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record time when drilling?

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 11:19 pm
by shredmaster
Hey guys

should I record time when im just drilling questions for LR or RC ?

even if i dont record time, doesnt it still matter if i take more than 2 minutes per question? should i give myself maximum of

2 minutes when solving individual questions?

thanks

Re: record time when drilling?

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 11:28 pm
by blackmamba8
I time myself per passage on RC and take note of how quickly I read it instead of timing myself per question. On LR I time myself when I'm drilling sections but when I'm doing individual questions I go slowly and break each one down.

Re: record time when drilling?

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 11:45 pm
by galeatus
For RC and LG, definitely time yourself when drilling. Don't worry about time per question, just worry about time per passage/game - you can save yourself 1 min on an easier question and spend 30 secs extra on a hard question and still be under the time limit.

For LR I timed myself at first but after I've done enough PTs and I have a good idea of what pace I should/need to be going at, I stopped timing myself completely. So from my point of view, whether to time yourself or not depends on where you are in your prep.

Re: record time when drilling?

Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2016 12:39 am
by SunDevil14
galeatus wrote:For RC and LG, definitely time yourself when drilling. Don't worry about time per question, just worry about time per passage/game - you can save yourself 1 min on an easier question and spend 30 secs extra on a hard question and still be under the time limit.

For LR I timed myself at first but after I've done enough PTs and I have a good idea of what pace I should/need to be going at, I stopped timing myself completely. So from my point of view, whether to time yourself or not depends on where you are in your prep.
For the most part I agree. Timing RC and LG is really important (seeing as most people could get a perfect or near perfect score absent of time constraints). Once you have a grasp of the LR time constraints then It is beneficial to slow down and really analyze individual questions, especially those that you struggle with. Worth noting is how far along you are in studies. Given that you haven allotted yourself enough time to prepare, then I'd recommend doing a lot of untimed practice initially in order to build a solid foundation and improve your accuracy. Speed comes as you get more familiar with the questions and concepts.

To clarify, the advice above is speaking specifically about imposing time limits. In the beginning stages of your prep use a stopwatch to get a general idea of where you are at, but take as long as you need to get the right answers.