Verbal Reasoning

Question 1

When writing a paragraph map what must you include?

Answer 1

Topic- the subject
Scope- the extent of the area or subject matter that something deals with or to which it is relevant. specific aspect of the topic on which the author focuses— the causes of World War I, or competing theories about predicting volcanic eruptions, or Dickens’s critique of the English legal system
Purpose- why of text, what does the author really want me to get from this paragraph and passage? Purpose is the reason why the author wrote the passage—to dispute a common belief about the causes of World War I

passage map where you began and ended use it!

Question 2

What is a global questions?

Answer 2

It asks about the primary purpose or thesis of the massage.

1. The author’s central thesis is that…
2. The author’s primary purpose is…
3. Which of the following titles most accurately describes the passage?

Keywords: central thesis/primary purpose, title 1. The author’s central thesis is that…

2. The author’s primary purpose is…
3. Which of the following titles most accurately describes the passage?

up to 3 per verbal section, found with topic scope and purpose

Question 3

What are detail questions?

Answer 3

It asks what is stated in the passage, it can asks about scattered detail with roman numeral question or least/except/not

up to 2 per passage

keywords: according to, stated in the passage found using your map, 1. According to the passage…
2. As stated in the passage…
3. Based on information given in the passage…

Question 4

What are evaluation questions?

Answer 4

it asks how the author built the argument either the structure or the function of it,
in humanities, and social sciences
• Evaluation questions ask how the author put together the argument.
• Correct answers stick to the scope of the argument and identify how the author
moves between evidence and conclusion.

up to 3 per passage

keywords: in order to (function), to answer turn it into a “why” question. 1. The author mentions “third-order discontinuities” primarily in order to…
2. The author organizes his argument by…
3. In context, the phrase […] most nearly means…

Question 5

What are deduction questions?

Answer 5

it asks if the answer that is unstated but must be true, it can be an inference, assumption, or definition in context, Deduction questions require you to use your broader understanding of the passage to identify logical conclusions (inferences) or crucial pieces of evidence (assumptions) that are unstated in the passage information. Note that creative interpretation isn’t rewarded here. The correct answer will definitely be true based on the passage.


with 2+ per passage.

Keywords: infer, suggest, author would most likely agree/diasgree, implicit in

are the most frequently encountered on the Verbal Section - they ask you to identify unstated elements of the argument: inferences, assumptions, definitions-in-context, or text clarification.

Question 6

What are inferences?

Answer 6

implied conclusions INFERENCE QUESTIONS
An inference is a statement that must be true based on the passage text and is im- plicit in the argument in the passage.
When answering inference questions, stick close to the text, since you are looking for something that the author does not state but strongly implies using the evidence in the passage. Always remind yourself of the author’s ideas and the overall scope of the passage since they will guide you in the right direction.

1. The author of the passage would most likely agree that…
2. It can be inferred from the passage that…
3. It can be justifiably concluded that…

Question 7

What are assumptions?

Answer 7

implied evidence
“implicit”
COMMON QUESTION STEMS
1. It can be reasonably concluded that the author assumes…
STRATEGY
Look for an answer which stays within the parameters of the evidence and conclu- sion—the scope of the argument—and watch out for out of scope answer choices.

Question 8

What are application questions?

Answer 8

It asks about information in passage that is applied to a new situation analogy, However, the majority of application questions involve hypothetical information brought to bear on the situation in the passage; our job is to infer how the author would react or what would happen to the author’s ideas as a result.

usually 2+ per passage

keywords: short paragraphs no relation to text, 1. “Suppose it was discovered that instead of…, the author of the passage would probably argue that…”

STRATEGY
Accept the new information provided as fact. Look to the passage for support of the new information. In other words, you are drawing an analogy between the passage information and the new information.

Question 9

What are incorporation questions?

Answer 9

it asks about the affect of new information on ideas in the passage, more likely to see weaken questions than strengthen ones,
Well, strengthen does NOT mean prove. To strengthen means to forge a tighter con- nection between the evidence and conclusion.
And weaken does NOT mean disprove. To weaken means to lessen the connection between the evidence and conclusion. The first step is to identify the conclusion and evidence (use keywords like therefore and because respectively) and then predict the answer choice that makes the conclu- sion more (strengthen) or less (weaken) likely a result of the evidence.

up to 2 per passage

keywords: strengthen/weaken, the following, if true… 1. Which of the following would most likely strengthen (or weaken) the author’s argument?
2. Which of the following scenarios would support (or deny) the author’s main purpose?

Question 10

What are the normal question for MCAT?

Answer 10

authors opinion

structure of authors argument, why said this

implied evidence and conclusion

differentiating between arguments

Question 11

Why are the faulty use of detail pathologies wrong?

Answer 11

not relevant to the answer (often a direct quote fro the wrong part of the passage or a fact about a concept other than the one the question is asking about)

sound familiar, true statement but doesn’t answer question

shows up in detail, and global questions

This will be a detail that is in the passage but is not the right detail for the question asked. If the test maker or your map points you to a particular paragraph, stay there. If you research all over the passage, you may find a nice detail, but it won’t be the one you need. You won’t be surprised to learn that FUDs show up a lot in science passages in which you can anticipate lots of detail questions. FUDs are also classic wrong answers for main-idea questions. You’re looking for an answer that encom- passes the entire passage, which a detail can’t do. Never choose a detail as the an- swer to a main idea question.

Question 12

Why are the opposite pathologies wrong?

Answer 12

they are the opposite of the credited answer,

didn’t understand working language form passage

detail, global, deduction, and evaluation

This is just what you think it is: an answer that’s wrong because it’s the opposite of what the passage says. It’s a common trap for questions that ask you what the author doesn’t do (“the author uses all literary devices EXCEPT…), and it’s an easy trap to fall into if you’ve just skimmed over the question.
Some wrong-answer pathologies will naturally be more common with particular question types. For example, the most common wrong-answer pathologies on Detail questions are Distortion or FUD. You’ll always find an Opposite answer choice on “strengthen” or “weaken” questions or LEAST/EXCEPT/NOT questions, since one of the most common mistakes made in Verbal Reasoning is to forget precisely what the question asks.

Question 13

Why are the distortion pathologies wrong?

Answer 13

they are close to the credited answer, but distorted (often too extreme)

always, not true

read carefully exactly what author states

detail, global, deduction, and evaluation

The MCAT test maker doesn’t often give you passages in which the author expresses really extreme ideas, such as “All students always do well on the MCAT Verbal Rea- soning section.” Consequently, answers using extreme words (all, always, no, never, impossible, or any word that leaves you nothing in between the extremes) are usually wrong. The only time they’re right is when the author is extreme; we already know that’s pretty rare. But be careful—don’t just look at the word; look at context, too.

Key Concept
Classic wrong answers show up on almost every answer set of every question set of every passage. That’s proof of how important it is to recognize them.

MCAT Expertise
The main reason we include Scope in Topic, Scope, and Purpose is to remind ourselves what is and is not in the passage. That helps us stay away from answers that aren’t supported in the passage.

Note, for instance, the difference between the extreme no and the possible almost no. Train yourself to recognize extreme words and you’ll save yourself a lot of wasted time.

Question 14

why are out of scope questions wrong?

Answer 14

they are not relevant to the credited answer (outside the scope of the passage or question)

creatively think about to illogical conclusion so stay within the scope

detial, global, deduction, evaluation, incorporation and application.

OUT OF SCOPE (OS)
An out-of-scope answer is outside the parameters of the passage. It may sound good—it may reflect something you know or believe—but if it isn’t either in or reflected in the passage, it isn’t right. You can be absolutely sure that the correct answer is supported in the passage, so always check your answer with the passage. OS answers are particularly common for inference and deduction questions and also show up in main idea answer choices. Avoid OS answers by remembering that the right answer must be true, at least according to the author, based on what she says in the passage. Unfortunately, what you think should be true doesn’t count her

Question 15

What are the tricks to a critical reading passage?

Answer 15

You are not trying to learn anything, don’t remember, no outside knowledge, don’t worry about not understanding everything

Question 16

What are the different keywords? contrast keyword?

Answer 16

although, but, but however despite alternatively yet still
although unless otherwise
not nevertheless though by contrast while notwithstanding, traditionally, initially, and originally. These words always indicate “some- thing’s going to change” and that change is going to be the author’s focus.

shifting direction to real purpose

Question 17

continuation keyword?

Answer 17

in fact, and, also, furthermore, in addition, as well as, moreover, plus, at the same time, equally

Question 18

Conclusion keyword?

Answer 18

consequently, therefore, thus, believes, we can conclude that, in conclusion, so it can be seen that, [] claims that

someone else’s or own

Question 19

evidence keyword?

Answer 19

because, for, since, the reason is that

Question 20

emphasis keywords?

Answer 20

above all most of all primarily in large measure essentially especially particularly indeed

author finds important

Question 21

illustration keywords?

Answer 21

As [] says, For historians, In the words of [], According to these experts, To [],

example about to arrive

Question 22

sequence keywords?

Answer 22

Secondly, (and thirdly, fourthly, etc.) Next, Finally, Recently,

Question 23

what is the breakdown of an argument?

Answer 23

Part
Opinion
Stated Conclusion
Fact
with the four parts of an argument equal to Opinion, Facts, Inference, and Assumption

Function
Stated Evidence
Inference
Implied Conclusion
Assumption
Implied Evidence

The opinion should answer the question “what is the author’s point?” The facts should answer the question “why should we believe the opinion is true?”

Note the difference between an inference and an assumption: The former is a conclu- sion supported by the given facts; the latter is an unstated fact necessary to support the stated opinion.

The author believes the conclusion because of the evidence plus the assumption.
The inference must be true because of the evidence and conclusion.

Question 24

What is perspective?

Answer 24

People have all sorts of different definitions of critical reading. Our definition is aimed primarily at bringing you success with the questions that will determine your exam score:

Critical reading = PERSPECTIVE
Gaining perspective means stepping back from the passage. It means reading for the structure and the gist: carefully evaluating why the author wrote the piece and how it’s organized, instead of concentrating on the content.

capturing the gist by paraphrasing
using Keywords to help you navigate the passage,
identifying topic, scope, and the author’s purpose, and
creating a Roadmap of the passage structure that will help you locate relevant text as the questions demand.

Question 25

What is critical reading?

Answer 25

When you read critically, you have to see that some sentences are really important (because they present major themes or ideas), while some sentences, and even some whole paragraphs, are secondary (because they present evidence).

Question 26

What are the different possible purposes?

Answer 26

To ADVOCATE: The author argues for a particular proposal or approach or idea, bringing up and refuting possible objections.
To REBUT: The author challenges someone else’s idea or theory without offering an alternative in its place.
To COMPARE: The author explores the similarities and differences between two ideas, theories, or proposals. Your question as you read should be: “Which (if any) does the author favor?”
To ANALYZE: The author evaluates the success or failure, the quality or deficiency, of a proposals, idea, or theory.
To DESCRIBE: The author presents the salient facts and features, but takes no position.

Question 27

What are some suggestions when reading passages?

Answer 27

GET THE GIST Boil down difficult prose to simple terms, concentrating on the ideas that seem most important to the author.
READ ACTIVELY That is, focus on how the passage is structured to achieve the author’s purpose — and rely on Keywords to provide reliable signals.
IDENTIFY TOPIC AND SCOPE Go beyond the broad subject matter to identify the specific aspect of the topic that interests this author.
DETERMINE THE AUTHOR’S PURPOSE Identify why the author was motivated to write the passage.

Question 28

What are the steps to developing an argumenT?

Answer 28

dissecting the structure of a written argument
identifying the implied part of an argument
restating each argument in consistent, simplified form

Question 29

How do you deal with application or incorporation questions?

Answer 29

When Application or Incorporation questions have long hypothetical situations in the question stem, identify what the question is asking for before reading the hypothetical information. If you’re asked to incorporate new information into the passage, read for detail; but if you are looking for an analogy, identify the broad outline of the hypothetical situation.

Question 30

How do you handle tough passages?

Answer 30

So you can see that by breaking down tough passages into discrete bits of informa- tion, you gain a better understanding of the author’s purpose.

make mental pictures of subjects

pay attention mostly to the authors opinion and really dumb it down leave out evidence

focus on first and last sentence

8-9 minutes per passage

reading for 4-4.5 minutes

Question 31

How do you handle tough passages?

Answer 31

So you can see that by breaking down tough passages into discrete bits of informa- tion, you gain a better understanding of the author’s purpose.

Question 32

How do you deal with roman numeral questions?

Answer 32

• Scan the distribution of the choices before you begin.
• Deal with the Roman numeral statements in any way that makes sense to
you—don’t automatically start with Statement I.
• Eliminate choices strategically. The moment you decide whether a Roman nu-
meral is “in” or “out,” you automatically can discard one or more of the four answer choices, and instantly improve your guessing odds.


Question 33

How do you deal with tone questions?

Answer 33

• Tone questions ask you to determine who wrote the passage or in what type of publication it would appear.
• Tone questions ask you to evaluate how the author feels about the topic (not unlike an inference question).

For the first type of tone question, consider the words the author uses. Are they technical? Professional? Specific to art or geology or whatever the topic is? The writer is probably an expert writing to other experts who understand that jargon, and the passage might appear in a professional journal. But if the words are more general or easily understandable, or if the ideas explained in everyday terms, the author is probably writing for a nonprofessional audience reading a general interest book, newspaper, or magazine, such as the science section of a daily newspaper.
For the second type of tone question, the clues are in the answers. Is the author angry, ironic, dismissive, supportive? Review the way the author writes about the subject and his own point of view about it, predict, then match.

Question 34

What questions and passages should be done first?

Answer 34

do global and detail first

To save time and effort on Test Day, always skip questions you have difficulty with until you finish the others for that passage, and when the passage is difficult, scan the question stems to answer the easy questions first.

Question 35

How do you answer questions?

Answer 35

Exactly what does the question ask, The stem may direct you to relevant text by paragraph or direct quotes from the passage; or it may use names or other words that appear (sometimes repeatedly) in the text without any indication that they are quoted.

Negative words (like LEAST, EXCEPT, NOT, inconsistent, or weaken) are “pre-annotated” for you, but you should take note of other essential terms that will help you find the answer. Many mistakes are made by losing sight of an essential element of the question., what are the essential terms of the question, what is it asking for and will it be explicitly stated? then go back to the passage

Step 3: The question is asking about the effect of the new information on the passage— an Incorporation question. The language in the hypothetical will contain clues to relevant text.

Step 4: Check your Roadmap to locate the relevant text; don’t focus on the details, but on the broad outline or structure of the hypothetical, and identify how it is similar to some aspect of an argument made the passage.

Step 3: The question asks which of the four possible choices is the only one that the author wouldn’t agree with. The correct choice won’t be stated or implied in the passage.

Step 4: Although the answer choices seem to contain the bulk of the information in this question, refresh your grasp of the author’s major opinions. The three wrong choices will either be statements the author would agree with, or statements about which we don’t know the author’s opinion.

Predict! redicting your answer will speed up and focus your search among the choices and reduce your chances of being misled by a plausible wrong answer. easier question trickier answers
ex.Step 3: The “if” statement introduces a hypothetical situation, so the question requires either Application or Incorporation. “Which of the following should occur” makes this an Application question; how does the reasoning in the passage apply in the hypothetical situation. Identify the essential terms or broad outline of the hypothetical.

Step 4: Locate some parallel in the passage, using your Roadmap.

Step 5: Determine the effect, based on the reasoning in the text.

The hypotheticals in some Application questions are closely related to the passage— examples of a defined term, for example; others may be very different scenarios in which you should look for parallels in structure or sequence, rather than be distracted by the details.
ex. Step 3: The question asks that you find an implied conclusion based on all or some part of the passage; you won’t find an explicitly stated answer.

Step 4: The language quoted or paraphrased from the text (“— “) will contain the clues you need to locate the relevant text.

Step 5: Predict the correct answer, which will be a necessary conclusion based on the text.

If two answers are very close, one is probably right.
If two answers are opposites of each other, one is probably right.
In LEAST/EXCEPT/NOT questions, if the content of one answer seems different from the other three, it’s probably right.
Extreme statements are most likely wrong.