The fact that you reached the 2-minute mark on a particular GMAT quant question does not mean that you should immediately guess and move on. If you believe that you are on the verge of getting an answer, even if you are at the 2-minute mark, it may be worthwhile to spend another 30 to 45 seconds answering the question. Sometimes, one final step, one final calculation, or one final realization is all it takes to arrive at the correct answer. If the work you’ve done so far is organized and you see a clear path forward, trust your instincts and take that extra time. You may very well get the question right and protect your score.
Quant Considerations
On the other hand, you are not required to spend 2 minutes on every quantitative question on the GMAT. For example, you are 30 seconds into a difficult Statistics question, and you have no clue how to move forward. In that case, take a guess and move on. In so doing, you’ll gain extra time to work on a later question that might take a bit of extra time but whose answer you are confident you can calculate. It’s not about spending the same time on every question. It’s about allocating time wisely, based on where you’re most likely to earn points.
Verbal Considerations
The Verbal Reasoning section is more problematic about timing. You can’t just use simple arithmetic to determine the average number of minutes to answer a verbal question. The two types of questions – Reading Comprehension (RC) and Critical Reasoning (CR) – are quite different from each other in terms of timing and strategy. For example, for RC passages you must first read the passage before you can answer the questions. Thus, you must account for the reading time of a passage. Thus, the 3–4 RC passages (and their attendant 13 questions) might need 8 minutes of reading time and 21 minutes to answer the 13 RC questions. This would leave about 16 minutes to answer the 10 CR questions.
The numbers presented in the previous paragraph are just guidelines. You know that some questions will be more challenging than others. But, with reading time taken into account, your average time to answer any verbal question will be a little more than 1.5 minutes. But, rather than give up when 1:30 has passed, you need to assess whether you’re on the path to arriving at a correct answer soon or just struggling as the seconds fly by. You don’t want to burn time on a CR question whose conclusion and logic still feel confusing after 90 seconds. But if you're honing in on the correct assumption or strengthening statement, it might be smart to take the extra time and lock in the point.
Reach out to me with any questions about your GMAT prep. Happy studying!
Warmest regards,
Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep
