VR-Reading Strategies

[shestheman]

Hey all,

 

my problem with VR is that there are certain types of passages that I have a lot of trouble with. These are mainly the ones on law and politics. If I read passages well and am interested in them, then I tend to do very well on the questions. However, for the passages I struggle with, because I don't read them well I end up screwing up all of the questions and doing terribly on them. Does anybody have any suggestions for how to improve my reading comprehension of these specific passages (Law and politics)?

 

Thank you all!

[future_doc]

Do you read the questions first?

[shestheman]

Nope, I don't.

[Godot]

Have you ever taken any coursework in introductory logic? It can be very helpful for verbal because it teaches you what to read for in passages, i.e., how each premise and conclusion relate to each other, how to make good arguments, etc. It's very helpful for the question types that ask you what the passage is concluding, or what the author would support, etc. I don't have a specific textbook to recommend, but do get one that includes exercises.

[future_doc]

Nope, I don't.

 

That might be worth experimenting with. By knowing what you are looking for, you will slow down when your eyes/mind connect with something approaching an answer to a question. You could then go to the question and see what the answer is to that part, etc. Its worth a shot and nothing to lose but a little time.

[Dampy]

I don't think you should read the questions first, they are oddly worded most of the time and will cause you to look for minute details because you're trying to fill in what you saw in the questions instead of reading for the authors purpose which is what will score you points.

 

Try and force yourself to be interested in the passages, if you're interested in what the author is trying to say you’re going to be reading more actively and remembering more, it's what I did and was scoring avg. of 34/40 on the aamcs and 13 on test day.

[future_doc]

if oneis encountering serious problems with certain type of passages, there may be novle solutions. We are into recoginition vs retention. Law, politics are creating absorption/retention/comprehending problems. Nothing ventiured, nothing gained. If my suggestion is worthless after a couple of trys, forget it, but perhaps its worth a try if nothing else works. Generally speaking, if I know what I am looking for in any reading material, this is a plus I find.

[dan0105]

I don't think you should read the questions first, they are oddly worded most of the time and will cause you to look for minute details because you're trying to fill in what you saw in the questions instead of reading for the authors purpose which is what will score you points.

 

Try and force yourself to be interested in the passages, if you're interested in what the author is trying to say you’re going to be reading more actively and remembering more, it's what I did and was scoring avg. of 34/40 on the aamcs and 13 on test day.

 

 

I'm with Dampy, if you preread the questions you usually lose the focus of trying to get the "big" picture and look for details which you think will help you instead, but really wont, because most VR passages expect you to understand everything at a higher level (as in "what the author was thinking").

 

I think looking for the logic flow and then descriptors that add or weaken emphasis like "strong", "weak", "rarely", "always" etc can help keep one on track. If you are good at it, the best way I find is to be able to paraphrase every sentence (so that you understand what it really "means"). But this is damn slow so I usually get lazy and just paraphrase every few sentences into one. If you get good at it, its not really worth writing down, just train your short term memory for holding paraphrases with some practice...

[future_doc]

I'm merely suggestion one possible technique that might entirely fail for shestheman who is presently encountering problems.

 

We are different. In my case, the question give me the "key" words to zoom on. I am able to rapid read and my eyes slow upon a key word showing up so I focus especially on absorbing that material especially. Different strokes for different folks. We all need to find or know what works best for us.

[shestheman]

Hey thank you to everybody who has posted above! I'll definitely consider it as I practice.

 

All ideas are welcome!

[war485]

Just wondering for those of you who score well on the VS section (in practice or previous MCAT) do you "skim" when reading through the passages or do you read the whole thing word for word? Also, would you do the same thing even if the passage is longer than the others?

[sparkles3288]

The way I do the readings is to first read the entire passage in "detail". I dont skim, but dont read everything word for word. This takes about 2-3min max. Then I go after the questions, and then back to the passage if needed for reference. Because you've already read the passage in good detail, the question answering is usually fast and you dont ge bogged down by details that maybe are unneccesary. Instead you have a good understanding of the entire passage.

 

I do it this way, usually am left with 10-15 extra min (depends) and score 11/12. Good luck =).

[touchthesky]

The way I do the readings is to first read the entire passage in "detail". I dont skim, but dont read everything word for word. This takes about 2-3min max. Then I go after the questions, and then back to the passage if needed for reference. Because you've already read the passage in good detail, the question answering is usually fast and you dont ge bogged down by details that maybe are unneccesary. Instead you have a good understanding of the entire passage.

 

I do it this way, usually am left with 10-15 extra min (depends) and score 11/12. Good luck =).

 

Sparkles3288, I do the same thing! Although I frequently miss a few questions when I feel rushed (I do the reading max 3 mins, and then take about 5 mins to answer the questions). I am getting frustrated because I keep getting questions wrong in each passage. Did you have a specific way of finding answer choices? I'm doing the Kaplan thing and it seems to be screwing me up lol