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tanman · 05-24-2005, 02:18 PM

I would suggest a slight modification to what Carolyn posted. I think the method she posted is what you should for the first few tests. However, after taking a couple test this way, you should start adjusting to testing conditions. I don't think it is wise to take the same test, first broken down into parts and then as a complete test. While you may think that you won't remember anything, I think that doing this will artificially inflate your score, at least slightly, because you have already seen the exact same questions. I would suggest leaving a couple of tests to take only using actual testing conditions. These will give you the best indication of your actual score because they will be completely new material.

When you're going over your answers and why they are right or wrong, keep track of what types of questions you are missing. That way, you will know where to direct your studying. I don't know if the new version of 10RS includes question difficulty ratings, but if it does, take a look at that too. I think it was Xiggi that did the calculuations with the old 10RS to figure out that if you recognize and skip all the "difficult" questions, you can still get a pretty good score.

As you do more and more practice, you will start to see paterns in test questions and things will come more easily to you. When you are taking these tests, you need to budget your time wisely. If you are stuck on a question, skip it and come back to it later. It's always best to skip a couple and finish/recheck the rest than to get bogged down on a few of the highest difficult questions.

Depending on how much time you have, you could also take practice tests from other books. While no outside test prep book will have practice tests as accurate as those from CB, if you try tests from many different sources, you will be prepared for anything ETS throws at you when you take the test. Xiggi and others have posted a ranked list of what they think the best outside test sources are (can't find the thread right now).

Edit: A condensed version of the "Xiggi method", straight from Xiggi himself

05-24-2005, 02:18 PM	#8
tanman Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Houston, TX --> Johns Hopkins Alum '09 -> Duke Med School! Posts: 2,281	I would suggest a slight modification to what Carolyn posted. I think the method she posted is what you should for the first few tests. However, after taking a couple test this way, you should start adjusting to testing conditions. I don't think it is wise to take the same test, first broken down into parts and then as a complete test. While you may think that you won't remember anything, I think that doing this will artificially inflate your score, at least slightly, because you have already seen the exact same questions. I would suggest leaving a couple of tests to take only using actual testing conditions. These will give you the best indication of your actual score because they will be completely new material. When you're going over your answers and why they are right or wrong, keep track of what types of questions you are missing. That way, you will know where to direct your studying. I don't know if the new version of 10RS includes question difficulty ratings, but if it does, take a look at that too. I think it was Xiggi that did the calculuations with the old 10RS to figure out that if you recognize and skip all the "difficult" questions, you can still get a pretty good score. As you do more and more practice, you will start to see paterns in test questions and things will come more easily to you. When you are taking these tests, you need to budget your time wisely. If you are stuck on a question, skip it and come back to it later. It's always best to skip a couple and finish/recheck the rest than to get bogged down on a few of the highest difficult questions. Depending on how much time you have, you could also take practice tests from other books. While no outside test prep book will have practice tests as accurate as those from CB, if you try tests from many different sources, you will be prepared for anything ETS throws at you when you take the test. Xiggi and others have posted a ranked list of what they think the best outside test sources are (can't find the thread right now). Edit: A condensed version of the "Xiggi method", straight from Xiggi himself
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