"Always choose your first answer"

[FlowRate]

EDIT: Just realized I should have put in the topic that this is a thread mostly about verbal.

Not exactly sure what my point is with this thread. Anyway, I'm reviewing my last ptest and it seems to me like all the verbal questions I missed are questions I second-guessed. Has anyone noticed themselves doing better/worse if they always go with their first (reasonable) reaction? I feel like, of the questions I sit and think on, I always mark the one that's incorrect of the 50/50. I have one practice test left, so I'm going to try a more rushed approach (answer the first answer that seems best) and see what happens.

Any thoughts? Is this just a case of the old psychological coincidence stuff?

Addition: After some retrospection, it also seems like this happens more often with passages on which I am a bit unclear on the main points/main idea (compared to the sections that I ace, at least).

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[Grey Leaf]

I dont know of any actual correlation but as far back as I can remember teachers have been telling me to stick with my first instinct when it comes to multiple choice. In fact as far as I can remember it has held up pretty well with personal experience.

Unless you are absolutely sure you are mistaken, stick with your gut. You are telling yourself its right for a reason.

 

[supafield]

When I'm between 2 answers I'll make my choice and mark down the 2nd answer I was also thinking....

Usually it's one of the two but for example on my last EK test

I had 14 questions I could have conceivably chose another answer

12 of the 14 were right, the 2 others would have been right if I changed it...
There was also One question I did change and got right....

You have to be careful as with any strategy not to follow it religiously without thinking.... while your first instinct may tend to be right.... if you do think of a good reason to change it you may have to stray from the strategy...


Long story short, I've found my first instinct is generally better than my 2nd one.

 

[ezsanche]

whenever I am stuck between two answers I try to determine which answer is more restrictive and then I choose the other one. This works most of the time but it isn't 100 percent fool proof. Here are some questions which I was working on yesterday. I was able to eliminate them down to 2 or 3 choices. I picked the one that was less restrictive and got them right. Maybe you can see which one is the right answer without reading the passage. Try this approach on your next test.

 

[snipermonkey]

yeah
i always eliminate
those "only, all, none" words..
they help me to get through the choices pretty easily.

 

[ChemEngSoonMD]

You are actually statistically more likely to have picked the correct answer on the first time. BUT if you know you totally fked up, then you should change it.

 

[giants25]

actually if you get the official MCAT book AAMC sells, they say that test makers don't make those all, only, etc type of questions always wrong anymore and they can be right. So just watch out because I've had passages were I just eliminated those answers off the bat thinking there was no way it was correct when it ended up being the answer.