Pacing each module

Each section of the test has two modules, and each module has its own countdown clock at the top of the screen.

That works out to about 71 seconds per question in Reading and Writing and about 95 in Math. Plenty of questions will take less time than that, and a few will take more.

Within a module you can move around freely. You can skip ahead, go back, flag a question to revisit, or change an answer. Once the module ends it's closed, and any time you didn't use is gone.

Finishing early doesn't help you. On test day the next module starts only when the clock runs out, so if you have time left over, use it on the questions you flagged.

If you have extended time (48 or 64 minutes for Reading and Writing, 52.5 or 70 for Math), multiply each checkpoint time below by 1.5 or 2. The question numbers stay the same.

You don't need to keep an eye on the clock. Check it at the checkpoints below and again when about two minutes are left. Glancing at it after every question adds up to close to a whole question's worth of time over a module. If you're behind at a checkpoint, check a little more often until you've caught up.

If the countdown makes you anxious, you can hide it with the Hide button under the timer and bring it back at each checkpoint. Bluebook also shows a message when five minutes are left. Decide before test day whether you'll hide it, and practice that way.

Every Reading and Writing module goes in the same order:

1. Vocabulary questions, which ask what word fits a blank or what a word in the passage means. These go fast.
2. Longer reading questions. Some come with a table or graph, and some with a second passage. These take the most time.
3. Grammar, starting around question 15 or 16. The answer choices differ only in small ways, such as punctuation or the form of one word. These go fast.
4. Transitions, which ask for the word that links two sentences, followed by questions built on a student's bulleted notes. These go fast too if you read the student's goal before the notes.

Try to spend 30 to 45 seconds on each of the quicker questions. Each one turns on a single thing, so once you've found it, answer and keep going. Reading the sentence a third time won't change your answer. The time you save goes to the longer reading questions, where up to two minutes on one question is fine.

Hard questions can show up anywhere in this section, so a tough question early on doesn't mean you're doing badly.

Your checkpoint is question 14. You'd like to have at least 16:00 left when you get there, though being a minute or two behind is normal.

If the clock gets to 12:00 and you haven't reached the grammar questions yet, skip ahead to them. The dozen or so questions from there to the end need six to nine minutes. Guess on the question you're on and flag it. Then click the question number at the bottom of the screen to open the question list, and jump to the first grammar question. Go back to the passages you skipped once you reach the end.

The Reading and Writing guide goes through this order in more detail.

Math questions get harder as a module goes on, in Module 1 and in both versions of Module 2. So the plan is to save time on the early questions and spend it on the late ones.

Work questions 1 to 7 at about a minute each when the work is short. Before you move on, check that your answer is what the last line of the question asked for. A careless mistake on an easy question costs you just as much as a hard question you never got to.

Your first checkpoint is question 12, where you'd like at least 17:30 left. If you moved quickly at the start, you'll be ahead of that.

Check again at question 18. The last five questions are the hardest, and about 10:00 left gives you two minutes for each of them, so work them in order. If you have less than 6:00, look over all five and start with the ones you can finish.

If your practice tests show you losing easy questions to careless mistakes, slow down on those instead of speeding up. Getting the early questions right matters more than the few seconds you'd save.

Spending a long time on a question is fine as long as you're getting somewhere. Leave when you stop getting somewhere:

• In Reading and Writing, you've read the passage twice (about 60 seconds) and still can't say what it means. A third read rarely helps.
• In Math, about 90 seconds have gone by and you don't know what to write next.

When that happens, cross out any choices you've ruled out and pick from what's left. Then flag the question and move on. It's tempting to give it three more minutes because you feel close, but feeling close won't produce the step you're missing, and three minutes is enough to answer two other questions.

Pick an answer before you flag, in case you don't make it back. Flag and move on covers this in more detail, and Guessing and the answer eliminator explains what to do when you can't rule out any choice.

With 2:00 left, stop starting new work and make sure every question has an answer: a letter for each multiple-choice question and a number for each grid-inA question where you type your own answer instead of picking one of four.Read the lesson. A blank scores the same as a wrong answer, so a guess can only help.

The review page after the last question shows which questions are blank and which you flagged. Whenever you reach it, fill in the blanks first and then go back to your flagged questions. Only change an answer you've already given if you can say why it was wrong.

How you do on Module 1 decides which version of Module 2 you get. Both versions have the same number of questions and the same amount of time, so pace them the same way. Don't take it easy on Module 1 to save energy, because the easier Module 2 caps the score you can reach.

You also can't tell which version you got from how hard it feels. What the adaptive second module means explains why.