How exactly does Blind Review help?

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• 1 Like

  Alex Alum Member ⭐

  September 2017 23929 karma

  @LivePumpkin said:
  Hi everyone,

  So I’m about to start PTing now and I have a question when it comes to reviewing your exam, either via BR or without.

  I know what BR is but what exactly is it about BR that makes it work?

  And I’ve been wondering: what if someone checked the answers right away after a PT and tried to figure out why they got a question wrong without consulting other resources. Does it offer the same benefit as BR and why? Thank you !

  The purpose of a PT is to get a snapshot of your weaknesses, so that you can spend time working on those weaknesses and hammering out your technique. Most of your improvement will not happen while you're PTing, it will happen when you review and drill things that, in your review, you find out needs work.

  Blind review specifically works because it allows you to not only get an idea of your weaknesses but also over and under-confidence errors. If you miss questions you didn't circle on the PT, that is a good indicator that you were a bit too overconfident on that question. Likewise, if you circle questions you always get right perhaps you have an under-confidence error.

  If you check the answers right away and go to find the errors then it won't be as helpful as it could have been if you didn't know of any errors. For example, if you know you usually miss -9 on RC and -0 on LG, then clearly your mind will know to look at RC more closely for errors. In short, it will only serve to bias you.
• 2 Likes

  Cant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage ⭐ 🍌 7Sage Tutor

  September 2017 27900 karma

  I've worked with a lot of students and I can always tell who's checked their answers and who hasn't. People who've checked their answers are engaged in an entirely different task from those who haven't. Students who've checked their answers try to justify the right answer. Those who haven't try to understand the question so that they can figure out what the right answer is. The difference in the return on these two approaches should be apparent and is at the core of why reviewing questions blind is so essential.

  I think a lot of people forego BRing just because they really want to see their score. Instant gratification is a really bad justification for hurting your ability to improve. Who cares about your PT score? Law schools certainly don't.