mcat verbal question

[spartan87]

I was hoping that someone who has improved on their verbal score can possibly shed some light on what they did to do so... I am taking a princetonreview course and they teach their students the strategy of writing a 5 word summary on scratch paper at the end of every paragraph of a verbal passage and at every question, going back to the passage and rereading a few lines above and a few lines below the area of interest in the paragraph... I gave their approach an honest effort but my score hasnt improved and it doesnt seem to be improving by simply doing more practice passages..

[Tipton]

What's your Verbal score now?

[jameslynton]

I was hoping that someone who has improved on their verbal score can possibly shed some light on what they did to do so... I am taking a princetonreview course and they teach their students the strategy of writing a 5 word summary on scratch paper at the end of every paragraph of a verbal passage and at every question, going back to the passage and rereading a few lines above and a few lines below the area of interest in the paragraph... I gave their approach an honest effort but my score hasnt improved and it doesnt seem to be improving by simply doing more practice passages..Ok - The examkraker method is the most effective. On the verbal section - it is the hardest section of the MCAT. It takes a great deal of work to do well if you have done poorly in English classes. Don't go back and reread the passage - that waste time. That slows you down. You have to remember and figure out the themes as you read. A few word summary is ok. I suggest the ExamKraker method after having looked/practiced all the others ie Barron's, Kaplan, Princeton and Examkraker. I improved the most with Examkrakers. They really go more into the why's and wherefores. Hope this helps. Princeton is really good for the science parts. Their practice verbal is good also - just use a different method on it.

[spartan87]

thanks for the replies..i will for sure pick up the examkrackers verbal book now...my score went from a 3 the very first time I took it to a 5 then to 7 then 10 then back to 7... the 10 was a complete fluke..It just gets so frustrating because I may practice one day and understand everything I read very well and get 80-90% of the questions right and other times when I study I will put in as much effort but not comprehend what I read and only get 50% correct

[Tipton]

Not sure if this would help. But I have found reading the questons and possible answers prior to reading a text helps focus my reading for comprehension. Just a thought.

[flyboy1080]

I didn't know if I should post in this thread or start another, but I felt it was relevant to this one...
I've been studying for MCAT for the last few months and I take it in about 3 weeks. My PS and ** scores have been improving by studying the material, but my VR score is really killing me. I'm averaging about a 7. I took a Kaplan course, tried their strategy (mapping and trying to "match" my answer to an answer choice...) but to no avail. I've been reading online other approaches, and the EK has been highly recommended. I've been givng that a try, and I think it is helping a little, but maybe that is because I am just so frustrated with Kaplan's method I will accept anything new. Either way, my main problem is understanding the passages. Some passages (normally those i am more interested in) are easy for me and I get most of the questions right. But most passages are difficult (philosphy ones) and I just get bogged down with the passage. I tried the EK strategy by continuing to read, but I still can't understand the passage's point. So my question is, does anyone have any tips to improve my VR score? Should i focus on improving my reading comprehension (I always knew my verbal skills weren't the best but I'm really struggling to improve them)?
This request may seem cliche but I really don't know what to do. My friends who took the exam just said to practice, practice, practice...which i'm trying to do, but i really don't see an improvement yet. In a way, I'm waiting for that click to happen, but so far nothing.....

sorry for the long post, but i just wanted to get it all out there

[jameslynton]

I didn't know if I should post in this thread or start another, but I felt it was relevant to this one...
I've been studying for M... tried the EK strategy by continuing to read, but I still can't understand the passage's point. So my question is, does anyone have any tips to improve my VR score? Should i focus on improving my reading comprehension (I always knew my verbal skills weren't the best but I'm really struggling to improve them)?
This request may seem cliche but I really don't know what to do. My friends who took the exam just said to practice, practice, practice...which i'm trying to do, but i really don't see an improvement yet. In a way, I'm waiting for that click to happen, but so far nothing.....

sorry for the long post, but i just wanted to get it all out there
Long post are good - many people are helped by them - The verbal section is the best predictor for medical school success. It is also the hardest for science types. Yes, lots of practice helps.

I know may not help - however, when you read you need to be aware of the tone and attempt to think about what the writers point of view is. They pick passages and make it a bit vague - reading the questions first does not work well on the MCAT verbal because they make the questions vague and ambiguous on purpose. What you want to do is focus on reading the passage once and focusing on the theme - writers point of view. ExamKraker has two books on the verbal one is a method book and the other is the practicce book. Do the method book first - then I would spend every day between now and the test working the practice questions. What you want to do is look for the feel (I know this sounds gooey and touch feely) of why you missed the questions! Take what you missed to heart - you have to know the reason why you get the question and why you miss one. Also use the released MCAT verbal questions to help you.

[flyboy1080]

So I understand your advice and I am trying to really review my wrong answers, but when it comes down to it, I just sometimes don't understand the passage. These tend to be the more difficult ones (as expected) about literature or philosophy. I find myself unable to comprehend what the author is saying. EK says not to reread, which i try to adhere to, but then i am lost in the questions, forced to look back and waste more time. Kaplan advocates mapping, but then says don't pay close attention to all the points made by the author, but I need to understand them to understand the author's purpose. I find it difficult to comprehend these difficult passages at first read...I usually learn things through reptition, so attempting to dissect an author's argument and opinion in 3 minutes is quite challenging to me.
This may sound pessimistic, but I have been contemplating the thought that if I can't improve my verbal (even a few points...i know i can't get a perfect score on it), I can't make it in medical school, despite my improvements in the other sections.
I am trying hard, but I just hope that soon all my hard work will click...

[fs8456]

Use examkrackers 101 verbal passages. It worked great for me!

[jameslynton]

It does take more effort to improve on the verbal - do as many problems like 30-40 minutes a day. It will click - it takes time and lots of practice to improve. I would encourage you to keep at it. It is a skill that will really pay off in the long run.