<p>I am currently a sophomore and I am planning to take Kaplan this summer and take the MCAT for my first time right after Kaplan. Currently I have been reading The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and New York Times. In order to improve my reading comprehension for the verbal section of the MCAT, in what manner should I read these articles? Also, what topics, articles, or sections in these magazines and newspapers will be the most beneficial?</p>
<p>Any suggestions will be highly appreciated!</p>
<p>Topic doesn't matter - you just need to have the ability to read/scan an article quickly and understand what you just read. Probably the best thing you can do is to do as many practice verbal passages as you can. If you find that verbal is your weakness (very common), go to your bookstore and buy a few verbal prep books and go to town on the passages. The best way to prepare is always to do what you're going to be expected to do on the real thing.</p>
<p>I was wondering about the same thing. While reading or after you've read The Economist, how can you ensure that you're doing it the right way so as to reap every single benefit that should come with it? Btw, I never received an A in high school English (I've not yet taken any college English), and I really hate literatures. I have a feeling that I lack a certain foundation needed to be able to do these kinds of things by myself.</p>
<p>Look at the questions that are commonly asked about MCAT verbal passages, practice reading an article from the Economist in 2-3 minutes, and then make sure you can answer those questions about the passage you just read.</p>
<p>You will encounter a variety of topics on the MCAT, I've had passages on everything from rollercoasters and T-Rex to Napoleon and his preoccupation with image to a comparison of the strong and weak gravitational theories.</p>
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Look at the questions that are commonly asked about MCAT verbal passages, practice reading an article from the Economist in 2-3 minutes, and then make sure you can answer those questions about the passage you just read.
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That's a great idea. I'll definitely try it. Thanks, NCG.
(But isn't 2-3 minutes too tight? I read really slowly. My comprehension rate drops to 0% if I read that fast.)</p>
<p>Sorry, I'm not familiar with the length of articles in the Economist. But, you should definitely be able to read MCAT verbal passages in 2-3 minutes.</p>