MCAT CARS: Strategies from a 528 Scorer
/High-yield tips to help you improve your MCAT CARS score, including a full breakdown of the CARS section, frequently asked questions, plus a practice passage
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Part 1: Introduction to MCAT CARS
The MCAT is a hard test, but for many premeds, the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Section (CARS) can be the most mysterious and difficult section of the exam to prepare for. How do you prepare for a section that may give you a passage on topics that range all the way from history to philosophy? You can’t memorize any content to improve on the CARS section, but the section counts just as much as the other sections!
Medical schools value applicants who know not just how to memorize and regurgitate scientific facts but also how to think and read critically on a variety of topics. In fact, a number of Canadian medical schools have minimum MCAT CARS scores required for admission and no minimums for any of the other sections.
Unlike the other three sections of the test, CARS requires no outside knowledge or prior memorization of subject material, making it a much more difficult section to study for. Test takers must be able to read a passage on any subject, quickly synthesize and interpret the key information, and answer the corresponding questions.
Importantly, you think differently from other people because you are a unique student, so there is no one universal CARS strategy that will work for every person. In fact, there are several different strategies that you can use to succeed on CARS, and the key is finding which is most effective for you. In this guide, we will outline the different components of the MCAT CARS section and the main strategies that can help you ace it.
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Part 2: MCAT CARS Section Breakdown
The MCAT CARS section is 90 minutes and contains 53 multiple choice questions, making it 5 minutes and 6 questions shorter than each of the other 3 sections on the exam. It also contains 9 passages, so there is an average of 5-6 questions per passage. This means that you should average no more than 10 minutes per passage, including the questions.
Like we mentioned earlier, CARS requires no prior knowledge from test takers. Everything that is needed to answer the questions is in the passages (this is a helpful fact to remember), and it helps immensely to have good critical reading skills or develop them as you prepare for the exam. According to the test writers at the AAMC, 50% of passage content covers the Humanities, which can include subjects like Architecture, Art, Dance, Ethics, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Popular Culture, Religion, and Theater. The other 50% of passage content includes the Social Sciences, which can include Anthropology, Archaeology, Economics, Education, Geography, History, Linguistics, Political Science, Population Health, Psychology, Sociology, and Studies of Diverse Cultures. Again, familiarity with these subjects is not necessary, but the ability to extract important information from the passage in front of you will help you succeed on this section.
Moving past the content of the passages, let’s look at the questions themselves. The questions are broken down into three main types. 30% will fall under the category of Foundations of Comprehension. These questions will test if you have a fundamental understanding of the meaning of the passage. The next 30% of questions fall under Reasoning Within the Text. These questions go a step further and ask test takers to synthesize multiple parts of the text to come to a reasonable conclusion. The remaining 40% of questions fall under Reasoning Beyond the Text. As the name implies, these questions will require you to take the passage information and extrapolate to a broader meaning or to apply the information to a different context. The latter types of questions are typically the most difficult, but with continued practice and the right strategies, you will be able to successfully answer them.
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Part 3: MCAT CARS Strategies
This section will outline seven useful strategies that you can use to approach each CARS passage. We recommend that you begin with the first strategy, see how it works, and try each subsequent strategy until you find the one or the combination that is most effective for you. Below is an example passage, and what follows will be the seven different strategies and examples of how to employ them for this passage:
In the second century of the Christian Era, the empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind. The frontiers of that extensive monarchy were guarded by ancient renown and disciplined valor. The gentle but powerful influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of the provinces. The image of a free constitution was preserved with decent reverence: the Roman senate appeared to possess the sovereign authority, and devolved on the emperors all the executive powers of government.
During a happy period of more than fourscore years, the public administration was conducted by the virtue and abilities of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines. It is the design of this to describe the prosperous condition of their empire; and afterwards, from the death of Marcus Antoninus, to deduce the most important circumstances of its decline and fall; a revolution which will ever be remembered, and is still felt by the nations of the earth.
The principal conquests of the Romans were achieved under the republic; and the emperors, for the most part, were satisfied with preserving those dominions which had been acquired by the policy of the senate, the active emulations of the consuls, and the martial enthusiasm of the people. The seven first centuries were filled with a rapid succession of triumphs; but it was reserved for Augustus to relinquish the ambitious design of subduing the whole earth, and to introduce a spirit of moderation into the public councils.
The only accession which the Roman empire received, during the first century of the Christian Aera, was the province of Britain. In this single instance, the successors of Caesar and Augustus were persuaded to follow the example of the former, rather than the precept of the latter. The proximity of its situation to the coast of Gaul seemed to invite their arms; the pleasing though doubtful intelligence of a pearl fishery, attracted their avarice; and as Britain was viewed in the light of a distinct and insulated world, the conquest scarcely formed any exception to the general system of continental measures.
The various tribes of Britain possessed valor without conduct, and the love of freedom without the spirit of union. They took up arms with savage fierceness; they laid them down, or turned them against each other, with wild inconsistency; and while they fought singly, they were successively subdued. At the very time when Domitian, confined to his palace, felt the terrors which he inspired, his legions, under the command of the virtuous Agricola, defeated the collected force of the Caledonians, at the foot of the Grampian Hills; and his fleets, venturing to explore an unknown and dangerous navigation, displayed the Roman arms round every part of the island.
The conquest of Britain was considered as already achieved; and it was the design of Agricola to complete and ensure his success, by the easy reduction of Ireland, for which, in his opinion, one legion and a few auxiliaries were sufficient. The western isle might be improved into a valuable possession, and the Britons would wear their chains with the less reluctance, if the prospect and example of freedom were on every side removed from before their eyes.
Material used in this test passage has been adapted from the following source:
Edward Gibbon. (1776). The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire. Strahan & Cadell, London. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved February 11, 2020, from http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25717.
MCAT CARS Strategy #1: Passage Outline
In the first strategy, as you make your way through the passage, you should quickly jot down the main idea of each paragraph in four or five words, and at the end of the passage, take between 5 and 15 seconds to think about and/or write down the main idea of the entire passage.
The point of this method is not to make a detailed outline and refer back to it often when answering questions. The point is to challenge yourself to engage critically with the text as you are reading through it. If you know you have to come up with a short summary after reading a paragraph, you’re more likely to actively listen!
As a result, you should avoid taking more than a few seconds after each paragraph to write down the main idea. It’s often useful to use shorthand when jotting these ideas down, and the most important part is taking time to quickly think through the point of the entire passage when you’re done reading it.
Here’s an example of how to employ this strategy on the passage above:
Paragraph 1: Roman empire used government effectively
Paragraph 2: Passage will track rise and fall
Paragraph 3: Augustus introduced moderation
Paragraph 4: Romans wanted to invade Britain
Paragraph 5: Romans had Britain subdued
Paragraph 6: Sights set on Ireland conquest
End of Passage: The Roman empire had a robust system of government that allowed them to expand their territory through conquest for many centuries. Augustus was the first emperor to encourage moderation, but his successors broke that precedent and invaded Britain using an invasion of Ireland for strategic purposes.
Notice how this “outline” does not try to include every small detail of the passage, but rather it just identifies the overall flow of ideas. This way, you can maximize your efficiency by balancing the time constraints with thorough comprehension of the passage.
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