For applicants to medical schools, knowing the basic science and social science principles tested on the MCAT is only half the battle in achieving your highest possible score. Given that the MCAT tests knowledge within the context of discrete passages, being able to apply prior knowledge to new situations is crucial to success.
Comprehension skills are most overtly tested in the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section of the exam, but are also essential to the remaining three sections of the test.
In addition to brushing up on basic biology, chemistry, physics, psychology and sociology, you must also develop the ability to glean important information from passages, interpret that information and use your interpretations to answer questions.
If you are preparing to take the MCAT, check out these strategies to develop your comprehension skills in time for your test date.
[Learn three ways to build MCAT skills in everyday life.]
1. Review question stems first: MCAT passages typically present more information than what you will be tested on. For example, a passage in the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems section may contain a chart of experimental data, as well as several paragraphs that detail how an experiment was conducted. It may also include information about the tested hypothesis.
Rather than reading the entirety of this passage when it appears on your screen, consider scanning the related question stems before you begin reading. Devoting one minute to reviewing the question stems can help you focus your reading, priming you to identify the information that is most relevant.
This strategy may be most effective for biology-based passages, in that it prevents you from expending time and energy on attempting to remember facts that will not be tested. But it can also be used for the other MCAT sections.
Be mindful of your time when using this strategy. The idea is to become familiar with the question stems, not to thoroughly read the questions and then meticulously comb the passage for the answers.
[Sharpen critical analysis and reasoning skills for MCAT success.]
2. Determine the general principle being tested: Passages on the Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior section of the MCAT often ask test-takers to apply the foundational principles of psychology and sociology to statistical data.
Questions may require you to relate social trends and examples of psychological theories to the data or vignette that is being presented, and answering correctly hinges on your ability to distill new information down to a basic concept.
While it is all too simple to find yourself making arguments for and against each possible answer choice, approaching the passage and the questions through the test creator’s eyes may help you arrive at the best possible solution in the shortest amount of time.
Instead of agonizing over how answer A may be better than B, return to the question stem or conclusion of the passage and ask yourself what skill or fact the writer of the test wants you to demonstrate through that question or passage.
For instance, a passage that presents statistics correlating the number of words children know at age two with parental income could be interpreted as an examination of how socioeconomic class affects children’s cognitive development.
Identifying the overarching theme or task on which a passage or question rests can help to eliminate ambiguity as you look at individual answer choices.
[Learn how to prepare for the MCAT verbal reasoning section.]
3. View each passage as a vacuum: Though this may seem obvious, it is important to note: Individual passages on the MCAT are in no way conceptually linked to one another.
You might find yourself parsing the aromaticity of benzene rings in one passage and adjusting for the presence of frictional force on an incline in the next. Because our minds naturally create continuous narratives where one item logically follows the next, shifting between passages and subjects within the MCAT can be difficult.
The Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems section may pose particular problems when trying to let go of one passage when diving into the next, as this section covers an expansive amount of academic material, from general chemistry to physics.
Practice taking a moment for yourself after you complete the questions for a single passage. Use 20 or 30 seconds to regroup, take a breath and release your thoughts from the subject or questions of the previous passage.
Intentionally clearing your mind between passages can help to interrupt the process by which previous questions or topics might influence your answers in forthcoming items.
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How to Improve MCAT Comprehension Skills originally appeared on usnews.com
