GMAT Strategy

Studying Fundamentals Is the Key to Building a Strong Foundation for GMAT Success

We know that the GMAT is to a large extent a test of reasoning skill. However, it’s still the case that we need some fundamental knowledge to master the GMAT. So, a reason why people’s GMAT scores plateau is that they haven’t spent enough time learning fundamentals.

One reason why people don’t learn fundamentals when they study for the GMAT is that some GMAT resources don’t cover fundamentals in depth. Rather, such resources provide practice questions and explanations without discussing concepts. So, it’s easy to end up trying to master the GMAT by just answering a mix of practice questions.

Whatever the reason for not studying fundamentals, the outcome is that you get only so far. You may be able to answer easy questions or questions involving concepts you already know. However, when faced with questions you don’t have the fundamental knowledge to answer, you don’t make progress.

So, if your GMAT score isn’t improving, consider whether you’ve skipped the step of learning fundamentals or studied concepts only superficially or only in some areas.

The solution to the problem of not knowing fundamentals is to study fundamentals, and the way to do so is to work topic by topic. So, if you haven’t studied fundamentals, you could find a good GMAT prep resource, and start working on one topic at a time.

To master a topic, the best approach is to first learn the concepts involved in the topic. Then,learn strategies for the topic. Finally, practice applying the concepts and strategies by doing practice questions involving the topic.

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep