As you delve deeper into your UCAT preparation, you might have begun familiarising yourself with the content and begun working through UCAT practice questions. Naturally, the next logical step appears to be increasing the volume of practice.

However, does increasing the number of practice questions directly lead to better results? How many questions should you ideally attempt for the UCAT? What is the optimal strategy for UCAT improvement?

Before we accelerate full speed ahead into the multitude of UCAT practice questions, it's imperative that we pause, reflect, and methodically outline our approach to effectively enhance your performance and UCAT score.

Achieving a top UCAT score is often daunting, despite the hours of diligent practice many candidates put in after completing their UCAT registration in 2024. Many students struggle with low scores, despite doing lots of questions and wondering what they are missing.

At TheUKCATPeople, our UCAT Tutors have been helping students score top marks in the UCAT for over 12 years.

Use this guide alongside our UCAT Registration Guide and UCAT preparation guide to help maximise your UCAT revision.

We believe the missing link in this scenario could be the absence of an effective strategy known as 'reflective practice', where the quality of questions, outweighs the quantity of questions attempted; this is one of the most effective study strategies for UCAT.

👉🏼 Read more: Step-by-Step UCAT Registration Guide in 2024

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Understanding Reflective Practice

Reflective practice is an approach where one actively analyses their actions, decisions, and outcomes to understand what worked, what didn't work, and why.

In the context of UCAT preparation, it involves scrutinising every practice question you attempt, whether you are right or wrong, to gain valuable insights - spending time going through every question you do, irrespective of whether you got it right or wrong.

Fundamentally, you go through each question to change your future approach to questions.

What went wrong?
Why didn't you get the answer?
What can you do differently next time?
What did you spend time doing that didn't help you get to the answer?
How might you change your practice for the next question that you do?

By spending a considerable amount of time on each question to dissect the process and the result, you get an opportunity to delve deeper into your thought processes, techniques, strengths, and weaknesses. It’s not merely about tallying your score but understanding the 'why' and 'how' behind each answer.

We hear countless students who tell us that they did 1000s of questions but didn’t do well in their UCAT mocks or exams and their scores are plateauing as they get closer to their UCAT date. One reason for this is poor reflection.

👉🏼 Read more: Ultimate UCAT Guide

The Power of Reflection in UCAT Preparation

Reflective practice also aids in identifying patterns – you can pinpoint the types of questions you often get wrong or take longer to solve, which sections you're stronger at and which ones need more work. Consequently, this leads to more focused and effective study sessions, in all five sections of the UCAT,

👉🏼 Read more: Top Tips for UCAT Preparation

How to Use Reflective Practice For UCAT Preparation - A Step-By-Step Approach

To successfully implement reflective practice in your UCAT preparation, follow these steps:

1) Detailed Analysis

After each practice question, regardless of whether your answer was correct or incorrect, pause for a moment. Reflect on your understanding of the question, your thought process, and the reason behind your chosen answer.

If you got a question wrong - what was wrong in your methodology that didn't allow you to get to the answer
If you got it correct - is there any way you could have answered it faster? Were there any tricks or strategies that could help you save time? What has the answer explanation suggested?

2) Identifying Areas for Improvement

If the answer was incorrect, pinpoint exactly where you went wrong. Was it a misunderstanding of the question, a miscalculation, or perhaps time pressure? Are you noticing any patterns with the mistakes?

For example, if you are getting lots of ratio questions wrong in UCAT quantitative reasoning, it might be worth doing 50 ratio questions in your own time to get better at them!

If the answer was correct, think about how confident you were and if there's a more efficient way to reach the answer to help save time.

Untimed Practice

We understand that timing is the key to doing well in the UCAT. However, unless you can get >80-90% of the questions right when doing questions untimed, you will struggle to get them correct when doing mini-mocks or mock exams.

If you find that your scores are plateauing, consider taking a step back and spending a morning doing untimed practice on a particular section - where you are trying to reflect more and really hone your strategies. This still means trying to do the UCAT questions as fast as you can, but with more of an emphasis on accuracy over speed.

3) Adapting Your Approach - This Is Key!

Develop action plans based on your reflections. Remember, thinking "I will remember to spot X next time" is probably not enough reflection.

Ideally, e.g. in Abstract reasoning, you must try and work out WHY didn't you spot the pattern, what did you spend time on instead, and then implement a thought process that suggests, "Next time I see anything that looks like X I will think of Y" - and make sure you practice this.

Similarly, in decision-making, it may be that for syllogisms, you didn't draw out a diagram to help you answer the question, so your reflection may be "For every syllogism question I will always draw out a diagram to help me answer it correctly."

Create specific, achievable goals to improve your performance. This could be anything from practising a particular question type more frequently to working on your timing for each question.

4) Reflecting On Mock Exams

One of the most common mistakes made is spending two (or more) hours doing a mock exam, but only spending 30 minutes going over it. This often happens when there is poor reflection that is happening. Perhaps only the wrong questions are flicked through, or perhaps one of the steps above was not followed.

Without good reflection on both correct and incorrect questions, and working out how to improve your strategy, little will improve in your subsequent mock scores.

We normally recommend spending around two hours going over each mock exam.

👉🏼 Read more: Create An Effective UCAT Study Timetable

Reflection and the UCAT Sections

Reflective practice is useful across all UCAT sections. Here are a few examples:

UCAT Verbal Reasoning (VR) Tips For Reflective Practice

Reflect on the strategies you use to quickly read and comprehend passages.
Did you miss key details from the statement?
How could you improve your speed reading or skimming techniques?
Are you spending too long on the first few passages?
How is your timing, do you spend too long on the first few passages and have no time at the end?
Do you spend too long on the first few questions on each data set?

👉🏼 Read more: Guide to UCAT Verbal Reasoning

👉🏼 Read more: 13 Key UCAT Verbal Reasoning Tips

Quantitative Reasoning (QR) Tips For Reflective Practice

Reflect on your numerical skills, is there a weaker topic you always struggle with?
Did you struggle with interpreting data or performing calculations?
Do you need to do more mental maths practice?
Would learning the UCAT calculator shortcuts help?
Did you find you spent too long wasting time doing calculations that didn’t lead anywhere?
Were you too slow using the calculator? Do you need to practice this more?

👉🏼 Read more: UCAT Quantitative Reasoning Guide

Abstract Reasoning (AR) Tips For Reflective Practice

Were you looking at the wrong patterns in the wrong order?
Reflect on how you identify patterns and sequences, is there a better order you could look at things in?
Were there certain types of patterns you found difficult to spot?
Have you been keeping a pattern list that you can revise?
Have you worked out a holistic timing strategy for AR?
Which of the Type 1, 2, 3 or 4 AR do you find the hardest, do you need to practice it more?

👉🏼 Read more: Conquering UCAT Abstract Reasoning

Decision-Making (DM) Tips For Reflective Practice

Which of the three types of questions in UCAT Decision Making questions do you struggle with more?
Are there any better techniques you could employ for the questions?
Are there certain questions you should be flagging instead of attempting?
Have you mastered drawing Venn diagrams in the UCAT DM questions?
Do you need to do more mental maths practice for some of the DM questions?
Have you got a good timing strategy because you have too many questions left at the end?

👉🏼 Read more: Tips for UCAT Decision Making

Situational Judgement Test (SJT) Tips For Reflective Practice

Did you get this question wrong because of my knowledge of the topic or thought process in the question?
Do you need to spend more time learning the GMC guidelines on Good Medical Practice?
Are you answering questions as if what ‘you would do’ or what ‘an ideal doctor/student would do’?
Do you need to do more questions to identify more topic gaps in your knowledge?
If all of your scores remain at band 3 or 4, try to do some questions with a friend, or a UCAT tutor
Do you put answer 4 or ‘Very Inappropriate’ a bit too much, not everything is as bad as it sometimes sounds.

👉🏼 Read more: Understanding How Universities Use the UCAT

👉🏼 Read more: UCAT Score Calculator

Common Pitfalls in Reflective Practice and How to Avoid Them

Reflective practice is not as simple as it may sound; it is a structured process that requires time and attention, making reflective practice one of the most effective UCAT preparation tips and techniques. Here are common pitfalls students often fall into and how you can avoid them:

1. Rushing Through Reflections - Not Spending Enough Time Reflecting

Reflections should not be hurried; it deserves your time and full attention. Taking a few extra minutes to analyse your thought process properly and performance can make a significant difference in your preparation. Is it the timing that is an issue? Is it a particular question type you struggle with - practice this more then, and ensure that you avoid UCAT burnout!

2. Neglecting Your Strengths

Reflecting isn't only about pinpointing your weaknesses. Recognising your strengths is just as important. By identifying what you're doing well, you can further refine these areas and maintain your confidence throughout the UCAT exam preparation.

3. Not Implementing Reflection Insight

The purpose of reflection is not just to identify what went wrong or right; it's about taking these insights and using them to improve. Failing to apply these learnings to future practice undermines the whole process of reflective practice.

4. Being Too Hard on Yourself

Reflection should be an honest process, but not overly critical. It's important to acknowledge mistakes as part of the learning process, not as a sign of failure. Be patient with yourself and view each reflection as an opportunity for growth and improvement.

5. Not practising the new techniques enough

To improve your performance on the UCAT, practice the sections you are struggling with in 1-2 hour chunks. Historically, those who have performed best on the UCAT have strategically allocated their time to each section, such as spending 1-2 hours on Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning in the morning and 1-2 hours on Abstract Reasoning and Decision Making in the evening.

They also took UCAT mock tests in between their practice and attended UCAT Courses. This is just an example, but the key is to make sure you are practising in large chunks so that you can learn and retain the information. Allocating sections to morning and evening can provide a solid structure for your studies.

6. Doing enough questions

While not strictly about reflective practice, it is important to practice regularly on the UCAT and focus your practice on the areas where you need the most improvement. In the last few weeks before your exam, aim to practice for 6-8 hours per day.

This will help you to hone your skills and achieve your target score. Many students wonder why their scores are not improving, but they are only practising for 1-2 hours per day. This is not enough time to see significant improvement.

By avoiding these common pitfalls, you can make the most out of your reflective practice and significantly enhance your UCAT preparation.

👉🏼 Read more: Understanding How Universities Use the UCAT

👉🏼 Read more: Understanding UCAT Deciles

Case Study: A Day in the Life of a Reflective UCAT Student

Let us follow Sarah, a UCAT student, through a typical day of preparation. Sarah starts her day early, her mind fresh and ready to tackle the challenging UCAT material. She begins with a set of practice questions across various sections of the UCAT.

Sarah approaches each question methodically, analysing not just the content of the question, but also her thinking process. She keeps a notebook by her side where she jots down why she chose a specific answer and how confident she feels about her choice.

Upon completing a question, Sarah doesn't immediately move on to the next. Instead, she pauses and reviews her thought process. Was there an alternative approach she could have used? Did she fully understand the question, or was there some ambiguity in her mind? This careful consideration enables her to understand her strengths and weaknesses better.

After checking her answers, she spends time reflecting on her performance. For each incorrect answer, she identifies where she went wrong, be it a lapse in knowledge, a misinterpretation of the question, or a calculation error. For the questions she answered correctly, she considered how she could be more efficient or if there were areas to improve, such as reducing time taken or increasing confidence.

Using her reflective notes, Sarah adapts her study plan. She allocates more time to areas where she struggles and researches different strategies or techniques to tackle those difficult questions.

For the areas in which she's doing well, she ensures she maintains her performance while continuing to seek incremental improvements.

👉🏼 Read more: Avoiding UCAT Burnout

👉🏼 Read more: UCAT Scores and Scoring System

Conclusion

The reflective practice is not an optional extra; it's a key ingredient to success in the UCAT. Indeed, reflective practice might be the game-changer you need to transform your UCAT preparation and performance.

It's not just about doing a lot of questions; it's about making every question count. It's about transforming every mistake into a lesson and every success into a strategy.

And most importantly, it's about understanding yourself as a learner and an aspiring medical professional. So, as you prepare for your UCAT this summer, embrace reflective practice, and unlock your full potential.

👉🏼 Contact our team if you need any help with the UCAT