rough estimation on how much time to spend on RC?

ildude02

I was wondering if there is any rough estimation on how much time you are supposed to spend on a RC passage. Since we don't know before hand how many questions each passage may have, I presume we should make a reasonable assumption that , smaller the passage, fewer are the questions and vice versa and allocate the time accordingly. But still, I wanted to know from some of the gmat beaters, how much time they rougly spend on the passgage and the questions concerning that passage.

Also, how many RC passages you would normally encounter on the real test ?

I'd appreciate anyone's response to my above queries.

simplyjat · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:17 am Post subject:

Premature optimization is root cause of all evil....

Are you actually running short of time in verbal ?
Are RCs the only area capable of improvement ?

If answer of any of the above question is no, Just concentrate on the accuracy and forget about time...

jimmy23 · Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:28 am Post subject:

Hi simplyjat,
I agree with you but just for the secure side if we are planning to arrange our time then i think it is better to think over it also.

Stuart Kovinsky · Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:55 am Post subject:

As a very general estimate, Kaplan recommends:

1 minute per question for SC;
2 minutes per question for CR; and
3-4 minutes to read each RC passage and about 1.5 minutes per question.

However, those are very general estimates that should be adjusted according to your own strengths and weaknesses, the length and difficulty of passages/questions that you see and how you're progressing (timing-wise) during the exam.