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Need help in restarting GMAT Prep after poor 640

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Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
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Need help in restarting GMAT Prep after poor 640

by manjitzing » Thu Jul 29, 2010 9:49 am
Hi,
I appeared for GMAT yesterday and scored only 640. Though feeling very down(was expecting 700+), I need to start preparation ASAP and need to complete this by Spetember mid, so that I don't miss any of first round deadlines.
I got 49 in Quant, though, I thought, i did not do well. IN contrast, I was not sure only about 3-4 qs of RC and CR (each) in verbal, but managed only 29. This clearly proves I lack some basic thing knowldge, and my approach is wrong. Please suggest me to clear this gap.
I read Manhattan SC, CR Bible 80% and solved almost 80% of OG11, 12 verbal problems. BUt those were not sufficient or wrong, i think now. PLease don't suggest common sentences like go thru manhattan, do GMAT prep problems etc. PLease point out the areas where non native speakers lack in GMAT verbal and the material that can help me achieve this.

I have one month to improve upon, and as I am targetting top 15 schools, I must get above 700 this time.
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:20 am
Hello, manjitzing:

Congratulations on a great quant score! It sounds as though you're posed to make that score improvement, so if I can offer some insights, I hope that you'll find them helpful.

I'd try to see your status as a non-native speaker as an advantage on the verbal. My reasoning is this - if I offer you a life vest before a boating trip, would you wear it? If you're like me - a swimmer and water polo player - you probably won't, but if you know that you're a bit vulnerable as a swimmer, you'll gladly put it on, right?

The same is true of verbal strategies - non-native speakers can grab on to them like life vests, whereas native English speakers, particularly on SC problems, tend to think they can just "figure it out". And, in my experience, those who use those strategies effectively perform the best and with the least amount of stress.

Now, what are those strategies? Read and focus on what's important, and don't worry about what's not. Minimize the amount that you read.

For example, on SC questions, you absolutely have to be able to identify the subject of each verb, the antecedent of each pronoun, etc., but you're not really responsible for adjectives and adverbs, and as soon as you determine that a modifier is correct, you can forget about it. Focus on what's important and don't let yourself get distracted by details (which only compounds problems for nonnative speakers, since you're likely to take more time per word that you read...if you can ignore 20% of the words in a sentence, you can save a ton of time).

Similarly, on RC passages, the author's intent is crucial - is he arguing for one point? providing multiple viewpoints? - but the details are largely irrelevant unless a question asks you to specifically go back to them, in which case then you can go back and analyze that portion more carefully. Again, minimize the amount that you read (or read carefully...you need to at least read everything to know what to emphasize) and you'll save time and energy and save it for what really matters.

It looks as though you're based in India - I'll actually be waking up early next week here in California to host a free Critical Reasoning lesson at 7pm IST on Wednesday, so I'd certainly invite you to attend for some extra insight there (BTG should have the registration info posted on here shortly).
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
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Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
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by manjitzing » Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:40 am
Thanks Brian. your words really helped.

In between, am also looking for absolute grammar tpics, very food exercises etc and some MUST do type things in Verbal. Please advice.

I will try my best to attend your session on CR. Thanks for the info...
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