To time or to not time- when PRACTICING?

<p>Simple question- I just need to know--> when I am practicing for the writing sections, should I Time myself NORMALLY, LESS than usualy, or not at all. When I am practicing, and i time myself normally, I have 1 minute to spare, but the time pressure causes me to overlook hidden "REPEATED RULES" like i think its S-v agree, but rushing a little makes me oversee it's actually a faulty comparison. Some told me reduce the time, but won't that cause more errors. And another said no time at all, work on accuracy first until 800, then start timing(Which makes the most sense to improve). So far on the 3 writing practice sections i have done, i got 6 wrong, 6 wrong, and then 8 wrong--trying to find someone to acclaim to a certain method and was in my situation, or similar.</p>

<p>Forgot one more option: or should i time myself normally to finish all the questions, but when times up, i still keep working to check and redo any unsure ones.</p>

<p>I would suggest to do full timed practice tests once a week. For the other days, you may do 1 or 2 sections at a time without timed. Make sure you go through the answers and explanations. When you are getting ready to take the real test, do more full timed test.</p>

<p>Working on speed via timing comes well after making sure all parts of the test are mastered. Also, FULL tests are never needed until the bitter end. Leave that practice to the group classes that need to fill their slots without actually teaching. </p>

<p>This does NOT mean that working under timing pressure is unimportant. It is, however, mostly a fine-tuning that comes after mastering all other elements.</p>

<p>Thanks @billcscho, but what do you suggest i do when i get an answer wrong? How do i improve/make sure i never get that wrong again.</p>

<p>@xiggi</p>

<p>so what you’re saying is to get an 800/no errors before i time myself, correct? Also, I am working on mastering individual sections. This week im doing only writing sections.</p>

<p>800 is not everyone’s target nor possibility. What you need to do is understanding all the conceps that are tested. Once you get really comfortable attacking the test, you can start timing the sections and try to complete with time to spare. </p>

<p>Working on sections as opposed to complete tests is the key. Sitting for a complete test is an ordeal. :)</p>

<p>PS When you check your answers, look at the correct answers to ensure you are complely aware of the mechanism used. Some mistakes will return, and that is absolutely normal. Learning to recognize where you are careless is helpful.</p>

<p>Thanks again xiggi.</p>

<p>The only thing I don’t understand is what you meant by “look at the correct answers to ensure you are complely aware of the mechanism used”. Also can you provide a more specific tips on what to do once i get a mistake. Should i go on the internet and look up like fragments/misplaced modififers if i got those wrong, or practice those specific problems since i have Erica Metzlers book that categorizes each problem of BB.</p>

<p>One more thing-- in fixing sentences, my one major fault is sometimes i dont know what’s really wrong with it, but i know its wrong, so i just plug in each answer choice to see which is the best fit. Most of the time this gets me the right answer, but not all the time.<— especially with ones with more than 2 commas.</p>

<p>Ex: One of the first people to recognize the talent of Langston Hughes, [Jessie Fauset, was an editor at Crisis magazine, publishing] Hughes’s poetry in 1921.</p>