Predicting the correct answer choice...but choosing the wrong one?

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• 2 Likes

  FerdaFresh Alum Member

  November 2017 edited November 2017 561 karma

  I think the answer to this depends on the question type. E.g. if this is happening for flaw questions, they're probably tripping you up with wordy answer choices. But if this is happening during SA questions, then you might not be grasping the argument's gap as well as you think you are before heading to the AC's. I never look at the AC's until I feel I "control" the stimulus beforehand. I'll typically spend double the time on the stimulus than all answer choices combined, especially for hard questions.

  Back to SAs -- you may have spotted the "buzzwords" that need to be connected to make the SA argument valid (i.e. the new variable brought up in the conclusion), but you're seeing that buzzword in an answer choice that is treating it like a sufficient condition when it is actually a necessary condition. Example: "therefore, the cat is black." If you're looking for "black cat" in the AC's and you select an AC that says "if the cat is black, then..." that is a simple example of them tripping you up. This type of trick can be especially unforgiving if they use both buzzwords you're looking for but swap their conditions to make it unimportant to the argument. I know this is a simplified example, and I'm certain the questions you're getting wrong have way more nuances than that, but -- at the end of the day -- SA questions can be mechanically mastered by keeping an eye out not only for the variables you're looking for, but their conditionality as well.
• 1 Like

  Seeking Perfection Alum Member

  November 2017 4423 karma

  I hardly ever had that happen, but what did happen to me is that when I prephrased the answer too much in my head, I would overlook the correct answer. I nearly always figured it out since I would also reject the wrong answers, but it would waste time. Maybe you are doing a similar thing, but instead of being too restrictive you are being too accepting. When checking answers to see if they match your prediction maybe you could go through all the answers(even after you find the one you believe to be correct) and catch your mistake by finding two appealing answer choices. Do you catch these mistake in blind review?

  If that doesn't work then there is something off with your prediction because it shouldn't simultaneously be too restrictive to include the right answer and too inclusive to exclude the wrong ones. At that point it is a useless prediction and I'd say it is wrong.
• LsatTony Alum Member

  November 2017 edited November 2017 70 karma

  Thanks for the replies. @FerdaFresh I have made the mistake of having the "buzzword" in the sufficient instead of necessary place of the answer or visa versa. And @"Seeking Perfection" I think your point about being too accepting is exactly what's happening. When I look through the answer choices with the prediction in my head, if I don't immediately recognize my prediction, I very quickly second guess it and choose the wrong answer choice when my prediction was correct all along. Being less accepting just might help in this case