One of the most effective ways to improve your GMAT Verbal performance is to evaluate and refine the strategies you use to answer questions. Many students unknowingly rely on inefficient methods, often because of bad advice or a lack of analysis of their natural approaches. As part of your GMAT preparation, take time to regularly assess whether your strategies truly make sense and are yielding the results you expect. Ask yourself if you’re using a method because it’s the best approach or simply because it’s familiar.
For instance, some students mistakenly believe that reading the question stem before the passage in Critical Reasoning questions saves time. However, they usually end up rereading the stem after reading the passage, adding unnecessary seconds to their process. A more effective strategy is to read the passage first, ensuring you fully understand its context, and then read the question stem to focus your response. Similarly, in Reading Comprehension, many students try to save time by skipping large portions of the passage. Unfortunately, this often leads to confusion and difficulty locating needed information. Instead, reading the entire passage while noting its structure and main ideas is more efficient. Structural keywords such as however, for example, and in contrast can help you quickly identify where critical details are located.
To optimize your performance, test new strategies in practice and evaluate their impact. Are you completing questions more efficiently? Are you answering more questions correctly? If a strategy isn’t working as expected, tweak it or explore alternatives. Verbal success isn’t just about mastering concepts—it’s about mastering your approach. By continuously improving your methods and eliminating inefficiencies, you’ll save valuable time, boost your accuracy, and build confidence, giving yourself the best chance to excel on test day.
Warmest regards,
Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep
