Just got a 490 (58% Math and 11% Verbal)

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Just got a 490 (58% Math and 11% Verbal)

by jake1414 » Thu Nov 21, 2013 6:36 am
I just took the GMAT and got a 490 (58% Math and 11% Verbal). I am missing something on the verbal section. I understand the concepts. I don't know why I can't improve it. For each practice cat it has been going down from 30%, 22%, 20%, etc. and now 11% on the real test.

Would love help!!!
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by [email protected] » Thu Nov 21, 2013 12:38 pm
Hi Jake1414,

I've sent you an email.

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by VivianKerr » Thu Nov 21, 2013 12:49 pm
Hey Jake,

With 11% Verbal, you probably need to significantly reassess all three aspects of the GMAT: 1) content, 2) strategy, and 3) pacing.

1) Content -- there's just no way you can be an expert at all the tested Verbal concepts and be hitting only 11% accuracy. I'd go through this list of Sentence Correction concepts first -- try to pinpoint what you need to review the most and tackle only 3-4 concepts each week. Aim for depth of understanding over breadth.

"¢ SC: Agreement
"¢ SC: Among/Between, As/Like
"¢ SC: Correlative Constructions
"¢ SC: Diction
"¢ SC: Forms of Comparison
"¢ SC: Fragments and Run-on sentences
"¢ SC: Idioms
"¢ SC: Modification
"¢ SC: Mass/count words
"¢ SC: Verb agreement
"¢ SC: Diction
"¢ SC: Parallelism
"¢ SC: Passive Voice
"¢ SC: Prepositions
"¢ SC: Pronoun agreement
"¢ SC: Pronouns
"¢ SC: Verb Form
"¢ SC: Wordiness

2) Strategy -- this is where you're probably falling apart. What is you systematic step-by-step approach for SC, CR, and RC? Do you know HOW to read the passages? How does your approach adjust when you're looking at an Assumption CR versus a Bolded Statement CR? What do you do for a completely underlined SC? Strategy is a question-specific plan of attack that yields high accuracy.

3) Pacing -- are you finishing the Verbal section under time? leaving questions blank? rushing through the last 5-10 questions? You might need to do separate pacing drills with harder-level questions so you can practice "walking away" from time-wasters.

Good luck!
Vivian Kerr
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