mcat-lecture-notes-chaneys-verbal-reasoning-mastery-lecture-notes2

(1)

Charles Chaney’s VR Mastery

• _{Curriculum for Increasing Verbal Reasoning}

(2)

Chaney’s VR Strategies

• _{Verbal Reasoning Passage Types and Strategies.}

– _{The natural science passage.}

• _{The study of nature which involves the physical aspects of animals, the}

earth, and the universe beyond.

• _{Subjects include mainly astronomy, biology, chemistry, and physics.} • _{Don’t assume you’ll do well on this section because of your experience}

with science courses.

– NSPs are challenging because they are usually lengthy and full of details.

– Examinees tend to focus on details and lose track of main ideas.

– Examinees expect questions that will test their recollection of facts.

• _{Your mission is to understand the ideas and arguments of the passage.}

(3)

Cheney’s VR Strategies

–

_{Reading strategies for the natural science passage.}

• _{Look for two or more theories.}

• _{Understand who and what supports each theory,}

especially the author’s stance.

• _{Remember where each detail appears in the passage.} • _{Form conclusions in your mind based on the facts.} • _{Summarize the main idea of each paragraph as you}

read.

• _{Identify two or more competing arguments or}

(4)

Cheney’s VR Strategies

–

_{Question strategies for the natural science passage.}

• _{Test makers often ask for answers you’d least expect.} • _{Natural science questions often ask about hypothetical}

opponents or supporters of various theories discussed in the passage.

– _{Identify the main arguments and ask yourself which group would}

support one hypothesis over another.

• _{Read answer choices A through D extremely carefully for}

each question, and eliminate wrong answers as you proceed.

(5)

Cheney’s VR Strategies

–

_{Question strategies for the natural science passage.}

• _{Test makers often ask for answers you’d least expect.} • _{Natural science questions often ask about hypothetical}

opponents or supporters of various theories discussed in the passage.

– _{Identify the main arguments and ask yourself which group would}

support one hypothesis over another.

• _{Read answer choices A through D extremely carefully for}

each question, and eliminate wrong answers as you proceed.

(6)

Cheney’s VR Strategies

• _{Be vigilant of all dates and time periods mentioned in}

the passage.

• _{Pay attention to which arguments the author supports}

or rejects.

– The author’s usually espouse a position on the topic.

• _{Do not overanalyze natural science questions.} • _{Eliminate wrong answers.}

– _{Look for obvious wrong answers and use the strikethrough to}

eliminate them.

– Usually one or two answers are obviously false.

(7)

Cheney’s VR Strategies

–

_{The Social Science passage.}

• _{Most of the passages come from journal articles and}

are very challenging.

• _{The range of topics include sociology, anthropology,}

(8)

Cheney’s VR Strategies

–

_{Reading strategies for the social science passage.}

• _{Be prepared to read about cultural or political}

movements, along with important dates, time periods and key arguments.

• _{Some key strategies to employ with social science}

passages.

– _{Look for comparisons made by the author.}

» _{Usually, these passages present two or more points or}

(9)

Cheney’s VR Strategies

–

_{Reading strategies for the social science passage.}

• _{Pay attention to the argument supported by the author}

compared to others that he or she writes about.

• _{Identify the assumptions of the author and look for any}

biases.

• _{Identify any assumptions relevant to the arguments}

made by competing experts.

• _{Consider what groups of people would support or reject}

various theories or ideas presented in the passage.

(10)

Cheney’s VR Strategies

–

_{Question strategies for the social science passage.}

• _{Social science questions often ask about influences of certain}

political or social movements.

• _{Social science questions often test your understanding of how}

certain views relate to statements from the passage.

• _{Pay attention to the tone of the author and rarely is this tone}

extreme or strident.

• _{Many social science questions ask about the intentions of the}

author.

• _{Read the passage first, and then answer questions.}

• _{Read each answer choice A through D carefully and twice to}

(11)

Cheney’s VR Strategies

–

_{The Humanities passage.}

• _{Because pre-med students generally have poor}

exposure to subjects in the humanities, “bone up” on these topics by reading books and journals dealing with them.

• _{The range of topics include art, language, literature,}

communication, religion and philosophy.

• _{Be prepared for many details and facts including}

(12)

Cheney’s VR Strategies

–

_{The Humanities passage.}

• _{Reading strategies for the humanities passage.}

– _{Keep track of facts and dates, as well as key ideas.}

– _{Expect to read about people who criticize certain viewpoints.} – _{Determine the strengths and weaknesses of arguments}

expressed by critics.

– Be sure to understand how the opinions of the author

compare to those of other experts mentioned in the passage.

– Use Neuro-Visual Programming and do NOT speed-read.

(13)

Cheney’s VR Strategies

– _{The Humanities passage.}

• _{Question strategies for the humanities passage.}

– Many questions test your direct understanding of the various viewpoints found in the passage, so you should eliminate answers that are in opposition to the correct answer, and you should look for answers that express some other viewpoint than that found in the passage.

– _{Some questions ask about how the author would respond to a concept in the}

passage.

– Try to answer the question before reading the answer choices because answer choices are tricky and misleading.

– For each point that the author makes, determine why the author is making that point.