Untimed/timed sections or more timed PT?

vitamincoverdose

So I’ve done four PTs since April 1st, 52, 53,54,56.
The scores are way too consistent and I’m not seeing much improvement.
Even compared to the cold diagnostic, aside from LG, it seems stagnant. Ok there were improvements but not what I expected after almost a year...
These are my PT scores so far. I’ve stopped PT for a week to do question type drills and took PT56, but BR score actually went down! I regret not doing BR for the cold diagnostic and having no comparable basis for my initial understanding.

Cold May 2018
PTJ [RC -13/LR -7/LR -14/LG -21] 142

After CC Sept. 2018
41 [RC -15/LR -15/LR -17/LG -13] 140
Did’t BR because I thought there was no point with only finishing half of each section in time…

PT from April 1st 2019
52 [RC -7/LR -8/LR -9/ LG -0] 160
BR [RC -4/LR -6/LR -5/LG -0] 166

53 [RC -12/LR -8/LR -6/LG -0] 159
BR [RC -7/LR -3/LR -0/LG -0] 171

54 [RC -11/LR -5/LR -8/LG -0] 159
BR [RC -3/LR -3/LR -4/LG -0] 170

56 [RC -9/LR -8/LR -5/LG -0] 162
BR [RC -5/LR -3/LR -5/LG -0] 168

I never finish LR and RC on time. So I usually skip 2~3 questions per section.
From PT53 I decided to skip Q12~Q19 for Q20+ so I can finish the ones I actually get right.

For RC, I never finish P4. I spend way too much time on P1&2.(Half of my time spent on the two…) I get to read P4, and try one or two relatively short questions. But that’s about it. I’m not so sure what I can do to improve on RC than practice timed.

What frustrates me the most is that I actually did worse after CC. I see that I made some improvements since the after CC PT, but nowhere near my expectations.(Thought I’d hit LR-3~4 by now… and get much better with RC… or at least be able to do all the questions!) My speed improved, but seems like at the cost of accuracy.

Should I go back to CC to focus on fundamentals and Q type drills or focus on timed PT? With the current BR score, I think there are definitely some basic things I don’t fully understand.
I study full time, so have been doing two PTs per week with untimed RC, Q type, and LG.
However, I’ve been thinking maybe doing PT40’s timed after every newer PTs (50’s+) could be beneficial in that I’d be able to practice timing. Or should I focus on fundamentals?

Also, is there alternatives to coffee that won’t make me want to go to restroom every hour? I can’t stay awake without coffee, but I don’t want to use restroom during the test. Using the restroom just before the test won’t do...

Alex

@Lemongrab

I did RC sections almost exclusively untimed until I was going -0 consistently. Naturally that didn’t translate to a -0 on my timed takes, but I was able to improve a ton this way. Learn to master the techniques and strategies, do that repeatedly, timing will more or less take care of itself. I used the same for LR.

Also, you should definitely return to the CC to constantly be shoring up your fundamentals. If there’s a question type you dread seeing, drill them until you’re happy to see those types. If there’s something you’re iffy on, learn it like the back of your hand. One by one just start eliminating weaknesses and eventually you will see improvement.

I also highly recommend taking timed sections more and full PTs less. Don’t be afraid to spend a week just drilling LR sections or whatever section you’re working on currently. I found it really hard to juggle all the sections at once when I was first starting out my PT phase.

Re: coffee alternatives. I drank pre-work out and that would wake me up haha. Also they have caffeine pills and 5 hour energy shots that won’t fill your bladder up. I’m the same way with coffee. One coffee and I’m nearly peeing my pants for the next 2 hours haha.

vitamincoverdose

@Alex
Thank you Alex! Can I ask you if there’s a difference between doing timed sections + untimed BR and untimed section? because it seems like if I BR later untimed, it would be basically same thing? I do the whole thing again during for BR.

Alex

@Lemongrab said:
@Alex
Thank you Alex! Can I ask you if there’s a difference between doing timed sections + untimed BR and untimed section? because it seems like if I BR later untimed, it would be basically same thing? I do the whole thing again during for BR.

For me, I felt like doing timed sections before I was good at RC was building and instilling bad habits. By doing them untimed until I was proficient, I felt like I was training/learning to do things the right way.

vitamincoverdose

@Alex that makes sense. I’ll do that! Thank you!