Study and Strategy questions relating to the GMAT.
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Quant Section -

by Guest Tue Mar 27, 2007 4:05 pm

I am having difficulty improving my score on the math section, it seems like i know the concepts, but somehow lose track of time during a practice test. I have been doing all the problems from the homework and from the official guides. Any other advice on how to improve accuracy and timing?
ayang
ManhattanGMAT Staff
 
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Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2003 1:31 pm
 

Quant problem timing

by ayang Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:12 am

It's definitely very difficult to maintain a good pace on the Quant section, as most people struggle to complete the section within 75 minutes. It's harder also during a practice test.

I would advise breaking it down by conducting timed drills of blocks of questions. For example, force yourself to complete 5 given questions in 2 minutes or less each, to the point where you get a 'feel' for how long 2 minutes is. If you do this enough, you'll develop a sense as to when you're spending too much time on a given question, as your rhythm will tell you to move on.

Give this a try before doing another practice test, as it's proved very helpful to others in the past.

During the test, you should be able to look up at the time remaining and then quickly calculate if you are 'on pace' (i.e. if you have 30 minutes left, that means that you should have 15 questions left, so you should be starting question #23). If you are behind pace, then you should do your best to pick up speed, including taking an educated guess if you're stuck on a particular problem.

Let us know if the drills prove helpful, and if there's anything else we can provide. - Andrew