I ran out of ideas how to improve Verbal...

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bmierz86: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 14; Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 12:01 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 1 times

by bmierz86 » Sat May 06, 2017 11:17 am

Hi All, I have been studying for the last 4 months for my second attempt at the GMAT, after completing MGMAT Classes, Empower 4+ months and other books, I was able to get my quant score from low 30s to high 30s/low 40s, however my Verbal score has been consistently in the 21-29 range, despite doing WELL on OG practice problems /drills from the Review Books and other sources. I just don't know what is going on and why I am unable to improve my verbal score. I started reading Powerscore CR bible, I read the MGMAT SC book, I have notes and pages of notes everywhere that I read but on the actual CAT exams my score don't show any progress. In fact, today I took a CAT exam and got a Q38 V21 on the Official practice test.

I spent thousands of dollars this point on various book, classes, online sources and nothing has worked for the Verbal part for me. At this point this exam has become an addiction/some craze that I have given up social life mostly except 1 night a week and pound 2-3 hours a day of material that I think I get, but on the tests nothing happens. My target score is around 650_ so with a improve in Verbal I would get there since my Q isn't that bad when compared to it.

I have considered a private tutor in NYC at this point, because I am not sure what I am not understanding.

Also, on today's CAT I got 14 Verbal questions incorrect, and I got a 21, meanwhile i got 16 Quant questions incorrect and got a 38...I don't know what is going on because when I do OG practice problem drills my correct rate is in the 70% for Verbal.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Sat May 06, 2017 11:17 am

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu May 11, 2017 5:51 am

bmierz86 wrote: Also, on today's CAT I got 14 Verbal questions incorrect, and I got a 21, meanwhile i got 16 Quant questions incorrect and got a 38...I don't know what is going on because when I do OG practice problem drills my correct rate is in the 70% for Verbal.

The practice tests are computer adaptive, so you end up getting questions that are just within/beyond your abilities. The Official Guide is static, so you get a mix of super easy questions, medium questions and super hard questions.

Is there one area in Verbal (RC, CR, SC) that is giving you the most trouble?

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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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 » Thu May 11, 2017 6:28 am

bmierz86 wrote:Hi All, I have been studying for the last 4 months for my second attempt at the GMAT, after completing MGMAT Classes, Empower 4+ months and other books, I was able to get my quant score from low 30s to high 30s/low 40s, however my Verbal score has been consistently in the 21-29 range, despite doing WELL on OG practice problems /drills from the Review Books and other sources. I just don't know what is going on and why I am unable to improve my verbal score. I started reading Powerscore CR bible, I read the MGMAT SC book, I have notes and pages of notes everywhere that I read but on the actual CAT exams my score don't show any progress. In fact, today I took a CAT exam and got a Q38 V21 on the Official practice test.

I spent thousands of dollars this point on various book, classes, online sources and nothing has worked for the Verbal part for me. At this point this exam has become an addiction/some craze that I have given up social life mostly except 1 night a week and pound 2-3 hours a day of material that I think I get, but on the tests nothing happens. My target score is around 650_ so with a improve in Verbal I would get there since my Q isn't that bad when compared to it.

I have considered a private tutor in NYC at this point, because I am not sure what I am not understanding.

Also, on today's CAT I got 14 Verbal questions incorrect, and I got a 21, meanwhile i got 16 Quant questions incorrect and got a 38...I don't know what is going on because when I do OG practice problem drills my correct rate is in the 70% for Verbal.

A few easy (and cost-effective) things you can do to boost your verbal score:

- Read voraciously everyday for two weeks. (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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