Breaking into new PT's...wow

jack.igoejack.igoe Member
in General 544 karma

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to see if anyone had any advice for adjusting to the newer RC. I have been taken relatively older (Pre60's) PT's and scoring in the high 160's. I just took PT 65 yesterday and had my brain melted by the third passage about blackmail law. In all honesty, I didn't think the passage was nearly as hard as the questions were. This kind of threw me off because RC is usually my strength. Does anyone have any tips for adjusting to this newer style of RC? I would imagine that it would come with time and exposure but dang that was hard.

I actually ended up doing pretty well on the test. I scored a 171 with a 175 BR. The last LG game really through me for a loop so I ended up going: LR1: -3 LR2:-1 LG:-4 RC: -4.

Thank you all!

Comments

  • vanessa fishervanessa fisher Alum Member
    1084 karma

    It's pure exposure. It seems daunting at first, but the more of them you see, the more you see what they are doing with the questions.

    Good luck!

  • Freddy_DFreddy_D Alum Member ⭐
    2983 karma

    You still killed the test!

  • NotMyNameNotMyName Alum Member Sage ⭐
    5320 karma

    To recap...

    You were scoring in the high 160s in PTs 1-59.
    You took PT 65 and scored 171.

    lol i think you should be giving us advice.

  • Lucas CarterLucas Carter Alum Member ⭐
    2798 karma

    Don't mean to hijack thread but would you guys recommend jumping right into post 60 RC drills after completing the CC? I have LR and LG down pat and plan on writing in Sept but am just starting RC.

  • nathanieljschwartznathanieljschwartz Alum Member
    1723 karma

    Yeah, could do with a lil explanation. You melted on 3rd passage and managed a 171? Lol

  • NotMyNameNotMyName Alum Member Sage ⭐
    5320 karma

    Don't mean to hijack thread but would you guys recommend jumping right into post 60 RC drills after completing the CC? I have LR and LG down pat and plan on writing in Sept but am just starting RC.

    if you are planning to write in september but haven't seen PT 60+, I would start now. There are differences. Not drastic, but the subtleties could mean a few points' difference. Weird logic games including the "replace a rule" question, LR is less cookie cutter, and RC has been considered by most to be noticeably more difficult.

  • Freddy_DFreddy_D Alum Member ⭐
    2983 karma

    @"Lucas Carter" said:
    Don't mean to hijack thread but would you guys recommend jumping right into post 60 RC drills after completing the CC? I have LR and LG down pat and plan on writing in Sept but am just starting RC.

    September is coming up quick, so I definitely wouldn't waste time with any PTs below 60.

  • jack.igoejack.igoe Member
    544 karma

    Yeah you're right I should've explained more. Didn't mean to come across as braggadocios. I usually score around -3 per LR section so I did better on LR for this test but I think that may have just been a fluke. That's why I want to make sure that I can continue to do well on RC so that I have a little bit more leeway when it comes to LR.

    As for RC, I was going around -2 per section and for this test, all 4 that I got wrong were from the blackmail passage. To be fair, it was one of the first comparative passages that I've done.

  • Mitchell-1Mitchell-1 Member
    756 karma

    It's a case by case basis. I don't remember a lot of the reading sections unless I'm looking at them, but I do remember the blackmail one pretty well and those questions were harder than average for me. So I wouldn't get too discouraged by just that. Take another test and see if you feel the same about that one.

  • AlexAlex Alum Member ⭐
    23929 karma

    @"Lucas Carter" said:
    Don't mean to hijack thread but would you guys recommend jumping right into post 60 RC drills after completing the CC? I have LR and LG down pat and plan on writing in Sept but am just starting RC.

    I'd definitely expose yourself to the most recent tests. I'd probably aim to do the even or odd numbered tests from the 70s + PT80-81.

  • Paul CaintPaul Caint Alum Member ⭐
    3521 karma

    I agree completely. The earlier PrepTests RC seemed pretty cookie cutter, but now that I'm delving into the more recent PrepTests I'm seeing a lot more unconventional questions. Additionally, it feels as though there are larger gaps you have to fill with assumptions between the text and the ACs, even in the more conventional questions. For example in a recent PrepTest it asked:

    "Which one of the following can be recently inferred from lines x - x?"

    The line in the passage it was testing went something along the lines of: "The school board implemented a new curricula for female students as well as removed all school fees."

    The correct answer was: "The school board was concerned with remedying inequities across economic strata."

    ^While yes this can be inferred, it seems like a larger assumption jump than I encountered in PrepTests 35-50.

    I'm in the same boat where RC was previously a [-0, -2] but on the recent tests I'm more likely to get -3+

    Hopefully drilling is enough to get the harder RC down!

  • TheMikeyTheMikey Alum Member
    4196 karma

    still did well, nice!

  • KillmongerKillmonger Alum Member
    332 karma

    Man i wish i missed "only" 4 on that RC passage. I missed 8 but still managed to get a 169 on that PT. But yes these newer tests can eat a bag of... nvm

Sign In or Register to comment.