The topics of some passages in the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section will be familiar; some will not. Explanations, illustrative examples, and definitions of significant specialized terms in these passages will help you develop the strong basic foundation needed for answering all the questions you encounter in this section of the MCAT® exam.
Additionally, some questions may ask you about the overall meaning of information in the passages or the author’s central themes or ideas; others may ask you to select the definitions of specific words or phrases as they are used in context. These kinds of questions help you build the foundation that will allow you to think in new ways about concepts or facts presented in the passages. Paragraph numbers may be included in questions to help you locate relevant portions of the text.
Two sets of skills are the basis of the Foundations of Comprehension questions on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section.
Understanding the Basic Components of the Text
Inferring Meaning from Rhetorical Devices, Word Choice, and Text Structure
Inferring Meaning or Intent From Immediate Sentence Context