Does anybody else narrow it down to only 2 answers? Forum

[deputamadre]

I do this on pretty much all inference and flaw questions. Unfortunatley I pick the wrong answer about 90 percent of the time. When I go back and review I can sometimes figure out why (a stupid mistake) but sometimes cannot. For the latter, any tips on how to pick the most logical choice?

[r6_philly]

I think this is where the test makers have become much trickier. most of my wrongs are 1 out of the last 2, and I chose the wrong one. I actually chose right plenty of times, but most of the wrongs are between the credited choice and the tricky choice. I have not really formulated a fix yet, however, I decided (since test is upon us), whenever I narrow it down to 2 choice, to scrutinize the one that seems right.

I think most of the times I find myself making unwarranted assumptions (which I think is what the test makers try to do) so the wrong answers seems more right than the credited one.

[JazzOne]

I do this on pretty much all inference and flaw questions. Unfortunatley I pick the wrong answer about 90 percent of the time. When I go back and review I can sometimes figure out why (a stupid mistake) but sometimes cannot. For the latter, any tips on how to pick the most logical choice?

If you're picking the wrong answer 90% of the time, then the solution is clear: pick the other one.

[r6_philly]

I do this on pretty much all inference and flaw questions. Unfortunatley I pick the wrong answer about 90 percent of the time. When I go back and review I can sometimes figure out why (a stupid mistake) but sometimes cannot. For the latter, any tips on how to pick the most logical choice?

If you're picking the wrong answer 90% of the time, then the solution is clear: pick the other one.

I feel very uneasy with that one. OP should try it with 4 sections of LRs and see if it makes a difference in score.

[deputamadre]

I do this on pretty much all inference and flaw questions. Unfortunatley I pick the wrong answer about 90 percent of the time. When I go back and review I can sometimes figure out why (a stupid mistake) but sometimes cannot. For the latter, any tips on how to pick the most logical choice?

If you're picking the wrong answer 90% of the time, then the solution is clear: pick the other one.

I would like a method more concrete than that, although it has crossed my mind. It's mostly a time issue as well, b/c untimed I do get the answer right.

[JazzOne]

I do this on pretty much all inference and flaw questions. Unfortunatley I pick the wrong answer about 90 percent of the time. When I go back and review I can sometimes figure out why (a stupid mistake) but sometimes cannot. For the latter, any tips on how to pick the most logical choice?

If you're picking the wrong answer 90% of the time, then the solution is clear: pick the other one.

I would like a method more concrete than that, although it has crossed my mind. It's mostly a time issue as well, b/c untimed I do get the answer right.

I'm just playing around, but since I hijacked your thread, here's my advice: Don't forget to use process of elimination down to the end. The utility of process of elimination is intuitive when you're dealing with more than two answer choices. Once you're down to two, however, it's less obvious why you should continue looking for the wrong answer. Evaluating the answer choices critically will help you determine which one is flawed. Force yourself to find that flaw in the wrong answer, not just make an arbitrary judgment about which one is correct. If the final two answer choices are very similar to one another, remember that the credited response is going to be determined by the differences between the answers. Sometimes I find it helpful to silently articulate what's different about the remaining answers and think about how that distinction applies to the argument.

[skip james]

read flawed question types VERY VERY carefully. in my view, depending on which key phrase is used (i.e. 'the author assumes...' or 'the author ignores the possibility that...') the answer choice will either STRENGTHEN or WEAKEN the argumentative gap.

if an argument is something like 'A-->B, therefore A ---> C', the gap is pretty obviously 'B--->C'. so in this case, DEPENDING on how the answer choices in flaw questions are phrased, the answer will either be 'B-->C' OR 'SOME B's are not C's'.

make sure you pay attention to whether or not the answer choice uses the phrase 'assumes' or 'ignores', as that'll tip you off to which one you should be looking for.

[Kohinoor]

I do this on pretty much all inference and flaw questions. Unfortunatley I pick the wrong answer about 90 percent of the time. When I go back and review I can sometimes figure out why (a stupid mistake) but sometimes cannot. For the latter, any tips on how to pick the most logical choice?

try narrowing it down to 1 answer if 2 gets you into trouble.

[bakemono]

you've clearly gotten it down to two not only because the other 3 were apparently wrong through a quick glance, but because the remaining 2 seemed legit. However, that's not the case. One is right and one is wrong. Do another read-through with the remaining two and if you're still stuck, that's when you should change your perspective from the macro to the micro. Do not read the entire answer choice AT ONCE... read it word by word.

About half of the time when i'm in these situations, it's not so much the overall logic that makes an answer choice right or wrong, but a single word that's simply not applicable. The words "presume, most, general" etc... may seem like a filler word of no consequence but it's very possible that the wrong answer between the two doesn't 100% reflect the logic of the stimulus.

[egilb]

About half of the time when i'm in these situations, it's not so much the overall logic that makes an answer choice right or wrong, but a single word that's simply not applicable. The words "presume, most, general" etc... may seem like a filler word of no consequence but it's very possible that the wrong answer between the two doesn't 100% reflect the logic of the stimulus.

+1

In my experience, this is when it's time to slow down and reread the stimulus. The correct answer is usually determined by a single word or implication in the stimulus. Before you get really stuck, quickly answer the rest of the problems on the page and come back. This helps to clear my mind--I'll find I've been focusing so hard that I'm overlooking simple things.

[gmreplay]

I do this on pretty much all inference and flaw questions. Unfortunatley I pick the wrong answer about 90 percent of the time. When I go back and review I can sometimes figure out why (a stupid mistake) but sometimes cannot. For the latter, any tips on how to pick the most logical choice?

If you're picking the wrong answer 90% of the time, then the solution is clear: pick the other one.

I would like a method more concrete than that, although it has crossed my mind. It's mostly a time issue as well, b/c untimed I do get the answer right.

I'm just playing around, but since I hijacked your thread, here's my advice: Don't forget to use process of elimination down to the end. The utility of process of elimination is intuitive when you're dealing with more than two answer choices. Once you're down to two, however, it's less obvious why you should continue looking for the wrong answer. Evaluating the answer choices critically will help you determine which one is flawed. Force yourself to find that flaw in the wrong answer, not just make an arbitrary judgment about which one is correct. If the final two answer choices are very similar to one another, remember that the credited response is going to be determined by the differences between the answers. Sometimes I find it helpful to silently articulate what's different about the remaining answers and think about how that distinction applies to the argument.

This is very solid advice. I often find now that I don't miss these types of questions because one of the answers just feels off. See if you can find a pattern in a particular type of questions you're getting wrong. The answers between questions of different types are often remarkably similar insofar as how they reflect on the prompt.

[MF248]

I do this on pretty much all inference and flaw questions. Unfortunatley I pick the wrong answer about 90 percent of the time. When I go back and review I can sometimes figure out why (a stupid mistake) but sometimes cannot. For the latter, any tips on how to pick the most logical choice?

try narrowing it down to 1 answer if 2 gets you into trouble.

TITCR

[Perjury]

lol

[DarkPhantom]

OMG YES, I'm not the only one!

MOST if not ALL of the questions I get wrong, it is because I narrow it down to two, and always pick the wrong one!

The solution I thought would be just simply picking the other one....but that's always the wrong one.

I'm just trying to read much more carefully and not waste too much time, if it seems as though it is taking up too much time, i just guess and move on, you have a 50/50 chance.

[vanwinkle]

try narrowing it down to 1 answer if 2 gets you into trouble.

Shit, you beat me to it.