How to improve from V37 to v40+

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Nunuboy1994: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 6; Joined: Tue Oct 24, 2017 10:25 pm

by Nunuboy1994 » Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:30 pm

So I just sat for the GMAT last month and scored a V37; however, I am not happy with my total score and realistically I do not think I can achieve a Q47+...so realistically I am hoping to scored high with a v40+ and a Q45. Do you guys have any advice for what it takes to go from V37 to v40+? Does anyone have an ESR for a V40+? One thing I was wondering when I looked at my ESR is that I got the last four questions wrong- had I answered these questions correctly could this have been the difference between me scoring a V37 and V40?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Verbal Reasoning | Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:30 pm

DavidG@VeritasPrep: Legendary Member; Posts: 2663; Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:25 amFollowed by: 128 members; Location: Boston, MA; Thanked: 1153 times; GMAT Score:770

by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Wed Jan 17, 2018 5:28 pm

Nunuboy1994 wrote:So I just sat for the GMAT last month and scored a V37; however, I am not happy with my total score and realistically I do not think I can achieve a Q47+...so realistically I am hoping to scored high with a v40+ and a Q45. Do you guys have any advice for what it takes to go from V37 to v40+? Does anyone have an ESR for a V40+? One thing I was wondering when I looked at my ESR is that I got the last four questions wrong- had I answered these questions correctly could this have been the difference between me scoring a V37 and V40?

Yep. The algorithm is incredibly sensitive on the verbal side, so the difference between a 37 and a 40 may very well have come down to those few questions at the end. (Just bear in mind that you can't predict your score solely on the basis of number of incorrect answers - the questions aren't all weighted the same. It's possible you could take the test in two weeks, manage your time a bit better, and get that 40.

For what it's worth, here's my verbal crash course:

- Read voraciously everyday for 10 days. (Anything challenging will do.) There's research suggesting that the physiology of our brains changes when we read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/ar ... in/282952/

- Consider incorporating some mindfulness meditation. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi ... on/275564/

Afterwards, review the official material you've worked through and see if there are patterns to the questions you've missed. Anything unclear, post here. Jot a few notes to yourself about simple adjustments you can make. Remember that for all the strategies/grammar rules we teach, the verbal section is primarily about logic and focus. Practice boiling everything down to its essence. Always ask yourself, before you select an answer in sentence correction, if the sentence, when read literally, is clear and logical. Before you select an answer in Critical Reasoning always take another moment and ask if your answer really does impact the conclusion. Before you select an answer in Reading Comp ask yourself if there's textual support for that answer. Be relentless. Then hit some fresh official tests:

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Wed Jan 24, 2018 6:23 pm

I absolutely agree with David.

I'll add: whenever students aren't seeing a score increase on the verbal, they probably haven't been REVIEWING deeply enough.

For SC, you want to ask yourself:
- was I thinking about the MEANING of the sentence?
- did I identify the overall structure of SUBJECT + VERB?
- did I identify markers of particular grammar issues: parallelism, comparisons, modifiers, etc?
- did I get distracted by meaningless differences in the answer choices, or did I focus on ones that spoke to clear rule violations?

For CR & RC, ask yourself:
- did I identify the question type?
- did I identify the LOGICAL GAP in the argument (for CR assumption, strengthen, weaken, and evaluate questions) before looking at answer choices?
- did I thoughtfully predict an answer before looking at the answer choices?
- can I identify why each wrong answer is wrong?

Start recording & tracking your mistakes with a Review Log / Error Log: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -studying/

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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GeneralEducation: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 334; Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:40 amFollowed by: 12 members; Location: India; Thanked: 51 times; GMAT Score:770

by GeneralEducation » Tue Feb 13, 2018 6:15 am

The Verbal section of GMAT consists of Sentence Correction, Reading Comprehension, and Critical Reasoning questions. To master the verbal section, all you need is some time, dedication, hard work and correct approach.

It's recommended not to underestimate this section and dedicate sufficient amount of time to this section. Increase your vocabulary, learn new words and their use. Hone these skills and you'll be one step ahead of your peers.

Emphasize of Each Section of GMAT Exam Equally

It's a fact that major top B-schools are quant-driven and many GMAT aspirants face a tough time with GMAT quant section but in this process don't let quant overpower the verbal section. Give the equal amount of time and dedication to both the sections while preparing for the GMAT because even if you score high in quant, a low verbal score can put you in trouble.

Study the Highest Value Material

Study any verbal concept, skills, techniques as per the GMAT verbal questions. Don't put too much emphasis on any one topics. For and, instance, don't pound over the internet finding a huge list of idioms and phrases. Rather focus on mastering basic rules of Sentence correction, and major topics like subject-verb agreement, parallelism, and modification. While preparing for Critical reasoning, emphasize on Alternate Cause, Reverse Causation and, No Coincidence. Don't waste your time mastering uncommon Critical Reasoning question types.

Practice

Last and most important tip - Practice! It's the only secret weapon which will help you to apply whatever you learned in your day to day life. Once you are familiar with the patterns of Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension, you are not supposed to mug-up them but practicing them every now and then will certainly help you. It will increase your chances of scoring high, improve your vocabulary, make you a great speaker & thinker as well.

Please feel free to contact us if any help required.

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dhanush4235346: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 2; Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2019 3:38 pm

Re: How to improve from V37 to v40+

by dhanush4235346 » Mon Sep 14, 2020 8:01 pm

Hi David,

Thank you very much for your advice.

In terms of your reading advice, do you have any particular sources that are worthwhile? I find that reading high-quality newspapers and non-fiction does help for SC and possibly CR, but are not sufficiently challenging for RC. When reading, should one aim to read as quickly as possible and what portion of time do you recommend allocating to reading vs practice questions/review.

For your reference, I am also currently at V37 and aiming for V42 and my RC is around the 70th percentile.

Thank you!
Dhanush

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PhillipZhang87: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 17; Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2020 9:44 am

Re: How to improve from V37 to v40+

by PhillipZhang87 » Tue Sep 15, 2020 3:24 pm

If your looking for high quality reading material then the Economist is pretty good. It has a broad range of topics as well as, the articles are eloquent and well-written.

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ngupta27: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 35; Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2010 2:44 amFollowed by: 2 members

Re:

by ngupta27 » Sat Sep 19, 2020 11:27 am

ceilidh.erickson wrote: ↑
Wed Jan 24, 2018 6:23 pm
I absolutely agree with David.

I'll add: whenever students aren't seeing a score increase on the verbal, they probably haven't been REVIEWING deeply enough.

For SC, you want to ask yourself:
- was I thinking about the MEANING of the sentence?
- did I identify the overall structure of SUBJECT + VERB?
- did I identify markers of particular grammar issues: parallelism, comparisons, modifiers, etc?
- did I get distracted by meaningless differences in the answer choices, or did I focus on ones that spoke to clear rule violations?

For CR & RC, ask yourself:
- did I identify the question type?
- did I identify the LOGICAL GAP in the argument (for CR assumption, strengthen, weaken, and evaluate questions) before looking at answer choices?
- did I thoughtfully predict an answer before looking at the answer choices?
- can I identify why each wrong answer is wrong?

Start recording & tracking your mistakes with a Review Log / Error Log: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -studying/

I have spent time doing all above, but still its not working out.
I am not sure where and what I am missing which is stopping me from even crossing V35 !

Kindly assist

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