Should I always be reading all of the answer choices?

Rachelbiehl16

Should I always be reading all of the answer choices? There are some questions in both logical reasoning and reading comp where I see one of the first answer choices and feel like that has to be the right answer. However, sometimes I end up finding a better answer or one that makes me question whether or not it is the right answer. Other times, it turns out that is the right answer, and then I think about how I wasted 10-30 seconds. I struggle to finish the test in time, and sometimes I don't get to answer all the questions, and I have to guess. Is it worth it to just go with it and risk it being wrong? This might give me some extra time on harder questions/ to finish the test. But statistically, does this approach work? Or is it better to take a little longer to guarantee I got the question right?

I will be trying this approach and using the Blind review to see if the odds are worth it, but I want to know if that's a waste of time.

what-likeitshard

Yes yes yes. Always read every answer choice. You have to give yourself the opportunity to read the right answer, unless you're on a severe time crunch

katrell.hickerson

yes I noticed when I dont read all of them I usually fall for the trap answer instead of getting the correct answer!

yhtkim

@"what-likeitshard" said:
Yes yes yes. Always read every answer choice. You have to give yourself the opportunity to read the right answer, unless you're on a severe time crunch

With all due respect, I don't think it's so cut and dried, at least on RC. If you have a complete understanding of the passage, the answers will often be so obvious that reading the other ACs will amount to little more than confirming what you're already 95% sure about.

Of course, the key is to thoroughly digest each passage. I split my time 70% passage, 30% questions, give or take, and it made all the difference. On test day, because I had such a strong understanding of the first three passages, I was able to blow by plenty of questions in 10 seconds or so. This saved me enough time to wrestle my way through the comparative passages, which wouldn't have been possible had I constantly stopped to check every AC along the way. (If you're wondering, I'm fairly certain I didn't drop any questions. I scored a 172, and I struggled intensely with a couple LR questions and the last logic game.)

https://classic.7sage.com/1-ama-w-7sager-cant-get-right-152-to-176/
Check out this AMA if you have time! It's what reshaped my approach to RC

what-likeitshard

@yhtkim I think that if you're 100% sure that you have the right answer, then you don't have to read all the answer choices. But I still hold to what I said like 85% of the time, because if you're prone to falling for tricks, then choosing an answer without reading all of the choices could be detrimental to you. But it depends on your confidence level. You can read every single answer choice and have ample time to complete the test, especially if you're confident. RC is naturally easy for me, so the answer choice tended to always 'glow' and I rarely read every choice. With LR I was a total mess though, so reading every answer choice was completely necessary. I guess that's where I'm personally coming from. It depends on the person and where they're at in their studying

Cowardly

if you are getting good enough i dont think you should be to be honest. its beneficial to save time if you are certain the answer is right. i think the highest scorers are doing this so they can have more time to tackle curve breaking questions. but its probably only helpful if you are quite good at the test and at least for the first long while of practicing i doubt you should be doing this.

yhtkim

@"what-likeitshard" said:
@yhtkim I think that if you're 100% sure that you have the right answer, then you don't have to read all the answer choices. But I still hold to what I said like 85% of the time, because if you're prone to falling for tricks, then choosing an answer without reading all of the choices could be detrimental to you. But it depends on your confidence level. You can read every single answer choice and have ample time to complete the test, especially if you're confident. RC is naturally easy for me, so the answer choice tended to always 'glow' and I rarely read every choice. With LR I was a total mess though, so reading every answer choice was completely necessary. I guess that's where I'm personally coming from. It depends on the person and where they're at in their studying

That I definitely agree with! It really does depend on preferences and where you are in your studies

spittingnickels

great question. its complicated....on rc i woud read every answer choice. but not on lr. any question on lr that is MBT, MBF, PSA, SA, NA you do not need to read every answer. there is a kind of unequivocal true or false, right or wrong construction to those questions. on the others i would read each answer choice. i struggle with this myself becuse sometimes i think ii would have been right to read each answer and other times it does me a disservice. this comes with prac

HarveyBirdman AttorneyAtLaw

So my sense is that reading all ACs is usually instilled as a general "best practice" for people starting out on LSAT prep—and honestly, I can understand why; it's important to practice articulating what makes one AC right and four ACs wrong. But I will also say this: since I've started focusing on drilling and timed sections, I've definitely found myself needing to backtrack on reading all ACs. I'm increasingly coming to believe that it depends on what the question warrants really. Different stems and stimuli warrant different approaches for accurate answering (e.g. if you squarely understand what's needed to fill the gap in the argument for an SA question and you've found the AC which fills that gap, it is most likely not to your benefit to read every AC under timed conditions). Do with that what you may...