Hi I have been studying since January and I recently started taking PTs in July. Ive recently been focusing more on reading comprehension so I was expecting a little dip in my LR score, so the first section didn't surprise me at all. Im just surprised that I got 9 wrong in the final section, I was thinking this could be a stamina issue since I usually get 4-6 wrong per section. It felt like nothing was clicking and I kept re reading the same sentence multiple times on the last section. I've scored 161 on my last three PTs and usually that is because most of the misses are in RC. I thought if I fixed my RC issue then I can reach my goal of 165 but now I think my issue is stamina possibly?
Any tips to keep your brain just as engaged through all sections?
6 comments
Honestly, I've been taking two tests a week. Since I'm running out of new tests to take, I'm retaking old ones I haven't taken in 1+ year, but taking multiple tests a week has helped me get used to the length of the test, and my scores on average have been getting higher the longer I've been doing two tests a week. Could be something to explore when your blind reviews are a little closer to 175+!
@kendrapinegar oh wow two tests a week, you are STRONG. I haven't been able to take 2 a week just because I spend a longgg time reviewing all my misses, and there are a lot of misses. but since I really want to get used to the actual test I might move onto twice a week just so I can actually work on stamina. thank you!!!
Maybe try doing fewer questions per section? Since you seem to be doing all the questions, maybe aim to do 20 to 22 questions per section with 100% accuracy. Then just guess on the last few questions of the section. This might sound silly, but if you do this, you can actually get a higher score than what you're currently achieving. You clearly have the understanding of the questions to get some of those right with a little extra time, so give yourself the time to do that. Reading faster isn't going to get you the answers faster. Taking your time will.
@Gcastillo1513 I have heard a lot of people do this and I dont know why I never considered trying it. Im going to implement this on my next PT because it does make sense how it would improve my score- like the PT that I scored 165, my mindset was really just "you have enough time" I keep forgetting how important that reminder is, especially for someone who constantly stresses about timing. Thank you!!!!
@koi I highly recommend not doing this unless you have a specific score in mind and you think you will hit that score while not answering 2-3 questions per section and considering there is still room for error in whether you get other questions right. If you go with this method, you are guaranteeing you will be losing 6-9 points per test. That takes you out of 170 scoring capabilities. If you still get other questions wrong, you will probably max be able to get 160s. If that it what you want to aim for, then go ahead, but it would probably be better to build up the stamina with more frequent sections and tests, and perhaps training yourself to understand confusing sentence and passage structures rather than setting a max on your score
I'd just say that while this could definitely be a stamina issue with 3 of your misses in S4 being in the first ten questions, there's always a range of what your capable of. I think it's also important to remember that any one person who say averages -5 on an LR section has the ability to get -10 on a section and also likely has the ability to get like -1 on a section. With you saying -6 isn't surprising at all, then a one off -9 shouldn't be too unfathomable, sometimes you get it down to 2 AC and end up choosing the wrong ones. Not saying this to demotivate you, if anything having those 3 misses in the first 10 likely being easy q's, I'm sure you're able and confident enough to get those 1 and 2 stars correct. Just keep grinding!