Guys would you just recommend doing practice exams or like what method did you use to improve in this section?
I'm of the belief that improving in this section is quite difficult, especially when compared to section 3. However it can be done. Personally to improve in this section, I focused on drills rather than diving into practice exams. Prac exams are really there to practice timing and experienced a rather vigorous 3 hour exam, not for building up basic skills and early training. I fear cramming practice exams this early (usually when most are just
starting UMAT) will not be as effective as it could be, and may end up burning you out.
Thus by starting with drills, you will be able to focus on your section 1 skills (each section really tests different things, and the exam is an overall test, as each type of question is shuffled around in the exam giving a nice spread, unlike previous years where each section was separate). First I would simply go through some section 1 questions (untimed!!!), and see if you can figure out the answer. Then check the answers, and if you're correct, great, but if you're correct from guessing, or answered incorrectly, then make sure you check the answers and their explanations!!
The explanations showing how the solution is obtained is crucial in knowing how to improve!
Some other things to keep in mind about S1:
-From memory there are multiple types of S1 questions, and they assess different things, namely, comprehension skills, understanding and interpretation of graphs, and logical problem solving (think of those riddles -eg google Einstein's riddle- where there are a bunch of people and each have different statements about them, such as "Bob has a cat" and "Holly's friend only drinks cider with the man with a dog", but on a smaller scale).
-Make sure your answer arises from information given in the
question, not from individual knowledge etc etc
-Make sure you really comprehend what you're reading, contrary to popular thinking, you spend most of your UMAT time thinking, and much less reading, so if you have to read it slower, then do it (this one is more personal as some people are really good at speed reading and what not but if you aren't, like me, then it's best to make sure you comprehend the question instead of potentially missing out on something!)
-Don't get overwhelmed about the barrage of information each question is composed of! Break it down!
-Compose methods of noting what info you have been provided with! Write things down- sometimes just giving it a go makes it much more doable!
Hope it helps, and all the best- it's a brutal test, but it's a brutal test for everyone so it's all relative!
Edit: one more thing! It's often very easy to end up making false assumptions/conclusions based on what's given, so be careful instead of impulsively selecting A (or B..or C.. or D.. and never E unless you're doing section 3 lol)
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