~* VR comprehension... some difficulty!!!!!!!

[asdasdasd89]

hello, I've been reading the economist and studying VR with EK 101, but I've noticed that I was having problems with political/history passages...

For example, passage 2 on pg 4 of EK 101 deals with declaration of independence, and I did not understand the passage well. maybe it's cuz im not familiar with politics/history... but not sure how I can improve comprehension. Im pretty good with other topics though

Do you have any suggestions? Even reading some articles in the economist I found was fairly difficult to comprehend. Oh and also, I use my electronic dictionary while I read because I find many words that im not sure about. (and i try to memorize them as well)

So any advice would be greaaat!

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[Isoprop]

how much time do you have until you take the mcat?

it sounds like you need a primer on US history to serve as a framework for history/political passages. you can try the wikipedia article on US history.

harper's magazine usually has one or two articles per month covering history/politics (from a liberal perspective). it's a general magazine that covers a lot of topics. you might want to read some back issues from your library to get you more comfortable with those type of articles.

if you don't have that much time, i would just suggest doing as many passages as you can from aamc, ek, princeton, whatever. just get comfortable with passages, and don't freak if you get a political sci article on the mcat. the same strategies that worked for fine arts will work for history.

oh, and don't try to build vocabulary like the way you've been doing. instead, try to guess at what the word means from the context of the article. then look it up to see if you were right.

 

[asdasdasd89]

how much time do you have until you take the mcat?

it sounds like you need a primer on US history to serve as a framework for history/political passages. you can try the wikipedia article on US history.

harper's magazine usually has one or two articles per month covering history/politics (from a liberal perspective). it's a general magazine that covers a lot of topics. you might want to read some back issues from your library to get you more comfortable with those type of articles.

if you don't have that much time, i would just suggest doing as many passages as you can from aamc, ek, princeton, whatever. just get comfortable with passages, and don't freak if you get a political sci article on the mcat. the same strategies that worked for fine arts will work for history.

oh, and don't try to build vocabulary like the way you've been doing. instead, try to guess at what the word means from the context of the article. then look it up to see if you were right.

hey there! thanks for the reply. Im not american, which may explain why im a bit weak in those areas... so should I just be reading the Economist more??

As for the MCAT, i have more than a year, so I thought why not build my vocab? So is it worth reading magazines, or should I be reading VR passages from other companies?

Oh and do you know where I can get quality verbal material? I have ek 101 and the kaplan big thick book, but this one doesnt have many.

 

[LikeClockWork]

You can try reading letters to the editor in magazines like The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and stuff like that. They're usually closer to the length of passages you'll have on the MCAT, unlike the full articles. Try to figure out what the author's main point is and what they're trying to say. I did this some and it helped get me into the frame of mind for puting myself in the author's shoes.

 

[Isoprop]

hey there! thanks for the reply. Im not american, which may explain why im a bit weak in those areas... so should I just be reading the Economist more??

As for the MCAT, i have more than a year, so I thought why not build my vocab? So is it worth reading magazines, or should I be reading VR passages from other companies?

Oh and do you know where I can get quality verbal material? I have ek 101 and the kaplan big thick book, but this one doesnt have many.

oh you have more than a year. continue reading, and build your vocabulary. but don't just look up the words and try to memorize them. before you look up a word, try to guess at the meaning of the word, then check to see if your definition is correct with a dictionary.

if you are having a particuarly tough time with us history because of your background, i would briefly try to get a very general idea of the history and politics of the U.S.

the best place to get practice material is the AAMC practice tests.

Try to figure out what the author's main point is and what they're trying to say. I did this some and it helped get me into the frame of mind for puting myself in the author's shoes.

i agree with this.

 

[asdasdasd89]

oh you have more than a year. continue reading, and build your vocabulary. but don't just look up the words and try to memorize them. before you look up a word, try to guess at the meaning of the word, then check to see if your definition is correct with a dictionary.

if you are having a particuarly tough time with us history because of your background, i would briefly try to get a very general idea of the history and politics of the U.S.

the best place to get practice material is the AAMC practice tests.



i agree with this.

Wow thanks guys!

Sometimes, I have no clue what the passage is saying and even if I go back and reread it, I still dont understand. So if I read a lot, is this problem going to be fixed? I just want to get better at comprehension and reading speed!