoning have a role to play? You bet!

Let's split this into two parts Deductive Reasoning (DR) and Inductive Reasoning (IR)


(1) Deductive Reasoning: [for a serious definition read the strategy on page 1]

Top-down logic. We start with a broad (macro) topic, and the author will, by the end of the passage, come to a definite conclusion. Imagine that there's a sculpture hidden inside of a stone...a deductive argument will peel away logically sound layers of the rock (premises) in order to reveal the sculpture - the conclusion.

Does this sound familiar? Standard passages anyone? Knowing this, we should be "mapping the passage" like so:

(1) Introduction of macro topic - Capital Punishment should be used to punish rapists
(2) Supporting argument 1 - Some crimes cannot be forgiven - rape (proof a and b)
(3) Support argument 2 - Such crimes are committed by people who are beyond help (proof c and d, etc.)
(4) Supporting argument 3 - another powerful argument
(5) Therefore, I conclude that "..."

DR tip: Remember, with a deductive argument, if the premises are sound - the conclusion will be TRUE.
- The supporting arguments are narrow and apply only to the topic at hand (say rape cases). Why? The more general the premises the higher the probability that it can be proven false. This is the opposite of IR. We'll get there in a moment.

How does the author prove those supporting arguments (premises)? And what sorts of inferences are made? That is how I test deductive arguments.

Now it's time to answer passage questions. What is the crux of the passage? The crux of a deductive argument is always contained in its conclusion. Isn't this true? What of the remaining questions? They are ALL PoE questions. What does PoE of a deductive passage mean? We're testing its premises. The beauty of this, is that we just did, hopefully, a good job of that while reading the passage!

(2) Inductive Reasoning

Bottom-down logic. Begins with initial information that covers a broad domain - generalizations. Think of stereotypes Inductive conclusions are not true, but they may "likely to be true" - depending on the strength of its premises.

It would go something like this:

Statement 1: 100% of the Indian girls that I know have had forced marriages.
Conclusion: If I meet a married Indian girl - she will have had a forced marriage.

Is the conclusion true? No Is it likely to be true? Perhaps, depending on how the author proves Statement 1.

So, when reading a passage, ask yourself

Am I reading a top-down or a bottom-up passage? Right away you'll figure out whether it's a DR or IR passage

Let me know I have missed anything...dinner awaits! Goodnight.

 

[DoctorInASaree]

I have received a few PMs about the creepy smiley guy in my picture, so I have taken it down. Sorry if I traumatized anyone with it @lazyindy

A long time ago I was struggling with Verbal, and I sat down with my dad and we churned out the methodology He also told me the story of the creepy smiley guy as the reason why he believed reading the questions first was a good idea.

The Archer and the Bird

Once upon a time, a teacher took his students into a forest to train them in the ways of archery. He placed a wooden bird on a tree branch, and instructed his pupils of the objective: "your arrow must pierce the bird's eye, and nothing else". Before letting a pupil release the twang of his bow he asked them what they saw. The first student said: Teacher, I see the bird, and the branch, and the force of wind striking the branch. The teacher told his student to put down his bow, and move back into his place with the other students. He called the next student, and asked him what he saw. This boy, the eldest, said he saw the following: the bird's eye, the bird's body, the tree's branch, the tree, and even an ant hill at the bottom of the tree. He saw everything. Once again, the teacher told his student to put down his bow, and to sit down with the other students. He called upon another student, and asked him what he saw. The boy told his teacher that he saw only the bird's eye. The teacher smiled, and told him to release his arrow.


Moral of the story?

You don't need to be like the second boy, and focus on everything written in the passage. Focus on your objective. Focus on what is relevant, and don't let MCAT trick questions distract you.

 

[ayocaptain628]

saree, sometimes i honestly feel like every post i read of yours is like a free verbal passage; such a unique writing style

 

[Mavs88]

Pulled a 12 on VR in AAMC FL 8, my previous highest was a 10. Consistently in 9-10 range. Not sure that I changed anything to be honest...

The ones I'm still getting wrong a lot are
"which of the following does the author provide least evidence for...
" the evidence for X is a) weak b) strong , etc"

Also not sure if anyone else feels this way, but I often feel like the passages I go through faster (typically at the end of VR), I do better on. Not sure why lol

 

[DoctorInASaree]

Pulled a 12 on VR in AAMC FL 8, my previous highest was a 10. Consistently in 9-10 range. Not sure that I changed anything to be honest...

The ones I'm still getting wrong a lot are
"which of the following does the author provide least evidence for...
" the evidence for X is a) weak b) strong , etc"

Also not sure if anyone else feels this way, but I often feel like the passages I go through faster (typically at the end of VR), I do better on. Not sure why lol

Those are PoE questions. This might sound crazy but...take the "author provide least evidence for... " question for example. If you're not sure how to falsify an answer choice...feel free to go back to the passage to jog your memory. I do it all the time. The worst thing you can do is say "Oh I think I remember the author saying x,y,z". Refer back to the passage if you're not sure. Does that sound familiar?

Oh, and congratulations on scoring 12 !

 

[medic86]

DoctorInASaree,

Which edition of EK are you using for your first example in the PDF? I have the second edition, and it doesn't have question #6. Also, the answer choice that you selected for #3 is incorrect in this edition.

Thanks!

 

[DoctorInASaree]

DoctorInASaree,

Which edition of EK are you using for your first example in the PDF? I have the second edition, and it doesn't have question #6. Also, the answer choice that you selected for #3 is incorrect in this edition.

Thanks!

For some reason that passage is from the first edition (I have both). Q6 is:

#3 Yikes, what a blunder! Thanks for spotting that. I'll edit the pdf when I have time and mark it as incorrect. The mistake is obvious. How come my PoE didn't scrutinize B, or even D for that matter? Lack of focus, and me wanting to settle for an alluring answer!

Maybe I shouldn't have posted one of my very first passage? I suppose this goes to show that there is room for improvement

Thanks again!

 

[Visible Ghost]

Going to try this method out a little later today.

DoctorinaSaree's method works . She got a 14 on verbal .

 

[DoctorInASaree]

I'll be cleaning up the guide and posting its final version in a few days. I really wanted to push something out for those who are writing late in January, so once again I would like to apologize for any mistakes. Thank you!

 

[cassidy1231]

I did pretty well on the december 6th mcat with a VR score of 11 and I'm taking the test again tomorrow (PS killed me) and hope to get an even better score on VR. On the december 6th test I remember one question where I was stuck between two choices, one was the more extreme choice that I thought was the right answer, and then there was a less extreme one with one word or detail ( don't exactly remember) that struck me as out of place. In this situation would you go with your gut and pick the extreme answer, or defer to the "the right answer is usually not the extreme".

 

[RC4L]

I say this only for constructive purposes and not in a negative way whatsoever, but I think this method will inhibit consistent progress. If you read the questions before the passage, you are obviously trying to remember those questions and match them with relevant content during the passage. Under those circumstances, you are sacrificing your full attention to the passage which will set yourself up for both overlooking key info and missing the purpose of the author in relation to the entire passage. Even if you do spot something in lets say the first paragraph that allows you to answer a question, there could very well be other information in the final paragraph that changes the significance of that topic in the beginning. By the time you get to that final paragraph and have already answered the question, you are likely going to have to reread to understand exactly what the author is saying about the topic. In verbal, you will often see a passage that contains 90 percent background information and 10 percent author opinion. The 90 percent background is to give you enough understanding on the topic to grasp the opinion of the author. If you are spending your time looking for information matches between passage and questions, you aren't going to be looking for the relevance of that info in the passage, only enough to make sense of a question and not always the right sense. Lastly, you might spend 30 seconds reading the questions initially. Lets say you remember three of those questions while reading the passage and get one correct from doing so. Is that one question worth those 30 seconds on top of having to go back and read the others you forget? Not to mention having to re read parts of the passage. Because I love analogies - lets say you were unfamiliar with the human skeletal system and you were briefly shown a picture of a femur, after which, you had to search through a pile of assorted bones to find a femur. You could probably find it but now lets say you had to identify which bone rested on top the femur. You are going to be lost. You want to build and understand the skeleton first to understand how the parts work together. The author is going to guide you to put that structure together but you can't make sense of those instructions if you aren't paying attention to them and don't put them in order. Ever had a school assignment for which you were supposed to read a book and then answer questions but you decided to search for the answers instead? It's a mess. VR is hard enough without getting in your own way.

I really don't mean to put down someone else's method and I understand everybody finds different things that work for them but there are some things that apply to everyone. Those universal truths with VR are that you have to understand the author precisely and you have to understand the relevance of the entire passage to answer the Qs as effectively as possible. I tried this method when I was studying for the MCAT and it did give me some immediate gratification from spotting a few answers right away. However, it didn't change my score overall and it cut my potential to actually understand what I was doing when my problem was just that. Just food for thought. If this really works for you, stick with it. However, if you are not where you want to be and you aren't improving, you haven't maxed out! You are simply using the wrong tools because there is no cap on improvement potential in VR if you find the right method. Everyone has a method that can work for them. Again, just food for thought.

That being said, I love what doctorinasaree about reading the passage and could not agree more. I simply cannot do that effectively while trying to remember the questions. Maybe I am just severely ADD.

 

[faith hopelove]

I don't think it's about remembering questions but more of trying to get your feet wet before you hop into the pool. I use the questions to help me figure out what the topic is and things like that. That has helped me to focus more on the passage and read actively then what I was doing before with diving into the passage and getting lost by the middle of it. Also, different strategies work for different people. Reading questions first my some ridiculous to you but it works great for others. Who said you have to be conventional in reading the passage first? Even AAMC stated ways to approach verbal and one of the ways was to read the question first.

 

[Mavs88]

Agreed that when I read the questions first, I'm reading them so fast anyway that I'm not hunting for those while reading the passage. It really just gives you a framework of what to expect.

 

[somuchwater]

I've been trying this method. I average between a 9-10 on both EK and AAMC and wanted to bump it up to a 13 or 14. My main issue has been missing details. I tried this method but the problem I keep having is that I take almost a minute on the questions and then end up not even applying any of it when i read. Do you think I should do it untimed first to get the methodology down?

 

[Cawolf]

I just want to bump this and say thank you to @DoctorInASaree!

I started practice passages in a 9/10 range and scored an 11 on my first FL. I am happy to say I got a 13 on the actual exam.

I highly recommend her strategy.

 

[DrAfrika]

@DoctorInASaree

Can this method still be applied to the new MCAT.

I ask because, the new exams display is different. Instead of showing a group of questions next to the passage on one page, they've changed it to just showing one question at a time next to the passage.

Would reading the questions prior to reading the passage still be effective?

 

[DoctorInASaree]

@DoctorInASaree

Can this method still be applied to the new MCAT.

I ask because, the new exams display is different. Instead of showing a group of questions next to the passage on one page, they've changed it to just showing one question at a time next to the passage.

Would reading the questions prior to reading the passage still be effective?

I will be updating this guide in the coming weeks. AAMC released a free FL didn't they? I'll write it, and see if the strategy needs tweaking! thanks.

I just want to bump this and say thank you to @DoctorInASaree!

I started practice passages in a 9/10 range and scored an 11 on my first FL. I am happy to say I got a 13 on the actual exam.

I highly recommend her strategy.

Thank you so much @Cawolf! Once again, a hearty congratulations to you!

 

[DrAfrika]

I will be updating this guide in the coming weeks. AAMC released a free FL didn't they? I'll write it, and see if the strategy needs tweaking! thanks.

Okay Thank you.
I'll be on the lookout

 

[Labrat07]

Bump for people who's working on Verbal.

 

[ag9124]

I'll give this a try for sure.

 

[DoctorInASaree]

Hi everyone!

With renewed interest I've decided to update my guide again! I'm going to divide it into 2 parts.

1) A friendly powerpoint presentation. It will contain a brief introduction, strategy, tips and tricks, and study habits.
2) Word document - you know the usual 50-70 pager! It will contain the entire methodology - analyzing arguments, logical fallacies, etc.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU - I need your help!


1) Also, since Sociology is being added I may add a special section to deal with the new types of Social Science passages. I'm no Khan Academy or TBR, but would this help anyone? I'm thinking of a 100slide PPT to provide an overview of Sociology. Would this interest anyone?


2) My Strategy. Does it still work?
I currently don't have access to the *only AAMC FL out there*

@DoctorInASaree

Can this method still be applied to the new MCAT.

I ask because, the new exams display is different. Instead of showing a group of questions next to the passage on one page, they've changed it to just showing one question at a time next to the passage.

Would reading the questions prior to reading the passage still be effective?

Can anyone explain this to me? What exactly have they changed? Do we go through one question at a time, sequentially? Would I be correct to assume we can go back and forth between questions? If so, is it fast?

If we can spend less than 25s "previewing Qs" then I think the strategy will still work. But if not...then something fresh needs to be baked in the oven!

3) I think that the psychology of test taking (confidence, writing the exam stress free, etc.) is important.Would anyone like me to address that?

 

[Labrat07]

DoctorInASaree,
I'm sure anything you can help with will be appreciated. Yes, please add sociology and psychology of test taking. One thing I'd request is dumb it down for us mortals KISS. And please give us a lot of passage example.

About the only current version of the test, i'm not really sure but if you need i can purchase and give you my info.

Anything you can help with are awesome!!!

 

[allantois]

I concur that the more resources there are, the better!
Even though we don't get many replies in this thread, it's definitely being read and used by many people (judging by the number of times it was viewed)
As far as the new format goes, I just wanted to point out that we will now have ~10 mins per passage, so there shouldn't be any issues with pre-reading the questions.

 

[nomdeplume1234]

I keep seeing reference to "the pdf" but there is no pdf. Can someone upload it please?

 

[Cawolf]

I keep seeing reference to "the pdf" but there is no pdf. Can someone upload it please?

It used to be in her first post, but she edited it yesterday to provide an update soon.

 

[nomdeplume1234]

darn a day late hu. lol I'm not sure what her definition of "soon" is. any chance one of you fellas or gals could attach the old version until the update?