Self-study
i'm getting pretty distressed because it seems like the more studying/practice i do, the more questions i get wrong. i got a great score on my first practice test, but i was right up against the timer on each section, and it felt like i was wasting time doubting my answers. since then i've been trying to be more confident in my answers and move more quickly, but then i keep falling for trap answers. my second practice test was abysmal even though i felt like i did great. now my confidence is shot and i'm spending an inordinate amount of time on each question. does anyone else have this same experience and have any advice on the confidence/time management tradeoff?
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one thing i saw that my tutor told me to do is to click the clock on the corner and turn it off. that way you are not staring at the clock and stressing yourself out over time. that wont stop you from seeing the timing bar go down, but at least you are not fixated on the time going down.
This might be an unpopular opinion but maybe just take a break. Don't study for a day or two and give yourself a minute. Come back and only do untimed drills for the question types you struggle with the most. Maybe just 5 or 10 at a time and ignore your internal clock. You'll be very surprised how fast you improve when you stop aimlessly drilling and really just understand the question and why each answer is right or wrong. I promise the time improvement will end up being a biproduct.
I had similar issues myself. Focus less on the clock. You’re trying to speed through and finish early, which means you’re missing things you likely otherwise could’ve gotten correct. Slow down and focus on getting everything you answer right. As you do that, you’ll get better with the question structures naturally because you’re forcing yourself to throughly understand each question and answer, and speed will follow. Try more drilling/untimed sections to build up your base.