Maria: Calling any state totalitarian is misleading: it implies total state control of all aspects of life. The real...
0tas>July 1, 2020
#19 - the steps to approaching this particular question (stimulus first or question stem first?)
I did get this question right on my first attempt. As I read the explanation for the correct answer, I see that it says not to read what James says in the stimulus. However, I remember from previous lessons in this course that the general approach towards any logical reasoning question requires me to read the stimulus first, then read the question stem. If I follow this general approach in this question #19, I end up reading both what Maria and James say in the stimulus before reading the question stem, which asks for the main point of what Maria says. However, the explanation for the correct answer to this question says that I should not read what James says in the stimulus. So on this particular question, would it be quicker and more efficient to read the question stem first so to avoid reading what James says in the stimulus, something that the answer explanation says not to read? Or would it still be more optimal even in this particular question to resort to the general approach of reading the stimulus first and then the question stem?
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I would say that it is best practice to always read the stimulus before reading the question stem. It makes answering the questions a lot easier once you have taken the time to develop a full understanding of what the stimulus says. If you read the question stem first, there's a chance that you may miss something important when going back to the stimulus as your brain will be focused on looking for the specific thing that the question stem is asking about.
I think what the explanation is trying to communicate here is that, once you've read the stimulus and then the question stem, you can ignore James' statements as the question is only asking us about Maria.
If you find it easier and more efficient to read the question stem first when you see a dialogue presented in the stimulus, it's up to you! Part of practising is developing your own tricks and building up your own efficiency. However, in general, I would say that it is better to read the stimulus first.
Hope this is helpful! Please let us know if you have any further questions.
