CARS Passage Types

🏥 Cars Passages

Part 1 of 7 — Humanities Passages

Humanities: history, literature, philosophy, religion — often argumentative or interpretive.

These passages may present competing historical or philosophical interpretations.

Concept Check 🎯

Key Insight: Look for the authors thesis and the evidence used to support it.

MCAT Tip: Cultural context clues help identify the time period and perspective.

Concept Check 🎯

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Social Science Passages

Part 2 of 7 — Social Science Passages

Social science: psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, political science.

Data or studies may be described — evaluate the methodology and conclusions.

Concept Check 🎯

Key Insight: Correlation vs. causation: does the author conflate the two?.

MCAT Tip: Identify assumptions: what does the author take for granted?.

Concept Check 🎯

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Ethics & Philosophy

Part 3 of 7 — Ethics & Philosophy

Ethics passages present moral dilemmas or competing ethical frameworks.

Common frameworks: utilitarianism (outcomes), deontology (duties), virtue ethics (character).

Concept Check 🎯

Key Insight: Identify the authors position and the strongest counterargument.

MCAT Tip: MCAT does not test your personal ethics — only your comprehension of the argument.

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Arts & Culture Passages

Part 4 of 7 — Arts & Culture Passages

Art, music, architecture, and literary criticism passages appear on CARS.

Focus on the authors evaluation: what makes this work significant?.

Concept Check 🎯

Key Insight: Aesthetic arguments may be subjective — track the authors reasoning, not your own opinion.

MCAT Tip: These passages often explore cultural significance and historical context.

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Comparative & Contrasting

Part 5 of 7 — Comparative & Contrasting

Some passages present two perspectives — identify areas of agreement and disagreement.

Track each authors main claim and supporting evidence separately.

Concept Check 🎯

Key Insight: Questions may ask how one author would respond to the others argument.

MCAT Tip: Create a brief mental comparison chart: Author A says X because...; Author B says Y because....

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Time Management

Part 6 of 7 — Time Management

10 minutes per passage (9 passages x 10 min = 90 min total).

Spend ~4 minutes reading, ~6 minutes answering the ~6 questions.

Concept Check 🎯

Key Insight: If stuck on a question for >90 seconds, flag it and move on.

MCAT Tip: Do all passages — there is no penalty for wrong answers, never leave blanks.

Concept Check 🎯

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Review & MCAT Practice

Part 7 of 7 — Review & MCAT Practice

10 minutes per passage (9 passages x 10 min = 90 min total).

Spend ~4 minutes reading, ~6 minutes answering the ~6 questions.

Concept Check 🎯

Key Insight: If stuck on a question for >90 seconds, flag it and move on.

MCAT Tip: Do all passages — there is no penalty for wrong answers, never leave blanks.

Concept Check 🎯

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