Learning Objectives

At the beginning of each chapter, you’ll find a short list of objectives describing the skills covered within that chapter. Learning objectives for these texts were developed in conjunction with Kaplan’s learning science team. They have been designed specifically to focus your attention on tasks and concepts that are likely to be relevant to your MCAT testing experience. These learning objectives will function as a means to guide your review of the chapter and indicate what information and relationships you should be focused on within each chapter. Before starting each chapter, read these learning objectives carefully. They will not only allow you to assess your existing familiarity with the content of the chapter, but also provide a goal-oriented focus for your studying experience.

Sidebars

The following is a guide to the five types of sidebars you’ll find in Kaplan MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Review:

• Bridge: These sidebars create connections between science topics that appear in multiple chapters throughout the Kaplan MCAT Review series.
• Key Concept: These sidebars draw attention to the most important takeaways in a given topic, and they sometimes offer synopses or overviews of complex information. If you understand nothing else, make sure you grasp the Key Concepts for any given subject.
• MCAT Expertise: These sidebars point out how information may be tested on the MCAT or offer key strategy points and test-taking tips that you should apply on Test Day.
• Mnemonic: These sidebars present memory devices to help recall certain facts.
• Real World: These sidebars illustrate how a concept in the text relates to the practice of medicine or the world at large. While this is not information you need to know for Test Day, many of the topics in Real World sidebars are excellent examples of how a concept may appear in a passage or discrete (stand-alone) question on the MCAT.

In the end, this is your book, so write in the margins, draw diagrams, highlight the key points—do whatever is necessary to help you get that higher score. We look forward to working with you as you achieve your dreams and become the doctor you deserve to be!