The Oxford TSA thread - 2016 applicants - 4th November 2015

I'm pretty dead set on Magdalen now seems like a really nice college visited it back in July and fell in love! close between that and Merton though :P you?

Reply 43

mrpunchline

OP

Original post by James_mc

I'm pretty dead set on Magdalen now seems like a really nice college visited it back in July and fell in love! close between that and Merton though :P you?

I haven't decided yet but I'm pretty sure I'll pick Queen's :smile:

Reply 44

How does the TSA individual Critical Thinking and Problem Solving scoring work? I got 22/25 in my last CT section of the test , roughly speaking, what score would this translate to?

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 45

ceco_moev

Hi guys,
another PPE applicant here :smile:

I am international and can't reach 40/50 yet (I score around 38). I decided to dedicate the last few days of my summer to Part 2. How long do you think should the essay be? I know it's not all about the length but since I'm not a native speaker I would like to know what you consider as a suitable number of words. Thanks in advance :smile:

Reply 46

ceco_moev

Original post by iBall

How does the TSA individual Critical Thinking and Problem Solving scoring work? I got 22/25 in my last CT section of the test , roughly speaking, what score would this translate to?

Posted from TSR Mobile

I think that you can consult this page if you haven't http://www.admissionstestingservice.org/for-test-takers/thinking-skills-assessment/tsa-oxford/scoring-and-results/

Reply 47

Original post by ceco_moev

I think that you can consult this page if you haven't http://www.admissionstestingservice.org/for-test-takers/thinking-skills-assessment/tsa-oxford/scoring-and-results/

So based off of the TSA 2014 marks, 25/25 in CT would've been 95.4, as I was 3 marks off I think it'd be in the 73-79 range? Those are estimates but I'm trying to focus on weak points so am trying to split my PS and CT marks up

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 48

Kerpal

Original post by ylmdk

First question explanation request of topic :smile:

:
2010 Test, 41: The Eurovision Song Contest is coming in for increasing criticism. No matter how awful the song, Greece can always be relied on to give a maximum 12 points to Cyprus and Russia will vote for the Ukraine. In one year the political voting was so blatant that the commentator for the UK described it as 'ridiculous'. With more Eastern European countries competing, their power blocs are so strong that Western European countries have little hope of winning. The result of the Eurovision Song Contest is now determined by geo-politics and not by music.Which one of the following, if true, would most weaken the above argument?
A Britain nearly always gives high marks to the Irish song.
B The Eastern European songs are usually sung in English.
C Eastern European countries have shared tastes in music.
D Western European countries have won 75% of contests in the past.
E Poland has never won the Eurovision Song Contest.

I used http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cracking-Thinking-Skills-Assessment-University/dp/1500941026/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1442168818&sr=8-4&keywords=thinking+skills+assessment for my TSApreparations and thought it was outstanding.

Looking at this question, Desai basically shows you how to get the answer in about 30 seconds. Whilst I think his book, along with Burton's "Ace the thinking skills assessment" are both outstanding, I think Desai is the only one who focuses on delivering answers quickly - this exam is all about getting answers quickly in order to give yourself maximum time for the really awful/work intensive maths questions.

He tells you to read the passages actively and stop focussing on content and instead identify what the conclusion is and where the evidence is. Once you know this you can work out the assumption and once you know the assumption you can strengthen/weaken or do anything else that you need to to answer the question.

Looking at this question it's obviously the conclusion comes near the end (The result of the Eurovision Song Contest is now determined by geo-politics and not by music). The evidence is obviously the stuff that came before it about who gives who points and what the UK commentator thought about it. The assumption is obviously that geographical closeness leads to votes, not music quality etc.

When you know all this, evaluating the answer choices becomes so easy.

A - Strengthens the argument. Can't be right.
B - Irrelevant
C - This would imply that Eastern Bloc countries vote for one another because of shared music taste, not geo-political closeness. Correct answer.
D - Out of scope. Europe used to be smaller.
E - Not strictly important. Just one country so can't be considered proof that voting isn't based on politics.

I think his book is outstanding and if I were to sit the TSA again, I would only buy the two I mentioned since I think you won't have enough time to get through those two and more. I think Burton is better for maths but I think Desai is the best for the CT. I'd also add that Desai will get you cracking through the exam as a whole much more quickly than any of the others and having an extra 5-10 minutes at the end could easily be the difference between an interview and a rejection!

Good luck all!

Reply 49

Kerpal

The reason I have posted is because I am surprised he got left off the essential reading list by OP and thought he deserved a mention!

Reply 50

mrpunchline

OP

Original post by Kerpal

The reason I have posted is because I am surprised he got left off the essential reading list by OP and thought he deserved a mention!

Added Desai and Burton to the suggested reading list :smile:

Thanks for the tips!

Reply 51

About to start at Oxford in a couple of weeks - would recommend a lot to put a lot of effort in to the TSA.
Desai's book is useful.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 52

n.safar4

Original post by aasvogel

About to start at Oxford in a couple of weeks - would recommend a lot to put a lot of effort in to the TSA.
Desai's book is useful.

Posted from TSR Mobile

How would you recommend preparing for the TSAs? And is scoring in the 50s good enough?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 53

If anyone has problem solving advice it'd be appreciated! In particular spatial arrangement, in my last TSA I got 69.2 with 22/25 in CT and 18/25 in PS but I didn't get any of the spatial questions - even after checking the answer! It seems to be the only style of question I get wrong where it wasn't due to me making a silly mistake/rushing through :s-smilie:

Reply 54

Original post by n.safar4

How would you recommend preparing for the TSAs? And is scoring in the 50s good enough?

Posted from TSR Mobile

For which subject are you applying?
I would recommend reading one or two of the books mentioned - Desai's is good. Make sure you do every past paper and record your scores but don't do them all too soon before the exam - make sure you have a full paper available for a mock a week or two before.
Just keep doing as many questions as possible and analyse the questions you got wrong to see where the answers are coming from. You can't really learn anything for the TSA like other exams, it's purely technique and thinking.

I'll be honest and say a score in the 50s is unlikely to get you an interview. The typical cut-off point is c.63 with offers being made usually to those with upwards of 67/68.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 55

Original post by iBall

If anyone has problem solving advice it'd be appreciated! In particular spatial arrangement, in my last TSA I got 69.2 with 22/25 in CT and 18/25 in PS but I didn't get any of the spatial questions - even after checking the answer! It seems to be the only style of question I get wrong where it wasn't due to me making a silly mistake/rushing through :s-smilie:

Have you any examples? IIRC what I found somewhat useful was to use scrap paper to copy the problem out which allowed me to manipulate the shape if needed.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 56

Original post by aasvogel

Have you any examples? IIRC what I found somewhat useful was to use scrap paper to copy the problem out which allowed me to manipulate the shape if needed.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Sure, q38, 44 & 50 from

http://www.admissionstestingservice.org/images/99503-tsa_oxford_section_1_2010.pdf

Reply 57

n.safar4

Original post by aasvogel

For which subject are you applying?
I would recommend reading one or two of the books mentioned - Desai's is good. Make sure you do every past paper and record your scores but don't do them all too soon before the exam - make sure you have a full paper available for a mock a week or two before.
Just keep doing as many questions as possible and analyse the questions you got wrong to see where the answers are coming from. You can't really learn anything for the TSA like other exams, it's purely technique and thinking.

I'll be honest and say a score in the 50s is unlikely to get you an interview. The typical cut-off point is c.63 with offers being made usually to those with upwards of 67/68.

Posted from TSR Mobile

But these averages display the opposite: ImageUploadedByStudent Room1442815996.717070.jpg

I'm applying for experimental psychology

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 58

Original post by n.safar4

But these averages display the opposite: ImageUploadedByStudent Room1442815996.717070.jpg

I'm applying for experimental psychology

Posted from TSR Mobile

Whoa okay. I wasn't aware the averages were like that for EP - most other TSA subjects require 60+. In which case you seem to be about average for an EP applicant so any improvements would help a lot!

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 59

n.safar4