The Official December 2015 Study Group Forum

dellara · Post by **dellara** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:49 pm

bombed PT 58. Have no idea how, but RC was horrendous. Went -9. NINE?!?!!?!?!?!!! Also game 4 punched me straight in the face. Somehow managed to go -3 in LG but I felt like I got every question in Game 4 wrong. Just got the last 3 wrong. LR was pretty horrendous as well. I guess it's kind of a blessing in disguise because I was just starting to get confident and this is a reality check that I cannot afford to slack at all leading up to the exam.

dellara · Post by **dellara** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:51 pm

I WILL CONQUER PT 59

DONT BELIEVE ME JUST WATCH (breaks out in uptown funk)

davey jones · Post by **davey jones** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:56 pm

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McJimJam · Post by **McJimJam** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:58 pm

God sooooo many passages. RC drilling is more exhausting than taking PTs

appind · Post by **appind** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:04 pm

McJimJam wrote:God sooooo many passages. RC drilling is more exhausting than taking PTs

the silver lining is probably that you have so many fresh rc pasages or sections to work with

dellara · Post by **dellara** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:05 pm

Mint-Berry_Crunch wrote:99. Good job team.

What does this mean?

mintme · Post by **mintme** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:06 pm

dellara wrote:
Mint-Berry_Crunch wrote:99. Good job team.
What does this mean?

The number of pages left to 180

dellara · Post by **dellara** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:08 pm

What happens if we pass it? haha

bnssweeney · Post by **bnssweeney** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:16 pm

dellara wrote:bombed PT 58. Have no idea how, but RC was horrendous. Went -9. NINE?!?!!?!?!?!!! Also game 4 punched me straight in the face. Somehow managed to go -3 in LG but I felt like I got every question in Game 4 wrong. Just got the last 3 wrong. LR was pretty horrendous as well. I guess it's kind of a blessing in disguise because I was just starting to get confident and this is a reality check that I cannot afford to slack at all leading up to the exam.

Just took PT 58. It was a little rough for me too. The last LG was complicated for me, but once I watched the explanation I had a "no duh" moment.

dellara · Post by **dellara** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:22 pm

bnssweeney wrote:
dellara wrote:bombed PT 58. Have no idea how, but RC was horrendous. Went -9. NINE?!?!!?!?!?!!! Also game 4 punched me straight in the face. Somehow managed to go -3 in LG but I felt like I got every question in Game 4 wrong. Just got the last 3 wrong. LR was pretty horrendous as well. I guess it's kind of a blessing in disguise because I was just starting to get confident and this is a reality check that I cannot afford to slack at all leading up to the exam.
Just took PT 58. It was a little rough for me too. The last LG was complicated for me, but once I watched the explanation I had a "no duh" moment.

I felt like more than any other test I've taken so far, a lot of the LR right answers were based on specific wording. Like "meteorite" on Q23 in Section 4. and "computer-dependent" on S4, Q15. In Section 2, I didn't differentiate between "advances in genetic research" and "genetic research" on Q15. Silly bullshit.

CAJOLER · Post by **CAJOLER** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:55 pm

dellara wrote:bombed PT 58. Have no idea how, but RC was horrendous. Went -9. NINE?!?!!?!?!?!!! Also game 4 punched me straight in the face. Somehow managed to go -3 in LG but I felt like I got every question in Game 4 wrong. Just got the last 3 wrong. LR was pretty horrendous as well. I guess it's kind of a blessing in disguise because I was just starting to get confident and this is a reality check that I cannot afford to slack at all leading up to the exam.

I took PT 58 over the weekend and, somehow, only missed 5 on RC... I agree, that section was insane... Don't let it discourage you!

PatriotP74 · Post by **PatriotP74** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:13 pm

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WorthlessDegree · Post by **WorthlessDegree** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:20 pm

Hey, y'all!

So, I'm wondering, is it too late to start studying for February? Basically I have all of December free, and then classes in January and February. For reference, my PT average (a few months ago) was a 168-170, and my goals are 173+.

Should I postpone to June, or sit for February?

gamerish · Post by **gamerish** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:40 pm

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Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 10:11 pm

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mintme · Post by **mintme** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 10:24 pm

Still drilling LR. Anyone have any advice on how to remember the differences between sufficient assumption questions and required/necessary assumption questions?

LazyPaladin · Post by **LazyPaladin** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 10:32 pm

Took PT69 after a long day; worst performance by far.

LR1 -9
LG -1
RC -8
LR2 -4

I haven't seen numbers this bad since...my october score release...

slizerd · Post by **slizerd** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 10:45 pm

mintme wrote:Still drilling LR. Anyone have any advice on how to remember the differences between sufficient assumption questions and required/necessary assumption questions?

for required/necessary assumption: look at each answer choice. If that answer choice was false, would the argument still work? If not, than that's your answer.

(Super basic) Example:

John rides his bike home from work. Since he's not paying for gas that a car would use, John saves a lot of money.
which one is a required/necessary assumption:
a. John does not have a car
b. None of john's coworkers have cars
c. John does not spend all of his money gambling
d. John has a saving account where he deposits his check

[+] Spoiler: the only one that NEEDS to be true for the argument to be true is c.
a. Even if john had a car, that doesn't mean he drives it a lot. b. John's coworkers aren't relevant. d. Does it matter if he uses a savings account or a piggy bank? c. But if John spends all his money gambling, he's not saving a lot of money.
Does this make sense at all?

PatriotP74 · Post by **PatriotP74** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 10:59 pm

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gamerish · Post by **gamerish** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 11:26 pm

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shineoncrazydiamond · Post by **shineoncrazydiamond** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 11:28 pm

PatriotP74 wrote:Strengthen/Weaken tips?

I tend to do a quick process of elimination on most question types but find it especially helpful here (I have also noticed that a lot of strengthen/weaken questions tend to be in EXCEPT form, particularly on recent-ish PTS, and I feel like working wrong->right helps me catch myself if I initially rushed through and carelessly failed to notice the EXCEPT bit).

I try to focus on identifying the link between premise and conclusion so I can then eliminate answer choices that don't address that link (some of them may seem appealing in that they address certain details in the argument, or seem generally plausible, but don't actually address the premise-->conclusion link). I also find it helpful to search for and eliminate answers that do the opposite of what is asked for (strengthen when the question asks for weaken and vice versa) as I have been tripped up by wrong answers of this sort when in a hurry. Working through the Manhattan LR chapter on this was very helpful for me.

shineoncrazydiamond · Post by **shineoncrazydiamond** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 11:29 pm

gamerish wrote:
mintme wrote:Still drilling LR. Anyone have any advice on how to remember the differences between sufficient assumption questions and required/necessary assumption questions?
Sweater example has always been my favorite.

A sweater costs $40. In order to buy the sweater, Mary must have at least $20 in her wallet. At least $20 is necessary but not sufficient, since in order to have $40 you of course must have at least $20, but having "at least" $20 doesn't guarantee she'll have a sufficient amount to buy the sweater - $40.

If Mary has $50, she has a sufficient amount of money to buy the sweater. $50, while sufficient, is not necessary since the sweater only costs $40. If she had $41, that would have also been sufficient.

If Mary has exactly $40, then she has both a sufficient and necessary amount of money to buy the sweater.

+1

shineoncrazydiamond · Post by **shineoncrazydiamond** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 11:30 pm

slizerd wrote:
mintme wrote:Still drilling LR. Anyone have any advice on how to remember the differences between sufficient assumption questions and required/necessary assumption questions?
for required/necessary assumption: look at each answer choice. If that answer choice was false, would the argument still work? If not, than that's your answer.

+1

shineoncrazydiamond · Post by **shineoncrazydiamond** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 11:36 pm

Took PT63 yesterday. Curve from 170 up in this PT seems less generous than some. LR and RC work seem to be paying off (especially RC which was my weakest section) but I would still like to allow myself a little more room for error on RC timing-wise, and go back to the LG that I sort of took for granted as I was going -0 consistently with a little time to spare at the end and am now going -1 or -2, usually a careless mistake on the last question when I almost run out of time at the end. Also really kicking at myself for one of the LR's I missed, I just didn't read the question carefully enough. This seems to be a pattern: Ace the first LR, get fatigued by the second one and make a stupid mistake or two.

Tips for pacing on RC? I find that I can move through questions MUCH more quickly and accurately if I take the time to do a good passage map, but I sometimes get carried away and spend too much time mapping easy passages. Hoping awareness of the problem will ultimately lead to a change of habit but it's tougher when I'm caught up in the (simulated) pressure of the exam.

Breakdown:
LR1: -0
LG: -1 (stupid mistake rushed at end)
LR 2: -2
RC: -2 (I hate geology passages)
Scaled: 176

PT 64 and some LG timing practice tomorrow.

shineoncrazydiamond · Post by **shineoncrazydiamond** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 11:49 pm

tvu wrote:
cheeseee wrote:
tvu wrote:Anybody want to take PT 72 w/ an experimental with me Saturday and check up on each other after?
Can i join?
Yess, of course!!! The more the merrier

I'd like to also!