Fail to connect the dots

The Noodley

I recently discovered that sometimes I missed LR questions because I did not see the inherent connection in stimulus.

For example, in PT40 S1 Q23, I fail to connect the part "pre-existing state of health" to the part "illness". I thought it was introducing an additional cause (thus I chose D); but in fact, it is reversing the causation between the two.

I wonder whether people have similar experiences because of this failure.

Rosenkranz

We all choose incorrect answers. Mostly this is because we missed something in the stimulus, the stem or the questions. Yeah, I know that those are the only three places to look, but you should know that you're not alone by any stretch of the imagination.

I have begun keeping a journal every LR question that I miss. So far there has been only one which I got wrong, wrote up and wasn't 100% confident about upon completion of that exercise. Nice folks on the site were kind enough to give me some feedback and it helps me to trust my gut more, which is hard for an overthinking wonk like me.

For the vast majority of problems tackled however just writing it up gives me an idea about how problems will be structured, which in turn helps me to anticipate the content of future problems. There's no quick fix, but writing stuff out has given me an extra edge relative to where I had been.

The Noodley

@Rosenkranz said:
We all choose incorrect answers. Mostly this is because we missed something in the stimulus, the stem or the questions. Yeah, I know that those are the only three places to look, but you should know that you're not alone by any stretch of the imagination.

I have begun keeping a journal every LR question that I miss. So far there has been only one which I got wrong, wrote up and wasn't 100% confident about upon completion of that exercise. Nice folks on the site were kind enough to give me some feedback and it helps me to trust my gut more, which is hard for an overthinking wonk like me.

For the vast majority of problems tackled however just writing it up gives me an idea about how problems will be structured, which in turn helps me to anticipate the content of future problems. There's no quick fix, but writing stuff out has given me an extra edge relative to where I had been.

Thank you! I am also writing out those LR questions that I missed. It is good to articulate thoughts; I just hate myself for not being able to see the connection in the timed section

Rosenkranz

I initially viewed every wrong answer as impugning my intelligence. In time, you'll realize that that this is a skill. We all start with certain blind spots and getting problems wrong is just teaching you what your blind spots are. Recognition gives you the chance to do something different next time. Eventually, that something different will also be the correct answer for the most part.

In Korean they say, "Mountains beyond mountains." Don't think that you'll climb just one mountain. Continuing the metaphor, luckily these are manageable Appalachian or South Korean mountains for the most part, meaning lower altitude and very hiker-friendly, but still dangerous if approached with unclear thinking. If you come to Mt. Everest on the actual test, just skip it in favor of an easier path.

The Noodley

@Rosenkranz said:
I initially viewed every wrong answer as impugning my intelligence. In time, you'll realize that that this is a skill. We all start with certain blind spots and getting problems wrong is just teaching you what your blind spots are. Recognition gives you the chance to do something different next time. Eventually, that something different will also be the correct answer for the most part.

In Korean they say, "Mountains beyond mountains." Don't think that you'll climb just one mountain. Continuing the metaphor, luckily these are manageable Appalachian or South Korean mountains for the most part, meaning lower altitude and very hiker-friendly, but still dangerous if approached with unclear thinking. If you come to Mt. Everest on the actual test, just skip it in favor of an easier path.

Agreed! Thank you for the beautiful metaphor. Before I easily dismissed my mistakes as careless mistakes, now I pay more attention to what lead me to choose the wrong answer choice. I got it wrong for a reason and hopefully learn from the mistake.