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Help with decision making section UKCat .

I seem to be really struggling logical puzzle questions with the questions in the isc medical book and I seem to be getting them all wrong ! It also seems as if 1 minute per question is not enough time for me to read the question on the logical puzzles and come to a proper conclusion. When I see the answers I always wonder how I was suppose to do that working out in just a minute! Do you have any tips? Thank you in advance. It's just the Einstein type questions I really struggle with. It's really disheartening.
Original post by BubbleBabby
I seem to be really struggling logical puzzle questions with the questions in the isc medical book and I seem to be getting them all wrong ! It also seems as if 1 minute per question is not enough time for me to read the question on the logical puzzles and come to a proper conclusion. When I see the answers I always wonder how I was suppose to do that working out in just a minute! Do you have any tips? Thank you in advance. It's just the Einstein type questions I really struggle with. It's really disheartening.


Hi there!

Don't panic, there's plenty of time to practise!

Our best advice would be to keep up your practice questions and make sure you always look at the answer explanations after you've completed them - this way, you can see where you've gone wrong and this will greatly improve your scores! In our free UKCAT Question Bank you can track your performance and see detailed answer explanations.

We've also recently published a blog with our top Decision Making tips too, which may help!

Hope this helps! :smile:
The Medic Portal
for the 'Does the conclusion follow'? questions do you have to score 5/5 to get a mark so that 4/5 and 0/5 have the same outcome or do you get partial credit for getting 1-4/5
Original post by The Medic Portal
Hi there!

Don't panic, there's plenty of time to practise!

Our best advice would be to keep up your practice questions and make sure you always look at the answer explanations after you've completed them - this way, you can see where you've gone wrong and this will greatly improve your scores! In our free UKCAT Question Bank you can track your performance and see detailed answer explanations.

We've also recently published a blog with our top Decision Making tips too, which may help!

Hope this helps! :smile:
The Medic Portal


Thank you
Original post by HaveFa1th
for the 'Does the conclusion follow'? questions do you have to score 5/5 to get a mark so that 4/5 and 0/5 have the same outcome or do you get partial credit for getting 1-4/5


You get partial credit, but nobody's quite sure how much.
Have a watch of our free tutorial on YouTube :smile:

There's a specific section just for Decision Making and in particular Logical Puzzles.

youtube.com/medicmind
(edited 6 years ago)
We also have lots of free tutorials for other sections for Decision Making too. Have a watch of some of them :smile:

https://youtube.com/medicmind

Here are some of my tips for Decision Making:

1. You are the first to sit this section

“Sitting a brand new section is difficult with few revision resources”

At this moment in time we know very little about how it is going to pan out, other than the fact that we have covered every possible question type that could come up. The section is new, so there are fewer resources available, but everyone is in the same boat.


2. Treat the section as a game

“Decision Making is kind of fun”

Each question is a puzzle and the more puzzles you solve, the better chance you have of winning the game.


3. Abstract concepts require patience

“Syllogisms were a nightmare at first. Bananas are gardens...”

Many concepts, such as syllogisms, are very abstract and so will require a lot of practice and patience from your part. However, if you use the Medic Mind techniques you should have covered every angle in preparation for test day.


4. Do not panic!

“Even if I found a new question style, I tried not to panic. All Decision Making questions require the same type of logic, so even being put out of my comfort zone did not worry me too much”

If you see a question type you have not seen before or prepared strongly for, don't worry. As long as you do not panic and keep a cool head you have a good chance of getting it right. Many of the techniques used in the different tutorials are very similar, so use them as a base for any unknown questions that might crop up.


5. Maintain your concentration

“It is hard to focus so late in the test. To prepare I tried to do a mock test in my library. A 2 hour full test, a stuffy room, an old computer... it was a good replica of the test day!”

This section will require a lot of energy and concentration so ensure that you maintain your focus throughout. If you cannot solve one of the 29 questions, do not dwell. This will only waste time for you. The section is towards the end so keep concentrating, you’re nearly done!


6. Don’t be fooled by distractors
“They can often give you many distracting, irrelevant pieces of information”

When presented with a large amount of information, make sure you note which bits are necessary and which aren't. There will be distractors, just as there are in other sections such as Abstract Reasoning.


7. Brush up on your mathematical techniques.

“I thought I could do these questions easy, because I thought it was just simple maths”

For Venn Diagrams and Probabilistic Reasoning, brush up on your mathematical techniques close to the exam, if you have forgotten how to do them. It will not take too much time and will give you confidence when answering questions.I hope this helps!

With Love,
Mohil
UCL Y4
Medic Mind
(edited 4 years ago)

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