When to read the question stem

mes08

Why does JY in his videos always recommend reading the question stem first? Can't that be confusing sometimes without having read the stimulus? Also, If you read the question stem before and after reading the stimulus, doesn't that waste time? I'd be really grateful for an explanation as to why reading the question first is the best strategy.

Allison M

I always read the stem first because find it helpful to know what I need to be most attentive to when reading the stimulus: is it the argument structure (for AP questions)? Is it a flaw in the reasoning (flaw/parallel flaw)? Is it the support that the premise gives the conclusion (weakening, strengthening, etc.)? Going into the passage armed with this information makes my reading of the stimulus purposeful, and usually allows me to answer the question without needing to double check the details.

Another benefit is that I can skip the question types that always take me the longest (in my case, parallel reasoning and parallel flaw - so wordy!) and come back to them at the end. Knowing in advance that I'm looking at one of these question types allows me to move on without wasting time reading the stem.

I don't find that I lose much time reading the stem in advance. I'm not even sure that "reading" is the right term to use -- all that I do is quickly scan for words like "must be true" or "most helps to justify" or whatever. At most, I'd estimate that I spend a few seconds scanning the stem before moving on to the stimulus.

I typically finish LR sections with a few minutes to spare and with decent accuracy (anywhere from -0 to -2), so at the very least, doing things this way doesn't seem to be holding me back. That said, I'm sure that different strategies work for different people; if you're testing well without reading the stem ahead of the stimulus, then perhaps you're best off sticking with your system!

mes08

No, that makes sense. I just wanted to know the reasoning behind it. Thanks! :}

ENTJ

Well said Allison!