When should I do PT's Forum

[withoutapaddle]

I'm going to start out doing the bibles and then go into PT's when I've mastered the concepts

Should I do one PT every week for three months? or start doing PT's the second month? How many Pt's a week

[Jeffort]

You should focus on a lot of fairly slow motion drilling by type as you progress through the bibles for a long time before transitioning into doing timed PTs regularly. An occasional timed PT during the drilling phase to spot check progress is ok here and there but unnecessary and should only be a small part if any of it. Mainly focusing on full timed tests is the last phase, typically phase 3, that you should transition into no sooner than about 6 weeks before test day.

The purpose of this is to build consistent habits with how you regularly go about approaching each different question/game type in terms of step by step methods, techniques, etc. so that you lock those skills in solidly before trying to do it all fast under test conditions. Good prep plans that pay off are structured to build skills up in proper phases rather than rushing straight to trying to master full tests all at once in timed conditions. It's essential to master processes and techniques to build fundamental skills before focusing on speed and full test format.

[withoutapaddle]

Thank you!

So break up LR into specific questions when going over that section in the bible?

Also same as above for LG? So focus Linear when working on the linear chapter?

The good thing is I'm a lot further studying the last month and half then I was at the beginning/ I think my problem was I tried to cram as much information before the test as I possibly could because I started studying late

[10052014]

.

[Jeffort]

Thank you!

So break up LR into specific questions when going over that section in the bible?

Also same as above for LG? So focus Linear when working on the linear chapter?

The good thing is I'm a lot further studying the last month and half then I was at the beginning/ I think my problem was I tried to cram as much information before the test as I possibly could because I started studying late

Yeah, that's one of the problems with rushed prep plans. Focused slow motion drilling per type with a lot of repetition of the concepts, techniques, information, steps, etc. is key to burning everything not only into your mind, but also in as habits that hopefully become fairly intuitive. It takes lots of repetition with careful review to build up to the point of things becoming much more automatic so that everything clicks properly under timed conditions when you are stressed and have to bounce from question to question rapidly.

You should get sets of LR questions and games sorted by type for drilling, otherwise its a royal pain to hunt them down on your own in PTs to drill a bunch of whatever type in a row. Cambridge is one source for getting questions organized by type, Powerscore also has companion work books for the LGB and LRB with questions organized by type according to PS classification systems.

You'll be amazed how much more you will learn about each question type and your own strengths, weaknesses, misconceptions, etc. once you begin to focus on question types one at a time with thorough drilling and comprehensive review. That's where the 'magic' happens in terms of actual improvement of your skills that translates to higher scores. Timed practice tests don't build/improve skills other than helping work on timing issues, they are just a measurement tool for assessing how good your fundamental skills are on any given day. This is why people that mainly focus on doing timed tests as the mainstay of their prep don't improve nearly as much as people that mainly drill and review to perfect all of the various skills/techniques, etc.