timing.

[zwiedman]

Hey there...
I'm approaching this really weird stage where I accurately complete 3 passages (missing 1 per section) and get to the final passage and have about 7-8 minutes to complete it. Any suggestions on how to maximize my score?
Thank you,
Zachary

[Jon Denning]

Hey Zachary - thanks for the question. Honestly with 8 minutes remaining you're pretty much on pace to finish, so I'd say just attack the final passage the same way you did the first three. Be aggressive and push yourself a bit to move a little faster than normal, but you should be fine with that kind of time left (maybe there's a question or two you can't get to and will have to guess on, but you should be okay for the most part).

Where some strategy really comes into play is when you only have maybe 3-5 minutes left. In that case there are two broad-based approaches to consider:

1. Go Global—Skim the Passage and Answer the Global Questions

In general, I tend to advise against skimming--the passages are designed in a way that easily defeats skimming as an effective strategy, and students who skim the passages are simply unable to answer all of the questions correctly. However, when time is running low, skimming might be able to help you answer several questions very quickly. The idea here is to skim the passage very quickly, attempting to glean the gist of the passage and the author’s general position. Then, find all of the Global questions (broad questions that don't reference a specific line/element within the passage) and attempt to answer each. Hopefully, you will encounter at least one Main Point and Global Purpose question, and you can use your very generalized knowledge of the passage to answer those quickly.


2. Go Local—Read the Questions First and do only the Specific Reference Questions.

With this approach you employ another stratagem I tend to caution students against: you read the questions first and then attempt to find the answer to each in the passage. The key is to select carefully the questions to do. By choosing to do only the Specific Reference questions (questions that refer to a specific line/potion/element within the passage), you can use the line references to return to specific areas of the passage and gain the knowledge needed to answer the questions. Thus, with this stratagem you do not read or skim the passage at all; you just read small sections very closely.


The choice of strategy is yours, but note that it's somewhat dependent on the nature of the questions. If you know you are low on time, when you arrive at the passage you should glance at the questions and attempt to determine if there are more Specific Reference questions or more Global questions. Then use that information and your personal preferences to decide which strategy to use. You cannot predetermine which strategy to choose; you must make the decision when you reach and review the passage.

I hope that helps!