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 apl1993
  • Posts: 9
  • Joined: Aug 10, 2016
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#27750
Hello all, I would like to hear if you have any tips for improving my score.

I'm taking the upcoming September test, and have been studying about 15-20 hours a week since school let out in mid June.

My first practice test I scored a 160, and have been consistently in the 160-162 range over the last seven or so tests, scoring a 164 and 167 on two of them.

I've gone through the Bibles (twice for LG and LR) but I feel like I could be more thorough.

I have about 20 practice tests left that I plan on doing over the next six weeks before the test.

Now when I first started, the hardest and most intimidating thing for me was the LG section, but after going through the bible, I'm confident that I can successfully do 3.5 of the games on the test, as long as there are no "surprises", i.e. games I've never encountered, which happens some in the older practice tests.

On the RC, I'm consistently missing 5 or less, though it would be nice if I could get that down to 2/3 or fewer consistently.

But ultimately where I'm struggling is the LR. I'm feeling flustered because I can't seem to miss less than 10 total. Its frustrating because the basic concept of the questions are so simple and if I could get down to 4-6 total I could end up having a high scoring test, which is what I aspire to.

I'm at the point where on basically every question that I miss, it's my SECOND choice, or the answer that I choose my answer over that happens to be the one that is correct, which is incredibly frustrating. What's equally troubling is that every time I test, I attempt to keep especially focused on the questions, and read them correctly, but I can't seem to improve. Lastly, I have a weird tendency to MISS CONSECUTIVE questions (3 in a row, 4 of 5, things like that), and I tend to miss more at around the 20 question mark. I'll be going along with one or two missed, and I'll have a bad five question streak and it will kill my score; is there anything specific that I can work on that might be causing this?

I've begun to record the LR questions that I missed in order to spot patterns, and there seems to be an issue with precise vocabulary, i.e. mistaking "some" for "all" and vice versa.

Sorry about the length, but I just like to be thorough, basically what I'm asking is:

1) what general study strategy should I adopt (heavy on testing/heavy on studying or equal both ext)?

2) are there any advanced tips for how to improve on the logical reasoning questions? I would say that this is most important.

3) any advice on how to put the RC section all together and ace it?

4) how to get from 3.5 logic games to all 4?

Thank you so much for your help and patience in advance.
 Adam Tyson
PowerScore Staff
  • PowerScore Staff
  • Posts: 5387
  • Joined: Apr 14, 2011
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#27763
That's a pretty broad question, and I'm not sure it can be easily answered in this forum. I would start by suggesting you look into some private tutoring to help more clearly identify your strengths and weaknesses and to get you into a more efficient and productive study plan.

A few ideas come to mind, though. First, I think your focus right now should be heavier on study, especially untimed practice to improve your grasp of the concepts and techniques that we teach. That study should be narrowly focused on a few question types or game types that give you the most trouble. Practice tests are great, but only when they are mixed with post-test analysis, question by question and not just on the ones you missed, and then focused study to make small improvements. Also, take appropriate breaks - 15-20 hours a week is a little low if this is all you are doing, but if you are also working or going to school full time you may be overdoing it and need some rest. Make sure you getting good sleep, mental breaks, eating healthy food, getting some exercise and sunshine, and also putting in a reasonable amount of effort in your studies. 20 tests in 6 weeks is, in my opinion, way too much - that leaves you no reasonable amount of time to analyze, plan your studies, and study and practice before the next attempt. Two a week is good, three could be pushing it but might be okay if you have nothing else going on in your life.

If you find yourself getting down to two choices, and one of them is correct, that's good news at the outset - you have done a good job of sorting the losers and contenders. Now you need to focus on comparing the remaining contenders and having a good reason for picking one over the other. Why is one better? How do they differ, and in what way does that difference matter? Did you prephrase an answer, and if so then which of these choices is closer to your prephrase? If you did not prephrase, that's probably the problem right there - start working on that. Knowing what the answer should say or do before you look at any of the answer choices will make the sorting much easier and faster, and it will also help you more consistently, confidently and accurately pick the right answers.

When you miss a question, do you find yourself frustrated about it at the time, knowing that you may have struggled and gotten it wrong? Are you letting that frustration carry over and interfere with your ability to concentrate on the next question? Struggling with one question, being unsure of the answer or having to guess, can have a detrimental effect on your performance on subsequent questions, but only if you let it. It's important to let that frustration go, immediately upon finishing that frustrating question, and treat the next question as a new opportunity to get a correct answer. Stay positive, treat each question or game or passage as a fresh chance for success, and you may find those streaks of wrong answers diminishing.

How do you get perfect at RC? Practice. How do you go from 3.5 games to all 4? Practice. There's no secret to it - with study and practice your understanding and familiarity will continue to improve, your confidence will go up, and your speed will increase as a natural consequence. There's no shortcut to get faster, although getting more efficient will help (like prephrasing, sorting into losers and contenders, not stopping to analyze an answer until you have checked all five answers). Building a complete and robust diagram, rather than rushing into the questions, will make the games go faster and better. Taking notes in RC, and then frequently checking back in the passage to find evidence to support your prephrases and your answer choices, will save you time that would otherwise be wasted hemming and hawing over wrong answers.

Again, it sounds to me like you have gotten about as far as you might go with just self study, unless you make some changes to your plan. A few hours with a tutor might be very useful. Also, check our free help area for advice on a study plan that fits your schedule. Cut back on the tests, ramp up the analysis, try to develop your prephrasing and sorting habits, and let's see if we can break through that plateau you're on. Good luck!

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