Self-study
Hi all- does anyone have some tips on something that made them go from the low 170s to mid-high 170s? I feel like it's the difference of a few questions that are keeping me from moving up, and I tell myself to read carefully etc. but it's hard to remember a laundry list of things to do under timed conditions. It's starting to feel like I'm not learning a ton from my WAJ as well. I also notice that I tend to have one more volatile -4 section on my practice tests, that seems to be keeping my score down. Grateful for any tips that helped to make the jump!
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I recently made the jump from low 170s to high 170s, there were basically two things that were separating me:
Making small silly mistakes (answering strengthening as weakening, misreading point as issue agree as disagree, etc.). The way I overcame this is by forcing myself to really lock in and to carefully read each word of the question, then repeat the question type in my mind as I moved on to the stimulus or AC. This helped me avoid easy mistakes that I would make later in the test as my brain started to fatigue.
Missing high difficulty late section problems. The first step to getting more of those hard late section questions correct is to set yourself up for success by keeping a steady pace early to middle and making sure you have ample time at the end of the section to digest and process the wordier/more difficult questions. But the main strategy I used to get better at these is to do untimed drills of 5-8 Highest Difficulty questions, set to show answer after each question, and then just completely breakdown the argument structure, spot any gaps, and methodically work your way down the answer choices and completely understand why each incorrect option is incorrect and why the correct is correct, if there's any uncertainty at all, read the analysis or watch the video, but you need to force yourself to completely and thoroughly understand each.
Additionally, I've found that doing a drill of 3-5 questions a few minutes before the test gets my brain warmed up (I noticed on my first few PTs that I was messing up at the beginning of my first LR sections and then I would get better as the test went on). Finally, I have a ritual of getting a good lift or run in the morning of my PTs, I find it helps get my blood flowing, wakes me up, and puts me in a locked in state.
@Jdunni Thank you so much for this! Really great to hear it worked out for you and I will definitely try these!
Hey there! First of all, congrats on getting into the 170s! I know it doesn't make the plateau any less frustrating, but where you're already scoring is no easy feat.
When you're at this score level, there are fewer general tips that are going to apply to you. My first question would be identifying the question types/moments that are giving you trouble. If it's consistently the same thing, then obviously targeting that is the priority. For something like "read more carefully," writing down more specific changes can be more helpful. Maybe it's rephrasing the stimulus in your own words. Maybe it's practicing getting rid of every single wrong answer and identifying why before you can select and justify the right answer.
-If you need to work on a specific question type, be targeted about that. Do drills of just that question type of no more than 5 questions to make sure you're really taking your time with them.
-Memorizing rules is hard, but developing a "tool kit" for what you can do when you're stuck is incredibly helpful. A lot of question types will have overlap in terms of their processes.
-Indicator words are super helpful in identifying different conditions, but as you get into the 170s, your understanding of sufficient and necessary should be more fundamental. Why are which words in which groups? What is a sentence specifically saying?
-Finally, above all, if you're having trouble, all the information you need is in the stimulus. Don't keep re-reading the answer choices. The stimulus will have the key.
I know that's a bit broad given I don't know more about your analytics specifically, but good luck!
@PhoebeHopp Thank you so much! These are really great tips & I appreciate it so much!