How to become a SC pro?

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How to become a SC pro?

by confused13 » Mon Nov 24, 2014 12:54 am
This is a serious question:

How do I become a SC pro? I used MGMAT SC book, empowergmat SC, e-gmat SC, watched the free veritas SC lessons but I still have a accuracy of roughly 75%.

How did you manage to become a SC crack?

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by MartyMurray » Mon Nov 24, 2014 7:49 am
Look at this. "I still have a accuracy of roughly 75%."

It's interesting that even there you left an error.

So probably you can benefit by looking at life more generally and seeking to be more accurate in all things.

We all have patterns in the way we live and handle things. For instance, I notice that the way I type, with the errors and corrections slowing me down, somehow resembles the way I do GMAT quant questions, with errors and the need to go back and fix them slowing me down.

So one thing you could do is seek to be more accurate and detail oriented in all things, what you say, the way you drive, everything. This would then also show up in higher sentence correction accuracy.

Another thing that might help is looking at things slightly differently. I did this one set of exercises, and in so doing I got much clearer on the logic of construction of sentences, beyond the topic of modifiers. https://owlet.letu.edu/grammarlinks/modi ... ier2d.html

Logic is key. This sentence correction stuff is so much about logic and aesthetics.

How did I manage to become a SC crack? Much of it comes down to learning a few rules and becoming more conscious of logic, accuracy and aesthetics.

My writing has improved noticeably since I started working on GMAT sentence correction, with things that previously I would not have noticed jumping out at me as being poorly constructed. So that helps me see how my clarity and understanding have improved.

Also, being good at sorting through, eliminating and rating different versions is another key aspect of becoming a SC crack, and, yes, Brian Galvin at Veritas does seem to have good insights to provide regarding this.

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by [email protected] » Mon Nov 24, 2014 11:04 am
Hi confused13,

A bit more detail is probably required here. Is there any consistency in the types of SCs that you're getting wrong? Do they tend to involve certain grammar rules? Is the issue more about idioms and style?

When you take a CAT, do you find that you can usually narrow an SC down to 2 choices, but you still get a certain number of those questions wrong? How often do you pick an answer that "sounds like how you would say it?"

Since SCs involve a mix of content knowledge (grammar/idioms) and pattern-matching (the frequency that rules are tested, the way that GMAT writers "frame" the prompt and wrong answers, etc.), there are a couple of different areas that you can improve on. A certain amount of "drilling" and memory will be required though. If you can't get past 75% accuracy, then something about how you currently deal with SCs is "off."

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by confused13 » Tue Nov 25, 2014 1:25 am
No, there is no consistency.
I would say both: sometimes idioms sometimes grammar.
Yes, I get down to 2 and choose the wrong one. But sometimes I eliminate the right one in the first process.
E.g. I find the pronoun rules senseless: Investors spend money and employees on their research. Yes their could refer to investors or employees but from a sense-point, investors is the only noun that makes sense. That's why I wouldn't eliminate anything based on their.
Or same example, and is a stronger connector. So it is not about two facts: investors spend money and investors spend employees on research. To me it is: investors spend money&employees on their research.

How to I drill myself and how do I get over 75% accuarcy?

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by [email protected] » Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:15 pm
Hi confused13,

The example that you mentioned comes across a bit "unclear"; I understand the basic issue as it pertains to pronouns, but if you have a specific prompt (with answers) that you can offer as an example, then you should post that prompt. To that end, you should post any question that you're unclear on. By posting the questions that you get wrong, and receiving the necessary grammatical and tactical advice, you should be able to improve.

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