Grockit Tutors Reveal Their Favorite Tips

by , Nov 7, 2009

Get some great insights on how to tackle your GMAT studies with these favorite tips from Grockit tutors, including some cool tricks on data sufficiency and sentence correction problems!

Andrea Alexander: Outline Your Way to Success!

Law school studying typically takes the form of outlining a course; students put together, either individually or in groups, a comprehensive outline of the entire semesters class notes, case summaries, and other relevant knowledge for each subject. Sometimes these outlines can get out of control200 pages of outlining for 150 pages of text, for instancebut in general, theyre very helpful, because they provide a means for quick review of the main topics, as well as focused notes on individual weak areas. Adopt this method yourself by outlining the key focus areas in the verbal section of the GMAT, and using that format to remind yourself of methods for different question types, a framework for your essay, and common grammar and style issues. Having a unified document to refer to while you study can help keep you focused on the approaches that will lead to success, and will be just as helpful as flashcards in memorizing the idioms and grammar issues that you need to have down in order to succeed. Try to keep this document to no more than 10 pagesaround 5 would be even betterso that its easy to refer to and can be carried with you for quick review. Incorporate your favorite tips from all of your study resources: books, software, forums and online articles, for instance. This can be a great project to undertake with fellow students, either in person or online, in order to capitalize on each persons strengths. By summarizing and putting ideas in your own words, and learning from your fellow GMAT-takers, you improve your understanding and retention, and you can use that to boost your score on test day.

Martin Sobolewski: To Solve or Not to Solve

For data sufficiency questions, there is a quick and easy elimination strategy that will reward you handsomely, even on the toughest DS questions. The first thing to know with DS questions is that YOU DO NOT ACTUALLY NEED TO SOLVE THE QUESTION. Many people don't realize this until it is too late, but the reality is that we do not have to solve the question, we just have to know if the statements give us enough information, that is all. Once you figure out if a statement is sufficient, stop! You do not need to solve or make an equation out of it.

Whenever you see a DS question, get in the habit of the AD/BCE method. It works like this: Read the question stem and then look at statement 1) alone. If this statement answers the question, you immediately know that the answer is either A or D. You can eliminate choices BCE. If 1) alone does not answer the question, then AD can be eliminated and the choice is BC or E.

Next, look at statement 2) on its own and see if it answers the question (without remembering what you saw in statement 1), don't cheat from that information). If statement 2) answers it on its own and depending on what you eliminated from 1), then we know that the answer is either D or B. If it is not sufficient on its own and 1) was, then the answer is A. If A was not sufficient, then we need to see if the statements can be combined to solve it. But again, don't make the mistake of actually solving for it, just try to recognize if the information is enough. If the combined statements are not enough, then the answer is E.

With this process, you will find that data sufficiency questions are actually much easier than you realize. Remember, you are trying to see if the statements are "sufficient", and are not actually looking for an answer.

Jim Jacobson: De-mystifying Modifiers

My favorite tip right now deals with modifying phrases in Sentence Correction -- those phrases set off by commas. The GMAT loves to give questions separating the modifier from the modified, so when I get a sentence that starts with something like "Unlike a man in a gorilla suit, which allows him freedom of movement, [underlined portion of the sentence]" I do a quick scan of the first word of each answer; the first word needs to be the same thing grammatically as a man in a gorilla suit. The GMAT will give me a costume party and the movement of a man in a hot dog suit and even a hot dog suit itself, but I can skip directly to the answer (or answers!) that start a man in a hot dog suit.

Jake Becker: Slow Down to Speed Up!

One of the major hurdles to overcome with GMAT students is the ability to answer correctly within a given time span. It may be tempting to rush through practice tests early on, thinking that it will make you faster. Ironically, I've found students too focused on being speedy were not focused enough of internalizing the shortcuts that would make them fast! My suggestion is to forget about time in the first 3 weeks of studying. By practicing content without that additional stress, you will learn from the mistakes over which you painstakingly deliberate. Also, with the exception of the final 2 practice tests close to the BIG DAY, time your practice tests but do not stop when time is up. (Nor should you rush through the last ones.) Simply continue at the pace you were already going and see how far you went over the given limit. Over the course of your study schedule, this "extra time" will decrease not by virtue of experience in rushing, but by having solved enough simulation questions to sufficiently familiarize yourself with the material. In Verbal, you will learn ways to quickly eliminate wrong answers; in Quantitative, you will stumble upon shortcuts and quicken your number-crunching skills by sheer practice. Have faith, you'll get faster whether you stress about it or not.

What's your favorite study tip? Post in the comments below to share!