I. Introduction

A. Welcome and Congrats

Congratulations on taking this crucial step towards mastering the CARS section of the MCAT! By choosing this 3 Week CARS Bootcamp, you’ve made a bold decision to try something different – something that has the potential to transform your approach to CARS and significantly boost your scores.

You’re here because you’re not satisfied with your current CARS performance. Maybe your scores have been inconsistent, or perhaps they’ve been consistently lower than you need. Whatever your situation, you’ve recognized that the traditional methods aren’t working for you, and you’re ready for a change. That takes courage, and it’s the first step towards success.

B. Course Overview and Expectations

This course is built around a simple yet powerful technique: the CARS Scribe method. Over the next 21 days, you’ll learn how to use this method to deepen your engagement with the text, improve your comprehension, and ultimately boost your CARS scores.

Here’s what you can expect:

1. A daily commitment of 30-120 minutes.

2. A structured, progressive approach that builds your skills day by day

3. A mix of CARS Scribe exercises and traditional CARS practice

4. Regular assessments to track your progress

5. Strategies to apply your new skills to actual CARS questions

This course is intense, and it will challenge you. But remember, every hour you put in is an investment in your future as a doctor.

C. How to Use This Guide

This guide is designed to be your companion over the next 21 days. Here’s how to get the most out of it:

1. Read through the entire guide before starting: This will give you a bird’s-eye view of the journey ahead.

2. Stick to the schedule: The course is designed to build your skills progressively. Try not to skip days or rush ahead.

3. Use the tracking tools provided: Regular self-assessment is key to improvement.

4. Engage fully with each exercise: The more you put in, the more you’ll get out.

5. Be patient with yourself: You might not see dramatic improvements immediately, but trust the process.

6. Review regularly: Don’t just move on after each day’s exercise. Take time to review your work and reflect on what you’ve learned.

Remember, this method is different from what you’ve tried before. It might feel strange at first, and that’s okay. Keep an open mind, trust the process, and give it your all.

You’ve already taken the first step by choosing this course. Now, let’s take the next step together. 

II. Understanding CARS

A. The Importance of CARS in the MCAT

The CARS section of the MCAT is more than just another test of reading comprehension. It’s a gateway to your medical career, and here’s why:

1. Unique Challenge: Unlike other sections of the MCAT, CARS doesn’t test specific scientific knowledge. It assesses your ability to analyze complex information, evaluate arguments, and think critically – skills crucial for future physicians.

2. Predictive Power: Many medical schools view CARS scores as predictive of success in medical school. A strong CARS score can set you apart in the admissions process.

3. Non-Teachable Skills: CARS tests skills that are developed over time, not easily crammed. This makes it a valuable indicator of your overall intellectual capacity and potential as a medical student.

4. Interdisciplinary Nature: CARS passages cover a wide range of topics from humanities and social sciences. This tests your ability to engage with diverse ideas – a crucial skill for well-rounded physicians.

5. Time Pressure: The intense time constraints of CARS mimic the pressure you’ll face as a physician, making quick, accurate analysis essential.

Understanding the significance of CARS is the first step towards conquering it. It’s not just about getting a good score; it’s about developing skills that will serve you throughout your medical career.

B. Common Challenges Faced by Students

If you’re struggling with CARS, you’re not alone. Here are some of the most common challenges students like you often face:

1. Time Management: Many students find it difficult to read, analyze, and answer questions within the tight time constraints.

2. Unfamiliar Content: CARS passages often cover topics you may have never encountered before, which can be intimidating.

3. Complex Language: The passages frequently use sophisticated vocabulary and complex sentence structures.

4. Hidden Meanings: CARS questions often require you to read between the lines and understand implied meanings.

5. Maintaining Focus: Sustaining concentration through dense, often dry passages can be challenging.

6. Overthinking: Some students second-guess themselves, leading to changed answers and lost points.

7. Inconsistent Performance: Many students experience frustrating fluctuations in their CARS scores from one practice test to another.

8. Anxiety and Pressure: The high stakes of the MCAT can lead to test anxiety, particularly in the challenging CARS section.

Recognizing these challenges is crucial. It helps you understand that your struggles are normal and can be overcome with the right approach.

C. Why Traditional Methods Often Fall Short

You’ve likely tried various CARS strategies already. If they haven’t worked, here’s why:

1. Passive Reading: Many methods encourage highlighting or underlining, which can lead to passive engagement with the text.

2. One-Size-Fits-All Approaches: Traditional methods often don’t account for individual learning styles and strengths.

3. Artificial Techniques: Some strategies, like “skimming” or “key word searching,” don’t reflect how we naturally engage with complex texts.

4. Lack of Deep Engagement: Many methods focus on surface-level comprehension rather than deep, critical engagement with the text.

5. Overlooking the Importance of Practice: Some approaches emphasize strategies over consistent, focused practice.

6. Ignoring the Role of Intuition: Traditional methods often neglect the importance of developing a “feel” for the language and structure of CARS passages.

7. Focused on Short-Term Gains: Many techniques aim for quick improvements but don’t build the foundational skills needed for consistent high performance.

8. Neglecting Writing as a Tool for Reading: Most methods overlook the powerful connection between writing and reading comprehension.

This is where our CARS Scribe Method comes in. By actively engaging with the text through writing, you’ll develop a deeper understanding and intuition for CARS passages. You’ll be doing more than just reading – you’ll be internalizing the structure, flow, and nuances of the kind of complex texts you’ll encounter on test day.

Understanding these aspects of CARS – its importance, the common challenges, and the limitations of traditional methods – sets the stage for why our approach is different and how it can help you achieve the CARS score you need. In the next section, we’ll dive into the CARS Scribe Method and how it addresses these challenges head-on.

III. The CARS Scribe Method: A New Approach

A. Benjamin Franklin and CARS 

The CARS Scribe Method may seem new, but its roots trace back to one of America’s most brilliant minds: Benjamin Franklin. Born into poverty and with little formal education, Franklin became one of the most accomplished writers and thinkers of his time. His secret? A method strikingly similar to what we now call the CARS Scribe Method.

In his autobiography, Franklin describes how he improved his writing skills:

“About this time I met with an odd volume of the Spectator. I thought the writing was excellent, and wished, if possible, to imitate it.”

Faced with criticism about his writing and a lack of formal education, Franklin developed a systematic approach to self-improvement.

1. Find books he liked

2. Handwrite the books in a notebook. Imitating the spaces, indentations, and punctuation. 

3. Reflect as he wrote. Thinking about what the author was doing and what could possibly come next

4. Repeat.

Before he knew it, difficult writing was now intuitive. 

Now, you might be wondering: “What does this have to do with my CARS score?” The answer is everything.

The CARS section of the MCAT isn’t just a test of reading comprehension. It’s a test of your ability to engage deeply with complex texts, analyze arguments, and think critically under time pressure. These are the skills that Franklin’s method helps develop.

B. The Science Behind the Method

The CARS Scribe Method isn’t just a new idea – it’s grounded in cognitive science and educational psychology. Here’s why it works:

1. Active Engagement: The act of writing engages your brain more actively than reading alone. This increased engagement leads to better retention and understanding.

2. Dual Coding Theory: By involving both visual (reading) and kinesthetic (writing) processes, you’re creating stronger, multi-modal memory traces.

3. Deliberate Practice: This method forces you to slow down and engage with every word, promoting the kind of deliberate practice that’s crucial for skill development.

This is exactly why when many people are learning how to play an instrument, they don’t go out and learn music theory and then start to write their own songs. Instead, they COPY songs they like and know. 

C. Benefits and Expected Outcomes

By consistently applying the CARS Scribe Method, you can expect to see improvements in several key areas:

1. Improved Comprehension: You’ll develop a deeper understanding of complex texts, even on unfamiliar topics. By writing and reflecting on the passage at various stages, it will become intuitive to you on everything going on in the passage. 

2. Pattern Recognition: At the end of the day, the MCAT is a standardized exam. Since it is a standardized exam, they cannot vary the passages much. This means that every passage they choose follows roughly the same patterns. By reading, you can pick up on some of these patterns. However, when you rewrite a passage, you become acutely aware of the various themes, characters, and assumptions. You learn where the main points are and where the evidence is. If you do this consistently, you learn the patterns – fast. 

3. Increased Reading Speed: It seems counterintuitive to handwrite a passage to increase your speed. But, over time, your brain will become more efficient at processing complex text structures. This will allow you to read without having to ever jump back and reread a sentence or paragraph. This is where you will save time. 

4. Better Time Management: As your comprehension improves, you don’t have to refer back to the passage as much. This is where you will save even more time, giving you more time for the harder passages. 

5. Reduced Test Anxiety: Imagine how you will feel if you were not taking the test, but instead, were the one writing it. You would never feel nervous. This is exactly the magic of this bootcamp. After 21 days of “writing” your own CARS passage, you will feel incredibly confident for a wide range of passage styles. 

6. Developed Critical Thinking: CARS is a test of critical thinking. With this method, you’ll become more adept at identifying arguments, assumptions, and implications. This will make the questions feel effortless. 

7. Higher Overall CARS Score: Ultimately, all these improvements will help you get that higher CARS score.

It’s important to note that these benefits don’t come overnight. The CARS Scribe Method is a skill that develops over time with consistent practice. But with dedication to this 21-day program, you’ll be amazed at how much your CARS performance can improve.

D. How does the CARS Scribe Method Work?

So now, we have discussed how ridiculous the idea sounds and how great it works. Let’s get into the details. 

Here’s how it works:

1. Selection: You’ll start with carefully chosen CARS-style passages. Don’t worry – I have set it up so that this is completely free for you.

2. Transcription: You’ll open up a notebook and transcribe these passages by hand, word for word.

3. Reflection: Depending on the day, you will be asked to reflect during or after the passage. 

4. Questions: You’ll answer questions about the passage,

5. Review: You’ll check your answers and watch your scores start to climb.

This process might seem simple, even counterintuitive. But its power lies in its ability to engage multiple learning modalities and cognitive processes simultaneously.

In the next section, we’ll dive into the practical aspects of getting started with the CARS Scribe Method.