MCAT CARS: the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section

What’s in an MCAT CARS passage?

Passages are usually 500 to 600 words, taken from the kind of books, journals and magazines college students read. Half come from the humanities and half from the social sciences.

Studies of diverse cultures can fall on either side, depending on the passage. Social science passages tend to read as factual, while humanities passages are often conversational or opinionated.

The three CARS skills

The AAMC rounds these to the nearest 5%, and they vary from test to test.

How the AAMC says to read for CARS

• Read differently from the way you read a science textbook, or the SAT’s reading passages.
• Watch how the ideas or theories in a passage relate to each other.
• Pay attention to the author’s intentions, tone and word choice, even when the passage sounds casual or opinionated.

Is verbal reasoning still on the MCAT?

Not under that name. Verbal Reasoning was one of the three scored sections on the MCAT given from 1991 to January 2015, scored from 1 to 15. Today’s reading section is CARS, scored from 118 to 132 like the others.

Where to practice CARS

The AAMC’s CARS Question Bank has 575 passage-based questions, 166 of them new, and it’s part of the paid bundle. The free Sample Test and Practice Exam One each include a full CARS section. Outside options, including a free daily passage from Jack Westin, are on our prep page.