Confused.

goalis180

I feel like I am not grasping the fundamentals properly, I am rarely able to predict what the answer choice will be until I get to the answer choices, although I have this general idea of what could be wrong with the argument. I am also missing a ton of level 4 and 5 questions. After 4 PT's I have narrowed down my weaknesses to Flaw, NA, SA, and even though it does not happen often MBT questions. I want to add that even when I am BR'ing I don't I still lack the ability of choosing the correct answers for those questions. Do you guys think this is a fundamentals issue, or it is lack of experience since I have only done 4 PT's?

c.janson35

How are your BR scores?

goalis180

Terrriibble. High 150's- mid 160's.

Pacifico

If you have flaw problems it leaks out everywhere else. If you haven't picked up the Trainer I highly recommend doing so. If you have, then hit it up again.

goalis180

@Pacifico I do have the trainer, and will def go back to it. Im drilling flaw questions atm to see if I am able to recognize patterns.

splitterhopeful

Do you have at least the basic 7sage package? Going through all of JY's lessons will help with your fundamentals immensely.

goalis180

I have the ultimate package lol but I already went over all the fundamental lessons, and I know exactly what to do, but im consistently falling for trap answers.

Pacifico

Are you doing clean copy BR?

goalis180

@Pacifico definitely. I actually BR the day after because I have an insane memory, and one thing I noticed, which made me very distraught, is that I fell prey to the same trap answer choice even with unlimited time. What is your hypothesis for why that is?

Pacifico

Ego

goalis180

@Pacifico Do you mind elaborating a bit on what you mean by "ego"? Thanks in advance.

Matt1234567

@goalis180 said:
I fell prey to the same trap answer choice even with unlimited time. What is your hypothesis for why that is?

Hey goalis180, when falling for trap answer choices, what do you notice most? Do you separate the answer choices based on certain words you think make or break them? Are you comparing the the two contenders to the stimulus and seeing how they weigh against the relationship between the premise and the conclusion?

I would recommend writing out explanations for all the question you have a tough time with or get wrong. This way, you can really let your thoughts flow and see how you process the stimulus and what made you choose the wrong answer or what tripped you up about the question. Keep these questions and review them every now and then. Hopefully, you'll see a general pattern of why you're picking certain answer choices which will make you more prepared when in similar situations.

goalis180

@Matt1234567 thanks, and will def do.

c.janson35

Especially eith flaw and SA questions, you should have a really strong pre-phrase before you go to the questions. To start to hone in this skill, try writing out explanations of the flaws when you BR them, taking as much time as needed to provide a substantive analysis of the question. This should all be done before re-reading the answer choices. I you can't articulate the flaw or spot the gap in SA, then it's going to extremely difficult for you to answer these questions with a high level of accuracy. Don't rush through BR. Use your time wisely to develop the proper mindset.

This advice also extends to NA and MBT, although you may not be able to prephrase as consistently. I prephrase a lot of the time with these questions still, but sometimes the correct answer takes a form that you weren't thinking of. In any case, taking the time to predict should allow you to better see why right answers are correct.

goalis180

@c.janson35 For SA I am def just plain lost because I def can't pick out the answer. I am so baffled by my skill in flaw questions. When I was doing the curriculum I did not miss a question on those videos, now all of a sudden I suck lol.

Pacifico

You fight your ego to change your answer because your ego tells you you're a smart uniquely intelligent snowflake that obviously got a 180 so why would you ever change any answers on BR if they were all right in the first place. Clean copy BR removes a lot of that power and forces you to go through the actual methodology of the reasoning to get to the correct answer.

goalis180

@Pacifico Sorry if there was a misunderstanding. What I meant by "definitely," when you asked if I blind review on a separate sheet, I meant definitely as in I do BR on a separate sheet.

c.janson35

Well there would be no reason why your flaw skills would just deteriorate after the curriculum. The only thing I can think of is that you're not spending the proper amount of time upfront on these questions because the flawed reasonings are essentially just templates applied to new subject matter.

As for SA, look through the Trainer's section on this and maybe revisit the lessons in the curriculum. You should be able to see the gaps in the argument; they're usually pretty evident because new variables often just show in in the conclusion.

goalis180

@c.janson35 I will have to plug away some more and see if I can figure out why I am not getting it.

goalis180

Lol @c.janson35 So I was plugging away at SA questions yesterday, and I guess something clicked because out of no where I just started seeing the answers within seconds. I do struggle slightly with the level 5 difficulty ones because everything is just so convoluted, but even then I am able to narrow it down to 2 AC's. Turns out I was stressing out so much while reading the stimulus in an attempt to get all the ideas down when really its just about seeing in your head what the possible AC's might be so that not everything becomes attractive. Today I will be plugging away at NA questions and flaw, hopefully I will have the same epiphany that I had with SA lol.

goalis180

@c.janson35 @Pacifico @nicole.hopkins So today I took the whole day to drill flaw questions untimed. I did what the Cambridge drill packets identified as levels 1,2 and 4. The level 1 and 2 questions I only missed 1 of each, however on the level 4 problems, I missed half. Is it normal that the harder questions take time to sink in, which means with more drilling, and PT'ing I will get better at recognizing patterns on the harder questions?

Also, is it me or are the LR questions on the more modern exams slightly easier? Most of the harder questions I did were from PT's 1-9, and I gotta say the stimuli in those PT's were hellish, and the way the questions were asked was not any better.