From Chemistry to CARS, the MCAT requires excellent critical reading skills. To improve your ability to read and glean information from a passage, you need to practice. Be critical when you read the content, and watch for vague areas or holes in the science passages that aren't explained clearly.
Take control of the passage. Don’t let the passage control you.
If you have a study group you are working with, take turns asking and answering the questions below. Having to explain something to someone else not only solidifies your own knowledge, but helps you see where you might be weak.
Feeling nervous about what you might encounter in the CARS section? Some students don’t have as much experience reading texts from the social sciences and humanities. Try active reading and annotation with some of the sources below. Make sure to choose articles that are written at a fairly high level (that is, not a simple news article or movie review).
If you find that you have more difficulty doing passages online than on paper, make sure to do as much of your outside reading as possible online. Many of the periodicals listed allow some degree of free online access. There are also two websites that provide non-copyright material for free:
Make sure to choose non-fiction texts that are at a fairly high level of difficulty (that is, at MCAT CARS level). Here are some appropriate texts that will give you practice with reading challenging passage material on a computer screen:
Want more reading prep? Our online MCAT CARS prep course helps you sharpen your reading comprehension skills and raise your score.
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