Barrons Guide

Expert replies

sankruth: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 195; Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 4:33 am; Thanked: 10 times

by sankruth » Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:35 am

Has anybody used the Barron's guide. Are the questions especially the CR questions in the verbal tests GMAT styled questions?

I will try to post an example later today.

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:35 am

sankruth: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 195; Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 4:33 am; Thanked: 10 times

by sankruth » Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:26 am

Heres the question...
1. All members of Group IV include all members of Group II
2. All members of Group III include all members of Group I
3. All members of Group IV include all members of Group I
4. All members of Group II include all members of Group I
5. All members of Group III include all members of Group IV

Which of the following statements must be true in order to establish that Group III is the all-embracing group, that is, includes Groups I, II and IV?

A. Statement 1 is a vital piece of information.
B. Statement 2 is a vital piece of information.
C. Statement 3 is a vital piece of information.
D. Statement 4 is a vital piece of information.
E. None of the above statements is a vital piece of information.

OA after some discussion.

Like this post

Stuart@KaplanGMAT: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3225; Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:40 pmFollowed by: 614 members; Location: Toronto; Thanked: 1710 times; GMAT Score:800

by Stuart@KaplanGMAT » Sat Jan 12, 2008 2:48 am

sankruth wrote:Heres the question...
1. All members of Group IV include all members of Group II
2. All members of Group III include all members of Group I
3. All members of Group IV include all members of Group I
4. All members of Group II include all members of Group I
5. All members of Group III include all members of Group IV

Which of the following statements must be true in order to establish that Group III is the all-embracing group, that is, includes Groups I, II and IV?

A. Statement 1 is a vital piece of information.
B. Statement 2 is a vital piece of information.
C. Statement 3 is a vital piece of information.
D. Statement 4 is a vital piece of information.
E. None of the above statements is a vital piece of information.

OA after some discussion.

This question makes absolutely no sense at all.

First, there's no GMAT definition of "vital piece of information", so without defining that term, the question is ambigious.

Second, even if we accept that "vital piece of information" means "something that must be true in order to reach the conclusion" (which seems redundant, since they could have simply asked "which of the above statements must be true in order to reach the conclusion that..." and the the choices would simply have been statements 1-4 or 1-5), all 4 statements could be used in different combinations to conclude that group III is all encompassing: 1, 4 and 5; 1, 3 and 5; or 1, 2 and 5.

Based on that analysis, it looks like the answer will be (A) statement I, since we need either statment 2, 3 or 4, so I guess none are "vital" (i.e. if we have one of the others, we don't need that one). However, we need at least one of the three, so together they form a "vital trio" or some such nonesense.

All that said, is statment 1 really "vital". No, because there could be other statements (not listed) that could replace it.

There's no way at all that a question like this would appear on the GMAT, it's far too open to multiple interpretation.

Stuart Kovinsky | Kaplan GMAT Faculty | Toronto

Kaplan Exclusive: The Official Test Day Experience | Ready to Take a Free Practice Test? | Kaplan/Beat the GMAT Member Discount
BTG100 for $100 off a full course

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

beatthegmat: Site Admin; Posts: 6778; Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:30 amFollowed by: 994 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 1249 times

by beatthegmat » Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:22 pm

Adding to Stuart's comments--there are a LOT of bad GMAT practice materials out there on the market! There are only a handful of companies I trust for solid prep: GMAC (OG), Kaplan, Princeton Review, Manhattan GMAT. Beyond that, practice material quality can fluctuate dramatically.

Some book recommendations: https://www.beatthegmat.com/books.html

Beat The GMAT | The MBA Social Network
Community Management Team

Research Top GMAT Prep Courses:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-courses

Research The World's Top MBA Programs:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/school

Like this post

sankruth: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 195; Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 4:33 am; Thanked: 10 times

by sankruth » Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:39 am

Thanks guys!

Like this post

Post new topic Post Reply

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

559 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review