saurabhkumar2008in wrote:hi eric.
i have read most of your blogs. they are really very informative. i have some queries regarding the preparation. Hope you can help me out in this regard.
My problem in GMAT is RC, AWA and SC in that sequence. Please suggest how to improve my RC and AWA section. One thing more do i have to go through GRE word list for the preparation of GMAT? I am planning to give GMAT after 4 months.

Hi saurabhkumar2008in:

Welcome to the forum!

I have one word that will help you to improve your RC and AWA performance: practice. In fact, practice is the only way you can improve. Fortunately, 4 months is plenty of time to prepare for the GMAT.

It's very hard to advise people on how to prepare for RC because different methods work for different people. Some people like to skim, others (like myself) like to read more thoroughly. It's going to be up to you to figure out which method works for you. Here are some threads to get you started on RC strategy, but it's going to come down to practice and experience in order for you to determine what is best for you:

• General Strategies for Reading Comprehension
• My approach to RC

I wouldn't worry so much about AWA. This section, in my opinion, is much easier to master than any verbal or math section. Please refer to the following guide:

• 800Score Guide for Aceing the AWA

This guide provides a good AWA strategy overview as well as examples of what it takes to score well on the essays. Be sure to do a fair bit of practice as well--try doing about a dozen or more timed practice essays during the course of your studies, to get a sense of how to write in that short period of time. Look at a few high-scoring sample AWAs and compare them to what you write:

• Sample AWAs

With regards to your final question, you do not need to review the GRE word list for the GMAT. The GMAT does not test vocabulary.

Best of luck!

Your welcome.

How important is the AWA section on the GMAT? It depends. If you are a native English speaker applying to US MBA programs, it's probably not that important. If English is not your native language, the AWA matters a little more--it's a way for MBA admissions people to gauge English proficiency.

One thing is for sure--the AWA is significantly less important than your GMAT verbal and math scores. I am hesitant to suggest what a "good" AWA score is. I don't believe that getting a low score on these essays will necessarily keep you out of a good MBA program.

Read through the AWA guides, look at the 6.0 score examples, and practice a lot. But be sure to focus most of your attention prepping for math and verbal!