The first subtest of the UCAT is the Verbal Reasoning section, which aims to assess the candidate’s ability to understand the given information and draw the appropriate conclusions. A lot of UCAT aspirants make the mistake of thinking that this section is easy and straightforward. It is not. For a long time, the UCAT Verbal Reasoning section had scored the lowest average scores when considering the rest of the subsets in the UCAT.
To help prepare all candidates with Verbal Reasoning, our experts at RAAKMEDICS have curated this guide which consists of the best UCAT Verbal Reasoning tips to help learners ace their next UCAT.
Understanding UCAT Verbal Reasoning
Within the subtest for Verbal Reasoning, candidates will be given a passage to read and examine. They will be asked questions related to the passage in question and the answers will help examiners assess the candidate’s ability to understand the information given to them and how they draw the relevant conclusions.
It is vital that doctors must understand the complex information across the medical world and it is of utmost importance that they can relay this information to their patients in a clear and concise manner and the Verbal Reasoning subtest will assess this skill in the UCAT. Additionally, doctors need to understand various medical publishings, analyse them, draw conclusions and apply the findings to their own practice as well.
To put it bluntly, the Verbal Reasoning subtest is a comprehension exam and it is considered one of the most time-intensive tests in the UCAT. Most of the UCAT candidates fail to score high in this section because they underestimate the severity of the UCAT Verbal Reasoning subtest.
There are roughly two types of Verbal Reasoning Questions:
- True/False/Can’t Tell– Where the candidate has to state whether the given statement is true or false or if such a conclusion cannot be made based on the statement. This type makes up most of the Verbal Reasoning questions.
- Suitable Response – Candidates must read the question or the text and choose an answer that applies. The texts can be incomplete statements, except questions, most likely scenarios, and according to the passage texts.
Verbal Reasoning Tips To Help You Get The Best Results
Here are some UCAT Verbal Reasoning tips to help candidates save time, understand certain strategies and take a more critical approach to the Verbal Reasoning section of the UCAT.
- Master Selective Speed Reading: To clarify, speed-reading in this context is not about skimming through paragraphs all the time but being selectively focused on the right content. Learn to skim through the filler words that make up the large part of a paragraph (words like ‘is’, ‘and’, ‘the’) and instead, focus on the main content (names, numbers, verbs, nouns). Keep a finger or the mouse cursor at the same pace as the reading speed and have a summarised retention in the mind to clarify what the sentence was actually saying. Being able to read a lot of words per minute can help a lot in freeing up the minutes, allowing students to have more time in their hands.
- Read Questions Carefully: Of course, the main content should be skimmed but not the questions. Don’t glaze over the questions but instead, have a strong focus on them. Reread each question present as carefully and thoroughly as possible, let it marinate in the mind and make the right connections with the content that was just read.
- Stick Rigidly To The Given Text: It might be tempting to go off when it comes to answering the questions. Don’t do it as this will lead to the answers taking a wrong turn and straying further from the context of the passage. Don’t make any real-life assumptions and don’t answer more than what is necessary.
- Build Vocabulary Through Reading: It is important to be knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects and read lots of materials to develop vocabulary. Most of the texts given for the UCAT Verbal Reasoning Subset can be difficult to read but a strong vocabulary can offset that. Books, articles, scholarly texts, passages online that are meant for experts, anything with the baseline level of difficulty higher than average is good to go.
- Use The Keyword Technique: The passages can be quite long and for candidates who are pressed for time, this can be bad news. The best thing to do here is not to read the whole passage and instead, read the first two sentences, and then read the question. Next, identify the keywords in the main text that will help find the relevant passage. This will not only reduce the time needed to read the whole text, but it will also help candidates find the answers faster as well. However, if a question seems too complex, it is important to read the whole paragraph to assess the right answer.
- Watch For Extreme Language: Statements with absolute terms like “always,” “never,” or “completely” are often incorrect. Spotting these can help you eliminate unlikely answers and make more informed guesses.
- Avoid Double Checking: Candidates don’t have the time to review every single answer that they’ve made so avoid double checking at all costs. Trust the gut instinct, don’t second-guess and move on. Chances are that the first answer is right and there’s no need to waste time by going back and reviewing everything.
- Practice, Practice, Practice: Of course, this doesn’t have to be said but it matters a lot if candidates can practice hours on end in a realistic setting on their Verbal Reasoning. This helps them find the areas that they need to work on, which could be reading skills or comprehension. There are a lot of resources online for free that can help candidates practice in their own time but a local library can mimic the perfect setting in which candidates are likely to take their UCAT.
By applying these strategies, and by maintaining a disciplined approach, candidates will be well-equipped to tackle the Verbal Reasoning Section with ease. Remember, success in this subtest is not just about reading but about being smart in knowing what and how to read!
