Am I drilling Cambridge correctly/efficiently? Forum

[lilahozi]

Hey all,

Prepping for June test. I'm not sure if I'm drilling the Cambridge packets in the most efficient manner. I'm currently working my way through LR and after each section, I'll drill the entire corresponding Cambridge packet (e.g. drill 100+ Weaken questions after reading Weaken section). This is very time consuming and I'm wondering if it is necessary for me to be drilling every single question in the packet.

Thanks!

[Mikey]

Yes, you should continue reading the question type chapter and then drilling the questions. I'm being hypocritical for saying this because personally, I tend to learn question types by just doing them, but you should continue doing what you're doing. Most, if not all, people on here will recommend you keep reading the chapters and then drilling. I would say do most of the questions for each drill and leave some for later, so that way if you struggle on PT later on with a question type, you can go back and have some fresh questions to drill.

[Blueprint Mithun]

Hey all,

Prepping for June test. I'm not sure if I'm drilling the Cambridge packets in the most efficient manner. I'm currently working my way through LR and after each section, I'll drill the entire corresponding Cambridge packet (e.g. drill 100+ Weaken questions after reading Weaken section). This is very time consuming and I'm wondering if it is necessary for me to be drilling every single question in the packet.

Thanks!

The idea behind drilling a single question type is to give you a chance to practice and refine your approach to that q.type until it becomes second nature. At first, you should sit down with your flowchart/game plan/etc. and the questions, and make sure you're following each step. Then, try following it based off of memory. Also, review the questions carefully. Make sure you know why each of the wrong answers is incorrect. You've probably already noticed that many of the same traps are found on different questions. The better you review, the better you'll get at noticing these patterns and nuances.

If it starts to feel tedious and unproductive, put the packet away and do a random LR section. The randomized q.types you'll encounter on a real LR section are going to be more stimulating than doing the same type over and over. Plus, this is what you're actually going to encounter on the real test, and what you'll be dealing with once you start preptesting, so it's always good to get some practice. Your brain will also probably absorb the information better if you space the packets out over the course of a few days, or a week. It can be a good idea to save some for later, though I'm sure you won't remember plenty of these questions after a month anyway.