How long is the DAT RC section, and how to think about the clock

The DAT Reading Comprehension section is 60 minutes for 3 passages with 50 questions total. That is the official timing.

The real timing is harder than that sentence makes it sound, because the passages are long. Most DAT RC passages run between 1,700 and 2,500 words.

The math nobody talks about

At 250 words per minute on a 2,000 word passage, reading takes 8 minutes. That leaves you 12 minutes for 17 questions, or about 42 seconds each. Tight but workable.

At 200 words per minute on the same passage, reading takes 10 minutes. You get 35 seconds per question.

At 150 words per minute, reading takes 13 minutes. 25 seconds per question. That is not a thinking budget, it is a guessing budget.

How to think about pacing

Forget the average. Most students do not perform evenly across all 3 passages. Energy fades. Comprehension on passage 3 is worse than passage 1 even at the same difficulty. Plan accordingly.

The 18, 20, 22 rule

Aim for 18 minutes on passage 1, 20 minutes on passage 2, and 22 minutes on passage 3. This banks 2 minutes early so the energy dip on passage 3 has somewhere to go. If you cannot hit 18 minutes on passage 1, you are not pacing, you are improvising.

The 60 second rule

If a question takes you longer than 60 seconds and you are still torn between two choices, mark it, pick your gut, and move on. Coming back later with a fresh head solves more questions than grinding solves.

What to do this week

1. 1
   Time your reading on 3 practice passages.

   Calculate WPM for each. Average them. That is your real reading speed under test conditions.
2. 2
   If your average is below 220 WPM, fix that first.

   See our guide on reading faster. Pacing is mathematically impossible below this number.
3. 3
   If your average is above 220 WPM, drill the 18-20-22 split.

   Run timed sections with a stopwatch you can see. Adjust based on where you actually finish each passage.
4. 4
   Track per-passage time, not just total time.

   If you finish in 60 minutes but burn 28 on passage 1, you scored worse than someone who finished evenly. Even pacing beats fast pacing.

See our deeper guide on reading faster for the DAT.

Related: 10 RC strategies ranked