Stuck at 610

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Stuck at 610

by ahmedzunaid84 » Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:50 am
Hi Everyone,
This is my first post on this website. I would like to thank the person that came up with the 60 day study plan. I would like to give a short intro to my journey so far. I started preparing for this test in late March of this year. I started studying the Manhattan series for both verbal and quant. Then I quickly realized that I needed a study plan to tackle this hectic test. I followed the 60 day plan. My performance in the quant from the beginning was quite solid. My verbal was not so good. During the study plan I missed to practice the reading comprehension part and did not practice from the official guide.
After following the study plan I took the official software test I scored a 610 (quant:44, verbal:30), after that I took the second test after two weeks and scored a 600 (quant:44, verbal:29). I retook the one of tests after a month and got a 570 (quant:47, verbal:21). This score totally shocked me and I became very disheartened. The most number of mistakes were in critical reasoning and reading comprehension.
I have the paper gmat tests and started to take these about a week ago. so far I took three of them, all in timed condition and following are the scores in these three tests:
1st test: 620 (Q: 47, V:28)
2nd test: 570 (Q;43, V:24)
3rd test: 610 (Q;46, V:27).
I am really really disappointed with my performance in the verbal section. I would really appreciate if someone could tell me what to do to increase my score in the reading and critical reasoning section. I would like to mention that for critical reasoning I did read the Critical reasoning Bible, however, I did not really read anything for the reading comprehension section.
I want to take the test in October, and desperately need at least a 650. Please feel free to give me any suggestion to increase my score. Can someone please tell me how likely is it to increase 40 points given these few weeks at hand.
I appreciate any feedback and suggestion.
Thank you.
Kazi

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:59 am
Hey Kazi,

Thanks for the positive feedback on the 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide)

When it comes to Reading Comprehension (RC), I don't believe that there is one specific approach that works best for everyone. I always recommend that students spend some time experimenting with different strategies to see which one best suits their memory, reading speed and English proficiency.

For Reading Comprehension questions (and Critical Reasoning questions to some extent), it's crucial that you engage 100% in the passage. So, rather than approach a new passage with dread, try to feign interest ("Excellent! This passage is about stock market regulations in Mexico!!"). The better your engagement, the better the results.

You'll find additional tips to help you better engage with the passage in this free video: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... on?id=1123

If you're interested, we have a free set of videos that cover all sorts of Reading Comprehension strategies: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... prehension

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by ahmedzunaid84 » Sun Sep 08, 2013 3:35 pm
Thanks a million Brent. I appreciate it. I think what you said is extremely important. I think this particular aspect in terms of reading and critical reasoning can improve my chnaces of success.

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by ahmedzunaid84 » Sun Sep 08, 2013 3:36 pm
Thanks a million Brent. I appreciate it. I think what you said is extremely important. I think this particular aspect in terms of reading and critical reasoning can improve my chnaces of success.