Disturbing Trend on my Logical Reasoning Forum

[pdrez]

I don't know if anyone else has come across this dilemma, but I am noticing a disturbing trend with my LR sections:

I am breezing past the first 13 - 15 questions, typically getting either all of them correct or maybe 1-2 wrong, tops. Then when the middle of the section comes I start to fade I guess...and I am usually missing around 5 of the last 10-12 questions.

I desperately need to improve my score of 162 and LR is becoming my achilles heel. Anyone have any advice on how to overcome this handicap? Is my pacing off, or am I just getting burned out after the first 15? I don't feel burned out mentally, but the proof seems to be in the pudding.

Any help will be much appreciated!

[TommyK]

I don't know if anyone else has come across this dilemma, but I am noticing a disturbing trend with my LR sections:

I am breezing past the first 13 - 15 questions, typically getting either all of them correct or maybe 1-2 wrong, tops. Then when the middle of the section comes I start to fade I guess...and I am usually missing around 5 of the last 10-12 questions.

I desperately need to improve my score of 162 and LR is becoming my achilles heel. Anyone have any advice on how to overcome this handicap? Is my pacing off, or am I just getting burned out after the first 15? I don't feel burned out mentally, but the proof seems to be in the pudding.

Any help will be much appreciated!

Not surprising. The harder questions are towards the late middle to early end.

Good way to remember it:

1st page - easy questions
2nd page - pretty easy questions
3rd page - really hard questions
4th page - pretty hard questions

I do it in that order - Pages 1, 2, 4 & then 3.

[lawyerwannabe]

Unfortunately, you are probably not getting burnt out. The fact is that after the first 12 or so questions in a LR section, the harder questions start to appear.

It is usually something like this

1 - 12 = easy / medium difficulty
13 - 25 = medium / hard difficulty

This is by no means an exact representation. However, the hardest questions on the test normally appear between 15 and 20.

Keep studying and hopefully you will make some improvement. Good luck.

[kazu]

Not surprising. The harder questions are towards the late middle to early end.

Good way to remember it:

1st page - easy questions
2nd page - pretty easy questions
3rd page - really hard questions
4th page - pretty hard questions

To add to that, the 3~4 questions are usually easier than the previous 5 or so, but the questions and answers are physically longer.

Have you read the LRB? I'm pretty sure they explain all of this.

[Ssoto0055]

What test are you working on? Til about the early 40's that is how it is set up. The first 15 or so are pretty easy and it's not uncommon to hit on all of them. The last ten are harder. The questions get harder as you move along. From about 43 on it's a little more mixed up and the mistakes can come from anywhere. Don't worry it's not burnout.

[Hedwig]

I actually hate knowing about how they divide the questions because when I get stuck on an earlier question or, god forbid, get it wrong, I'm like EEEK THIS IS THE EASY SECTION .

[TommyK]

I actually hate knowing about how they divide the questions because when I get stuck on an earlier question or, god forbid, get it wrong, I'm like EEEK THIS IS THE EASY SECTION .

Heh, if you've ever taken the GRE, you'll have a similar panic attack. The test is computer-based and adaptive so if you get a question right, next question you get of the same type will be harder; if you get a question wrong, the next question of the same type you get will be easier.

You start freaking out when the questions start off pretty difficult and then suddenly you're sure you're getting questions like, "what is 2+7?"

Yeah, not all questions on page 1 & 2 are going to be 1 & 2 star questions. There will be some difficult ones thrown in there. And just because a question is difficult for the masses doesn't mean you don't rock that question type or haven't encountered that particular fallacy so it comes naturally to you. And vice versa.

[kazu]

Yeah, not all questions on page 1 & 2 are going to be 1 & 2 star questions. There will be some difficult ones thrown in there. And just because a question is difficult for the masses doesn't mean you don't rock that question type or haven't encountered that particular fallacy so it comes naturally to you. And vice versa.

True. What we've described here is a general trend - it doesn't mean that an individual question in #1~8 will always be easier than an individual question in #12~20.

[sophia.olive]

Though I go a lot faster on the first section I don't try to think of them as easier......
Because sometimes the questions are so easy they are hard!!!!!!

[jarofsoup]

Are you rushing towards the end of the section. I have found that it helps to slow down.. by this i mean dont go slower time wise but mentally read a bit slower dont rush.