As part of my studying for this exam, I take the time to review incorrect answer choices for LR. My current approach is reviewing explanations on this forum and identifying patterns that the LSAT use to trick students. The hardest part of this review is also assessing why I am bein tricked.
Any advice on how to self-assess? Also, does it help to write out the premise/conclusion (if there is one) and find a gap/fallacy, etc.? What's the most effective way to review incorrect answers to help improve accuracy and avoid repetition of similar mistakes?
Thank you!
LSAT Forum
2 postsPage 1 of 1
-
- patrice.antoine
-
Thanks Received: 35
-
Atticus Finch
- Posts: 111
- Joined: November 02nd, 2010
-
- tommywallach
-
Thanks Received: 468
-
Atticus Finch
- Posts: 1041
- Joined: August 11th, 2009
- This post thanked 1 time.
Re: Reviewing Incorrect LR Questions
Hey Patrice,
Well, the good news is you have a really great attitude towards this study. You have no idea how many people don't ever bother to study the wrong answer choices on LR, even though it's a mega-important part of getting better.
As for self-assessing, I don't think there's any trick to it. I would keep a log of LR questions you get wrong, including the answer you pick. When you have a list of perhaps 10 in a given category, there might be some useful inferences to make in terms of the kind of thing you're falling for. But without a largish set of data, it's unlikely you'll find anything particularly interesting. However, the process of looking through the wrong answers and just thinking about why you fell for the answer you did should be pretty useful. Also, make sure you return to the same question again and again. It can take a few times around the block before the question really lodges itself in your long-term memory.
It does help to write out the premise/conclusion and find the gap/fallacy, though it's not something you can do while you're taking a test (too time-consuming). However, when you're reviewing, I would definitely recommend doing that work.
Here's a key point: when you review, you should be reviewing before you look at the answer choices.
BUT WAIT, you say, why review the ones I got right?
Just because. Because there's stuff to learn from the ones you got right and the ones you got wrong. Oftentimes we get a right answer because we like one answer choice at about 60%, and the other at 40%. But only one of them is right. When reviewing, you can take the time to convince yourself or your own rightness by definitively eliminating all the wrong answers. You can also write out the conclusion/premise and think about the gap. Yes, this type of study is more time-consuming, but it will really make those questions stick.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any follow-up questions.
-t
Well, the good news is you have a really great attitude towards this study. You have no idea how many people don't ever bother to study the wrong answer choices on LR, even though it's a mega-important part of getting better.
As for self-assessing, I don't think there's any trick to it. I would keep a log of LR questions you get wrong, including the answer you pick. When you have a list of perhaps 10 in a given category, there might be some useful inferences to make in terms of the kind of thing you're falling for. But without a largish set of data, it's unlikely you'll find anything particularly interesting. However, the process of looking through the wrong answers and just thinking about why you fell for the answer you did should be pretty useful. Also, make sure you return to the same question again and again. It can take a few times around the block before the question really lodges itself in your long-term memory.
It does help to write out the premise/conclusion and find the gap/fallacy, though it's not something you can do while you're taking a test (too time-consuming). However, when you're reviewing, I would definitely recommend doing that work.
Here's a key point: when you review, you should be reviewing before you look at the answer choices.
BUT WAIT, you say, why review the ones I got right?
Just because. Because there's stuff to learn from the ones you got right and the ones you got wrong. Oftentimes we get a right answer because we like one answer choice at about 60%, and the other at 40%. But only one of them is right. When reviewing, you can take the time to convince yourself or your own rightness by definitively eliminating all the wrong answers. You can also write out the conclusion/premise and think about the gap. Yes, this type of study is more time-consuming, but it will really make those questions stick.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any follow-up questions.
-t
2 posts Page 1 of 1