my gmat blog - lessons learned

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my gmat blog - lessons learned

by mayonnai5e » Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:26 am
I have created a separate blog that describes my studies for the GMAT.

The blog is located here:

https://gmatmayonnai5e.blocked/

In this blog, I will primarily describe and detail my own strategies for attacking the different areas of the GMAT. For example, my second blog post will describe my lessons learned from reading comprehension and what things I have incorporated into my attack plan to counter my RC mistakes. Things that will be discussed include:

* how I structure my passage notes
* what to include in passage notes
* traps in the answer choices
* scope of the question and scope of the answers

These are not mind blowingly new ideas, but my blog will discuss things from a personal point of view instead of just general tactics as they are provided in the available sources found in books and in materials online.

Often, my attack strategies are adjusted as I discover new problems in my test taking. For example, when I first started studying for the math portion, I made many careless mistakes so I created a way to minimize my mistakes and incorporated this method in every math problem I did. The result was my ratio of careless errors to fundamental errors dropped significantly.
Last edited by mayonnai5e on Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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by aim-wsc » Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:51 am
hi,
welcome to the forums :)

& welcome to the blogging world.

you can list your blog on this thread: https://www.beatthegmat.com/viewtopic.php?t=323

:)

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by mayonnai5e » Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:17 pm
aim-wsc wrote:hi,
welcome to the forums :)

& welcome to the blogging world.

you can list your blog on this thread: https://www.beatthegmat.com/viewtopic.php?t=323

:)
I've added my blog to that list. I've also added two new posts about RC to my blog.

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by HJ » Sat Aug 18, 2007 8:14 pm
Hi mayonnai5e,

I read your excellent blog. Thanks for sharing.

I have questions regarding to your RC method.
1. Did you take note as you read or take note after you finish reading?
2. How much time did you spend on reading the passage? Does it include taking notes?

I always feel sleepy after I read RC passage. I dont know why. Whatever the reason is, it's very unacceptable and dangerous. Do you feel the same way? How can I overcome it?

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by mayonnai5e » Sun Aug 19, 2007 12:53 pm
HJ wrote:Hi mayonnai5e,

I read your excellent blog. Thanks for sharing.

I have questions regarding to your RC method.
1. Did you take note as you read or take note after you finish reading?
2. How much time did you spend on reading the passage? Does it include taking notes?

I always feel sleepy after I read RC passage. I dont know why. Whatever the reason is, it's very unacceptable and dangerous. Do you feel the same way? How can I overcome it?
i take notes while i'm reading each paragraph and usually only write down important things like the transition words and general topics for the paragraph. i do this because i cannot/will not remember everything by the time i get to the end of the passage which means rereading will be required.

depending on the size of the passage i adjust my reading speed, but generally give myself about 3-4 minutes to read it carefully, but quickly. that may be more time than many invest, but the questions are easier to answer in my opinion.

this method also helps to overcome your focus problem because you must
actively read and take notes as you go so you shouldn't just be staring at the computer screen while reading. just make sure you do not spend minutes trying to read/reread the same sentence over and over again to take notes on it.

hope this helps and let me know if it works for you; i can't guarantee it'll work for you like it does me.

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by mayonnai5e » Sun Aug 19, 2007 3:41 pm
Added another RC blog.

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by mayonnai5e » Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:04 am
Added yet another RC post. Please leave comments if my blogs are helping at all. I may discontinue the blog due to an increase in my study time, but if board members are finding it helpful/interesting I will try to keep the blog current. Thanks.