Lecture Notes for Verbal Reasoning

1. Lecture Notes forVerbal Reasoning Lesson 5 Answering Questions According to Exam Krackers

2. Answering Questions • Use 100% of the information provided by the test. • Reading carefully yet normally for comprehension, but be careful with searching the passages. • Overthinking and revisitingthe passages wastes time.

3. Answering Questions • Four tools to find helpful information in the answer stems and answer choices. • Going back: Rereading parts of the passage. • Should only be used as a last resort and only when: • You regularly finish on time. • You know exactly what you’re looking for. • You know exactly where to find the answer • Revisiting the passagesis the most time consuming and least useful of the four tools • Rereading is not conducive to finding the main idea. • Be careful of the “feel good” answer. • Obvious answers can be a trap. • MCAT test makers often deliberately deceive. • Be careful of questions referencing line numbers. • Doesn’t mean you’ll find what you’re looking for. • Keep in mind your goal is to finish the Verbal Section.

4. Answering Questions • Four tools to find helpful information in the answer stems and answer choices (cont’d.). • Focus on the main idea. • See your notes from Lecture #4. • Question Stems. • The question stems often hold as much information as the passage itself. • Scrutinize the answer stems as carefully as possible, looking for keywords and thinking about the author’s purpose, the author’s background, and the passage’s structure.

5. Answering Questions • Four tools to find helpful information in the answer stems and answer choices (cont’d.). • Answer Choices. • Thoroughly get to know the exam. • Four answer choices. • Correct answer is usually written first (not the first answer on the test you encounter). • The other questions are written to confuse. • Lots of practice can result in the ability to answer question without reading the answer choicesor the passage.

6. Answering Questions • Four tools to find helpful information in the answer stems and answer choices (cont’d.). • Five notable distracters: • Round-about. • Can be correct answers, but typically don’t offer a direct answer to the question (Often not the “best” answer choice). • Think of politicians who “talk” around an issue. • Beyonds. • A distracter that supplies information beyond that given in the question and passage without substantiating its truthfulness. • Don’t confuse a beyond with an answer choice that directly asks you to assume information as true.

7. Answering Questions • Four tools to find helpful information in the answer stems and answer choices (cont’d.). • Five Notable Distracters: • Contraries. • A distracter that contradicts the main idea. • If the question does not include the words “except,” “not,” or “least,” the answer choice is unlikely to contradict the main idea. • Simpletons. • A distracter without qualifications that seems too simple and direct, broad, usually involving a generalization. • Correct answers are often vague, ambiguous, and debatable. • Often exhibit extreme wording like “always” and “never” tend to indicate a simpleton. • Simpletons are not always wrong answers. • Just be suspicious of them.

8. Answering Questions • Four tools to find helpful information in the answer stems and answer choices (cont’d.). • Five Notable Distracters: • Unintelligibles. • A distracter that is difficult to understand. • Often a trap • Many test takers choose answers that confuse them. • Test makers like purposefully obscure and unintelligible word choices. • With distracters it is crucial to understand that there are no absolutes, just suspects.

9. Answering Questions • Identifying the correct answer. • Typical correct answer choices contain softeners. • Most likely, seemed, had a tendency to, etc. • Simplify the question stems and answer choices in your own words. • Simplified paraphrases. • Substituted less challenging synonyms.