Timings Suggestions?

Question

So I had been struggling with timings, I decided to take another mock test earlier I was able to complete the quants by not verbal, so I decided to focus on completing verbal fully.
Even though I completed verbal I found out that 
1) I took 9 questions in CR and spent 22:09mins
taking 2mins per questions ideally, that makes 18mins should've been an ideal time, so 4mins delay. (77% accuracy)
2) I took 13 questions in SC and spent about 13.19mins, Ideally, I should have spent 45seconds making it 5.85mins 
so 7.34mins delay (61% accuracy)
3) surprisingly I wanted to pace up RC, I paced it up so much that I spent too less time at it, and consequently suffered a loss of accuracy(28%)

I took 23.14mins for 14 questions...Ideally, I should have spent 2.5mins per questions so I could have given it 35mins of time, that's like 12mins more

So .. how I keep track of time in specific questions If I see the time after every few questions its a waste of lot of time

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi prototypevenom,

About 1.5 weeks ago, we discussed the idea that you should finish a Course that you were in and then take one of the Official GMAC CATs. Did you end up taking one of those CATs or another 3rd party CAT? How did you score (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

In addition, what 'source' are you basing your Verbal pacing goals on? I ask because spending just 45 seconds per SC would be a remarkably fast performance over the course of the entire Verbal section - and if you're trying to handle SCs that quickly, then you are likely causing a new problem for yourself and not properly addressing some other issue(s).

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

prototypevenom · Answer

Hello Rich! I am following your advice on completing my course, I am done with 90% of it just revising the topics on the go so I make sure I not getting out of touch with the older topics. This is still the economist tutor sim test, I still havent completed IR and AWA, and some of the math topics. But most importantly I noticed mostly I am getting timings issues and hence maybe why I pace up and panic, ending with up wrong answer. I will soon give the official gmat ( probably after I somewhat fix the timings and over view of quants Og once again) I referred to this https://gmatclub.com/forum/verbal-timin ... 30528.html For the timing strategy and the information that 45 seconds for SC. Would like to know your take on this. EMPOWERgmatRichC Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi prototypevenom,

I did not see any advice in that thread that advised spending just 45 seconds per SC - and I certainly don't advise trying to work through your SCs that quickly (although it's possible that you might come across a 'thin' SC on Test Day that you can solve relatively fast).

A typical CR should take about 2 minutes to solve (with the longer/tougher ones taking up to 2.5 minutes), so if you're averaging 2:30 per CR then that implies that there are some inefficiencies in terms of how you're working through that category as a whole.

It's worth noting that pacing issues do NOT exist on their own - they're the results of other issues. Thus, the 'fix' your pacing, the solution is not just to "go faster" - it's to train to properly use Tactics (and take the proper notes) that will help you to work through prompts faster.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

prototypevenom · Answer

I just checked it, it says 75secs per question.

But how do I know that I am spending too much time in a question or too less time ?

Should I just believe on instincts ?

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi prototypevenom,

Using consistent Tactics and working through the proper note-taking/steps can help to provide a basis for defining how well you are pacing yourself. In that way, it's really "experience" and not "instincts" that are driving that analysis. If you're inconsistent with your Tactics or do too much work "in your head" though, then you probably don't have that internal mechanism to define how long you've been working on a question.

In addition, if you are unwilling to "let go" of a question that's too difficult, then the overall 'damage' to your performance in a section can be significant. If you're likely to get a question wrong anyway - and then spend too much time on it - then you ALSO end up having to rush through other "gettable" questions later on (and potentially get those questions wrong). This is all meant to say that the solution to the root of your pacing problems IS in the Tactics that you learn and practice to use, so we should start there.

1) What 'steps' do you go through when working on a typical RC, SC and CR prompt?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

prototypevenom · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

that's a nice explanation, so I should be working on the roots instead of pacing in the exam..

So as far as the approach to the questions,

RC:
I read the whole passage while taking notes of general idea "what author is trying to say" instead of the details in the paragraphs. It takes around 4.2mins on average (average of last 23 RC passages), then I go to the question stem. if it's primary purpose/main idea, go to my notes and think about it and answer the question. if it is a detailed question I go the answers and eliminate If I can find anything then go the notes/passage and answer the question. and so on similarly

SC:
my approach is I read the whole sentence if I can find anything the original sentence eliminate it(and others with the same mistake). then go the the other answer choices and scan them vertically for errors, find the best answer by POEing.

CR:
First I go to the question stem, see what type of question it is. and mark a letter W (for weaken) etc for the question type. read the argument, take notes of conclusion or sometimes (rarely) detailed premise or intermediary conclusion. go to the answer choices one by one POE and find the best answer.

shahidomer77 · Answer

Hi prototypevenom,

You should increase your reading pace of RC so that other sections are not affected. As far as I have read the reviews, people find difficult to manage time when they stuck with RC. I dont want to tell you about why RC was bad with time as you can analyse what made you do that. Just read daily from reputed books, newspapers and journals. Also watch the American history videos on youtube . 
For CR and SC practice more questions every day , your mind should get adapted to manage time.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi prototypevenom,

From what you describe, you're generally taking the 'long way' to answer your Verbal questions - and that will likely continue to cause pacing issues and limit how high you can Score in the Verbal section.

1) What study materials have you used so far?
2) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
3) What is your goal score?
4) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

prototypevenom · Answer

1) I have taken classes from jamboree(which weren't that of a help) and about to complete my course from the economist tutor.
2) 
my scores breakup is this,
TEST DATE SCORE IR QUANT VERBAL 
Sim exam #1 Dec 1, 2018 7:22 PM 450 1 31 20
Sim exam #2 Dec 13, 2018 1:57 PM 460 1 36 16 
Sim exam #3 Dec 23, 2018 9:58 PM 510 1 39 21
Sim exam #4 Jan 2, 2019 10:49 PM 510 1 36 24

3)my goal score is 650+ 
4) I planned to give it last December (when we talked last) but then I delayed it 15th jan. so my last would be the end of January, (if I cannot reach around my goal score then I'll give it next September and apply for fall'20 intake)

With that said, I took a strategy session at economist, I was advised to complete the course ASAP(this week) and as suggested by you give the official gmatprep exam.

Looking forward for to your thoughts on this
prototypevenom

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi prototypevenom,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your 4 CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 480 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. In general, you've improved overall, but raising a 480 to the point that you could consistently score 650+ will likely require at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. That having been said, you're probably going to need more time to study than you have allotted, so you should consider pushing back your Test Date. There's no harm taking the GMAT in January, but you'll almost certainly end up taking it again later - so you can save some money and aggravation by paying the rescheduling fee and pushing back your Test Date.

1) When will you complete your current Course?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

prototypevenom · Answer

I will be completing course end of this week(13th of jan) 
2)I am studying 10hours minimum each day for this month (then I will join back work)

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi prototypevenom,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. First off, if you find that you are having timing issues on the verbal section, it’s likely because you still have verbal weaknesses that are getting exposed during your practice exams. In order to improve your timing, you need to first improve your verbal skills. Remember, knowledge = speed. As your knowledge improves, speed will follow.

Additionally, here are some verbal timing guidelines you can follow.

Reading Comprehension:

On the GMAT, you can expect a total of four RC passages (although you don’t know when you’ll see them). Reading Comprehension passages are either long (containing 4 questions) or short (containing 3 questions). You should spend roughly 2 to 3 minutes reading the short passages and 3 to 4 minutes reading the long ones. Since you should have a rough idea of what you read after reading the passage, each question should take you roughly 30 seconds to one and a half minutes to answer. Thus, look to spend a total of about 6 to 8 minutes on each RC section.

Sentence Correction:

You will see 11 to 13 Sentence Correction questions, and each question should take you between 60 and 90 seconds. As you improve your Sentence Correction skills, you should be able to answer each question in closer to 60 seconds.

Critical Reasoning:

Once again, you will see between 11 and 13 questions. As you probably know, CR questions tend to be written in a convoluted way to bait you into missing key details. Thus, it’s usually best practice to spend between 90 seconds and 3 minutes on each CR question.
 
Feel free to reach out with further questions.

Good luck!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi prototypevenom,

To start, you should certainly finish your Course and take that next CAT as planned.

As far as your ongoing studies are concerned, I have never asked anyone to study 10 hours a day - that amount of study is likely too much (and if you do that much over a long period of time then you will run the risk of 'burning out' before Test Day). There's a big difference between 'quantity' of study and 'quality' of study - right now, you need to be focused on learning and practicing the proper Tactics, NOT on doing lots and lots of practice questions day-after-day.

Once you've completed that next CAT, you should post back here (or you can PM or email me directly) and we can discuss the results and how best to proceed with your studies.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

prototypevenom · Answer

I am doing over studying now because this is the last month I can take an off from my work (perhaps if I reach the goal score, I can aim for round 3)
I agree with you as everyone said, finish the course first(even the coaches at the economist) So I am trying to give my best shot.

If not I will be studying like an hour or 2 every day for 3 months

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