Sentence Correction

When I first went through all the SC questions, I was right 75% of the time.

Then I started trying to improve my score by learning all the grammar/comparison techniques. In going through the same set of questions, I've actually gotten significantly worse. I can generally still get it down to 2 options, but when I start to think about the grammar I consistently go with the wrong answer.

How do I break this habit before I test this weekend?

Old Strategy: Just read the question, go down the list, pick one that sounds the best
New Strategy: Look for words that make each answer different, parallelisms, verb tense, etc. Choose "better" answer.
*EDIT* NEWEST STRATEGY - This might sound too much like common sense but I've spent the last two hours trying to figure out a way to fix my problem. I kind of mix both my old and new strategies - I will read the clause and try and mentally fill in the blanks. 30-40% of the time the answer I thought of will part of the options. I really try and let my intuition take the wheel here because when I focus too much I grammar I lose sight on how sentences are actually supposed to sound. Listing things like "past participle" identifying the "antecedents" gets confusing.

Then, I mix in some of the actual SC strategy like looking at the beginning and end of sentences and eliminating a few more. Then grammar comes into play. Success rate is about 90% now on the back (harder) third of the SC section. The 10% I get wrong are generally just small mistakes.

Anyway, quick debrief. Need to get back to the questions now

Hey havok ,

I totally agree with your approach , this happens with me also . The more i try to concentrate technically the more i loose the game ..heh just kidding . Its good to know the technicalities , but it should be acting in ones favor not against . And it is very important to hit good accuracy in SC to get an edge .

Great going , let us know how it goes .

My concern with the approach is the times when reading answers aloud will consistently lead to wrong answers because of our various bad speaking habits. Naturally the approach suggested will work in many of the easier SC questions, but as you advance into latter part of OG or more difficult questions within GMATPrep, the approach will almost certain to hit the ceiling in which every answer "sounds" correct.

So unless you're somehow capable of changing the way you speak to reflect GMAT style of grammar, this approach may be flawed because of its limitations.

I would dig deep and identify the rules that you are able to match by speaking and expand on it.