I am able to improve on other parts of the test but not on CR questions I Have done Manhattan CR and Critical Reasoning Bible by powerscore. Most of the time I am stuck between two answers or I eliminate an answer which i think is totally wrong but it is the correct answer
ANY ADVICE
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- navdeep_bajwa
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- StaceyKoprince
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Re: Logical Reasoning
Several things.
Are you struggling with ALL types of CR questions? Or are there certain kinds of CR questions that tend to cause you more trouble?
When you review problems, do you find that most of your trouble is with the argument (finding the conclusion, understanding how the different pieces fit together, etc), with the answer choices (getting tempted by an answer / falling into a trap, not understanding an answer or how it fits into the argument, etc) - or is it a mix of both of those things?
How much time do you spend reviewing and analyzing problems (as opposed to doing the problem in the first place)? Review / analysis is where the learning actually occurs - if you spend 2m doing the problem, you want to spend 4 to 10m reviewing that same problem.
When you finish studying a verbal problem (even one that you got right!), can you articulate:
- why was the wrong answer so tempting? why did it look like it might be right? (be as explicit as possible. then tell yourself that this is no longer a good reason to choose an answer.)
- why was it actually wrong? what specific words indicate that it is wrong and how did I overlook those clues the first time?
- why did the right answer seem wrong? what made it so tempting to cross off the right answer? why were those things actually okay; what was my error in thinking that they were wrong? (then tell yourself that this is no longer a good reason to eliminate an answer)
- why was it actually right?
Also, just to reiterate: you need to study the above on problems you got right, too. When you narrow down to 2 and pick, you don't always get it wrong. Sometimes you get it right (half the time on average!). But a lot of people then totally overlook the ones that they happened to get right - even though they weren't any more sure than on other ones they happened to get wrong! And, even when you get something right because you did understand it, there are still things you can learn about both choosing the right answer and crossing off the wrong ones (and it's often easier to do this analysis when you got the question right because you actually do understand what's going on).
Are you struggling with ALL types of CR questions? Or are there certain kinds of CR questions that tend to cause you more trouble?
When you review problems, do you find that most of your trouble is with the argument (finding the conclusion, understanding how the different pieces fit together, etc), with the answer choices (getting tempted by an answer / falling into a trap, not understanding an answer or how it fits into the argument, etc) - or is it a mix of both of those things?
How much time do you spend reviewing and analyzing problems (as opposed to doing the problem in the first place)? Review / analysis is where the learning actually occurs - if you spend 2m doing the problem, you want to spend 4 to 10m reviewing that same problem.
When you finish studying a verbal problem (even one that you got right!), can you articulate:
- why was the wrong answer so tempting? why did it look like it might be right? (be as explicit as possible. then tell yourself that this is no longer a good reason to choose an answer.)
- why was it actually wrong? what specific words indicate that it is wrong and how did I overlook those clues the first time?
- why did the right answer seem wrong? what made it so tempting to cross off the right answer? why were those things actually okay; what was my error in thinking that they were wrong? (then tell yourself that this is no longer a good reason to eliminate an answer)
- why was it actually right?
Also, just to reiterate: you need to study the above on problems you got right, too. When you narrow down to 2 and pick, you don't always get it wrong. Sometimes you get it right (half the time on average!). But a lot of people then totally overlook the ones that they happened to get right - even though they weren't any more sure than on other ones they happened to get wrong! And, even when you get something right because you did understand it, there are still things you can learn about both choosing the right answer and crossing off the wrong ones (and it's often easier to do this analysis when you got the question right because you actually do understand what's going on).
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
2 posts Page 1 of 1