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How do you improve timing?

tmac1293tmac1293 Member
in General 51 karma

I've just taken my third practice test, and not once have I finished a single section on time. Sometimes I have as many as ten questions left on a given section. I am able to do fairly well on my BR (168 on my second test), so I think that comprehension is not the main problem. I am just not able to get through the questions quickly enough. I would appreciate if you guys could share with me what methods you used to become faster at taking the test.

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  • DefenderDefender Alum Member
    348 karma

    Don't worry about getting faster. You are on the right track. It will just take time. Make sure that you don't spend time waffling between answer choices after you read the stimulus. Just cut bait and move on. Take your time in the stimulus and take your time reading the ACs. After that, if an answer isn't apparent---move on. You can review and learn afterward.

    One of my favorite things said on these discussion forums is: if you want to go fast, slow down. And as frustrating as that sounds, it's absolutely true.

    I started out with a 146 and I BR'd the same test for a 167. But I closed that gap by calming down the nerves, taking my time in the reading, and leaving a question when I was confused. I used to be so stubborn, and I wanted to force an answer out. When I learned to just move on, my score went up 3/4 points per section.

    Be patient with yourself and just keep going.

  • chsc3555chsc3555 Member
    66 karma

    I struggled with timing in all the sections at first and still do with RC and LG, though I have improved substantially. Something which helped a lot was looking back at how much time I spent per question -- I am SO thankful that 7sage keeps track of this. I noticed that, for the most part, my timing was not bad, but I would sometimes get tripped up on one question and spend 4+ minutes on it. Of course, after you spend 4 minutes on a question, you feel really rushed for the rest of the section and your accuracy decreases significantly. So, the trick for me was recognizing when I was spending more than, say, 2 minutes on a question and just giving it my best guess before moving on. This general strategy has helped a lot, as I no longer hemorrhage time. Additionally, after reading a question, I take a moment to consider what I would expect an answer to look like. This allows me to look for one thing in particular among the answers, greatly speeding up my process.

    Specifically for the different sections:

    In LR, I try to keep it to about a minute per question for the first 15-20 questions. Most questions actually take longer, but some are instantaneous (like, I'll answer them in 10 seconds or so), and that keeps me on track. If you can keep to 1 minute per question for that first big chunk, then you have about 2 mins per question for the final 5-10 questions. Some of those questions can be answered quickly, but others take 3 or so minutes. Again, the trick for me is to not get hung up on one questions for 4+ minutes. With this strategy, I usually get between -0 and -2.

    In RC, I started to go faster when I began reading more slowly. I spend about 4 mins per passage (longer than most, and probably a bit too long) and really make sure I understand the whole thing before moving on to the questions. Although it makes me anxious to spend so long reading, I find that the questions go much faster with a solid understanding of the passage. But I'm not great with this section, as I still miss an average of 5 or so questions due to feeling rushed. So I'm not sure my advice here is the best.

    LG has really been a grind. It used to take me like 15-20 mins to do a single game -- even a simple one. I keep reading that LG will "click" after enough practice, so I'm just trying to put in the time. Lately, I can complete a whole section with -0 or -1 in 40ish mins, which is a huge improvement from where I began. I think LG is just something you have to practice. I usually print LG sets and take them with a stopwatch rather than only allowing myself 35 mins. I pay attention to how I spend my time: Do I re-draw the game board excessively? Do I spend too much time reading parts of the stimulus that really aren't that important? Do I check my work excessively? After seeing a correct answer, how much time do I spend making sure the wrong ones are wrong? This has helped me trim the fat off my process. And I feel the games starting to "click," which I assume is just a consequence of practicing all the time.

    Hope this helps!

  • tmac1293tmac1293 Member
    51 karma

    Thank you both for your responses. I am going to use these strategies for my next practice test. It seems that my problem is that I am spending too much time parsing out the right answer, re-reading answer choices, and being indecisive. It goes against my instincts to select an answer and move on before I feel certain about it, but that is what I must do to complete the section.

  • a1ex_682a1ex_682 Alum Member
    307 karma

    Your timing will definitely improve with more practice. However, I didn’t see significant timing improvement until I did these drills:

    LG - fool proof, eventually drill an entire game section in under 30 minutes

    LR - practice drilling the “10 in 10”. Try to do 10 LR questions of easiest-medium difficulty in 10 minutes with 100% accuracy. Overtime, try to get up to 15 in 15

    RC - practice drilling timed 3.5 - 4.0 min passage (reading and Lo res summary) and 5.0 min - 4.0 Min for questions

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