Developing the Proper Mindset For GMAT Success

Problematic Thinking: I am just not a verbal person.
Constructive Thinking: Like GMAT quant, GMAT verbal is logic-based, and I can become amazingly good at verbal.

Many people find GMAT verbal challenging at first and don’t see a path to mastery of it, often because GMAT verbal seems so different from anything that they have succeeded at before.

This perception of GMAT verbal as something only “other people” can handle is not really right, as I have pointed out to many students and test-takers. In fact, GMAT verbal questions are actually similar to math questions in a way, in that finding their correct answers requires noticing key details and using tight logic. Is that something you can learn to do? Of course it is.

You could think of GMAT verbal this way: To get the correct answers to Sentence Correction questions, you just have to get to know some not particularly complex rules and learn to notice key issues in sentences. Not a big deal. Anyone who speaks English well already has many of the skills necessary for Sentence Correction. Critical Reasoning involves seeing the logic, or lack thereof, of arguments, something anyone can learn to do. Finally, getting Reading Comprehension questions right largely comes down to being careful to notice what passages do and do not say.

There is no mystery here, no special ability that some people have and others don’t. With some studying of rules and some practice, you too can learn to see which verbal answers make the most sense, and you can make the verbal section part of your GMAT success story.

A wide range of simple yet effective strategies for mastering GMAT verbal can help you become a veritable verbal maven!

Happy studying!