[POLL] Which section should I study first? Forum

[HYPSM]

LR is 50% of the test, while LG seems like it could be mastered relatively quickly. Not sure which to study first!

[Deardevil]

Logical reasoning.

The conditional logic will help a lot in the games. The question types also help in the reading section.

[HYPSM]

Bump.

[speedwagon]

Logical reasoning, and I say that as someone whose diagnostic was something like -17 on the games and only a -8 on LR.

Why? Even aside from the fact there are 2 sections instead of 1, logical reasoning underpins the whole rest of the test. If you are good at LR it's likely you will find the RC much easier because it requires similar work in understanding arguments and argument structure (even if the tasks are different.) LR won't spend as much time with the conditionals you need for the games, but you will get good at the kind of formal logic thinking and mental endurance that translates to the games. I have found the games much easier to learn on the whole and my improvement has been much more linear, whereas with the LR I am feeling it move slowly and in a more circular fashion.

[Barack O'Drama]

Logical reasoning.

The conditional logic will help a lot in the games. The question types also help in the reading section.

100% this

[dontsaywhatyoumean]

LR as it is a larger part of the test, and you might find you pick it up very quickly. LG on the other hand might be more likely to require a lot of practice. This way you might quickly know where you stand on the largest section and how much attention you need to pay to it.

I went something like - 10 or worse on each LR section on my diagnostic, and within a few days was getting - 1/-2.

[RamTitan]

I did both at the same time; some people advise against this, but because the reasoning involved complements each other, I find that it makes sense to study both.

[Blueprint Mithun]

I did both at the same time; some people advise against this, but because the reasoning involved complements each other, I find that it makes sense to study both.

I studied both LG and LR at the same time as well, and I found it worked well for me too. I was anxious to get into LG after bombing it on my diagnostic, and the relatively quick improvements I saw from it were a nice confidence booster. LR is a massive section, with lots of different question types and strategies. If I'd worked on it alone, I think I'd have moved a lot slower, considering the amount of content involved.

The two sections are pretty different, IMO, and they complement each other nicely, so I think mixing it up kept it fresh. LG has relatively few different types of games and questions, and you're working on what are essentially 4 sets of linked questions. LR has lots of different question types, and each problem is an independent undertaking.

The fact that some of the concepts (mainly conditional reasoning) overlap between the two was also a nice plus. I found conditional logic to be very intuitive in terms of logic games, where diagramming is more straightforward. This made it easier to master diagramming for logical reasoning, which is a bit more complex, since you're looking at them in terms of arguments, and the language is more "coded." I remember when I was trying to understand the difference between sufficient and necessary assumptions - having dealt with S/N conditions frequently on logic games made it a lot easier.