Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills passages are relatively short, typically between 500 and 600 words, but they are complex, often thought-provoking pieces of writing with sophisticated vocabulary and, at times, intricate writing styles. Everything you need to know to answer test questions is in the passages and the questions themselves. No additional coursework or specific knowledge is required to do well on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section, but you, as the test taker, may find yourself needing to read the passages and questions in ways that are different from the reading required in the textbooks you used in most pre-health courses or on tests like the SAT Critical Reading exam. Passages for the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section—even those written in a conversational or opinionated style—are often multifaceted and focus on the relationships between ideas or theories. The questions associated with the passages will require you to assess the content, but you will also need to consider the authors’ intentions and tones and the words they used to express their points of view.
To recap from Part 1, this section is designed to
- test your comprehension, analysis, and reasoning skills by asking you to critically analyze information provided in passages;
- include content from ethics, philosophy, studies of diverse cultures, population health, and a wide range of social sciences and humanities disciplines; and
- provide all the information you need to answer questions in the passages and questions themselves.
This Section will draw from:
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skill:
- Foundations of Comprehension, 30%
- Reasoning Within the Text, 30%
- Reasoning Beyond the Text, 40%
- Humanities, 50%
- Social Sciences, 50%