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Am I BRing wrong?

Faaabs93Faaabs93 Alum Member
in General 82 karma
So with about 6 weeks left until test day, it's time to start cracking down.

Now I am happy with my current PT average. However, it seems like a waste of time to just hammer preptest after preptest for the next 6 weeks, especially if I have no problems with timing and stamina. So I've been taking more time with Blind Reviews to try to bring my score up a couple of points.

But I think that I'm doing it wrong.

So, I'll write my preptest, and circle any questions that I hesitated on. I'll then use a clean PT and go through the questions thoroughly, writing down "A is wrong because ____, B is right because _____, C is wrong because ______". Im consistently BR'ing in the 170s (I don't BR my Reading Comprehension, because I don't really see a point as there is no consistency to the types of questions I get wrong. Perhaps this is a problem too).

If my BR is wrong, I'll watch an explanation on it. If I change my answer, I'll also explain to myself what I was thinking at first, and why it was wrong.

...but then once it's done, I don't really feel like I'm getting much out of it. I've done a BR like this for the last 4 tests now, and my scores have stayed relatively the same (165).

Should I save the questions and come back to them again on another day? Perhaps should I only save the questions I still got wrong after a BR (as it's probably not the best way to spend my time going through all of them over again)?

I just keep getting around the same score every time for every test. LG: usually 0 or -1, LR: average of -5/section, RC: average of -7.

I think I've hit a window with RC, but I'd really like to bring my LR up 2 points/section. Am I BRing right? Should I add something else to what I'm currently doing?

Thanks :)
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Comments

  • tytcai89tytcai89 Free Trial Member
    17 karma
    We probably should BR our RC by printing out a clean section and redoing it without time constraint. Currently I'm only rereading without time constraint and reviewing questions that I've circled.
  • brna0714brna0714 Alum Inactive ⭐
    1489 karma
    BRing RC will help you see patterns in structure. The passages are pretty formulaic with a few outliers.
  • Faaabs93Faaabs93 Alum Member
    82 karma
    By patterns in structure, do you mean sort of being able to predict where the author is going?
  • c.janson35c.janson35 Free Trial Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    2398 karma
    A 4 test plateau is relatively normal. Don't give up on the process. If you're getting a 165 for 10 tests in a row, then it might be a reason to worry. That said, I would disagree with you and say that you should keep cranking out test after test. Keep doing your really solid BRs; you methods look great. And take the time to BR reading comp! If nothing else, you'll get real, quality experience which will help you boost up your accuracy rate in this section. You have to learn to read for structure more closely, and focusing on your thought process while BRing will hopefully begin to transfer to timed RC.
  • Faaabs93Faaabs93 Alum Member
    82 karma
    Awesome, thanks for the advice! When BRing RC, should I re read the entire passage again as if I was going through it for the first time? Or should I just read my annotations?
  • c.janson35c.janson35 Free Trial Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    2398 karma
    Read the passage again. While doing so, try to note why the questions that you circled gave you a hard time and how you could have approached the passage better so that, in the future, these gaps in your understanding can be properly filled in.
  • Faaabs93Faaabs93 Alum Member
    82 karma
    Ok, I will try that! Hopefully, in doing so, I can raise my RC score another point or two come test day.

    Thanks again! :)
  • logicfiendlogicfiend Alum Member
    118 karma
    I have also been struggling with BRing RC, partly because I absolutely dread it. What I have been doing: working with a clean copy, reread the passage and on a word document, write out briefly what each paragraph is doing in the passage, i.e. Graf 2: continuation of theory in first graf etc etc.

    For the questions I struggled with, I try to figure out how it's assessing my understanding of the passage, i.e. Q14 is a question testing overall understanding of the author's point of view. This helps to narrow down where my problem areas are. Because this process is more interactive than just redoing the section, I don't hate it...as much.

    I just started doing this, but it's been helping to really understand the passages, which is my main problem with these new tests. It may help figure out where your mistakes are for RC.
  • Will EdwardsWill Edwards Alum Member Inactive Sage
    175 karma
    At one point in my studies, I reviewed every single question on the test, not just the ones I circled. I feel like this really helped me cement my reasoning, because I went through all the questions I had reasoned correctly on and reaffirmed the good reasoning. I still circled questions I found hard. I also eventually went back to a standard blind review. But I think it was a critical point in my studies, maybe give it a shot for a test or two.

    Also, you don't mention it, but how much time do you leave between the prep test and BR? Give it at least a day or else your mind will easily slip back into the same logical traps.

    Lastly, if your BR is wrong, use the video explanation as a last resort. Give yourself that third shot at figuring it out for yourself and come up with your own explanation for how you were tricked. It will help solidify everything and is personally rewarding :)
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