Pacing & time management
How long to spend per question and how to stay on schedule across a 40-minute section.
With 27 questions in 40 minutes you have an average of 88 seconds per question, under a minute and a half. This is the tightest constraint in the exam. Candidates who know the content but haven't internalised a pace target consistently underperform relative to their ability.
Think in thirds: after question 9 you should have around 27 minutes remaining; after question 18, around 14 minutes. A quick glance at the timer at these two checkpoints tells you whether you're on track without disrupting your flow on any individual question.
Not every question takes the same time. Some are deliberately straightforward and should take 30–45 seconds. The harder questions are engineered to be time-consuming. The key skill is identifying quickly which type you're looking at, and not spending three minutes on a question that most candidates will answer in under a minute.
Exam tip
Target 90 seconds per question rather than the exact 88; it's easier to track mentally and gives you a small buffer. If a question has consumed 90 seconds and you're not close to an answer, flag it and move on immediately.
If you notice you're behind pace: do not panic and do not rush. Panicking causes calculation errors on questions you would otherwise answer correctly. Rushing just trades one slow question for three careless mistakes.
The correct response is to flag the current question the moment you realise it's taking too long, move to the next question, and look for "quick wins," questions you can answer in under 60 seconds. After clearing those, return to flagged questions if time allows.
Accept that on a hard sitting some questions will go unanswered or guessed. The ESAT difficulty distribution means the last few questions are often the most time-consuming. A candidate who answers 24 questions carefully and guesses 3 will typically outscore a candidate who rushes all 27.
Exam tip
If you have more than 3 minutes remaining at the end of a module, revisit flagged questions in order of confidence, starting with the ones you were closest to answering, not the ones you barely read.