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Thoughts/Opinions on strategy for attacking LR Sections

csm5210csm5210 Alum Member
edited September 2014 in Logical Reasoning 5 karma
So I was reading through a Kaplan LR practice book (which I found mostly useless) the other day and came across a certain strategy that they suggest for attacking Logical Reasoning sections on the exam.
They suggest that you should do questions 1-17, and then turn to the end of the section and complete questions 26-18 backwards. The logic behind it is that there are easier questions hidden at the end of the sections to reward those who make it the entire way through, so you want to get those easy points.
Does anyone actually use this strategy or have any opinion on it? I know that there are sometimes easy questions towards the end of LR sections, but questions 20-26 also tend to have a few of the most difficult as well. I also thought that this may increase my chances at f*&#ing up the bubbling on my answer sheet.
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Comments

  • joegotbored-1joegotbored-1 Alum Member
    edited September 2014 802 karma
    I can't say I endorse this theory at all. I think there are not enough easy ones at the end to warrant skipping around like this... certainly not enough to risk your bubbling if you're prone to that particular error.

    I'd say get through 1-10 pretty quickly and just stay on task the rest of the way. Skip the ones where you read the stimulus and say "WTF?" and only come back if you have time. Likewise for really long parallel flaw/logic questions if you tend to get those wrong. For everything else, take your licks as they come.

    The key is just to recognize when more time isn't going to help you get the answer. If you know you're likely to miss a question, just pass it on by. You'll get to the easy questions at the end (if there are any), and you can always go back. Less chance of bubbling error this way.

    My 2 pennies.

    Also, FWIW, I don't think you'll hear many people speaking highly of Kaplan on 7Sage. Many have come here after throwing money away on Kaplan books/courses and vent their frustration at the poor quality of the Kaplan methods and their general elation at the awesomeness (and slightly cultish) at finding 7Sage BEFORE their test.
  • msmith85msmith85 Alum Member
    213 karma
    (agree with pretty much everything joegotbored-1 said and would like to add this:)

    I don't recommend the kaplan strategy either. With enough practice, you should be able to make it through the entirety of the LR section. A good rule to strive for is to complete the first 10 questions in 10 minutes. With enough practice this is achievable and great for leaving you more time with harder questions. I even try to do the first 15 questions in 15 minutes. With accuracy and practice your speed should increase naturally, and you wont have to resort to completing the questions in an odd order.
  • chrijani7chrijani7 Alum Member
    827 karma
    Agree with the previous posters. Also wanted to add some input from my own experience. I tried a similar approach to RC, where you are suggested to tackle the passages with the most questions if you struggle for time. It seems like a legit approach since I typically am pretty low on time by the time I get to the last passage. But honestly, I found myself more stressed out trying to find the "best" passage, my bubbling was all over the place which made me very cautious, taking more time to bubble than usual.

    Also for LR, I find myself cutting my losses on some questions hoping that I will have time to come back, and usually I don't have any time at the end. You'll hear all the time on forums like oh yea finish the section and go back. But truth be told, most test takers don't have the skills necessary to complete a LR section in well under 35 mins. Think about you have 25/26 questions each one requiring quite a bit of thought, and well the beginning questions generally are easier, if your focus is solely on getting them done faster, you could end up making careless mistakes. I tend to try and balance speed and accuracy, typically finishing the first 10 in around 11 mins, after Q15 being at 18 mins, after Q20 being at 26 mins. These are just benchmarks, but ultimately I think that the nature of the test (being fast paced) its best to just go through them one by one. Just try not to get bogged down on a question, cut your losses.
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