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Any concentration tips ??

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Any concentration tips ??

by Abdulla » Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:47 pm
If someone have any way that keeps him at the same concentration level during the test and especially at the verbal part because we spent most of our focus during the Quantitative and AWA parts.. please share it..
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by Jen Kedro » Fri Dec 12, 2008 1:22 pm
Hi Abdulla,

Nothing magical, not really a trick or anything, but I find that when I space out during verbal (which I find is much more likely to happen than on math), what helps is to pause every so often and paraphrase what I just read in my head. It may seem like it takes extra time, but in the end it's less time than if you zone out and have to re-read an entire passage for example.

So after every paragraph, you might take 1-2 seconds to remind yourself what that paragraph was about, keep yourself focused. Some people jot down notes on the whiteboard for the same purpose, which can be helpful.

Finally, in reading comp, it's good to focus on opinions in the passages, and certain keywords that emphasize a contrast or emphasis ("however", "therefore", etc). Those can act like road signs to wake you up a bit and let you know that this is an important statement, and more likely to have a question on it.
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by VP_Jim » Fri Dec 12, 2008 7:42 pm
I think that people tend to zone out most during reading comp. Along the same lines as Jen's advice above, I tell my students to give themselves some sort of task to do while reading. This might be any of the following:

1. Paraphrase each paragraph or main idea after you read it
2. Focus on answering questions while you read (e.g., "what is the main idea of this passage?")
3. Take notes or make an outline
4. If all else fails, remind yourself that you only have to read 3 or 4 passages and then it will all be over!

I also like Jen's advice about searching for/focusing on key words. It's a very common problem for test takers to read a passage, then have no idea what they just read. It just takes practice!
Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep
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