Angle Ranking — I’m giving up

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bila

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I’m currently using the Angle Ranking generator for DAT Bootcamp as well as their Pat Trainer and practice tests. On every other section I do a decent job, but for angle ranking I do EVERY SINGLE question wrong. No joke. And when I view their explanations and pictures, I still can’t see how one is bigger! Even if I physically cover the screen with my finger!

I tried all of Bootcamp’s suggestions, like moving slower or further from the screen, flicking your eyes between vertices, comparing to 90° & 180°, the hill comparison, etc. they haven’t helped.

I’m becoming hopeless, I score a consistent 0% on angle ranking. If anyone has advice, please help.

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DAT bootcamp is one of the hardest tests out there, which makes it great as a final study tool, but I found it way too hard to first learn some of the sections. I liked PAT Crack (the one where it gives you 10 PAT tests). It’s probably considered a semi-old school program at this point, but I felt it was less intense and a good stepping stone to DAT bootcamp. The intensity of Crack is actually more in line with the actual DAT FYI. Either bootcamp or Crack has the “Angle generator,“ can’t remember which one, where you can sit and practice angle after angle, and get immediate feedback. I suggest you also use this generator, since you give yourself a more focused study on this section of the test, can take as much time as you need to figure out your strategy for the type of angles given, and learn immediately if your strategy is working. The most helpful thing for me was learning to read the answers first and use this info to guide my decision making, don’t remember which program explains this strategy. As an example, on one of the programs, it talks about how on the actual DAT it will give you answers such as: 2>3>4>1, 2>4>3>1, 1>3>4>2, 1>4>3>2. So the way you would start out on such a problem, without even looking at the angles yet, is you would compare 2 and 1. See why? Notice, how sometimes it’s marked the smallest angle and sometimes the largest angle? So when you actually look at angles 1 and 2 it should be obvious, which is larger between these two. Once you figure out which is larger, you can use that info to eliminate half the answer choices. Then you’re just left comparing 3 and 4 which are closer in degrees and it will be harder to tell the difference between the two, but nevertheless you give yourself a 50/50 shot! Which is honestly as good as it can get sometimes. In picking between the last two, I almost always picked these based on ”feel” or gut reaction. The way I did this is I would image a bottom and top to each angle, I would turn my head so that the “bottom” line of the angle was level/laying flat with my vision and then quickly follow the “top” line of the angle, from vertex out with my eyes, then I would quickly jump to the other angle and do the same thing. I found this was an objective way to compare angles that are close in degree and turned in different ways. For time-sake, I’d give myself two shots to figure out which is larger of the two. If I couldn’t in this time then I’d call it quits, and simply guess between my two remaining answer choices and move on. The other thing I did is I got really good at the other sections, so I could spend more time on this section. I also use the timer to my advantage. Figure out how much time you usually need to spend in each section (to get 90% right for example), and then use the test timer to tell you when you need to move from section to section or question to question. For example, “I need 45 seconds per every angle ranking question, but only 15 seconds for every hole punch question, so I will spend roughly 8 minutes in angle ranking, but 3 minutes in hole punching.” With practice using strategies and looking at a bunch of angles, by giving yourself a time window for each section/question, and by giving yourself a few extra minutes in this section by getting good at the other sections, you can greatly improve your angle ranking!
 
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Try experimenting with your own strategies. I found the Bootcamp strategies OK but wasn't a huge fan of them. I wanted something that worked regardless of angle orientation so things like the hill climb or laptop technique just didn't do it for me. I also wanted to identify the best strategies for different angle types.

My personal strategy for acute angles was imagining an acute triangle for all acute angles then comparing the third side. I found this strategy to be very orientation-independent which I liked a lot. Also helped to tilt my head a bit. For obtuse angles, I would extend one line in the opposite direction to form an acute angle and then use the aforementioned technique. For near right angles, I would extend one line in the opposite direction then imagine a perpendicular bisector to create a reference right angle. I found this valuable because without the extension, the accuracy of my reference imaginary right angle line was suspect. Creating a perpendicular bisector was easy since I could just tilt my head and imagine a vertical line going straight down.

Point is, there isn't a one size fits all strategy. Test different ones and make your own until you find the best strategy for acute angles, nearly right angles, and obtuse angles. And remember, practice makes perfect. I started out with maybe 40% correct but once I got my own strategies, I started breezing through this section.
 
I would look into getting PATBooster/DATBooster, they offer better tools and features than DATBootcamp.

Start using Booster's analyzer software since it shows you exactly which types of angle ranking questions you're getting wrong and then you can practice those specific angle ranking questions (obtuse, acute, right angles) with their angle ranking generator. If you're struggling with angle ranking this much, you can try practicing with 5 degrees on Booster's generators (they have a setting that lets you do this) and then slowly work your way to 3 degrees. This is something I did and it helped me improve. Best of luck!

xoxo
 
^I second using PAT booster. It was a brand new thing when I took the test, but I’ve heard this is the best current resource for the PAT.
 
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