10 VR pointers (please add more!)

[amalwa12]

Hey guys,

 

Since I started practicing for VR in June, I've been getting a steady stream of 10s with the EK passages. I hit two 11s. And now, that I'm nearing the 14 passages, I just got two consecutive 8's . I'm mostly attributing this to fatigue, and I hope I'm right.

 

Regardless, I went through the passages I scored poorly on very carefully, and came up with some specific pointers. So, I thought I'd share them here. Please feel free to disagree with any of the points below. And even better, please add on to these pointers so others facing a hard time with VR can also benefit, since people are always asking for more specific help with this section.

 

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1. Focus from line 1 of paragraph 1. This is SO important, and yet I somehow don't do it often, and miss marks because of something that was mentioned in the first couple of lines.

 

2. While thinking about the author's background and wondering who he/she is, also look out for where the author is getting his/her information from. I often bomb questions that ask if the author is deriving his info from facts or speculation, etc. So it's best to keep that in the back of your mind while doing all passages.

 

3. When asked to refer back to the passage to verify a statement made in the question, don't look for the words in that statement to appear verbatim in the passage. Recently, I made the mistake of looking for the words hero/villain in the passage and when I couldn't find hero, I went for villain. I later realized that the word "protagonist" was clearly mentioned in the passage. SO, make sure you leave room for synonymous references.

 

4. If the passage is comparing two items, say two animals or two tribes, or something like that - make a mental list of the similarities and differences. There's bound to be a question that focuses on the distinction between the two items being compared so be aware of that while reading the passage.

 

5. Words like 'rather' are softeners, which are more likely to be the correct answer since the MCAT prefers flexible answers over absolute answers. * If you're reading this and know of more such softeners, please contribute *

 

6. Words like 'all' or 'none' are to be avoided for the same reason as above. * Again, if you know of other such words that signify absolutes, please mention them *

 

7. When a question asks us to predict the author's response to a particular statement that challenges the author's assertions, his/her response would most likely try to justify the statement in the framework of his/her beliefs, rather than admitting that they are wrong. Try to work along the author's line of reasoning to deduce the right answer.

 

8. I don't know if this works for everyone, but most often, when I'm stuck with choosing between two answers, the one that I picked first intuitively is the correct one. This may be because my instincts are drawing from the info that I just read in the passage and that beats trying to find some external reasoning to get to the wrong answer. So, follow your instincts when down to the last two!

 

9. If you don't understand the gist of the passage at all, use the answer sets provided to reach your answer instead of wasting time trying to re-read parts of the passage, especially if you don't know what you're looking for. Also, if you don't understand a particular question, move on after you've read the answers and still can't get them down to the last two. Maybe the following questions will help shed some light on the tricky one.

 

10. I've made this stupid mistake a few times: not realizing that the question is asking for exceptions when it says "EXCEPT"! So if you're making that mistake, be very careful and do whatever it takes to avoid it. If on paper, underline. If on the computer, highlight that word so you don't miss it for any reason.

 

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I hope this will help! Please add on to this list and continue from #11. Thanks =)

[MamboVipi]

Hey, does anyone know where I can get some good practice VR stuff online? I just signed up for the MCAT to write in 3 weeks, but by the time any books I order to study with arrive (I live in the arctic) I will have basically no time left to study...

[Pagan]

Amalwa,

Take a break and don't think about VR for two days, if you can.

 

Some things that worked for me are:

1) Stay alert but DON'T let yourself get frustrated in the middle of a passage if things aren't going your way.

2) Pay attention to the first and last paragraphs.

3) Read quickly and give yourself time to go back if you can. A lot of easy points can be saved if you just go back and read the sentence again.

4) Practice under optimal conditions.