UKCAT Preparation: An Overview of "decision analysis"
The UKCAT Document Decision Analysis is another important sub-test that should be treated with great care. You cannot think superficially when solving the questions in this particular section of the UKCAT exam. Most of the questions in this section are deliberately incomplete, uncertain and ambiguous. The challenge would be in understanding these questions, overcoming their ambiguity, completing them and reaching a correct conclusion. However, this section is not just about logical reasoning. It’s about how you apply your decision-making skills to overcome ambiguity and uncertainty. Collecting the right information and organizing it properly to finally make a decision can seem like a challenge.
An overview of this section of the UKCAT exam:
In a particular part of this section, your basic knowledge about English would be essential. If English has not been his first language, or he is not fluent in it, he definitely needs to practice this part of this section. However, if he feels that he is confident enough about it, then he doesn’t need to worry too much. In the rest of the part, you have to deal with certain codes, with their meanings mentioned alongside. All you need to do is review the codes, read the options, and analyze which of the answers would best interpret the codes. The codes can be in the form of numbers, or in the form of alphabets. However, the hardest part of this section is definitely studying the options properly and then going through the set of codes to crack them. Studying the questions superficially could give a completely wrong answer. In each option, you must study at least three codes, analyze their meanings, and then settle for the option that describes and gives the correct meaning to the set of codes.
How to score correctly in this section?
• To obtain an adequate score in this section, you must have a good knowledge of the English language and a good vocabulary. This is because; each code has a meaning and is represented by a strong word in English. Ignorance about the meaning of these words can hinder your work. This would also waste a lot of time in the process of solving the paper.
• The largest list of codes before a question pack is segregated into at least three sections. Each section has a specific function. It could be a modifier, a lexicon, a highlighted statement, possibilities, or a similar figure of sentences that allow you to interpret the options scientifically and easily derive their meaning. To correctly answer the questions, you must see the functions and purpose of each and every section of the code. It would allow you to decide the meaning of the sentences more clearly.
• While answering, you should refer to a few codes that precede the four options for each question. These few codes are selected directly from the larger list of codes. You should refer to the meanings of only those few codes when answering a particular question. Make sure that after looking at each code, you remember the meanings they represent. This would make it easier for you to save the time consumed in the process of constantly going back through a larger list of codes to derive the correct answer. This is one of the ways you can save time during UKCAT.
• If you feel you are running out of time, we suggest that you do not review the larger list of codes before addressing each question individually. When you see a particular question, be sure to only deal with the few codes that are mentioned just above the set of options. Find only their meanings in the largest list of codes and analyze them properly. However, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t take a look at the function (mentioned in the larger list) that these few codes are intended to fulfill.
While you’re tackling the “Decision Analysis” section of the UKCAT exam, all you need is a little common sense and some focus. Since most of the options are very close in meaning, you need to decide which one is grammatically correct and which one correctly deciphers ALL the codes mentioned just above the set of options.