TIPS

GOALS

1. To learn the principles and steps of working through questions using the Process of Elimination
(POE)
2. To recognize patterns in Attractors

 THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION
As we discussed in the last chapter, there are five basic steps you must take in answering any question:
1. Read the question word for word and identify the question type.
2. Translate the question into your own words; identify what the question task is asking you
to do with the information in the passage.
3. Identify key words and phrases that refer to specific parts of the passage and go back to the
passage to locate that information.
4. Answer in your own words; articulate what the correct answer will need to do based on the
question type and the information in the passage.
5. Use Process of Elimination (POE), and choose the least wrong answer choice.
In this chapter, we’ll focus in more detail on Step 5, Process of Elimination or POE.
It is more effective to attack the question by eliminating the three wrong answer choices than
by searching for the perfect choice. The MCAT writers are highly skilled at hiding the credited
response in obscure and convoluted language, and at creating wrong answer choices that
at first glance look good, but have a subtle yet fatal flaw. Your mission is to avoid the traps on
your way to the correct choice.
Here are the basic steps of POE. In most cases, you will need to take two “cuts” through the
choices as you narrow them down.

First Cut
Read Every Word of Every Choice Carefully.
This is not the time to skim! Once you have misinterpreted or skipped over something, it is very difficult
to recognize your mistake.
Eliminate Choices Using the Bottom Line of the Passage.
Remind yourself of the Main Point and tone of the passage and read through each answer choice, eliminating any that violate, or directly contradict, the author’s argument (unless it’s a Weaken or Except question).
Understanding the passage’s Bottom Line will also allow you to quickly eliminate choices that, although they may not contradict the author’s points, are not relevant to the passage, and so are out of scope.

THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION (POE) AND ATTRACTORS
Eliminate Choices Inconsistent with Your Own Answer (When Possible,
Given the Question Type).
Use your own answer to the question (which should be based closely on the passage and on the question task) as a guideline for eliminating answer choices. Do not, however, eliminate a choice just because it’s not a perfect match. Be flexible.

Second Cut
Reread the Question Stem.
Remind yourself of the question type and issue.
Compare the Remaining Choices to Each Other.
Notice extreme or absolute wording, and any other relevant differences between them.
Go Back to the Passage Again to Pin It Down (When Necessary).
Keep the differences between the choices in mind to help you find where you need to go.
Choose the Least Wrong Answer Choice.
When making your final choice, it’s important to keep two things in mind:
1. Be highly suspicious of absolute or extreme statements.
Except on Strengthen or Weaken questions, correct answer choices will rarely make
an extreme claim. Do not use this test carelessly, however. Simple declarative statements (such
as, The inquisitorial system is historically superior to the adversarial system.) are not necessarily
extreme. Look for words that may indicate absolute statements such as any, all, none, never,
always, totally, must, only, exactly, impossible, etc. Also look out for statements that make extreme
claims even without using any of these words.
Notice the wishy-washy or equivocal wording in the previous statement; these words may, not must, indicate statements that are too extreme for the passage. Whether or not a particular word or statement is extreme depends on how it is used within the context of the answer choice. The following phrases illustrate the difference between extreme and not so extreme statements, in the context of language that should and should not make you suspicious of answer choices.

2. If part of an answer choice is wrong, then it’s all wrong.
Pay attention to every word: One incorrect word or phrase will make the entire answer choice
wrong. This is one reason why searching for the correct choice—instead of the three wrong
choices—may lead you to an incorrect choice. A wrong answer may have something attractive
about it, but the credited response won’t have anything incorrect in it (or will at least be the
best supported of the four).
Any word can make an answer choice wrong. If the answer choice implies that something is true all of the time, and the passage suggests that it is true some (but not all) of the time, then the answer choice cannot be supported by the passage. Pay special attention to words of negation (such as no, not, none, never, etc.).
ATTRACTORS
Usually, if you understand the Bottom Line of the passage, it is easy to eliminate two of the four answer choices. But, students commonly express this lament: “I always get it down to two choices and then I pick the wrong one!” That’s because the test is designed to make you do this.
For each question, there is usually at least one Attractor: an answer choice designed to tempt you into
choosing it. It will have something attractive about it, such as words from the passage or concepts similar to those discussed by the author. If you’re in too much of a hurry, looking only for the “right” answer, you’ll fall for an Attractor most of the time. Remember: The test writers know how students think and what kind of logical mistakes they tend to make. Take the control away from them by predicting and avoiding the traps.


THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION (POE) AND
ATTRACTORS

Typical Attractors
If you look for it, you’ll see some patterns appear in the answer choices. The MCAT utilizes a core group of Attractors to tempt those who rush or who do not understand basic ideas presented in the passage. Here are the most common Attractors, grouped into categories. Learn them, look for them, and, thus, defend yourself against them.
Decoys
These choices are written to sound just like the passage. However, they include something that doesn’t match up, either with the passage text or the question task.
• Words out of context
This Attractor uses vocabulary right from the passage. It “sounds good,” but the meaning of
the words is changed. That is, the answer choice uses the right words but carries the wrong
meaning. This is a trap in particular for people who are not going back to the passage, or who
are not rereading the relevant parts of the passage carefully enough.
• Half right/half wrong
These are “bait and switch” answers. Part or most of the choice is exactly what you are looking
for, but another part is not supported by the passage (e.g., too extreme or out of scope). This
is a trap set for people who make up their minds before they read the entire choice, or who
try to “rehabilitate” an answer because part of it sounds so good. Remember that one word is
enough to make a choice wrong.
• Opposite/Negations
These choices take a sentence or idea directly from the passage, but add or remove a crucial
“not” or “un‑.” The statement therefore sounds just like the passage, but in fact directly contradicts
it.
• Reversals
This answer choice extracts a relationship from the passage but then reverses it to go in the
opposite direction. It may flip a sequence of cause and effect, or confuse the order of events in
a chronology.
• Garbled language
This choice gives you some familiar words, but is difficult or impossible to understand. The
test-writers are hoping that you will pick it thinking that because it is confusing it must be
correct. However, another version of this trap is to put the correct choice into confusing
language, with the hope that you will immediately eliminate it because it doesn’t “sound
good.” So, when you see garbled language, don’t automatically pick it, but don’t automatically
eliminate it either. And, don’t spend five minutes trying to decipher it. Use POE aggressively:
there may be a better choice, or it may be the only one left after you have eliminated the other
three.
• Right answer/wrong question
The statements in these Attractors, unlike in the other members of this category, are in fact
directly supported by the passage. However, they aren’t relevant to the question being asked.
When you are down to two choices, always reread the question stem in order to avoid this
trap.
• Wrong point of view
This is a variation on the Right answer/wrong question Attractor. If there is more than one
point of view described in the passage, a wrong answer might describe a point of view different
from the one referred to in the question stem.



Extremes
These choices go too far in one direction or the other.
• Absolutes
This type of wrong answer uses language that is much stronger than the language in the passage.
It may include extreme words such as none, always, never, only, etc. Keep in mind, however,
that a strongly worded passage may support a strongly worded choice. Also remember
that a choice doesn’t have to include one of the standard extreme words to be making a claim
that is too extreme or absolute in its meaning.
• Superlatives
These wrong answers include words like first, last, best, most, worst, least (or anything else
ending in –est), or primary. For instance, it may describe a theory as the first or the best theory,
but the author simply says that it’s an important theory.
• Judgments and recommendations
The choice passes judgment on whether something is good or bad, but that thing is described
by the author in a neutral tone. Or, the answer choice states that a proposal should
be implemented or rejected, when that policy or action is merely described in the passage, or
the choice may describe a moderate point of view in overly extreme terms. Finally, a wrong
answer may tempt you to intuit the author’s state of mind or personal beliefs in a way that is
not supported by the passage text.
• Not strong enough
This Attractor is specific to Strengthen and Weaken questions. Rather than being too extreme,
it is too wishy-washy to significantly affect the author’s argument in the passage. Always
compare choices to each other; for this question type, you want the choice that goes farthest
in the right direction.
Out of Scope
These answer choices introduce facts, issues, or claims that are never addressed in the passage, or, they do not match the scope of the question task.
• Not the issue
This answer choice brings in ideas or facts that are not discussed in the passage. You will usually
eliminate these in your first cut.
• Outside knowledge
The wrong answer makes a statement that is true based on your own knowledge, but isn’t directly
supported by the text of the passage. Remember that the Verbal Reasoning section tests
your ability to read actively and analyze the passage; it does not test your general knowledge.
• Crystal ball
The wrong answer predicts the future (but the passage doesn’t) or goes beyond the timeframe
of the passage.
• No such comparison
This incorrect choice will take something that is mentioned in the passage and compare it
to something that is not. Or, it may take two things that are mentioned by the author and
compare them in a way that is not supported by the passage (often by stating that one option
is better than the other).



THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION (POE) AND ATTRACTORS

• Too narrow/too broad
The “too narrow” Attractor is typical on General questions: it mentions or contains only part
of the author’s argument. Keep in mind however that correct answers to Specific questions
(including Inference questions) can be quite narrow. Wrong answers that are too broad have
the opposite problem: They overgeneralize or go beyond the author’s argument. They may
describe a general category into which the topic of the passage would fit. On General questions,
use the “Goldilocks Approach”: Eliminate any answer choices that are too narrow or
too broad, and choose the one that’s just right.
POE DOS AND DON’TS
Do
• Read and identify the question carefully—predict the traps.
• Read each answer choice in its entirety.
• Read all four answer choices before deciding.
• Be suspicious—look for traps.
• Notice extreme or absolute wording.
• Eliminate using the Bottom Line.
• Eliminate using your own answer.
• Compare the choices to each other.
• Go back to the passage to check your answers.
Don’t
• Skim the answer choices.
• Pick the first choice that “sounds good.”
• Ignore information in a choice, or add something to it, in order to make it fit. That is, don’t
force a square peg into a round hole.
• Eliminate choices on Strengthen/Weaken questions because of strong wording.
• Eliminate choices on Inference questions because of moderate wording.
• Pick D without reading it carefully just because you’ve eliminated answer choices A, B, and C.
• Answer based on memory.