The Official October 2015 Study Group Forum

Zel · Post by **Zel** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 4:34 pm

whacka wrote:
ariaaaa wrote:On a completely unrelated note, do you guys print your drills/PT's or work from a screen? I feel a bit guilty printing everything out especially since my printer isn't double sided, but one can't help their study method I suppose.
I worked from a screen when studying for June, and it put me at a slight disadvantage when taking the test. I usually just work from the screen and bubble on a bubble sheet after every question, but I noticed immediately on test day that this was a little counterproductive since it's tougher to do that with a full test booklet. Ended up circling my answers and transferring them to the bubble sheet after every page, but this almost cost me points at the end of each section. I wasn't used to it, so I almost forgot to transfer my bubbles every time! Didn't end up losing points, but it was a close call.

Also, it depends on how you approach the test. If you take notes during RC, like a majority of people do, you're going to want to print. I don't take notes during RC since I find them distracting, so it wasn't a difficult transition for me.

Overall, I don't regret not printing, since it didn't really turn out poorly for me and it saved me a lot of money in ink and saved my conscience in paper, but I did feel like I was at a very slight disadvantage on test day trying out a system that I didn't practice with.

A question popped into my head as I read this -- is the bubble sheet is detached from the test booklet?

ltowns1 · Post by **ltowns1** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 4:44 pm

chicharon wrote:
ariaaaa wrote:On a completely unrelated note, do you guys print your drills/PT's or work from a screen? I feel a bit guilty printing everything out especially since my printer isn't double sided, but one can't help their study method I suppose.
Print. It simulates test day better.

I do games and LR on my IPad when Im drilling. However, I do have the advantage of having a lot plain white paper that was left over from a store that my dad owned. So I just use that as my writing paper for games.

ariaaaa · Post by **ariaaaa** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 4:50 pm

ltowns1 wrote:
chicharon wrote:
ariaaaa wrote:On a completely unrelated note, do you guys print your drills/PT's or work from a screen? I feel a bit guilty printing everything out especially since my printer isn't double sided, but one can't help their study method I suppose.
Print. It simulates test day better.

I do games and LR on my IPad when Im drilling. However, I do have the advantage of having a lot plain white paper that was left over from a store that my dad owned. So I just use that as my writing paper for games.

Oh fair enough, I've already printed out all the LG packets but I think i'm going to try drilling LR on my ipad as well--my main problem is that i like crossing things out whenever possible, but i think i should train myself to be more mindful and not re-read things 100 times anyway

whacka · Post by **whacka** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 4:51 pm

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Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 5:36 pm

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MrBalloons · Post by **MrBalloons** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 5:43 pm

Mint-Berry_Crunch wrote:How much do you guys feel that skipping questions is actually helpful? And do you come back to them at the end of the section, or end of each page?

I usually try to tough through questions, which obviously slows me down a lot. But reading a question, realizing you don't get it, moving on, and then coming back to it also takes a lot of time.
Or is it more of a "staying on a role" thing? I'm debating if I want to just skip things that don't immediately make sense.

I only skip LR questions, since they're their own discrete things. And I come back to them at the end of the section.

But I typically finish LR sections in about 28-30ish minutes, so I've got plenty of time for that.

Skipping RC or LG is a lot trickier. I never skip RC and only skip LG if I'm just floundering on a game and need some confidence/warm up from a later easier game.

Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 5:56 pm

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nlee10 · Post by **nlee10** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:51 pm

hows studying today?

DoYouEvenTLS · Post by **DoYouEvenTLS** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:01 pm

Did a few games today to brush up on my skills; pleased with my performance.
Also drilled flaw, SA, and NA.

I swear the weirdest thing happened to me: the first go-round when I started drilling NA a few weeks back I was like a freakin sniper eliminating incorrect answer choices and pinpointing the correct choice.....then I take PTs and just bomb NA questions.... Nevertheless, I think I got back into the groove now after drilling them again.

gamerish · Post by **gamerish** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:28 pm

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ariaaaa · Post by **ariaaaa** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:54 pm

Drilling SA and NA today too! Probably also going to do some Linear Balanced games before bed as well, they're always fun!

Right now i'm just taking a break before going over the ones i missed in SA.

ugg · Post by **ugg** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:56 pm

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nlee10 · Post by **nlee10** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:04 pm

I drilled like 40 easier MBT's (which I still missed some easy ones), 4 In/Out Games, and 4 Social Science RC Passages.

Slow and steady wins the race. Going to start Section drilling next week.

gamerish · Post by **gamerish** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:20 pm

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PatriotP74 · Post by **PatriotP74** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:24 pm

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TheProdigal · Post by **TheProdigal** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:27 pm

theugg wrote:Studying while working full time is harder than I thought it would be.

One slight advantage here: studying after work when already mentally drained is pretty good stamina prep for the real thing.

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:28 pm

PatriotP74 wrote:So for those of you who don't have much of a problem with RC, whats the key that was the turning point?

The unfortunate thing is that if you're good at RC you probably never had a turning point... people seldom improve much on RC.

SirArthurDayne · Post by **SirArthurDayne** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:37 pm

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somethingElse · Post by **somethingElse** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:39 pm

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MrBalloons · Post by **MrBalloons** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:40 pm

RZ5646 wrote:
PatriotP74 wrote:So for those of you who don't have much of a problem with RC, whats the key that was the turning point?
The unfortunate thing is that if you're good at RC you probably never had a turning point... people seldom improve much on RC.

It's true. I went -0 on my diagnostic RC. I haven't changed anything that I do.

MrBalloons · Post by **MrBalloons** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:43 pm

Mint-Berry_Crunch wrote: Yeah, I don't usually get tripped up on LG so it's not really a huge deal for that. But I notice for LR and RC I'll run into a question that kills my momentum so that's why I'm thinking of trying to skip more. I'll have to play around a bit.
I think for RC I would just finish the rest of the questions in the passage then come back.

Coming back to an individual question in RC after completing the passage is a nightmare, yeah. I'm sure I've come back to them at the end of passages, though. But I generally try pretty hard not to skip questions ever.

pittsburghpirates · Post by **pittsburghpirates** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:49 pm

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southerntexan · Post by **southerntexan** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:54 pm

theugg wrote:Studying while working full time is harder than I thought it would be.

I agree. The struggle is very real. So far, I've been doing problems/games in breaks and lunch.

SirArthurDayne · Post by **SirArthurDayne** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:59 pm

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ariaaaa · Post by **ariaaaa** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 10:01 pm

southerntexan wrote:
theugg wrote:Studying while working full time is harder than I thought it would be.
I agree. The struggle is very real. So far, I've been doing problems/games in breaks and lunch.

major props to you guys, all i could do after work (when i was working!) was sleep and then stare at TLS for extended periods of time...