Improving Accuracy #help

Ayahhhhh

Anyone have any tips on how to improve accuracy– especially with the LR sections? Timing/speed is not an issue for me, but I can't seem to improve on accuracy. Thanks in advance!

Ohnoeshalpme

When you read through the question stem and the stimulus, try to predict what the answer is going to be before moving on to the questions. If you get in the habit of doing this, you'll move quickly through the questions and you'll be less likely to fall for those trap answer choices that kill accuracy.

Ayahhhhh

@Ohnoeshalpme said:
When you read through the question stem and the stimulus, try to predict what the answer is going to be before moving on to the questions. If you get in the habit of doing this, you'll move quickly through the questions and you'll be less likely to fall for those trap answer choices that kill accuracy.

I'll try that out! Thanks so much!

ChaimtheGreat

I would try always identifying argument structure- make sure to locate the conclusion. Really understand what you are trying to strengthen, weaken... etc. Many times, trap answers don't really address the argument.

Leah M B

Well, this is a pretty wide open question. Do you think you are sacrificing accuracy in favor of speed? I'm wary of saying that speed isn't a problem but accuracy is. It's better to go slowly and carefully and work up on speed than to rush through questions and get a ton wrong. I'm more likely to think that you're possibly going through it too quickly, focusing on the clock instead of really thinking about the question. It would probably be helpful to forget about timing right now. Just do untimed questions, so you are focusing on how to answer them correctly instead of trying to get through the whole section in time.

Is there any sort of pattern to the questions you are getting wrong? A specific question type? You're falling for "trap" answer choices? You mis-read the stem or stimulus? This is where BR is so helpful. If you're doing BR slowly and carefully, you should be analyzing why you got the question wrong, and why the correct answer is correct. A lot of people say keeping a journal of questions that you get wrong and writing those out is really helpful. Writing helps your brain to remember something. It forces you to go a little slower and really think through the reasoning behind your answer vs. the correct answer.

Any more details you can provide can help us come up with some ideas on how to improve.

SomewhereBetween120and180

One trick I learned from one of the webinars is to do coinfidence drills. Take an LR section and write it under timed conditions. For each question, after reading the stimulus, go through the answer choices with extreme confidence: once you read an answer choice that sounds probably right, pick it and quickly move on. I took it a step further, and only allowed myself to consider each AC once (so if I got to E, that would be my AC and I would move to the next question).

It sounds weird, but this really helped with my speed and accuracy. It helped me to hone my ability to sense correct ACs and trap answer choices. I realized that if I was pretty sure about an AC, I was usually right. Also because I knew I'd only have one chance at each AC, it caused me to consider them more closely. Use a LR section from an older test and see if it helps you!

Another helpful technique is taking an LR section and, untimed, breaking down each stimulus and AC into abstract lawgic. This will really help with your ability to see through the distractions to the core logic at the heart of many of these problems, thus improving your accuracy.

Simple Man

I agree with @"Leah M B" . As they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The best way to increase accuracy is to manage your time wisely. You may be getting through the section with no problem on time, but at what cost? Slow it down a little bit, and your accuracy is sure to increase. I've found taking a little more time with the stimulus really improves accuracy. Consequently, it can increase your speed as well. A better understanding of the stimulus makes identifying the correct AC much quicker. Give it a shot! It may be slower at first, but your accuracy will improve. With consistent practice, you'll find an increase in both speed and accuracy.

Ayahhhhh

@"Leah M B" said:
Well, this is a pretty wide open question. Do you think you are sacrificing accuracy in favor of speed? I'm wary of saying that speed isn't a problem but accuracy is. It's better to go slowly and carefully and work up on speed than to rush through questions and get a ton wrong. I'm more likely to think that you're possibly going through it too quickly, focusing on the clock instead of really thinking about the question. It would probably be helpful to forget about timing right now. Just do untimed questions, so you are focusing on how to answer them correctly instead of trying to get through the whole section in time.

Is there any sort of pattern to the questions you are getting wrong? A specific question type? You're falling for "trap" answer choices? You mis-read the stem or stimulus? This is where BR is so helpful. If you're doing BR slowly and carefully, you should be analyzing why you got the question wrong, and why the correct answer is correct. A lot of people say keeping a journal of questions that you get wrong and writing those out is really helpful. Writing helps your brain to remember something. It forces you to go a little slower and really think through the reasoning behind your answer vs. the correct answer.

Any more details you can provide can help us come up with some ideas on how to improve.

Thanks for your comment! Actually, that might be the case for me that I am compromising my accuracy for speed. I am very time conscience and I make sure I spend no more than 2 min on a question, and that's probably what I should start working on.

I've been taking lots of timed PTs, so do you recommend I take untimed PTs and see whether that helps with my accuracy?

The question types I mainly struggle with are sufficient assumptions, must be true, and most strongly supported.

Ayahhhhh

@SomewhereBetween120and180 said:
One trick I learned from one of the webinars is to do coinfidence drills. Take an LR section and write it under timed conditions. For each question, after reading the stimulus, go through the answer choices with extreme confidence: once you read an answer choice that sounds probably right, pick it and quickly move on. I took it a step further, and only allowed myself to consider each AC once (so if I got to E, that would be my AC and I would move to the next question).

It sounds weird, but this really helped with my speed and accuracy. It helped me to hone my ability to sense correct ACs and trap answer choices. I realized that if I was pretty sure about an AC, I was usually right. Also because I knew I'd only have one chance at each AC, it caused me to consider them more closely. Use a LR section from an older test and see if it helps you!

Another helpful technique is taking an LR section and, untimed, breaking down each stimulus and AC into abstract lawgic. This will really help with your ability to see through the distractions to the core logic at the heart of many of these problems, thus improving your accuracy.

I am absolutely going to try this out! Usually when I am taking a PT, I come across an AC and my gut instinct tells me its the correct answer, but then I overthink it and end up selecting the wrong AC. I'm going to start sticking with my gut! Thank you so much!!

Ayahhhhh

@"Simple Man" said:
I agree with @"Leah M B" . As they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The best way to increase accuracy is to manage your time wisely. You may be getting through the section with no problem on time, but at what cost? Slow it down a little bit, and your accuracy is sure to increase. I've found taking a little more time with the stimulus really improves accuracy. Consequently, it can increase your speed as well. A better understanding of the stimulus makes identifying the correct AC much quicker. Give it a shot! It may be slower at first, but your accuracy will improve. With consistent practice, you'll find an increase in both speed and accuracy.

I definitely see y'alls point, and that is probably the cause of my issue! I'm going to focus on taking it slow and truly understanding what the question is asking for before selecting an AC. Thanks for your comment!

Ayahhhhh

@ChaimtheGreat said:
I would try always identifying argument structure- make sure to locate the conclusion. Really understand what you are trying to strengthen, weaken... etc. Many times, trap answers don't really address the argument.

Those trap answers are really attractive and I sometimes fall victim to them when I misidentify/ misunderstand the question. Thank you for your comment! I'll do some practice questions and make sure to properly ID the argument structure and make sure the ACs fall within its scope!