Can you change preferences on ipad so the cursor appears where you tap the screen?

Using my ipad mini, I’ve been having trouble placing the cursor in text where I’d like it to appear. The cursor seems to go to the end of a word instead of where I tap, forcing me to swipe to move the cursor. This usually results in the cursor ending up in some random place since I can’t see where I’m swiping because my finger blocks my view.

Is there a preference setting to change this feature?

Also, is this a new default feature of ios 13 (Currently running ios 13.7)? This problem seems to have started only recently.

Thanks in advance for any advice.