Common Mistakes Under Time Pressure

Understanding your errors is the fastest path to improvement. This lesson catalogues the most common mistakes that candidates make specifically because of time pressure — not because they lack knowledge, but because the 29-second-per-question pace causes systematic errors in reading, reasoning, and decision-making. For each mistake, the lesson explains why it happens and how to prevent it.

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Mistake 1: Answering Before Fully Reading the Statement

What happens: You read the first few words of the statement, recognise the topic, assume you know what it says, and answer based on the assumption.

Example:

Statement: "The study found that the treatment was not effective in reducing symptoms."

What you read under pressure: "The study found that the treatment was effective in reducing symptoms."

Why it happens: Under time pressure, your brain predicts the rest of the sentence based on the beginning. If the passage discusses the treatment positively, your brain fills in a positive statement — and you miss the critical word "not."

How to prevent it:

• Force yourself to read to the end of every statement before answering
• Pay specific attention to negative words: not, no, never, none, neither, nor, un-, in-, dis-
• If the statement is long, re-read the key clause once

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Mistake 2: Misreading Quantifiers

What happens: You confuse "some" with "all," "most" with "many," or "often" with "always."

Example:

Passage: "Most participants reported improved sleep quality." Statement: "All participants reported improved sleep quality."

Under time pressure, "most" and "all" can blur together. You see "participants reported improved sleep quality" and select True.

How to prevent it:

• Circle (mentally) quantifiers in both the passage and the statement
• Compare them explicitly: "Passage says most. Statement says all. These are different."
• Remember the hierarchy: all > most > many > some > few > none

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Mistake 3: Using Prior Knowledge

What happens: You recognise the topic and answer based on what you know rather than what the passage says.

Example:

Passage: "The study examined the effects of vitamin C on the common cold." Statement: "Vitamin C boosts the immune system."

You know this is generally true, so you select True — but the passage says nothing about immune system effects.

How to prevent it:

• After answering, ask: "Did I get this from the passage, or from my own knowledge?"
• If you cannot point to a specific sentence, reconsider
• Treat every passage as if it is about a topic you have never heard of

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Mistake 4: Defaulting to the Same Answer

What happens: When unsure, you develop a pattern of always selecting the same answer — typically either True or Can't Tell.

Why it happens: Under uncertainty even mild, your brain seeks the path of least resistance. If you chose Can't Tell on the last uncertain question and it felt comfortable, you do it again.

Evidence of this mistake:

• Track your answers over several practice sections
• If more than 45% of your answers are one category, you may be defaulting

How to prevent it:

• Apply the decision tree to every question, even when unsure
• Be aware of your personal bias (do you tend towards True? Can't Tell?)
• In practice, track the distribution of your answers and compare to the actual distribution

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Mistake 5: Rushing Through the First Questions

What happens: You feel the time pressure from the start and race through the early questions, making careless errors.

Why it happens: Anxiety about time management causes you to sacrifice accuracy for speed before it is necessary.

How to prevent it:

• Remind yourself: the first passage is no more time-pressured than the last
• Use the first passage as a warm-up — settle into your rhythm
• Check your first-passage accuracy in practice: if it is lower than your average, you are rushing

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Mistake 6: Spending Too Long on One Question

What happens: You encounter a difficult question and keep working on it, burning through your time budget.

Why it happens: The sunk cost fallacy — "I've already spent 20 seconds on this, I should keep going." Also, the desire for certainty.

How to prevent it:

• Set a mental limit of 20 seconds per question
• If you exceed 20 seconds, make your best guess and flag
• Remind yourself: one question is worth the same as any other — do not over-invest in a single question

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