read *all* LR answer choices? Forum

[yepuhhuh]

I know traditional wisdom on this, but on PTs, when I get that strong gut feeling my percentage of correct answers is better for questions where I choose not to read anymore choices than on the average RC problem (both somewhere in 90%, fwiw). I'm sure someone else feels this way, and many will call me dumbass. Interested to hear ya, though, TLS.

[musedreverie]

Well, this might be a good method for questions, say 1-5. But even then, I wouldn't recommend it. It may cost you some time to read them all, but you lose too much if there is an even better, unread choice that goes unnoticed.

Also, when you're actually taking the test, skipping choices is the last thing you want to do; in your adrenaline-fuelled (or cortisol-fuelled) excitement you may think the answer you're reading makes absolute sense, but in reality it may just be a trick question.

so all in all, read all the choices if you have enough time!

[jthach]

This is pretty normal. What I have done and what you could do is when you have a good feeling that you have a correct answer, you can just quickly glance over the other choices, skim them. Unless they have a chance of being a relevant answer worth reading more closely, you can quickly determine the probability you have the correct answer and then move on.

I also wouldn't recommend skipping choices entirely if you have the time.

[JackelJ]

This method works for me with LR. If its a flaw question and I know exactly what the flaw is going into the answer choices then once I find what I'm looking for I circle it and move on without looking at the other answer choices. I only do this if I am 100% sure, which for some questions it is pretty easy to anticipate if you drill enough. I commonly do this for flaw, must be true, sufficient assumption, role, and describe questions.
It works less well for me in RC. What I usually do is I anticipate the answer, skim the answer choices, pick my answer if what I anticipated is there and very quickly glance at the others to make sure I didn't miss anything.

[griffin3575]

I didn't for questions 1-10. Also didn't when I found a great answer for those questions you know take you way to long to answer. FOR ME, this was the optimal strategy. Answer it and move on

[Dave Hall]

I always do, but for most questions, it's more in the mode of a skim. In other words, I know what the right answer should say, and when I find a choice that says that, I really do skim the other four just to make sure they don't.

Most of the time, that does mean that I'm sort of wasting a small amount of time, but there are also plenty of times that this skimming has led me to reconsider, and saved me from what would otherwise have been a wrong answer (I thought (B) looked good, but then I saw (D) and I had to think about it, too, and that's when I realized that (B) said "cholesterol lowering," not "cholesterol raising" and now I'm so happy I caught my mistake that I'm talking in runoff sentences in parentheticals but, hey; point saved).

That small amount of time has never caused me any problems with finishing sections, so I'm all in favor of doing it. Just with a skim, only making sure that the other four all seem wrong.

[yepuhhuh]

okay TLS community. i guess traditional wisdom has won me over. the point about real test day jitters hits home the most. in PTs I've got a great record of right answers when i don't read all (this is when i feel quite sure), but on real day it would probably throw me off afterwards. thanks