GMAT Strategy

i find that when i do SC and CR questions i (a lot of times) take about 30 seconds to answer them.

i know i should take my time and make sure i answer the questions as carefully as i can - but usually i can (or i THINK i can) get to the correct answer right away.

does anyone else have this problem?
how would you suggest i slow down so that i can make sure i'm using my time as efficiently as i can?
should i REALLY be spending 2 whole mins. on these types of questions?

thanks

I'm not quite as quick to answer the questions as you seem to be (usually around 1 minute per question), but I could definitely take a bit more time to think about my response. On my first GMATPrep CAT, I completed the verbal section with 10 minutes to spare. But, I missed 8 questions due to careless errors. That's a problem I'm currently addressing. I worked through 40 OG practice problems last night and my hit % was significantly higher than before, partly due to spending more time (1.3 minutes) on each question.

I would suggest you slow it down if the timing is causing you to make careless errors or overlook key concepts.

MeddlingKid wrote:I'm not quite as quick to answer the questions as you seem to be (usually around 1 minute per question), but I could definitely take a bit more time to think about my response. On my first GMATPrep CAT, I completed the verbal section with 10 minutes to spare. But, I missed 8 questions due to careless errors. That's a problem I'm currently addressing. I worked through 40 OG practice problems last night and my hit % was significantly higher than before, partly due to spending more time (1.3 minutes) on each question.

I would suggest you slow it down if the timing is causing you to make careless errors or overlook key concepts.

thanks for your response. i'm going to try to really slow it down when i work on these probems - at least using 1 min for each, anyway.

this brings me to another concern actually - when i work on problems i feel like i'm constantly looking at the clock to see how i'm doing. it's not distracting right now... but i could see it being a problem on the actual exam.
- how often do people generally glance at the clock (multiple times while working on a problem... once after every problem... once after every 3 or 5 problems... never, etc)? just curious

First, the exam allows you to hide the clock to provide test takers a means of avoiding your problem. If you are really having trouble, you can practice "hiding" the clock and "unhiding" it every few minutes to make sure your internal clock is in line with the exam clock. After doing several practice cats you should have a good feel for it especially when you combine it with timed practice.

Second, your worry about answering SC and CR questions may be a valid concern, but let me ask you, how fast do you answer RC questions? I personally had no problems on SC (45 seconds on average each), but had to spend more time on RC questions so the average per question was just a little over 2 minutes. The 2 min per question rule is an average that takes into account reading the RC passage then answering questions. So answering SC and CR fast may be good if you have having issues with RC.

Having said that you mentioned you finished a cat with 10 minutes left over on Verbal and that is A LOT of time you could have spent double checking and verifying your answers. Strive to spread your time out by slowing down as MeddlingKid said. In particular, look at the questions you got wrong and find the careless errors. For those, formulate a strategy or method to SPOT the erros then AVOID them. When you do see a trap/clue that leads to that same error on a cat, let your instincts kick in, slow down and tread carefully...