Pacing the real sections
2:08 per MCQ, 22:30 per FRQ, the 2:1 value rule, uniform-clock rule.
Pacing math for the real sections (verified exam shape from Module 14): 42 MCQ in 90 minutes ≈ 2:08 per question; 4 FRQ in 90 minutes = 22:30 per question. Two pacing rules follow:
The 2:1 value rule for FRQs. All four FRQs are worth the same, but Q1 (methods/control) usually has the longest prose. Rule: if a question's reading exceeds 5 minutes, bank its skeleton and move to the next — you can always return, but you cannot recover the 22 minutes another question needs.
The uniform-clock rule for MCQs. Question 23 is not harder than question 9; the difficulty ORDER on the exam is not guaranteed. Do not "save time for the hard ones at the end" — there may be none, or ten. Uniform two-minute sweeps with a marked second pass is the robust strategy.
Practice translation: each timed set below has 2 challenges at exam-difficulty spread across two topics. Do them back-to-back with a visible 4-minute budget per pair, then audit. Two sets per sitting is plenty — fatigue after 20 minutes of full-speed work degrades the audit quality, and the audit is the point.