How to be under time limit in verbal section

Question

HI,

I have been given a few mocks but i cannot solve more than 20 question in an hour in verbal section and my verbal section score goes well below 30. Kindly suggest what to do

ReedArnoldMPREP · Answer

Hi DesertEagle. Here are my general GMAT verbal pacing tips:

SC: 
1:20 average, never exceed 2 minutes

CR:
2 minute average, never exceed 3:15

RC passage + 3 questions
6:30-7:30 (depending on passage length), never exceed 8 minutes.

I suspect if you're falling that behind, some of it is 'answer dancing.' You're dancing back and forth between possible answers, trying to get every question right, when you should be making a good guess and moving on.

There are also general ways to increase speed. SC, for example, is often about finding the most important words for that question, and not about reading every word of every answer choice. But I suspect step 1 is adapting to the mindset needed for the GMAT's scoring algorithm, which requires a comfort with guessing and moving on, and understanding that you will ALWAYS miss a bunch of questions on this test, no matter how good you get. Have you done some research on the GMAT algorithm?

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

I have been given a few mocks but i cannot solve more than 20 question in an hour in verbal section and my verbal section score goes well below 30. Kindly suggest what to do

Following a time management method may be helpful. Perhaps use some time markers.

5 Verbal tips

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi desertEagle.

The main thing you can do to speed up in verbal is to improve your GMAT verbal skills. Improved skills solve a lot. As you improve your skills, you get more questions correct, and you answer questions faster.

For some tips on how to improve your GMAT verbal skills, see these posts.

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

Three Key Practice Tips for Mastering GMAT Verbal

For some more ideas you can use to speed up in GMAT verbal, see this post.

How to Get Faster at GMAT Verbal

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi desertEagle,

Let me share my 2 cents from my experience of scoring 740 on GMAT and helping many students reach their target score. Taking extra time to solve questions is a symptom and not the disease itself. Let me elaborate.

There are 2 things that you do while solving questions - 1. You think about how to solve the question and 2. You solve the question. It's the first point that eats up unnecessary time. Now how do you tackle Point 1. Most people think the best solution is by solving additional questions. It does help but sadly is not the most effective solution because by just practising more questions you end repeating the same mistakes.

The better solution is to learn the right logical methods to solve questions and then master these methods with additional practice. Now before suggesting you the right methods, I would like to understand how you approach questions at present and then accordingly I can suggest you what's the way out. Feel free to connect with me on a DM to discuss further.

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How to be under time limit in verbal section

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