How to manage time on the SAT test?

Ssat.vn – In order to perform well on the SAT test, in addition to a large amount of knowledge along with in-depth understanding of the test structure, students also need to know how to manage time on the SAT test effectively.

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One of the most important things to look out for when taking standardized tests is time management. How to manage time on the SAT test is a question that makes a huge difference in helping you feel comfortable and in control of your work.

How to manage time on the SAT test?

Here are some time management tips to help you get the best SAT score:

Know the structure of the exam

It is difficult to manage your time if you do not know how many questions you will have to complete in each section. The structure, length, and number of questions for the SAT test are listed below:

EBRW Reading: has a duration of 60 minutes, including 52 sentences of paragraphs about topics such as literature, historical documents, social sciences and natural sciences.

EBRW Writing and Language: has a duration of 35 minutes, including 44 sentences in the form of finding mistakes, correcting sentences or editing paragraphs.

Math: Total duration is 80 minutes, including 20 questions without the calculator in 25 minutes, and 38 questions using the calculator in 55 minutes.

Essay:an optional section, but from January 2021, the exam has been canceled indefinitely

The exam structure is something that you don’t need to learn by heart, but will naturally memorize through constantly taking practice tests

For more: New SAT Writing strategies

Practice makes perfect

Working hard on practice tests can help you discover the most effective test-taking strategies for yourself. It also helps you familiarize with the exam atmosphere, practice time management skills as well as be mentally prepared for the official exam. This is an extremely important factor that allows you to be on good form and perform at your highest level on the actual test day.

Furthermore, no one wants to finish a test in the nick of time with just a few seconds left. Therefore when you practice, try to give yourself less time than the official test time. If you can still answer all the possible questions in a limited amount of time, you will feel more comfortable walking into the exam room and have more time to check your work.

Do not stress out over time

Surprisingly, checking the time can actually waste time and just make you feel more stressed out. Instead of spending most of your test time looking at the clock and constantly checking the amount of time left, you should focus solely on the task at hand and get it done quickly.

For more: How to convert AP scores to GPA?

Do not allocate equal time for each and every question

Allocating the same number of seconds to every question in each section may seem like a sensible strategy, but it is important to note that not all questions are of equal difficulty. So answer the easy questions as quickly as possible to save time on more complex questions.

Determine your desired score

Unless your goal is a perfect score of 800 per section, you don’t have to answer every single question. You can keep your goal of getting 80% of the questions correct and get your desired score of 650, instead of setting an unrealistic goal of 800 and then only getting 500 as you try to finish the entire test that is too much for your ability. This is also an effective time management tip.

If you want to increase accuracy while still be able to maximize time, you can set a target number of sentences that correspond to your desired score, for example:

700 points: You can leave 1/12 of the questions blank

600 points: You can leave 1/4 of the questions blank

500 points: You can leave 1/3 of the questions blank

For more: The secret to improving SAT score in a short time

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