DS timing

Question

hi guys, i have a question on timing.
 Approximately how long should one spend on data sufficiency questions. i was looking through some DS questions on kaplan workbook and it alloted 15mins for 25 questions which is approx. 36 seconds per question? Is this realistic?? should one expect to spend that little time on DS questions?

using the OG, i spend from 25 seconds to a minute and a half on a question. I solved 20 DS questions in about 25minutes? It's my first DS test though.

So is my speed slow for a 700+ score or does everyone else spend similar time on DS?

thanks

IanStewart · Answer

It would be crazy to spend only 36 seconds per question on DS on the real GMAT. Some DS questions can be solved quickly, but some are more time-consuming than Problem Solving questions, since sometimes you're really doing three problems in one (S1 alone, S2 alone, S1+S2 together). It would be very easy to miss a trap if you were to work that quickly. If, as you say, you're solving most DS in under a minute, you're way ahead of a normal pace - if you're getting all of those questions right, that's brilliant, but if you're making mistakes, you can clearly afford to slow down quite a lot. There's certainly nothing wrong with spending two minutes plus on some DS questions - I'd guess that pretty much all 700+ scorers do that quite often, especially on the harder DS questions.

coldteleporter · Answer

thanks Ian.... on the average I would say i am currently spending about a minute on DS questions but I consider them somewhat medium difficulty since they are OG questions. I work in sets of 20 questions and get most of them right if not all. Its good to know i can spend about 2mins + on harder questions though in the real GMAT. the Kaplan time had me worried for a bit

btw u've got urself some awesome score there. could you give me quick tips on how u studied and your strategy

thanks

DS timing

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