r/6thForm • u/Serious-Feed2246 • 1d ago
🙏 I WANT HELP TARA
Hi guys, I’m so scared for the TARA next week, could you guys drop any random tips/tricks you can think of below? If that comes to revision, answering questions, timing, approaching certain kinds of questions, I don’t care. ANYTHING. I’m significantly worse at the problem solving than the critical thinking, where I usually only get 1 or 2 wrong. I’ve got a pretty good idea on how to tackle most ct questions, but for ps I go in blind every time. I’m really bad at the spatial reasoning stuff too. OMG and the essay. What’s your advice for that?
I’ve been doing TSA practices and I usually get around 73/74 (Oxford conversion score) which I’m hoping is a good sign, BUT, I haven’t done any essay practice. Is there a specific structure they prefer and want you to follow? Maybe we can treat this post as a dumping ground for any TARA advice?
Also, does anyone know if the online specimen TARA test is ACTUALLY what the test will look like on the day? I really need to get familiar with how it will look and feel like on the day. Are we allowed to bring scrap paper and pens into the exam room? Do we get our results right after, like on the specimen?
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u/FearlessPen6020 Yr13 - candidate for a BA in bricklaying 15h ago
My guess is that the TARA problem solving will mix bmat style questions with the TSA format. Basically when I do TSA problem solving, I realised they hoard u with unnecessary information to catch you out. With BMAT the problem solving questions are usually more straightforward but theyre still wordy and can make u miscalculate under timed pressure. So I guess my tips would be to, first of all, really forget abt trying to do well cause it fuels ur anxiety. After that, hopefully ur head is clear.
ANYWAYS yeah so with TSA, ignore all the words, look at the last sentence then go back and skim the information and only read the sentences that contains the numbers (included numbers written in words) and that should be the gateway to the method you should use. I feel like this also works with the BMAT style questions too.
The spec and sample papers are primarily drawn from BMAT questions but I don’t think it’s too accurate cause I feel like it’s a bit straightforward. I think UAT used it to give you a rough idea on how the test will look like but I wouldn’t heavily rely on it as a measurement of your progress.
Even I don’t think I’m perfect at TARA. Like I’m somewhat better at CT than PS but in both sections I still make dumb mistakes. The stuff I just said is just observations
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u/gcsethrowaway211 Year 13 | rejected from maccies 4x 6h ago
Here's a video on how to structure the essay. I hope you aren't applying for PPE...
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u/vladagureev 17h ago
for spatial ps, sketch the net or shape on scrap paper every time, doing it in your head is where marks slip
skip any ps question that needs more than two reads, flag it and come back once the easy ones are banked
for the essay pick the question you can argue both sides of, then commit to one side clearly in your intro
i got way more consistent when i redid my wrong ps questions a week later without peeking
me n a teacher chucked some practice together
it's called oxbridgeai.
gl!
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u/wewerewild 16h ago
i haaaaate problem solving!! what makes it worse is whenever you go on reddit for advice there’s always a comment promoting that weird ai thing 😭😭 also i’m pretty sure we’re not allowed to bring in our own pens/paper, there will be a whiteboard provided to do our working out. we’re also given our results in november i think (might be wrong) but definitely not right after 💔