how to approach practice questions

Hey,

Here's the advice I got from Brian (Brian@VeritasPrep) when I started studying a few weeks ago:

"My biggest piece of advice for getting started - be prepared to ask the question "why" a lot, and you'll find it to be incredibly helpful:

-Why does this formula or number property hold true? (Understanding is deeper than memorization, and can also translate to the ability to apply it to a wider range of concepts)

-Why did I get this question wrong? (Knowing yourself and your weaknesses/tendencies/common errors is much more important than simply knowing how to correctly answer that one question)

-Why did the author of the question use that phrasing? Why was that answer choice written that way? (Learning to think like the testmaker will give you insight into their "playbook" and allow you to stay a step ahead of the questions)"

I've found this very useful, especially the second point. When reviewing a question, don't just make sure you understand why the correct answer is right - also make sure you know why YOU got it wrong and how you can change the way you approach similar questions later.

Hope that helps!

nicolezl wrote:Hey,

Here's the advice I got from Brian (Brian@VeritasPrep) when I started studying a few weeks ago:

"My biggest piece of advice for getting started - be prepared to ask the question "why" a lot, and you'll find it to be incredibly helpful:

-Why does this formula or number property hold true? (Understanding is deeper than memorization, and can also translate to the ability to apply it to a wider range of concepts)

-Why did I get this question wrong? (Knowing yourself and your weaknesses/tendencies/common errors is much more important than simply knowing how to correctly answer that one question)

-Why did the author of the question use that phrasing? Why was that answer choice written that way? (Learning to think like the testmaker will give you insight into their "playbook" and allow you to stay a step ahead of the questions)"

I've found this very useful, especially the second point. When reviewing a question, don't just make sure you understand why the correct answer is right - also make sure you know why YOU got it wrong and how you can change the way you approach similar questions later.

Hope that helps!

thanks nicole.....i like this approach.

will do this for sure.

I have another question.

How should I approach SC questions. Since I can't really write down the entire question and along with it why i choose the answer that I did or why I didn't choose any of the other options. All I simply write down on my paper while answering these questions is ABCDE and cross off as I scan the answer choices.

But once I begin to analyze the problems after doing about 20 of them, I can't EXACTLY remember what I saw in the other answer choices that lead me to not pick them.

Please advise,

Thanks,

Hmm...well the original advice was more for quant I think. For SC you basically know the grammar rules or you don't. So if you're looking back on an SC question you got wrong, you should just make sure you understand the rules that apply to it. Also make sure you know why the wrong answers are wrong.

Hey guys,

Good questions, Gurpinder, and great answers, Nicole!

For Sentence Correction, I'll add to what Nicole said with a few thoughts:

1) SC is definitely a process-of-elimination exercise, so when you revisit problems make sure that you know why the wrong answers are wrong.

2) In doing so, see if you can give them one- or two-word "tags" with the kinds of errors that you know come up frequently (e.g. "Modifier" or "Subject-Verb Agreement"). This way, you're not looking at an array of individual errors, but rather some systematic categories that come up frequently, and training yourself to seek those out.

3) Don't let yourself get away with "Idiom" as a description nearly as much as the OG solutions do. Try to find a different category whenever possible...honestly, you should be able to do so well over 90% of the time. "Idiomatic" is the GMAT equivalent of Jeopardy's "Potpourri" category - it's a catch-all for a random assortment of errors. The GMAT is not a random test - its job is to ensure over 250+ days of testing per year all around the world that your score is relevant to that of someone else. It's a standardized test, so try to view your SC errors through that same ideology.

4) If you're really struggling with SC, try this - do a set of 20-25 questions and each time you eliminate an answer choice write down 2-3 words explaining why (e.g. Pronoun Agreement). Then when you return to the questions later, you have a quick-access "journal" of what you were thinking when you completed each question, and you're also training yourself to have reasons for elimination other than "it just sounds wrong".