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So, I know Powerscore recommends reading the stimulus first, but I have typically always read the question first. Normally, I only miss 2 per section, so I wasn't too worried, but I thought I'd ask some of the people in the 0-2 misses per section which they did? Thanx.

-1 on LR in December 2009. Stimulus first, carefully and critically.

Search "stem" and "stimulus" here or on Google for copious discussion on this topic.

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I read it in the order given. If you are only getting around 2 wrong per section, why even change things up...you are scoring better than I am. Usually after reading the stimulus, I already know what the question is going to be and can almost go right into the answer choices.

If you've already consistently practiced stem first, it's probably a good idea to stick with that.

I always read the question stem first. It's much easier to prephrase the correct answer when you know beforehand that you're answering a flaw-in-the-reasoning question, an assumption question, a main point question, etc. I think one of the main reasons I usually miss 0-2 on LR sections is that I often spend 25-30 seconds on main point and assumption questions precisely because I know before I read the stimulus how I should read it; I then have the luxury of spending 2-3 minutes on some of the more difficult strengthen and weaken questions in the late teens and early twenties.

Stem first. You read an Inference question totally differently from a Strengthen question. Better to know what you're looking for first.

I tried both and I like reading stem first. Sometimes I read the stimulus first then get to the stem, then I have to go back to re-read the stimulus to focus on the problem (weaken, assump, etc...)

also, if I see "which most parallels" or the like, I skip the question until the end. They are time killers.

Question stem first.

Every test prep company maintains that its answer to this question is the best, in reality this is a matter of personal preference.

I flirted with question stem first but ultimately preferred the stimulus-first approach. After reading the stem, I would find that I would search out the answer to the question in a manner which prevented me from truly grasping the elements of the stimulus...trying to relate everything back to the question was distracting. If I had a good grasp of the argument first then worried about the question then 2/3 to 3/4 of the time I wouldn't have to go back to the stimulus, and usually when I did have to go back to the stimulus it didn't take long to come back with the answer to the question. If keeping it all straight isn't a problem for you, and isn't slowing you down, then a strong argument can be made for reading the stem first.

Stimulus first ftw