The Medical College - Page 8

Admission Test by Hugo R. Seibel and Kenneth E. Guyer (Barron's Educational Series,

Inc., 2006). Your goal should be to refresh your memory with the general concepts and

principal facts in each of the three science areas you will be tested in.

It is best that you begin intensive study only after you have completed your prelimi-

nary survey.

The major topics to be covered are summarized in the chart on pages 143–144,

which is consistent with the contents of the MCAT.

Verbal Reasoning Subtest Preparation

It should be recognized that reasoning is a skill and requires practice. Some basic rules

for proper reasoning are the following:

1. Strive to ascertain the meaning of the central theme of the passage under con-

sideration.

2. Try to identify the premises upon which the passage is based, both explicit or

implicit.

3. Evaluate critically the premises in terms of how strongly or poorly they support

the conclusion.

4. Seek other relevant arguments to support the conclusion.

5. Be alert to being led astray in your thinking.

Newspaper or magazine articles, especially editorials, provide source material to

test your verbal reasoning skills.

In responding to the paragraph under consideration, you can chose to read it first,

then take note of the questions next. Conversely, you may wish to read the questions

first, then read the relevant paragraph. In either case, underlining appropriate key words

or phrases in the paragraph should prove helpful in your analysis of its contents.

Writing Sample Subtest Preparation

This subtest will, for some applicants, represent the greatest challenge. Meeting this chal-

lenge will depend on how successfully you have mastered the art of essay writing. Given

a statement, you will have to respond to three writing tasks pertaining to the statement.

First, you must determine the meaning of the statement and do so in an orderly,

thorough, and coherent manner. Second, you will have to translate the meaning of the

statement in the context of some example that illustrates an opposing attitude. The third

task will be to reconcile the conflict between the statement or interpretation (task 1) and

its opposite viewpoint (task 2). While you may respond to the three tasks in any order,

all three tasks must be met in order to maximize your credit potential.

In responding to the challenge of the writing sample, the following guidelines

should prove helpful.

1. Carefully read and analyze the statement presented before you initiate your

response.

2. Determine specifically what you are really being asked to do.

3. Prepare a brief outline of how you wish to respond, using key words, ideas,

facts, or examples.

4. Write legibly and in direct response to the task under consideration. Focus your

responses as specifically as possible.

5. Present your ideas clearly and in an organized rather than haphazard fashion.

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