Page 1 of 3
Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 7:03 pm
by luckyme
Even if you are initially certain that the first choice is correct? How do you usually do?
e.g. Yes/161
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 7:08 pm
by AverageTutoring
luckyme wrote:Even if you are initially certain that the first choice is correct? How do you usually do?
e.g. Yes/161
Always. Dont ever skip. I scored a 170 in October for what it's worth.
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 7:12 pm
by luckyme
AverageTutoring wrote:luckyme wrote:Even if you are initially certain that the first choice is correct? How do you usually do?
e.g. Yes/161
Always. Dont ever skip. I scored a 170 in October for what it's worth.
I do too, but I very rarely change any answers...I wonder if I would be more comfortable finishing faster and checking my work
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 7:28 pm
by northwood
Read every answer choice, except for LG. LR and RC love to have multiple trap answers for testers who dont.
LG is the only section you can be absolutely 100% sure that the answer is right, due to rules and inferences.
even then you still have to check to make sure you didnt break a rule
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 7:33 pm
by AverageTutoring
luckyme wrote:AverageTutoring wrote:luckyme wrote:Even if you are initially certain that the first choice is correct? How do you usually do?
e.g. Yes/161
Always. Dont ever skip. I scored a 170 in October for what it's worth.
I do too, but I very rarely change any answers...I wonder if I would be more comfortable finishing faster and checking my work
All I can say is that you are a better man then I. I fall for trap answers on a regular basis if I don't read all the answers.
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 8:17 pm
by JazzOne
Yes, 174
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 8:20 pm
by plenipotentiary
Yes. In fact, during the test, I read every answer choice at least twice (I was really nervous). I got a 172.
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 8:29 pm
by tomwatts
On games I usually don't (if I'm certain I've got the right answer), but on the others I always do. 176/180 (first time/second time).
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 8:38 pm
by bruin10
There's really no such thing as a trap answer if you're able to anticipate or know what the credited response should look like. If you get to that level of understanding, you'll know when you've reached the correct answer and can move forward (so no, you don't have to read all the answer choices).
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 8:44 pm
by grrrstick
Yes for LR and RC; No on games, 180
If you want to really boost that score: by the time you get to the answers on games, you should know the answer from applying the question to the given facts.
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 9:00 pm
by yzero1
I would recommend always reading all of the answers. This doubly applies if you can finish a section with time left over. Although your first impression will be fairly accurate once you get the hang of the LSAT, there are still times when your instinct will be incorrect. LSAT: 177
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 12:01 am
by incompetentia
Read every AC. Just do it.
The only time I'd recommend not reading every AC is if you really can't finish LR in time, but you're highly accurate. (So, read every AC.)
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:06 am
by Deep Trench
On about 3~4 questions in each section, I select answers without reading every answer choice. This gives me a speed boost so I am not under time pressure at the end of the section. This could be my way of compensating for my slow reading speed, and you probably don't have to do this if you read fast. I do this with the questions where I feel very confident, and I don't remember the last time I missed a question doing this. I mark the questions so I can come back and read all of the answer choices if I have time left over after completing the section. I got 179 on the real test.
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 6:59 pm
by Hedwig
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 7:02 pm
by swc65
I did not read all the MC answers unless I screwed up somehow. You should know the answer before you look at the choices and then just look for the letter that corresponds to the answer you figured out on your own. Especially on games. Otherwise, you may end just comparing answers. 178- with 5-10 minutes left in each section, it takes forever to read all those answer, especially in RC.
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 7:10 pm
by cubswin
No on games. Yes on RC/LR.
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:41 pm
by luckyme
Deep Trench wrote:On about 3~4 questions in each section, I select answers without reading every answer choice. This gives me a speed boost so I am not under time pressure at the end of the section. This could be my way of compensating for my slow reading speed, and you probably don't have to do this if you read fast. I do this with the questions where I feel very confident, and I don't remember the last time I missed a question doing this. I mark the questions so I can come back and read all of the answer choices if I have time left over after completing the section. I got 179 on the real test.
This is a strategy I have considered...sometimes I spend 45 seconds to 1 minute on a question that should take 15 seconds, and I regret not having that time later in the section.
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:45 pm
by Ragged
Almost always/174
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 11:48 pm
by skip james
i prephrase and select one answer without reading all the choices for the first 10 in the logical reasoning section, provided my prephrase matches almost exactly. 177.
For the most part, however, I do read all the answer choices.
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:01 am
by 4for44
JazzOne wrote:Yes, 174
Seconded Yes, 174
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:04 am
by Jeffort
This topic is
silly.
There is no rational reason not to read all the answer choices before selecting one on questions you have time to attempt. Doing otherwise is
stupid.
This type of habit may in part account for the more generous curves on the recent tests as compared to the strict curves of most of the 2005-2007 tests.
If you have time for a question, not reading all the answer choices before making a decision is dumb.
I get what was said about the LG section in terms of once you figure out what is correct, look for it, select it and move on. If you processed the game info well and made the important deductions you can just scan the answer choices to find what you are looking for but you still have to read/scan them to find it.
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:07 am
by TheOcho
Yes, with a few LG exceptions. 169.
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:09 am
by JazzOne
Jeffort wrote:This topic is
silly.
There is no rational reason not to read all the answer choices before selecting one on questions you have time to attempt. Doing otherwise is
stupid.
This type of habit may in part account for the more generous curves on the recent tests as compared to the strict curves of most of the 2005-2007 tests.
If you have time for a question, not reading all the answer choices before making a decision is dumb.
I get what was said about the LG section in terms of once you find what you know is correct (provided you analyzed the game scenario properly), look for it, select it and move on. If you processed the game info well and made the important deductions you can just scan the answer choices to find what you are looking for but you still have to read/scan them to find it.
Considering that someone in this thread scored a 180 without reading all the answer choices, don't you think it's a bit much to call it silly, stupid, and dumb?
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:10 am
by almostfamous
YES...i got over a plateau by starting to read all the answers in RC and LR, not always in LG though...177 June 10
Re: Do you read every answer choice?
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:19 am
by Jeffort
JazzOne wrote:Jeffort wrote:This topic is
silly.
There is no rational reason not to read all the answer choices before selecting one on questions you have time to attempt. Doing otherwise is
stupid.
This type of habit may in part account for the more generous curves on the recent tests as compared to the strict curves of most of the 2005-2007 tests.
If you have time for a question, not reading all the answer choices before making a decision is dumb.
I get what was said about the LG section in terms of once you find what you know is correct (provided you analyzed the game scenario properly), look for it, select it and move on. If you processed the game info well and made the important deductions you can just scan the answer choices to find what you are looking for but you still have to read/scan them to find it.
Considering that someone in this thread scored a 180 without reading all the answer choices, don't you think it's a bit much to call it silly, stupid, and dumb?
Absolutely no!
180 scores are rare. 99.9th percentile. Small amounts of people pull them off each year. What about the rest of the crowd that takes the test that are trying to get into law school?
PS: I'm not disputing that the poster achieved a 180, but over the years, especially in discussion board land, I've heard tons of people make false score claims.
If the person did get a 180, not reading all the answer choices was not the reason he/she achieved it.