How to Pick Which Questions to Skip in a Mock Test

The short answer: triage each question in a few seconds, solve the ones with a clear method, mark the rest, apply a time ceiling and return to marked questions in order of how soon they can be solved. Afterwards, review your skips to see whether you skipped the right ones.

Why skipping is a skill

In most competitive exams there are more questions than a candidate can answer well in the time given, or at least a few questions that cost far more time than they are worth. Every minute spent on one hard question is a minute not spent on two moderate ones. The best candidates are not those who solve every question; they are those who choose well. But skipping is not avoidance: skipping the wrong questions leaves marks unclaimed.

The three-second triage

When you meet a question, decide within about three seconds which of three categories it falls into:

Triage improves with practice: after enough mocks, you recognise the types that cost you time.

Signals that a question is worth skipping

• Long set-up: a long puzzle with many conditions and only one or two questions.
• Heavy arithmetic: several multi-digit steps with options close together.
• Unfamiliar type: a format you have not practised.
• Text-heavy with low payoff: a long passage where you have already spent several minutes on other passages.
• You have passed your ceiling and still have no clear path.

Signals that it is worth pushing: you are close, the options help you check and you have time in hand.

Set a ceiling

A ceiling is the longest you spend on a question on the first pass. Use about 1.5 to 2 times your section's average time per question. When the timer reaches it, mark the question and move on. See section-wise time management for how to set it.

The two-pass method

1. First pass: solve the Go questions, give Maybe questions a short try and mark the rest.
2. Second pass: return to the marked questions, starting with those where you were closest or where elimination can narrow options.
3. Final minutes: apply your guess policy to what remains.

A worked example of the value of skipping

Suppose a section has 30 questions in 30 minutes. Candidate A solves in order and spends 6 minutes on a hard question (question 8), then rushes the last six questions and gets 3 of them right. Candidate B skips question 8 after 90 seconds, solves the rest at a steady pace and returns to it at the end. Candidate B gains the 4.5 minutes saved: at an average of 1 minute per question, about four more questions attempted, at roughly 80% accuracy, adds 3 correct answers and about 1 wrong: +3 − 0.25 = +2.75 marks, against the risk of missing question 8 (which A may also get wrong). The numbers are illustrative; the point is that a single question rarely deserves the time of several.

Guess policy with negative marking

With a penalty, skipped questions at the end can be turned into marks if you can eliminate options. A guess after eliminating two options of four gives a 50% chance, with a positive expected value under common penalties. A blind guess is neutral at best with a one-third penalty. See negative marking strategy and accuracy vs attempts.

Review your skips after each mock

1. Redo each skipped question without a time limit.
2. Ask: could I have solved it within the ceiling? If yes, the skip was wrong or the method is slow.
3. Ask: was it really a poor use of time? If it took 8 minutes untimed, the skip was right.
4. Note the types that you skip and tag them in your error log.

Over several mocks, the review improves your triage, and your repeated skips show topics to learn.

Common mistakes

• Not skipping at all, out of pride or sunk effort.
• Skipping too much, leaving easy marks.
• Forgetting to mark skipped questions and not returning.
• Never reviewing skips.
• Skipping at random instead of by signals.

Practise triage on a timed practice test, and read how to attempt a mock test like the real exam.