Scratch Pad Strategy

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danyoz: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 1; Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 6:56 am

by danyoz » Sat May 03, 2014 7:47 pm

Hi there,

I am looking for strategies on efficiently using my scratch pad to maximize my time on test day. For example, should I divide my pad into quadrants during the school selection page? Will it be considered cheating if I am writing before the test officially begins? Does it make sense to use part of my break time before the Verbal section to write out A B C D E for elimination ?

Any help is appreciated!

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Sat May 03, 2014 7:47 pm

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by [email protected] » Sat May 03, 2014 11:57 pm

Hi danyoz,

The amount of work and volume of note-taking that you'll need to do on the GMAT will vary from question to question, so pre-dividing your pad or writing ABCDE repeatedly across the top of the page is not all that useful of a plan.

During your practice up until Test Day, you'll see a variety of questions. Part of you training should be to build up a strong memory of what type of work you're typically doing on the major question types. For example, when dealing with SCs, if you normally eliminate answers so that you can "zero in on" the correct answer, then you should be training yourself to do that automatically, any time an SC shows up. Certain types of Quant questions require ABCDE, while others don't.

If you're experiencing a pacing problem in the Quant or Verbal sections, the more likely culprits are that you're not taking enough notes and/or you're staring too long before deciding to act.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

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David@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2193; Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:30 pmFollowed by: 512 members; Location: Vermont and Boston, MA; Thanked: 1186 times; GMAT Score:770

by David@VeritasPrep » Sun May 04, 2014 3:34 am

I am looking for strategies on efficiently using my scratch pad to maximize my time on test day. For example, should I divide my pad into quadrants during the school selection page? Will it be considered cheating if I am writing before the test officially begins?

Let's start with the second question. I have never heard that it was considered cheating to jot down a few notes during the 4 minutes of the "tutorial." However, what I would be doing there is not drawing quadrants, but writing down any math formulas, equations, or other notes that you might forget during the exam. Writing down the formulas is a nice reminder to yourself and even if they switch your notepad during the break before Quant you might still remember those formulas better for having written them down.

As Rich said, dividing every page in to four segments is not the best thing given the fact that some problems will require much more than 1/4 page and some will require almost no writing at all. So I see no advantage at all in doing this.

Does it make sense to use part of my break time before the Verbal section to write out A B C D E for elimination?

Okay now this is where you are "cheating." You are not supposed to write anything during the break. The proctor is not supposed to allow you to be at your seat during this time. If you are in your seat the time should be running.

Furthermore, I use writing out ABCDE as a little wall between questions. It takes 2 or 3 seconds to write out ABCDE, take a deep breath at the same time and let go of the prior question. Cleanse your mind. Maybe say something like "another one right!" So take 3 seconds, write out the letters, take a deep breath and clear your mind for the next question. Not wasted time I assure you!

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