Question about my BR'ing, Would like JY's opinion!

The_Rise

Okay guys so basically, I wrote a pt a few weeks ago only to get a 149. So I've drilled a ton in the meantime both in LG, some rc, and lots of LR. I take one today, and I got a 145 somehow. Misread a rule on a LG, crashed and burned so badly on RC. Did terribly. However, I've been BR'ing my test, without like at the answers as we are told here, and I've been adding in the BR'ed sections throughout the day.

So, I've got my 145 from todays pt, but with my BR im up to 156 and I've still yet to do my RC BR section (which I got like 9-10 right on - didnt even make it to the last passage at all ran out of time)

i'm hoping I'll end up at atleast 160 when I finish up my BR of this PT fully tomorrow morning, but I guess I've just gotta ask: What does this really mean for me? It felt like a punch in the stomach when I got such a low score back after I've put in so much careful work, but at the same time I feel like its so unrepresentative of what I'm capable of, even with my given skill at this moment. The BR kind of just made me think this more.. but what do you guys think?

Is it possible I'm just awful with timing but my fundamental skills are pretty solid?

K

I'm not JY lol but mind if I give some tips?

Do you time yourself when you drill?

Try doing 10 LR in 15 minutes or less.

For LGs, do you follow JY's fool proof method? I know it is a pain in the butt to do the same game 10 times if you get it wrong, but the goal is to reinforce strategy.

Since you're doing better when you BR, you should focus on timed drills. For RC, do the memorization method where you read each paragraph and come up with a main point for it. Then, once you're comfortable recalling all the information from a passage you should focus on working on getting through the passage in 3-4 minutes. Then, focus on doing the questions in under 3-4 minutes.

I think you can reach your goal. Just do timed drills. I think 10 LR/15 min is a good way to practice. Mix it up. Don't just do 10 main conclusions because the actual test will only have 1-2 MC questions.

For LGs, go over the lessons again and do each game you get wrong 10 times until you are 100% confident that you can do it in time. The goal is to understand the recurring patterns that arise and to exploit them to answer the questions correctly. You can do it!

If you still need help lmk and I can teach you to get better at LG over skype this weekend. Until then do what I said.

The_Rise

Just to update this thread , I went 145 on the PT to 164 on the BR.

Massive discrepancy here obviously. Thank for the advice K, whats your skype (PM me?)

J.Y. Ping

What K says makes a lot of sense, so I'll just second that.

Beyond that, you could consider hiring a tutor if you really feel stuck (or coax someone here to be your peer tutor). That person, as long as they score higher than you and can communicate their understanding to you (i.e., teach), will be able to help you in a very pointed way. I think you'll be able to get close to or even break 160.

The_Rise

Okay, I'm actually in the process of working with a tutor through the TLS forum. I will begin to do some more timed sections then, I haven't done much. Its been mostly drilling with little to no time constraint, which I usually have a pretty high accuracy. I guess its time to translate that into 35 min sections? I'll do LR or games sect an BR it.