Great question, Vikram - and I'll echo what Anu said when he mentioned that "both" grammar and meaning are important. But let me add a third portion to that - strategy.
1) The first thing I do whenever I see an SC problem is look for obvious differences between the answer choices. You'll often see these in the first word of each answer choice; the last word of each answer choice; or at the appearance of different forms of verbs or pronouns in each answer choice. At Veritas Prep we call those "Decision Points" - if there's an obvious difference between the answer choices (its vs. they; were vs. are; etc.) the test is often guiding you toward the decision you need to make, and you can attack that decision head on without reading the entire sentence all the way through first.
2) If you don't notice an immediate Decision Point, then read through the original looking for errors. But remember - not all words are created equally. So plan to focus on certain elements:
*If you see a modifier, check to see that the modifier is correct/logical. If it is, then ignore it - it's no longer of value to you. For example: Brian, a GMAT instructor from Los Angeles, were typing a response. As soon as you see that "a GMAT instructor..." logically modifies "Brian", ignore it - and "Brian were typing" is then clearly wrong.
*If that modifier is wrong, then eliminate that answer choice. And that also means...
3) Once you eliminate an answer choice for a specific reason (e.g. "illogical modifier") then search the other answer choices to see if you can eliminate any others for the same flaw. Often at least two choices commit the same (or a very similar) error. If you can eliminate multiple choices at once, that minimizes the amount of reading you have to do.
4) ONLY eliminate answer choices for major reasons (modifiers, subject-verb agreement) and save small-picture decisions for later. Beware "false decision points" (remember - just because the idiom or word choice in answer A is correct doesn't mean that a different version in answer B is necessarily wrong). Only when you've gotten rid of the big-picture errors should you narrow your focus - and here is where logical meaning tends to come into play, so really consider the meaning once you've gotten rid of obvious errors.
I hope that helps...
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep
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