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Tips on not overthinking LR questions?

lizzogonzolizzogonzo Member
in Logical Reasoning 628 karma

Hello! This is my first time posting here, I am feeling shy but thank you in advance for any advice you may give!

I've been taking some full PTs as well as using them as problem sets and I find myself constantly overthinking LR questions during BR. I'll get the answer right timed, but when I'm untimed I often linger and fall for the trap answer. I feel like this happens more often in the easier questions too than in the more difficult ones, so I'm stumped lol. I'd greatly appreciate any tips on where to begin in kicking this bad habit. I'm taking the test in July and LR is my weakest section. I'll also be re-reviewing the CC but there's little consistency in which question types I miss so it's not easy to pinpoint.

Thank you and I hope everyone is studying the best they can while prioritizing personal safety in our current climate.

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Comments

  • danielbrowning208danielbrowning208 Alum Member
    531 karma

    I used to have a similar problem. The best way you can address this is through practice. The more material you see (and more importantly understand) the less susceptible you are to clever traps. Your question strategy can also be designed to counteract this tendency. Identify premises, conclusion, and task; stay focused on precisely what you need to do. However, because your issues are with untimed material, there definitely seems to be a gap in understanding and/or execution (if this mistake were happening with timed material I would have a different response). I hope that helps!

  • taschasptaschasp Alum Member Sage ⭐
    796 karma

    I think it's common to have this experience and misinterpret it as overthinking. But I think you're overthinking overthinking.

    You're in this position when you're deciding between two answer choices that both seemed correct to you. If you can't properly identify why one of the ACs is wrong--not just a little wrong but 100% wrong--then, as @danielbrowning208 pointed out, you're missing something.

    In the long run, whether you picked the right AC or not doesn't actually matter; if you were stuck between two choices, you're only going to get those questions 50% of the time. That's why we do Blind Review: even if you pick the right answer, if you pick it with the wrong reasoning, or still have another AC left that you can't fully eliminate, then you still want to review it just as much as you would if had gotten the question wrong.

  • lizzogonzolizzogonzo Member
    628 karma

    Thank you @danielbrowning208 and @taschasp, I appreciate the insight! I was starting to feel discouraged but remembering the fundamentals of why BR is so important and the goal of it helps me stay grounded. This also reminds me the proper way to do BR as well which I think is just as helpful. Much appreciated! :)

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