Hi,
Does anyone have any good suggestions for time management during the Science section? I usually go 5-7 minutes over, but I get most of the questions right.
Thanks
What I did outside of the test was practice using an actual timer. It really helps your pace. Start with 40 minutes then decrease to 38, then 35. Perhaps go slightly under in order to make sure you can consistently finish.
During the actual test, if I ran across a question that I couldn’t find the answer to relatively quickly, I skipped it and moved on. Even if you have to go to the next passage. You’ll remember the experiment once you go back and find the answer. I was able to finish with 5 minutes left and got a 33, in comparison to my first test, in which I ran out of time and got a 25.
Just a warning: it seems that many of the questions require you to read the passages. Do this by going straight to the questions, but whenever you find a question that isn’t in the graphs/tables, look in the paragraphs for the answers.
Also a personal preference: do not save the conflicting viewpoints for last. This strategy really screwed me over once, because I only had 3 minutes left and had to guess on every single question. I find that it’s one of the easier passages to do honestly. I just go in order from 1-7. (or in certain cases, 1-6)
So in summary:
- Use a timer and raise the bar slightly for each practice test.
- Save the hard questions for the very last. (skip around)
- Read the passages if you have to. I recommend reading them in depth on the later ones just so you understand the experiment. You can probably get away without reading them on the earlier ones.
Thanks @hawkeye295, I will try and practice using the tips you gave me. Hopefully 1 week is enough, haha.