Getting UWorld into timed limit

[EzioAuditore 357]

Hey guys,

Hope everyone is well- was really hoping for some advice. I've been at UWorld for around 8months now- first pass. I'm still greatly struggling getting my blocks in timed. For each qn, I am taking around 2minutes.

I have no idea if I am overthinking each question or something- I take around 1minute to read the stem. Then, sometimes, I get the diagnosis immediately or sometimes I have to read the stem a few minutes to try to arrange the order in my head (while I am trying to think of potential diagnosis in my head)- which is particularly for the management questions.

I also highlighlight all the important points as I read it- otherwise I realize that I make too many errors in misreading the questions.

I don't know how everything everyone can be done in 1.5minutes.

Honestly, any advice is greatly appreciated

Thanks guy!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[MedBoardTutors]

The first step, in my opinion, is understanding your 'approach.' This means the particular way that YOU read and answer each question. Here's a few examples of how I explain these approaches:

Reading the question first: This is approach is best when you are a quick reader and when your fund of knowledge is strong. If you can read the question and predict the answer, the only time required is the 30 seconds it takes to read over the question and its associated labs.

Reading the last-sentence first: This approach is useful for very long questions, so as to avoid becoming overwhelmed with lengthy stems and potentially irrelevant information. Especially useful for questions that exceed 1 page or more than 1 paragraph. The risk is that you may wind up wasting time if the last sentence is unrevealing – so rather than saving time, you’ve now read the last sentence twice, wasting a few more seconds. There is an additional risk that you will lack context when reading the last sentence first. That said, the questions sometimes contain spurious or uncertain information, therefore, avoiding some of that by getting right down to the bottom line can also help you maintain focus.

Skimming: Generally inefficient and frequently requires reading the entire question anyway, so ultimately a time-waster and not recommended. Sometimes useful to “get the main idea”, but more often than not, you’ll still need to employ another approach anyway.

Reading the answers first: A suitable approach to quickly become familiar with the topic being tested. Very useful if you think you might not understand the question stem. Often, reading the answers first allows prediction of the question being asked. (“the write-the-question game”). I prefer this method when the stem is unclear.

Once you've decided what approach you want to follow, you need to 'rep' it as many times as possible, like you're at the gym and mastering a safe, repeatable technique. Maybe you change approaches after a while--this is fine; just make sure you're working with one approach at a time.

From there you might notice one approach is faster than the others, or maybe that your performance with a certain approach is higher scores...or lower ones. At least this gives you a starting point for comparison. Another thing I like to do with people is shared screen question practice where they perform a question out loud and answer it--then I do the same thing. It lets them see how someone else processes things, and maybe streamlines how they read/highlight, etc. Actual peer reviewed papers suggest that shared screen test practice is one of the only ways people improve at standardized tests, which is why doing Q banks with other people is often helpful.

Sorry this was a bit long, but make sure you 1) find your approach, 2) practice it, 3) compare and adjust. If all else fails you may need to consult a learning specialist or test taking expert. Some schools have them these days, and it never hurts to have a second opinion on how you're doing. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.