Help needed (Verbal Section- SOS)

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Help needed (Verbal Section- SOS)

by sj233 » Wed Jul 20, 2011 2:42 am
Gave the GMAT today. It was my first attempt at GMAT. I prepared for two-three weeks, but studied only for verbal. My preparation comprised of SC,CR,RC questions from the GMAT OG12 and GMAT Verbal Review 2nd edition. Moreover, I read the Manhattan GMAT sentence correction (4th edition) once. I had only given the GMAT prep tests, and scored a 690 V32 Q49 and a 700 V34Q48 on them.

official GMAT score today
Score: 700 V32 Q51

Very disappointed with my score. :cry:
Although, the AWA section went well and I finished the quantitative section with more than 30 minutes in hand, the Verbal section was a big disaster. Verbal score proved to be a dealbraker for me. I attempted all the questions in the verbal section without any blind guessing. I had a target of 760 or above in mind. I guess, my preparations were not according to my targets.

The Verbal section is a big concern for me now. Even though, I had studied the Official guide, verbal review and the Manhattan SCguide, still I found myself helpless in the examination hall. I was not able to apply the techniques I had learnt (maybe because, I was not timing myself while preparation and just trying to understand how the solution was being arrived at). The problem, is that even after learning some techniques during preparation, I was like totally clueless in the exam hall, as if, I hadn't prepared at all. Rather than solving questions methodically, I was just trying to solve them by how they sound (Does the option sound right or wrong.)

In most of the verbal questions (around 70-75%), I was stuck with two options at the end, and was finding it very very difficult to eliminate any one of them. Even while preparing I took around 3-5 minutes (SC), 2-3 minutes(RC) and 5-8 minutes (CR) per question while trying to solve them methodically.
I have decided that I will give the exam again in three-four months time. Now, I think, I need to learn how to solve Verbal section questions technically or methodically within 90 seconds.
Please guide me about how can I learn this and what all resources can be useful to build a methodical/ technical approach towards verbal section questions.

(Oops !! :oops: posted in the wrong section. I request the moderator to move this thread to the appropriate section. Tried to delete it myself, but cant find any option to delete the post. Also unable to remove the tag - GMAT success stories :oops: - after several times )
Last edited by sj233 on Tue Dec 20, 2011 6:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by vineeshp » Wed Jul 20, 2011 3:46 am
I think it is fine in this section.

Your quant score is perfect!

If you scored a 32 with 2-3 weeks of prep, then you can score 40 or above with more preparation. You are such a motivation for me. The thing with your last sentence about SC about how they sound right or wrong is that sometimes what sounds correct will be wrong because for us sounding right is often governed by what we have heard in spoken language and it might be wrong! Learning the SC guide more thoroughly, and solving more problems will definitely help you.

Am confident you can nail it. All the best and thanks for the motivation your post has provided!

Thanks
Vineesh
Vineesh,
Just telling you what I know and think. I am not the expert. :)

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by sj233 » Wed Jul 20, 2011 6:57 am
Thank you very much for your kind words...
the quant score is pretty decent, but the verbal score sucks :( ...

will try to use my ear less from now on... :idea:
the problem with verbal section is that most of the times i m stuck in grey areas...two options are left i cant call one of the options either wrong or right... this happens a lot with me... RC is ok, but SC is tough for me... and some CR questions are like a cruel torture for me (especially the highlighted ones)....

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by John Besore » Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:59 am
@sj233 I agree with vineeshhp that you can score much higher if you put in more time. This forum has a lot of great resources for SC. I would also recommend that you try https://e-gmat.com. My story was similar to yours where I used MGMAT to get into 30's and then used e-gmat after that. Ultimately I got up scoring 41.. a higher percentile than my quant score.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-verbal- ... tml#389250