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Timing strategy

by marijose » Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:14 am
Hi guys, I am terrible on the quant section on the gmat because of timing..

Is there any pre established timming strategy that I can follow? ive read a few but I wanted to check with the general gmat population first.

regards
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by David@VeritasPrep » Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:36 pm
When you say timing strategy I think that we need to really take the strategy part seriously and not only think about answering this many questions in this period of time. Here are some thoughts on timing on the Quantitative side of the GMAT.

Many people base their "strategies" on the fear of missing questions. This leads them to the following approach - when they encounter a strange and difficult problem they become focused and alert and put maximum time and attention into this problem. Then when they see a problem that they can get right they try to not only get it right but do so in the shortest possible time so that they can make up the time they just devoted to the really difficult problem.
The better way to approach the quant section is this:

When you see a question that you can get right - devote the attention and the time that it takes to get it right. There is a difference between struggling for 3 minutes to come up with a strategy for a question you find very difficult (this is usually a mistake) and spending three minutes doing what it takes to ensure that you get a particular question (that you know you can solve) correct. It is a matter of approach to the test and it can make a huge difference. Do not try to steal 20 seconds from questions that you can get right only to hand that time over to a question that you will likely miss anyway.

Here are two things to think about:

1) If you do not have a specific strategy for solving a quant problem in about 1 minute and 15 seconds then you will want to choose from the viable answer choices and move on. It is precisely this type of question - where you have no strategy for a long time - that can sap the time and energy right out of your quant section on the test.

2) Set a time standard for yourself - I like to say that after question 25 I should have 25 minutes left (for the last 12 questions). If I am 5 minutes behind, I will just skip (randomly guess) at the next two problem solving questions I see. This will bring me back to the right pace. This is a better strategy than the alternative of " I can catch back up." Be careful here, trying to catch up usually means saving 20 or 30 seconds per question and we already know this is a mistake. Better to sacrifice two or three questions for the good of the test.

Finally, focus on getting questions right rather than on fearing that you might get some wrong. You will get questions wrong. But if you get say, 25-30 right out of the 37 you will score very well on the Quantitative section.
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by rohu27 » Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:31 pm
David,

While I do agree we need to be more judicious between problems we know we can solve and ones we know we cant even after good 3-4 minutes. But it does happen to me on practise tests that there are few quant Qs in quant which i can solve within a minute and get the correct answer, while there are few where it takes me abt a minute to get the logic and then abt 2 more minutes to get the answer. (i may arrive at the correct answer but it will take me 3 minutes)
Also there are questions which I will not be able to answer even after 3 minutes, so I better guess and move on wth them.
My point here is, it is not possible to have the same avg time for each question right? Some questions will be answered within a minute and some taken arnd 3. Is this a wrong approach?

Coming to Verbal..I have very bad time managemnet here. Any advice?
I tend to rush thru verbal and finish it off early, in the process making mistakes. SOme Rc Qs may be i would have answered well only if i went back to the passage and eliminated all wrong options etc. Last practice test i took i was finished t 15 minutes before and got 36. I am not saying i would have got 40+ if not for the timing, but definitley it would have bee better.
How do you think i can tackle this? May be just remind myself of the question number i shud be at for at particular time? I am thinkin to do this in my next practice test. I will make a note of the timing and the question number and follow it. how does it sound?

Thanks,
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by David@VeritasPrep » Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:18 am
You are exactly correct. The last time I took the GMAT (one year ago) I had about 5 quant that seemed around one minute. More number properties almost definitional type of questions that I could just get quickly. (Of course we must be careful on these not too move too quickly but to make sure we can get them right without falling for any GMAT tricks).

On the other hand there were an equal number of questions that certainly took me 3 minutes. That is not a problem. Even 3 minutes is not a problem. Once you start getting into the 3:30 and 4 minutes and beyond range I find that my students do not actually have a higher chance of getting the question right. In other words yes it does take longer for some questions and less time for others. And up to 3 minutes even 3:30 is totally reasonable.

What I am saying about the strategy is this, if you have the strategy in 1 minute and it takes you 2 more of 2:30 more to finish - great! You are working on a question that promises to take you somewhere. If you do not have a strategy or you are vague or have more of a hope then you will take more time without having the reasonable expectation of getting the question right.

So that is the point I am making. You are correct about the fact that not everything takes the same amount of time but if you come upon a question type that you are not good at and you find that the particular question seems tough for you now you are going to end up spending lots of time and probably still missing the question.

On the verbal side three things come to mind:

1) Sentence Correction is the key to the timing on the verbal section. 1:15 seconds on S.C. can leave you with 2:00 plus for C.R. and R.C. questions.

2) Understand R.C. strategy. You need to be able to take your time reading and be able to answer the main idea questions and be able to go back for detail questions without skimming the passage, without having to re-read the passage, and without getting caught up in the minute details.

3) Trust yourself. Unlike Quant, much of the problem on the verbal side is from debating two choices repeatedly. Almost a soul-searching as you look back and forth at the questions. This is not the way to go you have to have reliable techniques and not second guess yourself.
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by rohu27 » Fri Apr 01, 2011 2:21 am
Thanks a ton David, I will try to implement all these in my next practice test.

(Your point 3 for the verbal section was bang on!!so true)
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by David@VeritasPrep » Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:21 pm
And remember, the way to trust yourself on the test is to trust yourself in practice as well.

I tell people, "You want to practice the way that you seek to perform on test day."

If your strategy leads you to the wrong answer then re-evaluate your strategy, but try to make a smooth go of it on verbal questions. A strong progression from start to finish without a lot of hesitation and second guesses. Even if you have to write a few things down and work more consistently it will pay off if you don't second-guess a lot.

One thing that can help on both CR and RC is to stop at the end of each sentence for CR and each paragraph for RC and "gather yourself." And look for shifts in language for CR - was something referred to as "a possibility" in one sentence and suddenly is "the only possibility" in the next?
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by rohu27 » Sat Apr 02, 2011 4:24 am
One thing that can help on both CR and RC is to stop at the end of each sentence for CR and each paragraph for RC and "gather yourself."
i need to use this more on RC, at times after reading an entire RC i wonder "What did i just read?"
some RC's can be so frustrating, especially whn i dnt trust my 'skimming' strategy.i need to give a read once (i try to ignore the detailed parts).
its so easy to get lost in the convoluted language.

thanks for reminding me this again.
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