Very Disappointing WS Score... Need advice on WS please!

[Guest Paulchemguy]

Alright, I got 30N.... N! The numeric scores are kinda expected, so it wasn't a surprise, but HELL, a N on WS, that was totally not expected.

 

I took the Kaplan course and the pratice WS I usualy get 4/5s..... So could anyone pleaes give me advice on the WS?

 

What should I do to improve my WS score? I dont plan on re-taking the course...

 

Should I follow the Kaplan strategies? What are some good stratgies?

 

Any specific prep book on WS that you would recommend?

 

And regards to the verbal section, I'll also need improvements on that too. I got 8 on it... and has been consistenly getting that mark... I did alot of pratice too, all around the same score.

 

Any suggestions? What should I do? Any good prep book for verbal?

 

I think I'll write again in April... but I have no idea what it will be like on computer... I won't be able to circle, and do any doddles on the paper! argh~~~

 

Please, any advices deeply appreciated!

[Guest dayne67]

Well, I don't think that I am the one to give good advice on WS, seeing as I got an N the first time around and then I got an O the second time around. I was also consistenly getting 4's and a couple of 5's from the instructors at Kaplans, but I ended up with lower marks on the real thing.

 

I would suggest, though, that maybe you should think about appealing that N. You are just one letter away from an O, which is needed for Western's cutoff.

 

I can definitely give you some advice on verbal. The first time around, I got a 7. However, after much studying, I increased my score to 10. It can be done, but IMO, it is the hardest section to improve in if you are initially having troubles. It requires a long term approach. I think the first step is knowing where you are going wrong, and then attacking it. For me, my biggest problem was skimming or glossing through the text. I couldn't handle reading wordy texts, whether in the body of the article or even in the question stems. I couldn't focus when it came to dense text, as a lot of it would just go over my head. I would then either spend too much time re-reading stuff that I didn't understand or finishing quickly and not understanding key specifics of the passages. This killed me on the questions on the real MCAT, which seemed to test the specifics of the passages. I know that Kaplan suggests skimming the passage and getting the general idea of it, but this did not work for me at all when it came to the real thing. In fact, a lot of Kaplan's full-length tests reward this type of strategy, where the questions are worded such as the "The main idea of the passage is". I did not find these general-oriented questions on my MCAT version last year. They were all specific that tested my understanding of really wordy specifics from the passages.

 

To solve the problem, I started reading magazines such as the New Yorker, the Economist, and Atlantic Weekly to better improve my reading skills in terms of speed and handling dense text. I also improved my ability to focus without getting distracted or drifting away. I did this for a month, in conjunction with reading some individual verbal passages. Once, I felt my reading speed had increased, I started doing three verbal passages at a time, and timing myself for the standard of 27 minutes. I primarily used the "Kaplan Verbal Reasoning Tests", which are much harder than the passages on the actual Kaplan full-length tests and their wordy specific questions seem more in line with the actual MCAT. I then started not only doing both entire Kaplan verbal reasonings tests, but also started doing verbal from AAMC as part of their full length tests. The AAMC practice materials are the closest things to the real MCAT in terms of their verbal. They have a somewhat different feel to them. For instance, it's important to get used to the notion of having some passages with 10 questions and others with only 5.

 

When I rewrote the MCAT this past August, it paid off because I got a 10, which by my standards, is a good score. Your best bet is to find out your exact problem, and then devise a plan that works best for you. I used an incremental approach, as opposed to the full out practicing of one full-length test after the other.

[Guest GundamDX]

I got a 29R... I also did KAPLAN... I'll post my advice re: writing later... but thanks a lot for sharing with us your exp. with verbal! I think I share the similar problem as you did, as I tried to read for SPEED (coz I always end up not having enough time!) but then I missed out a lot of details then as you said, I have to re-read - which was a pain and a waste of time. Your approach seems very practical. I am thinking of retaking the test next August but I think I'll start reading more like now... thanks again for the advice.

[Guest dayne67]

No problem. Though, my post got a little too long, but I did not how else to describe my past struggles with verbal.

 

Verbal is a very tricky beast, but it can be beat with hard work and good quality practice.

 

I also just wanted to add that Kaplan's strategy is sort of skimming through the text and getting the main idea, but ExamKrackers advocates reading each passage carefully, and then attacking the questions. I found ExamKrackers strategy better suited to me.

[Guest Ronin]

When I took the Kaplan course a few years ago, I consistently got 6s on my written sections. I mean, i was bombing PS every time, but I could write my way out of a Turkish jail.

 

Real exam? Got a P. Maybe it's nerves or something.

[Guest arjuna83]

Hey,

 

I was a little surprised when I received a "R" for the WS. During the first essay, I completely lost track of the time, and spent 21 minutes on the first task alone! I was so stressed when the invigilator informed us that we had 9 minutes to go, and I wasn't even in the middle of the essay. I ended up writing so fast, but thankfully I had a rough outline of what I wanted to write. Anyway my point is that for the writing sample, following the instructions is key. I've been checking some of the posts on SDN and noticed that quite a few of those guys have very low essay scores, but the quality of their posts don't reflect their scores. I feel that people with low scores don't pay enough attention to attacking the 3 tasks (which are explain the statement with an example, describe a counter-example, and resolve the issue). You obviously need to have good writing skills as well, but place equal emphasis on following their instructions.

 

As for the verbal, I thought the Examkrackers verbal technique was great. In a nutshell, it makes you focus on the "main idea" of the passage, without getting bogged down in too much detail. I improved my verbal score from 9 to 11 using this method.

[Guest GundamDX]

examcrackers eh...? I still tink that gradual method will probably wrok better. COz i am not a native speaker so I think that reading speed and comprehension has to be worked on...

 

anyway on to WS. I agree that you MUST stick with the 3 tasks. This might sound cruel but it's not really about your wirting skills. Dont worry about your vocabulary or sentense structure. I used the EXACT same beginnings for BOTH of my conclusions. The other important element I think it's examples.No, not acutal ones. Hypothetical samples that MAKE SENSE. For example, the essay that asks for you to give example where positive social change needs leadership... my COUNTERexample was like ppl in a neighbourhood setting up a block watch to keep an eye out for released sex offenders... that doesnt' require *as much* leadership compared to increasing funding for the health care system (my PRO-example)... my suggestion is stick to the tasks, think of examples, and ALWAYS think of it as an argument. You are trying to argue your way out of a dilemma. It's not about writing, it's about arguing. You got to convince yourself with your own argument first - that's something i kept in mind when i did practice. Hope that helps. But it might not work for everybody! ) cheers

[Guest ckim01]

I agree with you dayne on taking the long term approach... i also totally bombed my verbal... like to the point where i felt like i was illterate.

 

I was wondering if anyone out there knows any good website where i can find articles similar to mcat's verbal section. I have issues with concentrating... i read the words but the meaning just get filtered out!

 

I am feeling pretty desperate... i don't know what to do..

should i try examkrackers? are they really that good?

[Guest VS12]

there's quite a bit of material out there. i'm not advocating this or anything, but some people on ebay sell mcat test material in digital form. that right there should provide you with tons of stuff. including the 6 full length aamc exams, 11 full length kaplan exams, and however many kaplan verbal exams, you have quite a bit right there. then you can always borrow stuff like the tpr verbal book from friends and stuff. there's examkracker's 101 verbal passages book, which i found to be excellent. their verbal strategy book is also quite good, but if you can, just go to a library or bookstore or something and read it for half an hour. it's such a short read, that it's kidna pointless to buy just the book. and if you've exhausted everything else, i've heard that the lsat reading comprehension section is decently similar to the mcat verbal, albeit a little easier and more straightforward.