Self-study
I noticed that most of my wrong LR is from parallel reasoning questions. I think overall my brain gets overwhelmed by the material in not only the original question, but also the answer choices. I've tried to pick them apart as to not get overwhelmed, but overall its just confusing for me. Any tips?
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2 comments
I don't know if this is something you struggle with, but I definitely got Parallel Structure and Parallel Flaw mixed up for a long time! I think understanding question type so you can apply the specific strategy will be help with getting a couple more questions right. For parallel structure, I really like to use letters to symbolize conditional relationships. I then go down each answer choice and diagram each one (if this is taking you a long time, it may be helpful to do some diagram-heavy practice!).
Also Ellen Cassidy (author of The Loophole) recommends using numbers (1,2,3, etc) as symbols instead of letters (A,B,C) because it can be confusing sometimes, so I would try to find a system that works best for you!
I'll give you a brief example of how I would approach a parallel structure question (PT21.S3.Q22):
A = Anatomical bilateral symmetry
B = Common Trait
C = Survival Advantages
(You can see where the letters can get confusing, because typically you would abbreviate 'common trait' to be 'C' or 'CT' but it's really up to you.)
A → B.
After all, /C → /B.
------------------------
A → C.
The structure above is what I will be looking for. I also quickly chain anything that can be chain-able, so I know that A → B → C, or /C → /B → /A. I also take note of any concessions or any clues of intermediate conclusions, premises, conclusions, etc. I also make sure that there are no quantifiers or double negatives to be careful about. I noticed the "after all", so I know that my answer might have something that looks similar to that phrase.
This is AC (C):
A = Powell
B = Lack Superior Skills
C = Appointed Arbitrator
A → B.
As everyone knows, /C → B.
----------------------------
A → /C.
So same thing, I chain everything that I can and take any contrapositives: A → B → /C. You'll notice it looks slightly different from our diagram for the stimulus, but don't be worried if that happens. As long as it's logically equivalent, it is valid. This is because if I labeled C = NOT appointed arbitrator, then I wouldn't need to write it as /C.
Hope this helps!
Untimed practice question-by-question practice on a big long string of parallel questions, starting with the easy ones. Before looking at the answer choices, lay out the abstract structure in your own words. Articulate precise reasons why all the answer choices you dislike don't match that structure.
Then check your answer, and read the explanations in detail. Evaluate your performance not based on whether you got the question right, but on whether the structure you articulated matches the structure given in the explanation.
It's a long process, but conscious exposure will give you familiarity. As a tutor, parallel questions are among my favorites because they're among the easiest to take students from "wtfwtfwtfwtf" a state of calm and confidence.