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Timing?
CantStopWontStop
Alum Member
To get a 170, do you think one should consistently finish all the questions in 30-32 mins? Which of course will allow some time to go back and double check answers that one is not 100% about. Should 170+ mastery allow for that? I’m trying to get my pacing down, and although I right at 35 mins for all the sections, I’m wondering if I should speed up a little.
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I think if you're aiming for a 170 you should aim to have, at the very least, 5 minutes to go back and check answers/do skipped questions. Ideally, closer to 8-10 minutes is what I've found to be best. This 8-10 minutes is banked by aggressive skipping that allows time to go back and do the 4-5 questions I usually skip. Doing this I've been able to consistently go -2 or so my recent LR sections.
What you don't want to do, however, is just speed up by reading faster or getting sloppy. I've found most of my speed has come from increasing my confidence through tons of drills that allow me to choose answers more quickly and assuredly.
No two test takers are exactly the same. Experiment with different approaches, and see how it plays out. For me personally, the most important thing was giving myself a minute to just make sure I bubbled all my answers correctly. I saved myself from getting 2 questions wrong in December by checking my answer sheet with my test sheet.
The idea behind is average folks tend not to get everything right in first instance. Humans make silly errors, read things incorrectly, and sometimes miss things the first time.
There is always going to be that one person who never needs a round two on some questions. But in general most high scorers who consistently can score in 170's need to go back to those questions they couldn't get on their first round.
My round one always has about 4 questions circled, 2 of them are probably extremely tough and two easy that I just didn't see things on first round. Having 5-10 minutes at the end can mean the difference from going -4 to -2/0.
I think the wrong way to think about banking time is to think of things like - I need to hurry. The better question to ask is, did I spend more time on questions than I needed to get correct? For example, on a super easy question where you spotted the right answer choice in 30 seconds -did you linger on and spend another 30 seconds to verify the rest of the answer choices were incorrect? Did you see a very hard questions that you couldn't understand the argument for and decided to spend 3 minutes on first round trying to get correct? I think having a strategy to deal with issues you come up with gives you speed rather than rushing which can make us miss things.
Awesome advice, thank you. I am going to play around with skipping more questions, and having that 8-10 mins to answer the harder questions. Get that low hanging fruit. Although, I am a little worried about skipping and misbubbling. Any advice on that.
Alex, are you a sixers fan? Because you are all about the process. Love it.
I actually am a pretty big 76ers fan, haha. Very good guess! I'm also a huge Celtics fan, so I'm looking forward to the game tonight. You a sixers fan as well?
Although, I am a little worried about skipping and misbubbling. Any advice on that.
When I skip, I'm always super careful and vigilant to avoid misbubblings. I also go through on my 2nd or 3rd round and double check all my answers/bubbles to make sure they match up. It takes like 30 seconds, but it's well worth it.
Some people bubble in a placeholders to avoid misbubbling. That's also something you could try!
I didn't realize people circled their answers in the book, then bubbled. Smart. A little time consuming, but definitely worth the 30 secs-1 min. I think I am going to put a place holder.
Sometimes I feel like skipping is a little time consuming too though. Because you already read the stimulus and question, then thought about it for a moment. But I plan to mull it out for a short amount of time, put the best answer at the time, and move forward. Basically make sure I'm not in a time suck situation. Like a half/skipping approach.
And I'm a Lakers fan first and foremost, and a fan of good basketball second. Both fun teams to watch, but as I am taking the Feb test and not the June test, sadly I have no time for non-Lakers game. Have fun with the game. And maybe after my Feb test, I'll donate a little of my time to volunteer with the Philly police department in helping solve the mystery of the disappearance of Markelle Fultz. The Sixers might have skipped a bubble on that one.
Yeah that's the sunken cost fallacy. Just because you spent time on the question, you feel like you need to complete it or you've wasted time. Be wary when you start to feel like this. Each question is only worth a single point, so don't sacrifice too much time on any one question at the expense of other (easier) ones. Also, sometimes you just need to get some time away from a question. After re-reading a question several times, words start to lose their meaning for me. 10 minutes away from it can provide me with a fresh set of eyes when I go back. Most times I see the answer and can't believe I missed it the first time.
I actually don't think the half/skipping approach will be as effective because the advantage of skipping comes from banking as much time as possible. If you mull over it first, you're taking time away from your second round with it.
HAHA! The Lakers have a great roster this season. If I lived in LA, I'd definitely be more of a fan, haha. I don't like in Philly but I've been a Sixers fan forever, though I'm not sure why.
Again, wise advice. The fresh eyes 10 mins later comment is so true. A big thanks again for that!
Well, your day may been soon with the Sixers. Sixers will be primed in 3-5 years when Golden State relinquishes the thrown.
No problem, brother.
From your lips to God's ears!
You should definitely circle your answers in the book. That way, If you do have time to go back to look over some of the questions, you will see right away which answer you have already selected. Another important reason to bubble in the book is the terrible case where you see a miss-bubble, and have to quickly re-enter answer choices back into the scantron sheet.
In regards to your original post and timing per section, that will vary for different people. I was actually one of the people finishing LR section in 32/33, RC in 34/35, and LG in 35 (though for LG it wasn't by choice — I've always been historically slow on it), because I saw that this timing pattern worked for me. So it's definitely possible to get 170+ in this way. Most 170+ people I know, though, would typically finish each section in about 30 minutes, and get better results by putting remaining time into going over the tricky questions again. You can experiment with different strategies for a couple of weeks, and see which gives you better results. Good luck!
pioneer321. Very helpful info. Thank you! And good luck to you!
@"Alex Divine" @Feb2018Taker
Lakers fan here! Although I've been heartbroken from the void, and I can't get over it as much as I had hoped I would. I grew up watching him. Went to games every season. Saw him from the first few rows many, many times. I truly feel a spot in my heart is gone forever.
I too think I'm a bit off my rocker for the obsession. But dammit I loved him on the game and it's just not the same! Dare I say his name. Watching and following bball used to be a big part of my life. Now it is limited to following Kennard on the Pistons, as we are from the same hometown and I've known him for many years. Other than that... it's got little of my attention.
Ahh I'm so jealous you used to go to all those games. I've never been to a lakers game...
It's ok to be a bit off your rocker for the obsession. I have players I feel that way about.
p.s. You are now officially the coolest mom I know
@"Alex Divine" Haha thanks!
Entirely depends on the individual I think. I skip somewhat aggressively (2-4 questions) on LR and normally have about ~5-8m to go back to them (but it's my best section). RC I usually don't skip more than a couple but don't normally have more than 3 or 4 minutes to go back to them. LG I almost never have spare time as it's by far my weakest section, even with some skipping involved.
And the 100% confidence is something talked about a lot but when I'm taking a real test, I often don't feel it's worth going back to a question where I'm 95% certain, even though that is strictly <100%. I think you have to be a bit economical with where you spend your time. This is especially true for harder questions. If I'm 75% certain about the answer for a hard question vs 75% for an easy question, I'll always go back to the easy one first, since it's easier to reach 100% certainty on an easy question than it is on the harder one.
No problem. Thankfully, I think I am done with the LSAT, but I could definitely use some luck on these stupid applications haha.