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Time Crunch

Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2016 5:20 pm
by NigeranOU
I am going through the Cambridge packets and it is stressing me out going through one question type at a time. I am on logical reasoning so I would just like to know what should i focus on most? I am on MBTs right now and will be doing flaw ont tuesday. I only missed 5 in the first level so i am looking to blind review tomorrow and go on to second 2. is it okay i skip section 3/4 based on time escaping me? i really want to get into doing actual sections instead of tedious drilling although it has been very helpful

Re: Time Crunch

Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2016 5:25 pm
by Mikey
It may be tedious, but it's how you will get better. Tbh, I don't think you should rush into timed sections if you're not entirely ready yet. But if you really want to do an LR section, then do one and see what question types you get wrong the most. Once you see this kind of pattern, drill the crap out of those Q types.

Sure you can skip around in the packet, no one is stopping you so do what you feel is best. But you will have to know how to go through the harder questions for each Q type, because the language in them can be a bit different and you need to get used to it.

Re: Time Crunch

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 9:51 pm
by Blueprint Mithun
NigeranOU wrote:I am going through the Cambridge packets and it is stressing me out going through one question type at a time. I am on logical reasoning so I would just like to know what should i focus on most? I am on MBTs right now and will be doing flaw ont tuesday. I only missed 5 in the first level so i am looking to blind review tomorrow and go on to second 2. is it okay i skip section 3/4 based on time escaping me? i really want to get into doing actual sections instead of tedious drilling although it has been very helpful
I wouldn't recommend skipping anything, honestly. Going through each question type one at a time is REALLY important for building a foundation. If you rush through this part, you're going to have to make up that time going back and re-studying because your skills wont be up to par. Each question type on LR is unique and needs to approached differently. It's important that you internalize your strategy for each one, so that you can follow the steps automatically without thinking, and it's important that you get experience working on questions of varying difficulty. Trust me, I know it's tempting to blaze through when you're just starting out, but you'll thank yourself once you're further along.

Re: Time Crunch

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2016 4:31 am
by New_Spice180
Blueprint Mithun wrote:
NigeranOU wrote:I am going through the Cambridge packets and it is stressing me out going through one question type at a time. I am on logical reasoning so I would just like to know what should i focus on most? I am on MBTs right now and will be doing flaw ont tuesday. I only missed 5 in the first level so i am looking to blind review tomorrow and go on to second 2. is it okay i skip section 3/4 based on time escaping me? i really want to get into doing actual sections instead of tedious drilling although it has been very helpful
I wouldn't recommend skipping anything, honestly. Going through each question type one at a time is REALLY important for building a foundation. If you rush through this part, you're going to have to make up that time going back and re-studying because your skills wont be up to par. Each question type on LR is unique and needs to approached differently. It's important that you internalize your strategy for each one, so that you can follow the steps automatically without thinking, and it's important that you get experience working on questions of varying difficulty. Trust me, I know it's tempting to blaze through when you're just starting out, but you'll thank yourself once you're further along.
As someone who has followed Mithun's advice almost canonically, I assure you he's correct. I had to comb out why each choice was wrong and why the correct answer choice was indeed correct before I started "seeing the light" on assumption type LR questions. You know what ended up happening, they are now my favorite! Why? Because no matter what they throw at you you're able to know how to dissect the stimulus, and even if you get it wrong it just adds to your knowledge of a particular question type. During your drilling phase, take that time to figure out your "bad habits" when it comes to assuming or if they are inference questions are you drawing inferences from what you think or what the stimulus gives you. These are all things that I learned to narrow in on as I drilled EACH LR type.

Don't rush, take your time. I was that way my last take and I didn't learn nearly as much as I did now. Slow down take your time and if you're trying to finish all LR types before the test then maybe you should push the date back because "finishing" packets isn't as powerful as learning the principle that guides each question.

Hope this helps.

Re: Time Crunch

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2016 12:31 pm
by Blueprint Mithun
New_Spice180 wrote:
Blueprint Mithun wrote:
NigeranOU wrote:I am going through the Cambridge packets and it is stressing me out going through one question type at a time. I am on logical reasoning so I would just like to know what should i focus on most? I am on MBTs right now and will be doing flaw ont tuesday. I only missed 5 in the first level so i am looking to blind review tomorrow and go on to second 2. is it okay i skip section 3/4 based on time escaping me? i really want to get into doing actual sections instead of tedious drilling although it has been very helpful
I wouldn't recommend skipping anything, honestly. Going through each question type one at a time is REALLY important for building a foundation. If you rush through this part, you're going to have to make up that time going back and re-studying because your skills wont be up to par. Each question type on LR is unique and needs to approached differently. It's important that you internalize your strategy for each one, so that you can follow the steps automatically without thinking, and it's important that you get experience working on questions of varying difficulty. Trust me, I know it's tempting to blaze through when you're just starting out, but you'll thank yourself once you're further along.
As someone who has followed Mithun's advice almost canonically, I assure you he's correct. I had to comb out why each choice was wrong and why the correct answer choice was indeed correct before I started "seeing the light" on assumption type LR questions. You know what ended up happening, they are now my favorite! Why? Because no matter what they throw at you you're able to know how to dissect the stimulus, and even if you get it wrong it just adds to your knowledge of a particular question type. During your drilling phase, take that time to figure out your "bad habits" when it comes to assuming or if they are inference questions are you drawing inferences from what you think or what the stimulus gives you. These are all things that I learned to narrow in on as I drilled EACH LR type.

Don't rush, take your time. I was that way my last take and I didn't learn nearly as much as I did now. Slow down take your time and if you're trying to finish all LR types before the test then maybe you should push the date back because "finishing" packets isn't as powerful as learning the principle that guides each question.

Hope this helps.
Appreciate the endorsement, Spice. I bolded some bits of especially useful advice.