Since the GMAT is adaptive test, you can make a similar number of mistakes on your Verbal and Quant sections and get very different scaled scores. It’s likely that you did well enough on Quant to get to tough questions before you started getting many wrong, while you may have missed some easier Verbal questions relatively early on.

Here are a few tips that should help you boost your Verbal score on Monday. Good luck!

RC

- Read for main idea and structure, NOT for facts and figures. Plenty of passage details won’t even be mentioned in the 3-4 questions that go with each passage, and if a detail is mentioned, you’ll probably have to go back to the passage to check it out anyway.

Make sure you understand the main idea of the passage and of each paragraph, the author’s opinion, and the opinions of any other major people or groups – don’t spend time processing other information until you get to the questions.

CR

- Rephrase the prompt in your own words. Many test-takers read the entire argument from beginning to end trying to understand the entire thing at once. DON’T do this – instead, make sure you can paraphrase each part of the prompt (and don’t be shy about writing down tougher points on your noteboard). This will help you predict the answer more effectively and cut down on re-reading of the prompt both before and after you tackle the answer choices.

Note that both the RC and CR tips are intended to help you avoid wasted reading. Wasted effort can damage your focus as well as your pacing; working efficiently should help both your timing and your confidence.

SC

When you’re stuck between two or three answer choices, step back and read each possible sentence as a whole. Often, test-takers get stuck on one particular word or word group differs between two tempting choices. Be sure to check for an error elsewhere that you may have skimmed over but that would allow you to eliminate the wrong answer.