LG is killing me. Please Help!

cameronmfraser1

I scored 165 of PT 68 today, and I got -10 on games. This is so frustrating. I just can't seem to break through. The instruction is great, and I drill the games all the time, I just get so thrown off when I see something new and unfamiliar on a fresh PT. Is there ANYTHING I can do over the next six days to fix this? Any strategy to at least minimize the damage?

cryall

If you encounter an unfamiliar game, skip it and then come back to it for last. When you come back to it, make a bunch of possible solutions and then attack the questions that way. You will find that if you make a bunch of hypotheticals, then you will be able to answer a few questions more easily. Say the question "which cannot be first? using your hypotheticals you see that 4 of the choices can be first, therefore the fifth choice is the answer (cannot be first). This may or may not be the right answer for you, but it works for me so give it a try. I usually get -1 or -0 on LG.

cameronmfraser1

I will definitely try that. Thank you.

Nilesh S

Good advice..I got a 166 on PT64 with a -10 on the games as well so I'm in the same boat...drill drill drill the way you suggest is my best guess

erin-robinson

If I'm stuck on a game I come back to it last. Usually I find I just don't know how to set-up my diagram, so if I'm in that situation I look at the grab-a-rule question first to help me out Good luck!

Llaima01

I do a couple of things, most of them learned from JY. I ALWAYS establish the numerical distribution for the variables based on the rules: i.e. 6 variables into 8 slots that means there will be repeats, or 8 variables into 6 slots ... could it be 6 in and 2 out? This helps me with the set up of the diagram. I ALWAYS make inferences as I go. And, just like Cryall, I do scenarios (hypotheticals). Mine are very thorough. I spent easy 4 minutes doing them but then the questions take mere seconds and also I KNOW I will get the questions right. I have peace of mind when answering the questions. I use "hierarchy of rules" to do the hypos. It does not work for all the games because sometimes the rules don't lend themselves to hypos, but when they do, doing scenarios is absolutely powerful. Please email me if you would like more details (pitrufquen5@gmail.com). Be happy to share what I know and how I do it. Hope it helps.

I wish you the best of luck!

cameronmfraser1

Thanks guys. One of the many problems I have is my lack of intuition in terms of when to hit the questions. JY seems to know intuitively when it's going to be a rule-based game or a scenarios game. A lot of the difficult games are rule-based. On those games, I will often trying running through scenarios--and getting nowhere--then, by the time I hit the questions, I basically don't have time to brute force my way through answer choices. On the other hand, in games where there is a pivotal inference that leads to, say, four scenarios, in which all possible worlds are accounted for, I will hit the questions first and struggle that way. I always seem to get it wrong. I know it comes with time. Since there are only a few days before the exam, and since most, if not all, of my incorrect answer choices come in the last two games, I'm considering scanning the last two games, and trying to make sure I get 100% on at least one of them. That way, worst case scenario, I get -5 or -6. Any thoughts if this is a good idea? It's basically damage control at this point.

Llaima01

This is how it works for me Cameronmfraser1: when you have "first" and "second" order rules, you can create scenarios. First order rules are things like: S is in 4th place; L and H are last, O is first or fifth.
Second order rules are blocks: G immediately before M = GM block. You take this block and distribute it across in a sequence or groups. When you do that, you only have a very limited number of possibilities because other rules constrain where the block can go...so by placing a block in certain places, you are automatically creating scenarios! I wish I could explain this better...JY is much better. Email me if you would like. I would be happy to walk you through a couple of games via phone.
Best of luck!