GMAT Critical Reasoning Tip - Save time by taking your time.

Question

People often wonder what they can do to answer GMAT Critical Reasoning questions faster. So, if you're having trouble finishing the verbal section of the GMAT on time, this tip may be for you. (By the way, this tip does not apply to RC. The ideal strategy for RC is a bit different from what works best for CR.)

One thing that sucks up a lot of time is circling through the last two or three choices of a CR question. We've all done it. We eliminate the choices that clearly do not have the effect we need but are then left with two or three choices all of which seem arguably correct, and we circle through them not sure why one is the best.

One common reason for this type of experience is that we haven't built a solid foundation for answering the question because we went through the passage too fast. One thing I see people do pretty often is quickly reading a CR passage and "getting the general idea" without developing exact understanding of what the passage says. Another common approach is literally skipping words in a passage or blowing off reading the last few words of a passage.

When people use such approaches, they often do so in an attempt to save time. Why read every word if you can get through the passage faster without reading some of those pesky words? Right? Whatever it takes to save time and complete the verbal section on time!

The truth is that the seconds you can save by skimming some or all of a CR passage or by skipping words can be brutally offset by extra minutes taken circling through answer choices. That word in the first sentence of the passage you skipped? That word can be the one word you need to see why choice (A) is correct and choice (C) is clearly incorrect.

So, to answer CR questions faster, read the passages more thoroughly, doing things such as picking up on suspicious details and noting exactly, rather than generally, what conclusions and supporting statements say. You'll often find that, if you are clear enough about what the passage says, the correct answer will practically jump out at you, the fifteen extra seconds spent reading the passage more than made up for by the time saved.

Ranasaymon · Answer

GIST for saving time: 
1. Practice untimed 
2. Read passage thoroughly,and understand the link among sentences
3. Check the suspicious details, and keywords
4. Need to understand the conclusion and supporting statements

vv65 · Answer

Essential advice, not just for doing questions faster but also for getting questions right

I too often mess up CR questions. And that happens when I attempt a question with phone in hand while having breakfast, or while watching TV, and so on. Also happens when I'm rushing or stressed. Then the question may take longer to do and the answer may still be wrong.
To do hard questions one needs to be calm and undistracted, and I certainly need pen and paper to make notes. 
(Hard/easy is of course individual, different for different people)

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GMAT Critical Reasoning Tip - Save time by taking your time.

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