Bubbling Advice Forum

[osubucknut]

Is it better to bubble in answers after a block of questions has already been answered (ex. after every 10 questions) or to bubble in answers after every question? I realize waiting until the end of the section is extremely risky especially if time is an issue, but wouldn't answering a couple before bubbling them in save time?

[Micdiddy]

Is it better to bubble in answers after a block of questions has already been answered (ex. after every 10 questions) or to bubble in answers after every question? I realize waiting until the end of the section is extremely risky especially if time is an issue, but wouldn't answering a couple before bubbling them in save time?

I did every page in LR or every passage/game. Some people do every two pages in LR which also makes sense.

[Br3v]

Is it better to bubble in answers after a block of questions has already been answered (ex. after every 10 questions) or to bubble in answers after every question? I realize waiting until the end of the section is extremely risky especially if time is an issue, but wouldn't answering a couple before bubbling them in save time?

I did every page in LR or every passage/game. Some people do every two pages in LR which also makes sense.

[Daily_Double]

I bubble after every two pages, so every game (though if it's an old test, every two games), every RC passage, every four - eight LR questions. In my opinion, it's the best way.

[GuyLafleur]

I fill in the bubbles before I flip to the next page of the test booklet.

[Jeffort]

Here is the best and most detailed argument in favor of single bubbling I've ever seen:

I picked up at least a few minutes per section when I started bubbling a passage, game or page at a time. The few seconds it takes to bubble after every single question really adds up.

It would take, conservatively, 3 seconds to bubble after each question. You mean to tell me that 1.5 min matters?

It's not even that much--- IMO it's maybe 1 second to bubble and 1 second to "reset" back to the page, but lets run with 3 seconds.

On a 25 question section that's 75 seconds out of 2100-- put another way it's ~3.6% of your time for the section which does sound like a lot.

But you have to remember that "group bubbling" isn't free either--- figure .25 seconds to write down you answer the first time (I'm assuming that you have to write the answer down on the test as a placeholder. I used to do SAT bubbles 4 or 5 in my head and transfer them all at once, but I feel like that's much more difficult with the LSAT, which IMO demands a higher level of mental engagement), and figure .75 seconds per answer to move them over as a group-- and these numbers are again extremely conservative towards single bubbling / generous towards group bubbling, I think.

That leaves you with 25 seconds for a 25 question passage. Which means that the difference between the two methods is by this estimate 50 seconds, or ~2.4% of your total time for the passage. Again, the percentage sounds like a lot to my ears.... but 50 seconds, not so much-- and that's at the *high* end (I'm assuming that you have the answer sheet and the question book side by side like for the SAT--- if the answer sheet is fixed to the back of the booklet or something scratch everything I've said and group bubble).

Personally I know that I had misbubbling mishaps a few times on the PSATs when I was using the group method-- though I always caught 'em (but that came at the sacrifice of time of course). I've done in total maybe 10 practice tests in the last 8 months, all using the group bubble method. I've misbubbled, to my memory, one question in that entire time, and I'm sort of a space cadet. (I don't skip questions ever except rarely on games, which does help a lot. Though skipped questions probably make both methods more error prone).

The accuracy advantage of the single bubble method is huge, IMO, and the consequences of a misbubble are largely mitigated.

Sure, if you're confident and you feel that a few seconds can make the difference for you, there're some reasons to groupbubble.

But singlebubbling is pretty frigging quick, and for me at least I've found it to by ~99.9% accurate. That's where I'd put my money.

JMO though, and in way more detail than was necessary, I'm sure.

[sublime]

..

[wtrc]

I do group bubbling, but it's not the bubbling time that matters for me. It's the "reset" time and stamina. My brain needs that 10 second break after each page before going to the next. It takes me a few seconds to readjust when I start the new problem after my "break." If I took a mini-break after each problem, it would be draining for me to keep restarting. I want to knock 4+ LR questions out, or one RC passage out, or a game out, before giving my mind a 10 second rest. Split LR into ~6 or 7 blocks, RC into 4 blocks, LG into 4 blocks, rather than 25 different ones.

Sometimes if I feel lost or out of it during a tough LR page (let's say the third question on the page), I'll go back and bubble in the first two that I haven't yet. But usually it's group bubbles.

[Daily_Double]

What I do is circle the question number of questions I'm unsure about and return to them in my remaining time, which is usually at least five minutes, whether or not this circling is considered a faulty answer choice, I presume leading into considering a relatively blank answer key, I guess it would be answer A, is something I have internally debated as have, I suppose externally, the members of my study group. Thoughts?

[Clearly]

Depends on the section. LR I bubbled at the end of the section, all 25 or so, unless I was facing time pressure which almost never happened. Games and RC I'd bubble per game/passage, so groups of 5-7. I'd also mark all questions I wasn't sure about, and I'd come back to them with whatever time I had left over.

[bp shinners]

LR I bubbled at the end of the section, all 25 or so.

You, sir, are bolder than I.

I bubble before flipping a page. Not because of time issues (though I do feel it saves a few seconds), but because I like to have a breather and a period where I'm doing something productive but not really engaged with the test. I'd rather have a longer reset period on each page than a shorter one after each questions. If I have one after each question, my mind starts to drift - if I have one after a page, it refreshes me and keeps me focused.

There are pros/cons for each side. The important thing is to try out different strategies and find the one that works best for you, and then get used to doing it.