80s LR

teddyballgame15

My logical reasoning accuracy has dropped off since entering the 80s PTs. I was averaging around -3 to -5 and now am sitting -5 to -7. I have read LR difficulty increased around the time the 80s PTs started rolling out. Does anyone have any tips on how to handle this jump in difficulty, or dip in performance? I am considering drilling higher level questions as well as really going through all of the 80s LR questions slowly during BR and afterward to try to figure out where I am going wrong. Taking the January test and currently sitting around the 163 range. Looking to get into the high 160s/low 170s/

RaphaelP

Yup, the 80s get "harder" for LR for most students. There is more of an emphasis on formal logic/lawgic-heavy mapping in older PTs than the 80s. The test has changed now to be more about critical reading/evaluation of dense stimuli for LR.

My speculation here is that the lawgic is more cookie-cutter and formulaic; as companies like 7Sage grew and students started to learn those techniques, the test had to "smarten up" and become a bit less formulaic. It is harder to teach "read carefully and critically for this detail" than "A-->B and B-->C means A-->C."

The frustrating/annoying answer is probably just "do more material in the 80s" - take those PTs, blind review them, watch videos, and squeeze everything out of the ones you miss in a Wrong Answer Journal. This will be the biggest thing.

But I'd also encourage you to think about the primary difference for LR in the 80s - it's about critical reading/understanding an argument at a deep level. Develop processes for improving here. Flummoxed by a stimulus? You should save it and practice breaking it down/develop techniques for slogging through tough stimuli. Confused about the moving pieces of an argument? Drill identifying assumptions and how they relate into the premise/conclusion of an argument.