Attempting every GMAT question within a minute
First things first - this is not a clickbait title! But let’s make it clear at the onset. If you have come to this post with hopes of finding ways to attempt each GMAT question within one minute, you might be in for a disappointment. This isn’t what this post is about.
In this post, we simply aim to introduce you to the one-minute GMAT rule that will help you decide whether to skip a question or to attempt it. Before we discuss this rule in detail, you need to understand a couple of things.
The difficulty level of questions on GMAT varies. Some of the questions can be easily solved within a minute, while others require more time. Therefore, spending average time, which is two minutes, on every question may not be the right approach. Consider a scenario in which you spend two minutes on a particular question, but fail to arrive at a conclusive answer and, ultimately, end up skipping the question. This may prove to be a waste of precious time. In the end, there may be some questions whose answers
you know for sure, but are unable to solve them due to lack of time.
Therefore, at Hayden & Reynott, we recommend our students follow the one-minute rule.
Without further ado, let’s find out what this rule is.
One Minute Rule in GMAT
The one-minute rule simply says that you should spend only one minute on every question to figure out whether you can conclusively answer that question in the next one minute or do you need to skip it. If, within the first minute, you haven’t understood what exactly the question requires you to do or how to approach it, the chances of arriving at the right answer in the next minute are quite slim. Therefore, instead of spending two minutes on that question, your best recourse would be to skip that question and move to the next one.
Given below are the four steps you need to take while solving a question:
- Carefully read the question and answer choices
- Note down what question wants you to answer
- Note any additional information given in the question
- Decide which concept must be used to solve the question
The golden rule is, if you complete these four steps by the end of the first minute, you should attempt the question. If you are at the third step by the end of the first minute, you can consider giving yourself a few extra seconds to decide how to attempt the question.
One last piece of advice – don’t focus extensively on the one-minute rule at the beginning of test prep. It is only when you have cleared all the concepts that you should start implementing the one-minute rule and other time management strategies while attempting the mock tests.