Nuance/edge cases in questions
Just had my second fail on PPD, waiting for the score report, but my first attempt was 517. I've passed every other test first try, so this one is driving me a little crazy.
On questions I was uncertain on, it always came down to two options, and I felt like there was either some nuance I was missing, or some unique edge case that isn't related to the actual concept being tested, but is applicable in only this one scenario. Do I know how to calculate the occupancy load of a space? Yeah! Do I know how to do it given ABC, and potentially XY and maybe Z but that depends on exactly how the author is defining one word or another in the question. What's even being asked here and how deep do you want me to go? Sometimes I answer practice questions and I'm overthinking it, sometimes I'm not overthinking it enough.
How do you study for these? What do I study if every case seems to be something I understand conceptually, but gets over complicated by a huge number of variables that might, or might not apply, entirely based on interpretation.
I hear a lot of advice about choosing the answer that is most correct, or highlighting important components of questions, but I've been trying to use this and it just doesn't seem to help, since I feel like I understand the question but choosing between B or C is highly dependent on interpretations of the question or the answers.
Not sure how to study for PPD anymore given this. The general concepts seem easy enough to me, but the specific applicability to any number of edge cases is highly dependent on interpretation of the question.
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mcstock I'm sorry to hear about your struggles with PPD! I also had to retake PPD during my ARE journey, so I definitely understand how difficult it can be.
PPD is extra challenging because it’s less about memorizing content and more about applying judgment to the very specific scenarios you're presented with. A 517 means you’re very close (just a few questions away from passing) so don't give up! Refine your study approach and build upon the knowledge and experience you've already gained from these two attempts.
What helped me was focusing less on the nuances and more on the primary concept the question is testing: life safety, building performance, constructability, cost, sequencing, etc. When you're torn between two answer choices, it often comes down to picking the answer that best aligns with the architect’s role or the most broadly correct design principle, even if another answer could work in a very specific scenario. Try to eliminate any external bias (i.e. unique scenarios you've seen in practice) and focus on selecting the answer that NCARB is looking for.
I know is frustrating, but you got this! Keep your head up and I am confident that third time's a charm. Good luck!
Kiara | Black Spectacles | Community
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Hi Mcstock,
1. A 517 is going to be 2 questions from passing. That means you're right there. PPD has a relatively high %-correct-to-pass range, so know that if it feels like you got about as many correct as you did for PDD, you probably did. 75% of your preparation to retake PPD should be spent maintaining the knowledge floor you're at now - our minds are leaky buckets, it takes more work than most people think to maintain the water level - but once you're maintaining, it's relatively little work to add to it. Only about a quarter of your review time should be spent on learning new topics, and don't spend more than half of that time on topics you specifically remember seeing covered - there are 10x the number of topics that may show up on PPD or PDD than there are questions on either exam, so it's relativley unlikely you'll see the same set of oddball topics covered twice.
This is a PDD practice question, but the answer I just gave will likely be useful to you in helping you frame how you think about these kinds of multipart questions - generally, it's better to just trust your instincts. Better to not pass because you need to further develop your professional instincts than to not pass because you twisted yourself in knots second-guessing things not trusting your instinct as a practicing professional!
Architect and Perfectionist are synonyms, but it's not useful in this moment for the ARE - the goal is to answer about 2/3 of the questions correct, know that you're no more than 6 questions behind more than half of the people who pass PDD!
Best,
Ralph, the Amber Book Team
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