Advice for how to improve on questions past the 10 Q mark Forum

[OlegPerry97]

Usually on my PT tests I miss about 4-6 on LR. I'll miss 0-1 the first 10 and then I'll miss like 3 in a row from like 14-16 or around there and then miss 1 or 2 at the very end (22-25). I understand the first 10 are the easiest so is it that I'm not reading carefully enough? At this point I feel the first 10 I read and answer very quickly but I don't make the transition to reading/answering more critically until around questions 15-ish. Advice? I'm thinking of viewing it as 2 different exams in one and after the first 10 just look away and breath and prepare for them to get harder. I'm usually done with the first 10 after about 9 and a 1/2 minutes anyways and don't think it would hurt me time wise to reset mentally.

[Mikey]

I had the same issue as you, I'd get like 3 or 4 wrong in a row around 14-18ish. Definitely blind review if you aren't doing that yet. This is really all I can say for the harder questions since it seems like you know what you're doing. This is what helped me overcome this issue with the harder questions that they throw at you in the middle of the section. Before you score your PT or section, just do the questions again untimed, and write down why each answer choice is wrong and why the correct one is correct.

[PDX4343]

whats your sample size for this? It could be happenstance if you're correctly answering questions near the end of the "more challenging" part of section. I would also pay attention to what sub-question types you're missing if you aren't already. It could be a few types of questions that are throwing you off. If that's the case then definitely do more drilling on those ones.

Other than that though I'm not really sure. You could be having a harder time adjusting to solving the initial difficult questions? If that's the case then just doing more sample sections and PTs might solve the problem naturally over time.

Good luck!

[zeglo]

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[Blueprint Mithun]

Usually on my PT tests I miss about 4-6 on LR. I'll miss 0-1 the first 10 and then I'll miss like 3 in a row from like 14-16 or around there and then miss 1 or 2 at the very end (22-25). I understand the first 10 are the easiest so is it that I'm not reading carefully enough? At this point I feel the first 10 I read and answer very quickly but I don't make the transition to reading/answering more critically until around questions 15-ish. Advice? I'm thinking of viewing it as 2 different exams in one and after the first 10 just look away and breath and prepare for them to get harder. I'm usually done with the first 10 after about 9 and a 1/2 minutes anyways and don't think it would hurt me time wise to reset mentally.

The LR questions beyond the first 10 are definitely harder. The arguments have more nuances, more important details that are easy to miss, and trickier answer choices that can be hard to differentiate. When you review these questions (or all questions, really), you should pick them apart, which includes diving into each answer choice and considering why it does or doesn't work. You're making good time on doing the first 10, which leaves you more time per question for 10-25. When you practice, try and anticipate a possible answer that would work after you read the prompt and stimulus, before looking at the actual answer choices. This will make the process of doing these questions more active rather than passive, and you'll get improve much more.

[RamTitan]

Do questions 11-20 from every single LR section, and I bet you'll get a lot better. With that said, it's really important to keep going back to those LR questions you had a difficult time with; sometimes it's not until the 4th or 5th attempt that it starts to come together.