# gmat_guy666

BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Four concentric circles share the same center... in the Problem Solving forum
“The sum of the areas of the four circles divided by the sum of their circumferences is: (Π r1^2 +Π r2^2 + Π r3^2 + Π r4^2 )/ (2Π r1 +2Π r2 +2Π r3 + 2Π r4) Π (r1^2 + r2^2 + r3^2 + r4^2 )/ 2Π ( r1 + r2 + r3 + r4) (r1^2 + r2^2 + r3^2 + r4^2 )/ 2 ( r1 + r2 + r3 + r4) You ...”
January 19, 2018
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to If the sum of the interior angles of a regular polygon... in the Problem Solving forum
“I think the easiest way to solve this problem is to use the formula: (n-2)*180=1440 1440/180=8=n-2 Therefore n=10”
January 19, 2018
VivianKerr posted a reply to GPrep - For the farmer who takes care to keep them cool, in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi carnation, Let''s look at the differences between C and E: For the farmer who takes care to keep them cool, providing them with high-energy feed, and milking them regularly, Holstein cows are producing an average of 2,275 gallons of milk each per year. C. provided with high-energy ...”
September 28, 2017
VivianKerr posted a reply to Iguanas have been an important food source in the Sentence Correction forum
“In this sentence, "they" is correctly referring to animals. We can use both "they" and "them" to refer to plural animals. You''re right to be suspicious of pronouns when it comes to animals, though, since we would not use pronouns such as "who" and ...”
September 26, 2017
VivianKerr posted a reply to One of the most important decisions. . . . . . in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi Vincen, We wouldn''t use "if" in this way on the GMAT. "If" = a hypothetical situation For example, "If I were the Queen of the Universe, everyone would get Fridays off." If the Meaning is a choice between two things, "whether" conveys that ...”
September 26, 2017
VivianKerr posted a new topic called SC Challenge: The elaborate Christmas-themed cake... in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi guys, Working on a new batch of challenging questions, and curious to hear some thoughts about this one! The elaborate Christmas-themed cake that won the challenge in The Great British Bake Off, a popular British reality cooking competition, was, unusually, trapezoidal in design, its ...”
September 26, 2017
VivianKerr posted a reply to pronouns other than we, our and I always have an antecedent? in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi, Great question! Pronouns require antecedents, so you are absolutely correct that in (E), we have no antecedent for "they." Who are "they"? We have no idea. The other major error in (E) is the incorrect addition of the comma before the preposition "from." ...”
December 14, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to improving and growing populations and technologies in the Critical Reasoning forum
“What''s the source of this question? The question stem, tonally, doesn''t feel like the GMAT. Evidence: Pop + Tech ---> :-( Probs New Inst/New Arrang ---> Innov. Solutions Inst/Arrang = stable Conclusion: "extra effort" needed The author is assuming that ...”
December 13, 2016
VivianKerr posted a new topic called Factorials and Divisibility question in the Problem Solving forum
“Worked on this problem today with a student, and thought it would be a fun one to share. It''s amazing how something like a (!) point symbol can throw us all for a loop, when really we''re just looking at a very simple divisibility question. :-) Enjoy! Which of the following is an integer? ...”
December 13, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to Veritas SC-Although the fear last year in the Sentence Correction forum
“Regarding "that which," the GMAT certainly uses that construction. Check out this Verbal Official Guide RC question: "The author implies that which of the following was true of most feminist thinkers in England and the United States after 1920?" You''re correct to start by ...”
November 27, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to OG Verbal 17: CR (Weaken) in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hey joealam1! With Weaken questions, we need some flexibility with the answer choices, since there are several ways to weaken an argument: -Provide an explanation -Prove the assumption is wrong -Undermine a piece of evidence I find the easiest "default" for a Weaken prediction ...”
November 27, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to OG 13: RC: Superior service competitive advantage in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Hey Joe, So, in order to get RC questions correct, we need to understand what the question-type is, and what kind of expectation that sets up for the correct answer. Here, the phrase "according to the passage" tells us this is a Detail question. Detail questions are essentially ...”
November 27, 2016
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Getting yourself ready in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I agree with the previous posts. Everyone does makes mistakes, so don''t try to aim for perfection otherwise you might make yourself more nervous which would cause you to make more mistakes (its a viscous cycle, I know) BUT there is a way to overcome it. The first and most important way is to ...”
July 3, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to Thomas Henry Huxley (1825−1895), one of Charles_veritas in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Hi Mechmeera, You can see my breakdown of the passage and two questions below: http://s17.postimg.org/r0bmmt23f/RC_1.jpg We can say "consensus" because of the first paragraph: "Today, few scientists challenge not only the link between birds and reptiles in general, but ...”
February 12, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to gmat apps vs books/study material?? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Do NOT use apps to study for the GMAT. They will not suffice. If you''re spending 10-15 minutes on a GMAT app while waiting for the bus, in between classes, etc. then that''s great, but your actual serious study time needs to be spent with official material and high-quality practice tests, using ...”
February 12, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to manhattan & official guides in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Definitely those versions are fine. Just make sure you get the Official Guide that aligns with your 5th edition MGMAT books, either the 13th or the 15th edition. Don''t buy the 2016 version. You might also want to consider Powerscore''s CR book: http://amzn.to/20Yvghm It''s pretty stellar. ...”
February 12, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to In a museum X, a total entrance fee is $x plus$z each perso in the Data Sufficiency forum
“What is the origin of this question? It does not feel very "GMAT-like" to me, because there is ambiguity in the given information. "$x plus$z each person greater than 20" could be interpreted to mean "20(x + z)" or "x + 20z." Here''s how to set up the ...”
February 12, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to The results of the company's cost-cutting measures are in the Sentence Correction forum
“A Gerund is when the -ing is the subject doing the action. EXAMPLE: "Failing to get a high score is unacceptable." "Failing" is the gerund. "Falling" is just present continuous. You''re right on the money with the incorrect usage of "with." ...”
February 11, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to Notes or No Notes in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Could not disagree with Murray more!!! (Multiple exclamation points of disagreement! :-)) Notes are ABSOLUTELY essential to hold yourself accountable to breaking down CR arguments properly, and ensuring you are (1) not reading the argument too quickly, (2) not taking anything for granted, (3) ...”
February 11, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to Mayor Delmont's claim! in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Sorry, just realized there''s a typo in my notes. The prediction should read "does" and not "doesn''t." #tutorfail :-)”
February 11, 2016
VivianKerr posted a reply to Mayor Delmont's claim! in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This is one of those question that really proves the point that if you don''t carefully analyze and break down the argument, you''ll probably get the question incorrect. Ask yourself: what are we meant to notice? Here, we are given facts about new jobs $, eliminated jobs$, and overall jobs $...” February 11, 2016 VivianKerr posted a reply to In Need of Advice plus Official Material vs. Testprep in the GMAT Strategy forum “I''d recommend you really focus on learning ONE SC concept at a time. Here''s everything that is tested on SC GMAT: • SC: Noun-Verb Agreement • SC: Comparisons • SC: Run-on Sentences • SC: Meaning • SC: Idioms • SC: Modifiers • SC: Superlative/Comparative • SC: ...” December 16, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Evaluate in the Critical Reasoning forum “Because this is an EVALUATE CR, the correct answer will have a LOT to do with scope and the conclusion. Conclusion: If the population of these other species were increased, more of the larvae would be feeding on uninfected hosts, so the number of ticks acquiring the bacterium would likely ...” November 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to CR problem types in OG in the Critical Reasoning forum “Once you exhaust the OG questions, there''s also a nicely organized question directory over at GMATClub: http://gmatclub.com/forum/critical-reasoning-question-directory-topic-and-difficulty-128861.html” November 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Evaluate the Argument: Complicated Question - PowerScore in the Critical Reasoning forum “Also, I wanted to point out that just as this question type had a specific set of expectations around it, so do all CR questions types! I highly suggest you keep separate notes for EACH of the major CR question types, and jot down your unique approach for EACH of these. What are the common wrong ...” November 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Proliferation of television in the Sentence Correction forum “Hey Sid, I think I get what you''re asking. But, technically, there are TWO verbs in the relative clause (starting with "that": "began" and "is continuing." This question is testing Verb Tenses. And we need to know the differences between "begun" and ...” November 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Proliferation of television in the Sentence Correction forum “Hey Sid, I think I get what you''re asking. But, technically, there are TWO verbs in the relative clause (starting with "that": "began" and "is continuing." This question is testing Verb Tenses. And we need to know the differences between "begun" and ...” November 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Evaluate the Argument: Complicated Question - PowerScore in the Critical Reasoning forum “To me this question, as with most GMAT CR involving numbers, is less about math, and more about logic. This is an "Evaluate CR" so what do we know about this question type? -The CONCLUSION is the most important thing -The correct answer will be extremely relevant to the conclusion ...” November 5, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Jupiter’s gravity attracts comets and asteroids in the Reading Comprehension forum “This is a Function question, so it is not concerned with what the passage says. The phrase "serves primarily to" tells us the question is asking what ROLE this specific detail plays in the structure of the passage. Don''t confuse it with a Detail question. Rephrase: WHY did the author ...” November 5, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GMAT800: Help with SC question in the Sentence Correction forum “I agree this question sucks, because I don''t think there is a fair, "GMAT-like", discernible grammatical or stylistic difference between the choices. But, if we''re gonna split hairs, "by increasing" is more precise than "increasing" since the word "by" ...” November 5, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Evaluate in the Critical Reasoning forum “Glad you enjoy it! :) It''s no substitute for reading the entire passage, but it does help show us where our focus and priorities should be when we deal with an Evaluate CR. Conclusion: Clearly, eating whole grains can have an appreciable effect on cholesterol levels. Simple Conclusion: ...” November 3, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Lanzillotti’s Pizzeria in the Critical Reasoning forum “This is a Strengthen question, so it''s nice to remind ourselves of some common ways to strengthen: -remove possible weakening idea -add additional supporting evidence -prove unstated assumption is true There are others, but it''s always a good idea to read the Question Stem first to get a ...” November 3, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Evaluate in the Critical Reasoning forum “Hi Akash Singhal, You''re right, Evaluate CR can be challenging, so I want to show you something fun about them. What if we didn''t read the entire passage? What if we just read the Conclusion? Let''s check this cool shortcut out! :-) Conclusion: The industry claims that it is always cheaper ...” November 3, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to OG-15 Passage-6 Terrestrial environment in the Reading Comprehension forum “Hey Vishal, I think your confusion stems from the fact that passage compares "sea snakes" to "terrestrial snakes" and the word "arboreal" means "referring to trees" so they are the exact same thing as "terrestrial snakes." It''s pretty mean of ...” November 3, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Need help with a question - The Debt Crisis in the Reading Comprehension forum “Hey Sid, To start, make sure you''re using a precise and valuable system of note-taking to help you break down the passage and draw inferences as you read. I extract the Topic, Scope, Function of each paragraph, Point of View of the author, and the Purpose of the entire passage as I read. ...” November 3, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Nietzsche in the Reading Comprehension forum “In order to fully understand any GMAT passage, I recommend breaking down the Topic, Scope, Function of every paragraph, Author''s POV, and Purpose AS YOU READ. That way, by the time you get to the questions, you have a full grasp of what the passage is about, and you''ve already drawn many of ...” November 3, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to A recent court decision has qualified a 1998 ruling_OG in the Sentence Correction forum “Hi, The verb "are given" is confusing in terms of Meaning. Sentence: A decision HAS QUALIFIED a 1998 ruling that workers...if they HAVE BEEN GIVEN reason to believe that their jobs WILL be safe... The workers want reason to believe their jobs WILL be safe. It''s a guarantee. Why ...” October 29, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to 730 but low quant, is variation with GMATPrep typical? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi Dan, Got your PM. Your experience is typical. Many of my students experience a drop on the actual exam, and absolutely nerves and time management play a HUGE role. Finishing early is NOT a good idea. Managing your time well means USING the time you are given. If you''re more than 3-4 questions ...” August 16, 2015 VivianKerr posted a new topic called Draw a Picture to Get More CR correct! in the Critical Reasoning forum “I had an interesting discussion with a student recently; she was doing such a good job breaking down arguments into their premises and conclusions that CR had become very "cut and dry" and boring for her. It was difficult to engage her mind in the "story" behind each CR argument, ...” July 28, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Need urgent advice for GMAT retake in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Patrick, Sounds like he did a lot of things right! OG questions are essential, Ron Purewal at MGMAT gives a lot of great advice and a 670 is a strong score, BUT a below 15% hit rate on RC is NOT a good sign. LSAT CR can be good to use for GMAT CR in certain specific cases, but in general it ...” July 20, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Can I go from a 500 to a 700 by September? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi alxmarie, I''d recommend you stop using Kaplan entirely. Magoosh, however, does have some quality material, but I think they work best as a supplement. If you''re looking to break 700+, you need to heavily emphasize official material (glad you''ve got the OG13 --- are you using this Error Log ...” July 20, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Tips to score 720+ in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi Girish, I''d ditch the Kaplan books and go straight into the MGMAT guides. In addition, I would recommend a HEAVY emphasis on Official Material: • The Official Guide for GMAT Review (2015 edition): http://amzn.to/1HCICKb • The Official Guide for GMAT Review (2016 edition): ...” July 20, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Irregularity in GMAT scores in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Vaibhav, Just weighing in as well. Let''s look at your GMATPreps: GMATPrep1 - 660 (Q:48; V31) GMATPrep2 - 670(Q:48; V33) GMATPrep3 - 710 (Q:49; V:38) This makes total sense with what you described as your method of studying. A steady improvement in Verbal and a fairly steady Quant. ...” July 20, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Need Suggestions in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi him12355, 1) What are your strategies for each Verbal question-type? How do you use your scratch paper for each SC, CR, and RC question? Do you have a snapshot from your most recent CATs so we can see visually what you''re doing? 2) Are you doing Pacing Drills for ALL 3 Verbal ...” July 20, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to 640 in 1st practice test (750 aim). Strategy Help. in the GMAT Strategy forum “I also wanted to mention, in addition to the MGMAT books, which are arguably the best on the market, you may also be interested in the Veritas Prep Data Sufficiency book (which does a great job explaining how to play "devil''s advocate" with the statements), and the Powerscore CR book ...” July 20, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to 640 in 1st practice test (750 aim). Strategy Help. in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Jaiyeolab, You''re in a great starting position, and you''ve obviously covered some solid foundational work, so well done! Curious as to why you were only studying 1 hour a day. It''s hard to make serious progress with such light study -- even if you work full time, try to do at least 2 ...” July 20, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GMATPrep Data Sufficiency - new one! in the Data Sufficiency forum “Nice job, Prachi! Great question for picking numbers! :-)” July 20, 2015 VivianKerr posted a new topic called GMATPrep Data Sufficiency - new one! in the Data Sufficiency forum “I hadn''t seen this l''il guy posted and discussed before, so I wanted to share it with you all! I believe it is from GMATPrep 3, just reviewed it with a student. Sharpen your knives... Of the numbers r+s, r-s, rs, and r/s, which is the greatest? (1) r = s = 1 (2) r - s is the least OA to ...” July 15, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to medical terminology in the Sentence Correction forum “Hey Binit, My approach is similar, except I don''t try to find everything wrong with each choice. I don''t do a "Grammar Scan" of all choices. I do it like this: Step 1 – Read Choice (A) and Identify One Grammar or Meaning Error Since we know that a sentence with a grammatical ...” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to As algae spread in in the Sentence Correction forum “Because of the semi-colon, the second part of this SC is a completely separate stand-alone sentence. i think you might be confusing "algae" as the subject for the verb "enter." But they are in different independent clauses. The sentence is: Thus, reducing (subject) the ...” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Assistance Please... in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Here''s the basic tips I''d recommend: 1. Build your grammar skills first. You can ignore most of the challenging vocabulary on sentence corrections as long as you identify what part of speech each word is, and how it functions within the sentence. Where is your grammar knowledge still ...” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GMAT Tuesdays: Active Reading – Structure Words in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “This is a cool post, Kevin! I love this idea and wish it was given a bit more due in the world of RC. Non-native speakers especially should find this helpful. See an additional list of transition words attached!” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Important Tricks/shortcuts on GMAT Quant in the GMAT Math forum “It would depend, I suppose, on what types of problems you felt you needed the most help with -- I''d recommend attaining a high comfort-level with backsolving and picking numbers and doing the same problem solving question both ways (algebraically, then also backsolving/picking numbers) just to ...” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Problem solving in the GMAT Math forum “It might help you to visualize by drawing the vertices of the square. Remember this rule on the GMAT: you are given limitations on variables for a reason. Why would they tell us that c < 0 and d > 0? It must matter somehow. If c is always negative, then (c, d) will become (-c, d), ...” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to First attempt - 560. Advice for second attempt. in the GMAT Strategy forum “You are right on the money in your original post when you said you were not "getting to the core of my problems." THAT is what you need to change moving forward. How can you do this? Adjusting how you review and HOW you study. If you are aiming for a "low 700" score, then you ...” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GMAT in two weeks in the GMAT Strategy forum “Congrats on the 720 (Q49 V39)! I''m not sure if you''re planning to re-take again, but if you are, there is some great anxiety-reducing tips here: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/articles/managing-stress-techniques.cfm There is also this cool article from the NYTimes about the difference ways ...” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Bold faced CR in the Critical Reasoning forum “You''re very welcome, Prachi! :-)” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to HELP! High Quant - Very low Verbal in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Hey Thomas, So you''ve done a ton of groundwork! Awesome! I think it''s time to step up your strategies, especially with CR and RC. I''d plan to do at least 45 min of each every day. It''s really hard being non-native, so get tough text in front of your eyes as much as you can. I attached the ...” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Which verbal section is easiest to improve on? in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “It''s funny, because I was going to say Sentence Correction as well, but I recently worked with a student who had neglected doing any kind of Reading Comp strategy because she thought you were either "a good reader or not." Once she actually slowed way down and starting DOING a Reading ...” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Analyzing MGMAT CR Cat in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Hey Kristina, The "average answer right" is not really what you should worry about. Add all your incorrect questions to this Error Log (see attachment). You need to identify what type of questions you''re missing the most often right now. For example, what TYPES of SC? How many ...” May 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to medical terminology in the Sentence Correction forum “Hey Binit, You raise a good point. Could this sentence have been written in a more clear, concise manner? Absolutely. But sometimes with SC, we have to deal with a "best of the worst" strategy. These are the facts: 1) 1 answer choice is correct 2) 4 are wrong The 4 that are ...” May 24, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Time to book GMAT exam appointment? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi Nikhil, A few quick thoughts: 1) I wouldn''t trust the "760" on the PR exam for all the money in the world. PR is a fine company, but is sort of in that "Kaplan"-land of middle-of-the-road GMAT prep. They do have excellent tutors, but however they score their practice ...” May 24, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to medical terminology in the Sentence Correction forum “Is this from a reputable source? It seems odd to me that "to medical" is underlined since it appears in every answer choice. This obviously isn''t an official SC. That said, (B) and (E) are out because it isn''t logical for "them" to refer to "gene flaws." The ...” May 23, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Sentance Correction Strategy in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey schelljo, Knowing the parts of speech is helpful only to the extent that they help you identify potential errors (i.e. Subject-Verb Agreement, Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement, etc.) Here''s really all you have to know: There are 8 parts of speech in the English language: nouns, pronouns, ...” May 23, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Practice Test 520..how to get to a solid 600 in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Kristina! A solid 600 by the middle of July is 100% achievable, but here''s what you need to know: quantity of study does NOT equal quality. As mentioned, your plan seems very focused on simply completing books. The GMAT is way more than that. It''s a three-headed beast: content, strategy, ...” May 23, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Scored a 530 on the first attempt, want to cross 550 in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Zob, So you''re super-close, although I''m not sure you can 100% pull out an extra 20 points in less than one week. What is the exact date of your re-take? Could you postpone it by an extra week so you have time to formulate a solid 10-14 day study plan? I think the problem is that ...” May 23, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to how technology helps in gmat preparation in the GMAT Strategy forum “There''s a LOT of great apps out there that can definitely help you study, especially if you have a commute or can only squeeze in 5-10 minutes here and there. These are the one''s I''m into: 1. GMAT Toolkit - This is the most comprehensive GMAT app, with questions and information from MGMAT, ...” May 23, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to 2nd Best Answers Given Any Credit? in the GMAT Strategy forum “While that would certainly be a cool test, if we were credited a little extra for choosing the "second-best," as Rich mentioned, wrong is just wrong. :-( For RC, we OFTEN see 3 plainly incorrect answer choices, 1 "second-best," and 1 that is the correct option. If you believe ...” May 23, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to What to infer from Kaplan /Manhattan /GMATPrep High scores? in the GMAT Strategy forum “As others have mentioned, you simply cannot put faith in any private company''s scores. The true value of a CAT isn''t in the score it churns out anyway, but in the way in which you''re allowed to flex your strategy muscles within test-like conditions and subsequently analyze each incorrect ...” May 23, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to taxpayers in the Sentence Correction forum “Hey J, This one comes down to Parallelism. The high costs were mostly a result of POLICIES...rather than COVERAGE. "result of X rather than Y" "Rather than" is a common GMAT idiom, so while I prefer it, there''s nothing inherently wrong with "instead of." ...” May 23, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Most people do not believe that the Mona Lisa in the Critical Reasoning forum “Hey Vipulgoyal, So let''s examine our CR: Strengthen strategy: 5 Steps to Get Every Strengthen Question Right Step 1 – Identify the Question Stem It’s not too difficult to know when you’re looking at a “Strengthen” question, but only if you remember to read the question stem ...” May 23, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Bold faced CR in the Critical Reasoning forum “What''s the origin of this question? Just curious, as it''s always important to be sure you are learning from reputable questions. That said, here''s the strategy to deal with Boldface CR: Identify whether each sentence or clause is a piece of evidence, a conclusion, or a stated assumption ...” May 23, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to corporate executives in the Critical Reasoning forum “This is a Weaken question, so we must understand (1) the author''s Conclusion, and (2) the basis for that Conclusion (the specific Evidence). THE ARGUMENT: C: Ppl who are MORE "tc" than AVERAGE are MORE likely to be C.E. E: C.E. tend to be "tc" (3 traits) Notice the ...” April 24, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Worried and scared -Please help in the Critical Reasoning forum “Hey Saurav, In my opinion, the key to CR is recognizing the TYPE of CR question you''re looking at, and adjusting your approach accordingly. There''s a finite number of CR concepts tested: • CR: Bolded Statement • CR: Assumption • CR: Complete the Passage • CR: Argument Evaluation ...” April 24, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to A Tough CR Question: Choices seem pretty similar in the Critical Reasoning forum “That''s the problem -- it''s not asking anything. There''s no "question" at the end of the paragraph. If it was a fill in the blank, then the answer choices would make a complete sentence with the last sentence of the passage, but they don''t. Here''s the complete last sentence: ...” April 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GCD-Data Sufficiency in the Critical Reasoning forum “You''re very welcome, and "thanks" for the thanks! :)” April 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to A Tough CR Question: Choices seem pretty similar in the Critical Reasoning forum “What is the actual question-stem? Can you double-check the phrasing of the question. I can''t tell what it''s asking.” April 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a new topic called Today in Bad GMAT Logic: Mutual Exclusivity in the Critical Reasoning forum “A student I work with recently sent in this question: 1) The pioneering works of early fantasy authors contain almost all of the plot elements used by modern fantasy authors. Since these modern fantasy authors are merely reusing story elements that have already been written, there is little or ...” April 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Please help me in channelise my thought process for CR in the Critical Reasoning forum “Strengthen and Weaken are different questions, so your approach should be slightly different. Since this one is a Weaken, I''d focus on that Q-type, and hone in on the CONCLUSION. Since that it what we ultimately want to destroy.” March 31, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Good health in the Critical Reasoning forum “Not GMAT, but let''s try it out for fun! :) The question here reminds me a lot of GMAT Method of Reasoning question. Yes, the "most vulnerable" part makes it like a Weaken, but really we''re being asked to identify HOW the reasoning proceeds. Method of Reasoning questions focus on how an ...” March 31, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GCD-Data Sufficiency in the Critical Reasoning forum “Hey Mallika, This is in the wrong forum. You''ll want to post Data Sufficiency questions here: http://www.beatthegmat.com/data-sufficiency-f7.html To answer your question, let''s first look at the construction: Let b and x be positive integers. If b is the greatest divisor of x that is ...” March 31, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Non-native : How to improve from 620 (Q45/V30) to 720+ in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Jan, congrats on the great start! I think you are on your way to achieving your GMAT goals! Two other important steps to breaking the 700 barrier are practicing with the most difficult questions and building your mental endurance. Whatever course or books you choose, will likely have some ...” March 16, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to GMAT Notepad Use in the GMAT Strategy forum “I think you should probably have enough room to write your notes on the notepad, and its usually a good idea to switch out for a new one in the breaks even if you haven''t used up that much space. In general, writing too much can be a waste of time, especially for RC. All you need to write for RC ...” March 16, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to GMAT Prep Scores in the GMAT Strategy forum “I think the paid exam pack should be the same as the free one, but as Rich said it can fluctuate and the best indicator of your score is the one taken under as close to test like situation as possible. This means you completed the AWA and IR sections and only took the allotted 8 minute breaks. ...” March 16, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to A recent survey of the residents in Reytown showed in the Data Sufficiency forum “You pose an interesting question, "how to solve?" but remember this is a DS question, so our job is not to solve, simply to determine whether a statement is sufficient TO solve. :-) It''s some comfort that we don''t actually have to DO the hard work on DS. That said, here''s how I''d ...” March 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to First Diagnostic at 640 (w/ a twist), 2 month plan workable? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Centreright, Welcome to the wonderful (and slightly intense :-)) world of GMAT! Congrats on taking your first CAT. Here''s my initial impressions: 1) Congrats, you''re a high-scorer! If you''ve got a 640 with no prep, you know a lot of the base content already and you''re a solid ...” March 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Strategy Review in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey there, As I mentioned you need to dive deep on the review. Q47 is great, but when you say you primarily got DS wrong, that''s only the teeny tiny tip of the Review-iceberg. For EACH GMATPrep incorrect Quant log: -Question Number -Question Type (DS, PS, RC, CR, or SC) -Primary Concept ...” March 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to If x is not equal to 1 in the Data Sufficiency forum “I agree with you on zero, but you need to consider different fractions. Here''s how I''d break this one down: - This is a Yes/No question, sufficiency is attained if a statement allows us to answer 100% YES or 100% NO. It doesn''t matter HOW we answer it, but a statement should REMOVE the ...” March 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to A Future SAT Easy Math Problem in the GMAT Math forum “The format of this question is obviously not GMAT-like, since the Word Problem is quite long and the question posed does not mirror any of GMAC''s problems. In addition, the GMAT will not ask about "margin of error," and every GMAT PS question has 5 answer choices, not 4. I would say this ...” March 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to How to tackle problem review? in the GMAT Math forum “If you recall WHY you got a question incorrect (i.e. didn''t have time to attempt, didn''t know a Quant formula, misread a word in the stem, abandoned your strategy, etc.), then I would go ahead and add that to your Error Log before you read the explanation. Examine your scratch paper notes to help ...” March 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GMAT Set 1 Q4,5,6 in the Reading Comprehension forum “Good RC Strategy Step 1 - Read the Passage ---> Do a Passage Map! Step 2 - Rephrase the Question Step 3 - Write Down a Prediction (Go Back to the Passage!) Step 4 - Eliminate 3 Choices (Use "+", "-"", and "?" Symbols) Step 5 - Carefully Compare ...” March 13, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Strategy Review in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Kolkata, There''s two things I notice about your plan: 1) Prevalence of excellent material (your book choices ROCK, and IMO, there is NO such thing as too much official material!) 2) Emphasis on Quantity over Quality. This is where I think you may need to be careful. There is a HUGE ...” March 12, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to WaNT TO WALK THROUGH GMAT! in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Dave, So the awesome thing is that the Math on the GMAT is essentially Number Properties, Arithmetic, Algebra, and Geometry. The only "statistics" stuff is mean, median, mode, and the occasional standard deviation-influenced question. There is NO super-advanced algebra! No ...” March 12, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GMAT Notepad Use in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi there, To address your specific question about "scribbling a lot of stuff." It depends what you mean by "stuff"! :-) Using the scratch pad to break down RC and CR passages in an effective manner is an absolute NECESSITY when it comes to conquering those two Q-types. But ...” March 12, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GMAT Set 1 Q3 in the Critical Reasoning forum “Just to add, I use a specific strategy especially for Boldface questions since they are such a unique CR question type. Here''s how I''d suggest you approach this type of problem in the future: Step 1 – Review Argument Structure Arguments have a tendency to follow predictable patterns of ...” March 9, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Ugh... parallel reasoning - always tough in the Critical Reasoning forum “Parallel reasoning questions CAN They combine two facts to make a conclusion. Even though the topic is different, they are similar because the LOGIC behind the arguments is similar. The WAY IN WHICH THE ARGUMENT IS MADE is the most important thing for “Similar Reasoning” questions. I recommend ...” March 9, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Need Help - GMAT in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Hey Chiru, As others have mentioned, an RC strategy boost is definitely in order. Here''s two of my fave strategy tips: Make a prediction for EVERY RC question(and write it down)! This is the most important strategy for RC. You’ve got to trust that you understand the passage enough to know ...” March 9, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to My first Six weeks of GMAT prep in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey, So, definitely sounds like you need some stronger strategy. Especially with RC as well. Yes, "practice" helps, but it''s HOW you practice that matters! When you answer problems, you are programming yourself and you will REPEAT what you practice. If you are not doing the problems ...” March 9, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Organizing help in the GMAT Strategy forum “To be honest (and again, this is entirely subjective), but I''d ditch Cracking the GMAT from Princeton entirely, and I''d use the problems from Kaplan GMAT Premier 2015 only as a supplement. The Veritas course will be great and give you excellent structure. In terms of books, I''d HIGHLY ...” March 9, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Retaking the GMAT (2nd time), How to improve? in the GMAT Strategy forum “There are two essential steps to breaking the 700 barrier is to build your mental endurance and practicing with the most difficult questions. To build your mental endurance you need to practice with full length practice tests (including IR and AWA). I recommend at least 5 or until you can get ...” March 7, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Retaking the Gmat in 40 days. Any advice? in the GMAT Strategy forum “I''d also like to follow up on what Rich said about about making the tests as realistic and test like, because this is really important. In order to make the practice tests an accurate predictor of your score and to get the most out of the practice, you need to only take only the allotted 8 minute ...” March 7, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Retaking the Gmat in 40 days. Any advice? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey backup, I''d put some serious focus on RC. If you can move quickly and efficiently through RC, not only will you have extra time for CR, but you will be a lot less stressed for pacing! It''s amazing to me how people ignore RC, or think that simply because they are good readers in real life, ...” March 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Which test is a better indicator of my actual score? in the GMAT Strategy forum “I''d say GMATPrep 3 and 4, no competition. But if you''re taking a lot of practice companies CATs, this is a fun little generator to help guess at your actual score: http://gmatclub.com/gmat-score-calculator/ Bottom line: If you''re scoring BELOW your target score on MORE than one private ...” March 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to How to Improve Your Reading Ability in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “This post rocks. To chart the "flow" of a passage, I use a specific template to make a Passage Map. This is a sample MGMAT passage: Measuring more than five feet tall and ten feet long, the Javan rhinoceros is often called the rarest large mammal on earth. Though the habitat of the ...” March 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Why You Need to do Verbal Pacing Drills OUTSIDE of CATs in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Thanks, Brian! Stacey''s article rocks!” March 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to the best strategy to enhance my score before June 2015 in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Souma, Here''s four major tips I''d recommend for your Round 2 prep: 1. Diversify your materials. How did you study on the first go-round? Make sure you are using books like the OG, MGMAT, Powerscore, and other hard copy study guides and online resources. Studying online with Grockit, ...” March 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Error Patterns and Retake Strategy Help! in the GMAT Strategy forum “First off, congrats on all the progress you made! It sounds like you''ve come a long way on your own! You mentioned you identified CR as a weakness, but can you specifically rank ALL the CR question-types from your strongest to weakest? Your Error Log should help you get THAT specific! Same thing ...” March 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to My first Six weeks of GMAT prep in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Soccerstar (nice name you got there! big World Cup fan here :-)), So my suggestion is you need to divide your Study Time into 3 sections: Content, Pacing, and Strategy. "Content” can be subdivided into two groups: format and concepts. Obviously you know the format, so it''s time to ...” March 6, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Retaking GMAT. Need 70 point rise. Pls help ! in the GMAT Strategy forum “The other posts made really good points. Its really important to learn the concepts and I think either a course or comprehensive strategy guide set will be good resources for that. In order to improve quickly, you should be studying to specifically target your weaknesses. In order to do this, go ...” February 23, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to 5 Biggest GMAT Studying Mistakes in the GMAT Strategy forum “Rich makes great points! I think since every student has different needs and study habits its hard to determine what the best materials for them are without knowing more about your background and study needs.” February 23, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Where should I focus? in the GMAT Strategy forum “First of all a 710 is still a very good score, so congratulations! Some important steps to take to get to the 750+ range are to target your weaknesses, build your mental endurance and get practice with the most difficult questions. Go through your last few tests and look at the questions you are ...” February 15, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a new topic called 5 Biggest GMAT Studying Mistakes in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi guys, I am a GMAT tutor and worked with a lot of students who have had similar flaws in their studying habits, which have hurt their scores. I thought I would share them with you, so that you can avoid making the same mistakes: Mistake #1: Not taking notes There is a ton of GMAT content to ...” February 10, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a new topic called 5 Biggest GMAT Studying Mistakes in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi guys, I am a GMAT tutor and worked with a lot of students who have had similar flaws in their studying habits, which have hurt their scores. I thought I would share them with you, so that you can avoid making the same mistakes: Mistake #1: Not taking notes There is a ton of GMAT content to ...” February 10, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Query regarding Mock Tests in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Bilal, This is incredibly common. I would stay away from Kaplan''s CATs. They aren''t "bad," but I just don''t think they stack up next to the official CATs. The only four CATs you should put faith in score-wise are the GMATPrep 1, 2, 3, and 4. I''d stay away from that old ...” February 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Gmat Practice 700. Question on how to improve. in the GMAT Strategy forum “Assuming you''ve completed the GMATPrep''s, I''d go through these PDF files that have combined all the questions from those official CATs by Q-type. (The other ones are available too if you do a quick Google-search). That way, you can gauge: 1) whether you''re getting repeat official Q''s wrong ...” February 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to 2 weeks, Veritas Course Alum, OG book 13th completed, tips in the GMAT Strategy forum “MGMAT SC is pretty bodacious and widely accepted as one of the best (if not the best) Verbal book on the market if you haven''t killed it yet, but since you have such a limited time, I think you REALLY need to hone in on what types of questions you''re still missing (and more importantly) WHY. Have ...” February 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to I need help. Score:490 in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Scott, In general, it doesn''t sound like your first go-round was particularly rigorous, so I think you could improve quite a bit! Since your studying was over a year ago, I think you really have to approach this new go ''round like you''re starting from scratch. There''s three aspects of ...” February 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Experts --Kindly help ..Just blew the gmat in the GMAT Strategy forum “It really looks like you need some serious RC strategy overhaul. HOW are you reading the passage? HOW are you dealing with the question-stem and answer choices? A good strategy will help you clearly navigate all 3 components of an RC: passage, question, and answer choices. Here''s how I''d ...” February 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to medical school in the Critical Reasoning forum “David did a nice job, I''ll just throw in a few cents in terms of Assumption CR strategy. Remember our equation: Evidence + Assumption = Conclusion For example, consider this argument: American Idol holds a televised talent contest for all eligible singers. Monica has a beautiful ...” February 6, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to metropolis in the Critical Reasoning forum “Method of Reasoning questions focus on how an argument is attempted, contradicted, or put forth. We can tell we need to focus on the Method of Reasoning because of the word "evaluating" in the question-stem. More specifically, this is an "Evaluate the Plan" question. Since we''ll ...” February 4, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to I need help. Score:490 in the GMAT Strategy forum “well you know you are capable of doing better, now its just a matter of achieving your goal score on test day. I am a GMAT tutor and here are some common studying mistakes that I have seen hurt peoples score. If you are making any of these it is important to correct it. Mistake #1: Not taking ...” February 4, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to 2 weeks, Veritas Course Alum, OG book 13th completed, tips in the GMAT Strategy forum “You are definitely on the right track to reaching your goal score, so good job! The last important step is to build your mental endurance. I think of it like training for a marathon for your brain. Just like people aren''t able to run for 4 hours without training, people can''t concentrate and ...” February 4, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to candy bars in the Critical Reasoning forum “This is a Complete the Passage question; let''s start by paraphrasing the argument: Ad w/song boosts sales. Company to use songs in older/popular products to increase sales. What''s the assumption here? That it will WORK! The company is assuming using the classic rock songs on the ...” February 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to A Math question disguised as CR, please solve in the Critical Reasoning forum “Just to answer the specific question you posed, you will NOT be asked to do ANY math calculation in CR. Even questions that involve percents and numbers will be LOGIC based, and no crunching numbers will be necessary. In fact, if you find yourself doing too much math, you''re probably missing the ...” February 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a new topic called Why You Need to do Verbal Pacing Drills OUTSIDE of CATs in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Hey guys, This is something I''ve been seeing a LOT lately: students who have serious timing issues with Verbal questions on the CAT who don''t do groups of Verbal questions under pacing conditions outside of CATs. Sure, we all use various GMAT timers to see if we can do a Sentence Correction ...” February 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to 48-22 --> 580 what a bad score with that math result! in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Hey Nico, To be honest, it doesn''t sound like you used the best Verbal materials out there. I would actually recommend you STOP doing the following: (1) reading lots of non-GMAT material just to improve your English, and (2) answering tons of GMAT Verbal questions. Neither of those things ...” February 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Looking for serious help on Verbal Section in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Hey Deepika, I think you''ve hit the nail on the head. It''s your APPROACH that isn''t working. It seems you know the content fairly well. I''d recommend you take a CLOSE look at your strategy for each of the 3 major Verbal question types. Here''s the strategies I''d recommend: Reading ...” February 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Verbal strategy in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Welcome to BTG! For Verbal, you need to MASTER Sentence Correction. No joke. Run, don''t walk to Amazon and purchase the MGMAT Sentence Correction book. I don''t even work for MGMAT, but I suggest their book to almost every student I tutor. It''s fantastic! You also need to get the OG15, and ...” February 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Reading material for Verbal in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “My recommendations, in order of value, would be: 1) ALL official material (GMAC OG, Verbal OG, GMATPreps, all online questions, etc.) 2) MGMAT - for SC and Number Properties, Word Translations, and additional Quant books as needed. Use their 6 CATs you get free with your books in addition to ...” February 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to advice and info needed in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Hi Abhishek, I attached the 2015 deadlines for the big MBA programs. As you can see, you''ve missed most of the Round 2 deadlines, and while there are still some Round 3 deadlines, competition is generally much higher for Round 3 as most slots have been filled and schools tend to be extremely ...” February 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Please Suggest A Good Private GMAT Verbal Tutor in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Hi Aiming800, You can definitely benefit from a tutor, especially on the Strategy side of things. Remember that the GMAT is a three-headed beast: Content, Pacing, and Strategy. But you can also do a lot on your own to improve. Question to ask yourself: 1) Content -what are your three ...” February 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Inference/Assumption questions in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Remember, with Inferences: • Accept each piece of evidence as true. • Don’t worry if there’s no conclusion in the passage. • Pre-phrase your own answer BEFORE looking at the answer choices. Keep in mind that an "inference" on the GMAT is not like an ...” February 1, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Panicking about the clock is killing my score in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Miranda Sally Jean, Pacing is definitely a stressful aspect of the GMAT, so you''re totally normal to feel this way! I find the best way to overcome this is Benchmarks -- have a piece of paper with timing guidelines for both Quant and Verbal in front of you for EVERY CAT you take, and check ...” January 31, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Time and Distance please help! in the GMAT Strategy forum “Agreed, backsolving is definitely the way to go here! Plugging In (also known as Backsolving) is a MAJOR asset in many Problem Solving questions, especially helpful in difficult Word Problems. When we "plug in," we essentially avoid doing algebra by testing out the 5 answer choices AS ...” January 31, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Quant Section Pacing Problems in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi there, Just to add, I attached the pacing benchmarks I usually recommend to my students. It might help to check in just a little more often. It''s totally normal to get more behind as you go through a section, so it''s great you''re recognizing this and able to "walk away" from a ...” January 31, 2015 January 29, 2015 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Panicking about the clock is killing my score in the GMAT Strategy forum “Marty is right that you need to focus on getting questions right and stop thinking so much about the clock! Basically it comes down to this: The key to scoring as well as you are capable of is Focusing on the question in front of you. If you think you can get the question right in 3 minutes ...” January 28, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to RC: Difficult Question from Official GMAT in the Reading Comprehension forum “Hey Melanie, What was your breakdown for this passage/question? It would help to see that to pinpoint exactly what you may have missed here. Here''s how I''d breakdown the passage on my scratch pad: Topic: wages Scope: how it affects competition in dev. countries 1st chunk: to explain a ...” January 28, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Need help in tackling the below mentioned RC's in the Reading Comprehension forum “I actually think note-taking is ESSENTIAL to RC, BUT the kind of notes you should be taking have NOTHING to do with the details in the passage. You might read a passage with 4 dense paragraphs and only see 1 "Detail" question accompany that passage, so why waste your time trying to ...” January 28, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Reading Comprehension .......... in the Reading Comprehension forum “This is from an old McGraw-Hill book for the IIM-CAT, I believe, so there''s probably an official explanation offered by the company if anyone has the full book. :-) BUT this isn''t a GMAT question, so I''m not sure if merits this much discussion.” January 28, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Hard RC Q - 8 paragraphs in the Reading Comprehension forum “I totally understand why we sometimes overuse the phrase "GMAT-like," but in this case, I really do think it''s important because TONALLY this passage is not within the realm of GMAT RC. GMAT RC passages are always scholarly and formal. You will never see a phrase such as, "But ...” January 28, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GMAT Tuesdays: What Active Reading Looks Like in the Reading Comprehension forum “Kevin, I love this idea of using NYTimes articles to model active reading! Here''s some other publications I''m into if students are looking for non-GMAT-specific material to practice: – Scientific American: http://www.scientificamerican.com/ – The Economist: http://www.economist.com/ ...” January 28, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to 700 & 1 month till test? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey RWedmore, Going forward, for sure take the IR and AWA, just to build that stamina (the GMAT is wicked long!). A CAT each weekend is a great idea, and emphasizing the GMATPreps are great. Here''s what I also think you need to do: - a thorough Error Log for EVERY CAT. Fill it in ...” January 28, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Need to get from 460 to 550 in 5 months.. Possible? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Kevin, I''m curious as to what your prep was before you took the 460. What materials have you been using? What was the Quant and Verbal breakdown on your first prep test? And more importantly, what company''s practice test did you use? A 460 on a private company''s CAT does NOT necessarily ...” January 28, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to How many practice tests should I consider in the GMAT Strategy forum “Also, if you''re considering CATs outside the GMATPrep, there''s a pretty solid rundown over at GMATClub: http://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmat-cat-practice-tests-links-prices-reviews-77460.html” January 28, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Improve score by 100 with limited time over 3 months in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi there, Just to add, as others mentioned, 100+ points is VERY do-able. Try to visualize where those points are actually going to come from -- what do you want from the Quant and from the Verbal? An even 50 point gain in both, or do you see a bigger jump happening in one or the other? A few ...” January 28, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Recommendation on # of tutoring hours? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Congrats on the 710, that''s a great place to be at! As Matt said, it is important to make sure you are doing lots of work outside of the tutoring to make the best of your time. Some tutors make study schedules for you and, like a course, it is important to follow it. When choosing a tutor it is ...” January 26, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Manhattan GMAT Interact vs Veritas Prep On Demand in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Peter, I believe there aren''t any reviews for MGMAT Interact, because it is a fairly new course. I think it is definitely a good idea to try them out before you decide. In the mean time here are some key differences. MGMAT does not have a score guarantee, but Veritas will let you take ...” January 26, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to How many practice tests should I consider in the GMAT Strategy forum “I would definitely recommend taking more practice tests to both improve your pacing and build your mental endurance, so that you aren''t exhausted by the verbal section. To make the best of your practice test they should be done under as close to test like conditions as possible. This means, it ...” January 26, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to How many practice tests should I consider in the GMAT Strategy forum “I''d actually recommend you take 4 CATs, since you''re sort of in "cram" phase with a major emphasis on the GMATPreps. In fact, I would plant to take the GMATPrep 1, GMATPrep 2, GMATPrep 3, and GMATPrep 4, with the last CAT 2 days before your exam date. Be sure to THOROUGHLY review all of ...” January 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Recommendation on # of tutoring hours? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Just to chime in, I wouldn''t just do a few hundred Sentence Correction questions until you can identify PRECISELY where your weak areas are in SC. Many of the students I work with come to me feeling frustrated after answering hundreds of questions without seeing a big score improvement, so I''m ...” January 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Best Basic Math iPhone Apps? in the GMAT Strategy forum “You''re welcome! :-) I think this is the app you''re looking for: http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/store/mobile-apps” January 25, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Infinitive - Are they Verbs or not... in the Sentence Correction forum “Hi there, Yup, infinitives ARE verbs, so usually come up in sentences testing Verb Tenses (and occasionally Modification, Parallelism, and Comparisons). Some nice posts that go into the nitty-gritty of how they are tested: ...” January 25, 2015 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Recommendation on # of tutoring hours? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Just a little help in Sentence Correction can go a long way. Even a couple of hours of tutoring can point you in the right direction. More work is a great idea but you just need to know what you are trying to learn from that studying. Sounds like most of your focus will still be on Quant?” January 25, 2015 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Manhattan GMAT Interact vs Veritas Prep On Demand in the GMAT Strategy forum “Peter - As you said the reviews for Veritas on Demand are great. But you want to see for yourself so you should definitely take advantage of the opportunity for a free trial to see what works for you. You can try Veritas on Demand for free at the link: ...” January 23, 2015 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Recommendation on # of tutoring hours? in the GMAT Strategy forum “I am actually not sure about that. I think that your broker is going to be the expert to speak to for that!” January 23, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Need fine tuning in Verbal CR in the GMAT Strategy forum “Just to add, as you review MORE thoroughly, you tend to get FASTER, because you are getting more VALUE out of each question you''re answering. So you may find it helpful to actually slow yourself WAY down in CR to improve accuracy BEFORE you do some pacing drills. There''s a great blog on MGMAT in ...” January 21, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Entered Phase-II of preparation in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi Aimhigh, I wouldn''t be disappointed, a 610 on your first CAT is a great start! Here''s what you need: 1) Solid strategies for CR, SC, and RC. By strategy, I mean a step-by-step approach and a way of breaking down each question on scratch paper that yields the correct result for you, EVERY ...” January 21, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Stuck in the low to mid 500s! Need advice. in the GMAT Strategy forum “Low 600''s is SUPER do-able. I''d perhaps migrate from Veritas Prep to MGMAT and perhaps consider a few sessions with a reliable tutor. MGMAT is slightly more challenging material, IMO, and there''s NO WAY your Verbal score won''t improve with some quality time with the MGMAT SC book. Here are the ...” January 21, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Best Basic Math iPhone Apps? in the GMAT Strategy forum “These aren''t Math-only, but these were some of my fave GMAT apps last time I scoped ''em all out! 1. GMAT Toolkit – This is the most comprehensive GMAT app, with questions and information from MGMAT, Princeton Review, Manhattan Review, and Knewton. 900+ questions from those aforementioned test ...” January 21, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GMAT Tuesdays: Mix Up Your Study Day in the GMAT Strategy forum “I like this idea Magoosh-ers! There''s also so much solid free study material out there. I''m always referring students to the BTG Blog Library, the GMATClub Math Book, and the MGMAT Thursdays with Ron videos. There''s also my own blogs all archived here: http://gmatrockstar.com/blog/. Happy ...” January 21, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to GMAT to GRE in the GMAT Strategy forum “I''d take a good hard look at the differences are try one of the www.gre.org practice CATs before you decide. If you''re looking at one of the more competitive programs, GMAT may still be your best bet, unless you have an EXCELLENT English reading ability and good familiarity with advanced ...” January 21, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to car pool in the Critical Reasoning forum “Agreed with the discussion here. Don''t LOVE the question, but you''re breaking it down well. Would work on refining your approach to every Assumption CR. Here''s what I''d suggest: Step 1 – Identify the Type of Assumption (Necessary or Sufficient?) Step 2 – Break Down the Argument (find ...” January 21, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Fine tuning required. Need help in CR in the Critical Reasoning forum “Since Marty said Boldface is his enemy, I''ll jump in with my approach! :-) Step 1 – Review Argument Structure Arguments have a tendency to follow predictable patterns of organization and are always comprised of a conclusion, premise (or evidence), and assumptions. This is one of the core ...” January 21, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to A good CR from OG10! in the Critical Reasoning forum “Just to add to the discussion, if you know some of the most common logical fallacies, it’s easier to spot some of ways a flawed argument can be weakened. Here are some common logical fallacies you may want to keep a look out for: • Necessary/Sufficient – Sometimes an argument will assume ...” January 21, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to OG- FLAW in reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “This is a great example of a "Flaw" question -- a question-type that is so often overlooked! “Flaw” questions present you with a flawed argument. You must interpret exactly how the argument is flawed. Here are some common Logical Flaw question-stems: • Which of the following best ...” January 21, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to A Math question disguised as CR, please solve in the Critical Reasoning forum “The wording of this question makes me wonder what the source is, as it doesn''t sound like official or particularly high-quality material. I would NOT recommend studying from a question such as this, as it is not very GMAT-like. Notice how the question uses the word "cost" indiscriminately ...” January 21, 2015 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Recommendation on # of tutoring hours? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Your verbal score is fantastic and if you did not really study the first time around that score should still be great if you do a little practice. You might just be a natural on the verbal section. As for Quant, you asked: You can only score up to a 51 at this point on Quant. So you can ...” January 20, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Starting my GMAT study, intro and questions in the GMAT Strategy forum “You''re off to a great start!! A 660 is a really strong starting point. My one suggestion would be to do the OG guide questions after going through the MGMAT strategy guides. Get a handle on the strategy and content you will need from MGMAT, then use the OG guide for practice questions. Since ...” January 19, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Need fine tuning in Verbal CR in the GMAT Strategy forum “I really think the key will be in fine-tuning your Step-by-Step strategy for EACH specific CR question-type. For example, look for specific we can get just for WEAKEN questions! Step 1 – Identify the Question Stem Start by reading the question-stem. You can usually tell if it’s a weaken ...” January 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Scholars who once thought..... in the Sentence Correction forum “Hey Tmoni, The biggest mistake a GMAT student can make with Sentence Correction is spending time “weighing” answer choices. You do not have to identify every error present in a question to get the question correct. Here''s the steps I''d recommend you follow: Step 1 – Read Choice (A) ...” January 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Fine tuning required. Need help in CR in the Critical Reasoning forum “Hi Ujjwal, Increasing speed in GMAT is like increasing speed for running a marathon. Both require (1) slowing down to perfect form, and (2) regular pacing exercises. How successful have you been at doing both? In terms of "form" it doesn''t sound like your strategy is as concrete ...” January 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Weaken problem--Caterpillar in the Critical Reasoning forum “I think Rich might be confusing this problem with a similar GMAT OG 15 question. Also a good one! :-) http://s3.postimg.org/o2gyugvan/IMG_2895.jpg” January 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Doubt CR 2 in the Critical Reasoning forum “I agree with you in that the "not only" and "but also" imply 2 reasons why emergency response workers PREFER hydraulic tools. But we can''t just accept any old logical reason. The correct reason should have something to do with the first two sentences of the passage -- otherwise, ...” January 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Starting the GMAT Prep. in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hi Vivek, Definitely the OG and the GMATPrep''s are key, but it''s also going to be SUPER important to identify your strengths and weaknesses as you go. I HIGHLY recommend you take one practice test each week and do a detailed error log for it, focusing on exactly WHY you''re getting certain ...” January 14, 2015 VivianKerr posted a reply to Anxiety over quant in the GMAT Strategy forum “Hey Cfleck, Does your anxiety come from worrying about not finding a way "in" to the problems, or just managing your pacing across the entire section. I think there are two powerful takeaways you need to keep in mind: 1. No individual Quant question is going to "make or ...” January 14, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Starting Out Blind at 570 in the GMAT Strategy forum “A 570 is definitely a great start and a 700 is possible. An important first step is to honestly assess your needs. For example, do you learn better on your own or in a classroom? Is your score skewed to one section or are your weaknesses pretty evenly spread out? These types of questions will ...” January 13, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to I have around 9 Year IT experince and want to write GMAT in the GMAT Strategy forum “I think the most important first step is to assess your needs. To do this, you should take a full length practice test. GMAC gives you two free when you download their GMAT prep software. Once you have taken the practice test, you will know how far you are from your target score and where your ...” January 13, 2015 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to 700 & 1 month till test? in the GMAT Strategy forum “First of all, congrats on the great practice score! It definitely means that you are capable of scoring really well on test day, but it is not assured. People tend to fluctuate in their scores and if you didn''t take IR and AWA with that test then it is likely higher than what it would be if you ...” January 13, 2015 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Last three weeks of Prep.. in the GMAT Strategy forum “Try the Veritas Prep free exam. If you like it there is a package of 6 more questions available for purchase. These are the top of the line for non-GMATPrep exams. Fully adaptive based on 9.5 million (at this moment) responses from Veritas question bank. ...” January 9, 2015 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Don't register your exam until last minute! in the GMAT Strategy forum “You make some good points. However, the conditions in your area are not necessarily the conditions in other areas. People in other locations might find that they need to do something a little different. To your points: 1) You will probably not know 2 weeks ahead of time if something ...” December 30, 2014 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas CAT vs. actual GMAT in the GMAT Strategy forum “Congrats on a great practice test score! With that said, you never want to trust a single practice test score. It would be a great idea to take the GMATPrep official practice test @ MBA.com as well. If you get a similar score on that exam then you will know that you are in this range of scores. ...” December 9, 2014 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to MGMAT 5 | Assumption in the Critical Reasoning forum “I applaud this question for pointing to a very important issue. And I am talking about the subject matter. A recent New York Times article pointed out the importance of not eating anything within 3 hours of your bedtime. It turns out that eating late is a major cause of insomnia, allergies, nasal ...” November 26, 2014 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Bacteria in Washing machines in the Critical Reasoning forum “Although the question stem is a little different, this is an assumption question. On the actual GMAT nearly every assumption question will say "assumption" or "assumes." In this case "The argument above will not hold unless which of the following statements holds ...” November 24, 2014 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas Prep CATS - Easy or Hard? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Jesse - When did you take that test? What time of day? What had you been doing before that? The decisions you make during the day are cumulative and trying to take an exam after any sort of long or stressful day can be a disaster. I know that this is going to sound a little unrealistic, but ...” November 24, 2014 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT - Where to begin? in the GMAT Strategy forum “You have given some important details. But there are some other things to consider before you choose your preparation strategy. Certainly you will need to take a practice test, that is a given. Do not study before this test beyond simply doing a few problems to familiarize yourself with the ...” November 24, 2014 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Verbal/Quant resources/recs to improve from 690 to 700+? in the GMAT Strategy forum “I find that there are two important steps to breaking that 700 barrier. First of all, you need to build up your mental endurance. In order to do this, you should take at least 10 full length practice tests under test conditions. This means that you should do the IR and AWA sections of the test ...” November 24, 2014 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to GMAT - Where to begin? in the GMAT Strategy forum “I agree that taking a practice test is a great start and will help you assess your needs for studying. As far as taking a course goes, it really depends on your study habits and needs. There are three types of courses that are available: -Online on demand- pre recorded lessons that you can ...” November 24, 2014 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Stuck around 600... How can I improve that??? I need 700+ in the GMAT Strategy forum “First of all, congrats on your progress so far! I would definitely recommend that you look into getting more strategy and content books. There are A LOT of quant rules to memorize and usually they can''t all be covered in one book. I think both the Veritas and MGMAT strategy guides are good for ...” November 24, 2014 BestGMATEliza posted a reply to MGMAT 5 | Assumption in the Critical Reasoning forum “This problem is a really good example of why it is so important to look for the missing kinks between the premisses and the conclusion. The study discusses certain results when participants ate all their food within 6 hours of waking up. However, the conclusion states that "eating all of ...” November 24, 2014 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Verbal/Quant resources/recs to improve from 690 to 700+? in the GMAT Strategy forum “690 is a great score. I understand the desire to see what you are capable of (and improve your application profile as well). Have you used the GMATPrep Prep Pack 1? This delivers over 400 official GMAT questions and you can make quizzes that you take on the computer, which can be more useful for ...” November 18, 2014 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 40hrs a week? in the GMAT Strategy forum “To be honest, as you move up in hours you will likely move down in return for your time invested. 70 hours per work is too much. That is 10 hours per day. Rich mentioned burnout and this a big concern. But there is also the fact that with so much studying you may actually end up doing things ...” November 17, 2014 David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Need help in the GMAT Strategy forum “You should also consider purchasing the two additional GMATPrep exams.$50 U.S. is expensive for just two exams, but they are official practice tests so they are worth it. These are in addition to the two free tests that you already used. Have you tried the Veritas Prep practice tests? You can ...”
November 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Canceling score? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I totally agree with Rich. Some people may cancel a score and find after a couple of more real GMAT exams that it is the best score out of all their attempts. It is also true that you may get into a school with a score that you personally think is "not good enough." I would reserve ...”
November 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Canceling score? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Well, since you have already seen your score that eliminates the major disadvantage that used to be there - not knowing what you scored. So you would only cancel your score if you got a low result. The school does know that you canceled but they do not seem to hold that against you - perhaps ...”
November 14, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Manhattan 5th edition and official guide 13th edition in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I would recommend taking a practice test to start to see how far away you are from a 730. That will give you a better idea of how much you have to study and over how long.”
November 14, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Desperate to improve from 710 to 730+ in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I think you made an important realization and you should try to take all your practice exams under GMAT conditions by doing the IR and AWA sections, no pausing and taking only the allotted 8 minute breaks. Another important step to improving from a 710 would be to practice with the most difficult ...”
November 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Desperate to improve from 710 to 730+ in the GMAT Strategy forum
“As Rich mentioned, GMAC has two additional official tests for purchase. These are the newest and best option for two more tests. The price for those is currently about $50 US. You can access those through MBA.com and add them to your free GMATPrep software For$49 dollars you can get 7 total ...”
November 13, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Evaluating Argument! in the Critical Reasoning forum
“OA is A. Please see both of the Chris@VeritasPrep explanations on the prior page. The interesting thing about this question is that everyone seems to take it the wrong way. For example, many people go for answer choice C, but choice C is not even in the ballpark. The conclusion is a ...”
November 13, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to From 550 to 750 in ~77 days studying full time,is it doable? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I think it is doable, but Rich is right it isn''t just about how much time you put in, its also about how you study. So it is important to pick the right study path for you by analyzing your needs. Also, since you are planning ahead, you can study for a month and then check your progress before ...”
November 10, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to 38 Days to Go !! Request Suggestions on the roadmap ahead in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I think that taking doing more practice on the computer is an excellent idea. Even though you are less comfortable doing so, this is how you will be tested so it is really important to get comfortable with it. I would also recommend building up your mental endurance by taking at least 5-10 full ...”
November 10, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Require Help on Strategy in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I agree with Rich, a 640 is still a good score you should still be proud of yourself. Some important things to consider when analyzing your test day score: did you get enough sleep before the exam? Were you extremely nervous so much so that it hindered your performance? Did you have enough to ...”
November 10, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to GMAT prep strategy - unsure how to improve further in the GMAT Strategy forum
“The first thing I would recommend would be to stop pausing on your exams and take the mocks under as close to test day conditions as possible. At first this will be very frustrating and your score will hurt, but it will improve your mental endurance and be better for you in the long run. Another ...”
November 10, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to ECONOMIST MOCK TEST ACCURACY in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Congrats on the 740! Economist GMAT tests are pretty accurate, but as Rich said this score is inflated because you didn''t take the IR or AWA. However, it does show you what you are capable of once you build up your mental endurance!”
November 10, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to 7 years ago 470 after prep..... 600+ possible now? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I think that it is definitely possible. Your GMAT Prep score is more accurate than your Veritas, because you took the IR and AWA, but the veritas score shows you what you are capable of if you build up your mental endurance. To build up your mental endurance, you need to take a lot of full length ...”
November 10, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Final advice - GMAT on December 9th '14 in the GMAT Strategy forum
“SC wasn''t my favorite sections either, its really one of those you just have to power through it. There is quite a lot of content to learn. I would recommend the MGMAT SC guide as another resource it is very thorough. (I know you said you didn''t want to spend more money, but you can get it on ...”
November 10, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Final advice - GMAT on December 9th '14 in the GMAT Strategy forum
“SC wasn''t my favorite sections either, its really one of those you just have to power through it. There is quite a lot of content to learn. I would recommend the MGMAT SC guide as another resource it is very thorough. (I know you said you didn''t want to spend more money, but you can get it on ...”
November 10, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Final advice - GMAT on December 9th '14 in the GMAT Strategy forum
“SC wasn''t my favorite sections either, its really one of those you just have to power through it. There is quite a lot of content to learn. I would recommend the MGMAT SC guide as another resource it is very thorough. (I know you said you didn''t want to spend more money, but you can get it on ...”
November 10, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to 15 days to GMAT, 700+? Tensed. in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I agree it is important to pinpoint your weaknesses by analyzing your mocks and what you got wrong. Another important step for breaking the 700 mark is practicing with the most difficult types of questions. To do this, you may want to look int o purchasing MGMAT advanced quant and.or Kaplan 800.”
November 10, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas Prep CATS - Easy or Hard? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“That can be the difference MGMAT tests generally score pretty hard (low). And if the Veritas test scored you a little high that could be 90 points right there. Have you taken the GMATPrep tests?”
November 5, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas Prep CATS - Easy or Hard? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“If you scored 90 points higher than your other CATS on any exam I would consider that an outlier. If the other tests you have taken were pretty recent then something about this exam just really worked for you. You might have guessed well on the math questions where you guessed. It may be that ...”
November 5, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Think I Need A GMAT Prep Reboot in the GMAT Strategy forum
“You can get started right now. Be committed to getting your score by March. Get back to the skillbuilders from your Veritas materials. Schedule your free retake of the Veritas course. There is so much to learn that many people do take the course twice. I will contact you with a message ...”
November 5, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Think I Need A GMAT Prep Reboot in the GMAT Strategy forum
“theo - Here is hoping that tomorrow you rise up and get that score! But I want you to understand that if you do not, there is no need to worry. I have a plan for you to get that score by March. Your Veritas Course comes with a free retake. Since you were not able to get the most out of the ...”
November 4, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Does time counts as extra points if I answer fast? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Not only does time not matter in terms of the way the computer sees your answer, but trying to answer questions in 30 seconds will cause you to make LOTS of careless mistakes - and that WILL lower your score. Don''t "try" to be quick, be accurate, and as you become more efficient some ...”
November 4, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Kaplan Premier CAT tests vs real ones in the GMAT Strategy forum
“It is certainly true that not all practice Tests are created equal. And it is certainly true that if I was only going to take 4 practice tests those would be the two free GMATPrep Tests and the Two GMATPrep Exam Pack 1 tests for purchase. However, it is also true that not all third-party tests ...”
November 3, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Doubt CR 1 in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This is a question that seems difficult as you are reading the stimulus, but only has one possible answer. Here is the key text: So, interfering with deep sleep can aggravate or cause fibromyalgia. How? Well the last three sentences tell us that normally during sleep the nervous system ...”
November 3, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Average adult in the Critical Reasoning forum
“The difference between D and E is that "height" - mentioned in choice E - has a direct to connection to Body Mass Index, ideal weight, being overweight etc. So a taller person could be 11 pounds heavier and not be overweight. However, an older person should actually weigh less do to the ...”
November 2, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Comparisons: when to add a word? in the Sentence Correction forum
“This is a great explanation Mitch!”
October 30, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Evaluate the argument in the Critical Reasoning forum
“The correct answer to a "Most Useful to Know in order to Evaluate" type of question will be a fact or question that can either strengthen or weaken the conclusion depending on the information. Here is an example. "Restaurant X has more customers per night than Restaurant Y, so X ...”
October 29, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Comparisons: when to add a word? in the Sentence Correction forum
“The first example is a echoing a verb. The verb being echoed is "spends." So you should read the second sentence in the first example as "The US spends more money on health care than Canada spends." The word "does" echoes the word "spends" and sounds ...”
October 29, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Criminals released from prison on parole in the Critical Reasoning forum
“No that is not correct. "Percentage arrested is the same" is always comparable. So it does not matter if you have 10,000 people under routine supervision and 100 people under intensive supervision. What matters is at what rate these people are arrested. So if the percentage ...”
October 29, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to doubt CR 1 in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This is a great question with real life implications in the U.S. Many states are moving toward this type of voter I.D. law and the cite these same statistics. They say that there are deceased people whose names are still on the voter lists. But what does that prove? Voter fraud is the act of ...”
October 28, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Your opinion is highly appreciated - Please rate my essay in the GMAT Essays (AWA) forum
“This is a very good essay. I would say that it is at least a 5.0 if not a 5.5. It is a little too short to be a 6.0 and there are a few lapses in grammar, such as "Secondly, the argument fails to state if the company started to provide new types of services, fact which is relevant for ...”
October 28, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum
“I forgot to include the link to the question bank where this question is found. Here is the link http://www.veritasprep.com/gmat-question-bank/ David”
October 28, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum
“So this is a Veritas Prep Question from the Veritas Question Bank. For access to that Question Bank follow the link. A couple of more facts: 1) I wrote this one! I had not looked at it for a few years but this is one of mine. I combined the logic from two official GMAT problems, one provided ...”
October 27, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Strengthen questions in the Critical Reasoning forum
“The correct answer to a strengthen question does need to provide new information. I cannot strengthen your argument by repeating what you have already said. So new information is required, but that does not mean that it needs to be a new topic or a new discussion, rather it needs to relate to the ...”
October 27, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to young working professionals in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This part of the stimulus takes out choice A Generally means "most of the time." So it appears that young professionals do in fact desire to buy real estate if they have a stable job and spouse. The conclusion of the argument is what points you to choice E. You see the ...”
October 27, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Push my quant score from 50 to 51 in the GMAT Strategy forum
“At Veritas Prep we have a very well-regarded book dedicated to statistics, permutations/ combinations, and probabilities. It should give you all the practice that you need in those areas! These are the most difficult questions available for these topics. Here is the link to the newest edition on ...”
October 27, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 720 but bombed on IR in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I would say that your previous IR score will count for something. You got 90th percentile before and this time although you score was very low - it was not a disastrous 0, 1 or 2. In your place I doubt that I would retake the exam. You have a GREAT score of 720 and your previous IR score in the ...”
October 27, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Criminals released from prison on parole in the Critical Reasoning forum
“You have found a great CR question from the Veritas Prep Advanced Verbal Lesson. I understand why you may have some difficulty with this one as it is a difficult question. However, it is also a question that follows a certain form that is quite common to the GMAT. That form is the ...”
October 27, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How in the world is it B? in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Here is a previous discussion of this question. That explains why B is the answer. http://www.beatthegmat.com/hearing-t270016.html To be honest, I am not completely happy with B either. It seems a little too conclusive for something not proven. For example, what if the difference in the ...”
October 27, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Get over the plateau effect - How? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“An important part of getting over a plateau at any score is to pinpoint your weaknesses. Take a look at your last few CATs and make an error log of each question type and topic (ie CR:assumption), you got wrong and why. Did you get it wrong because of a silly mistake or did you get it wrong ...”
October 24, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Push my quant score from 50 to 51 in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I would take more time on each question to make sure that you are not making silly mistakes. Luke Rich said, when you are aiming for a score that high there is not room for error. If you are looking for more practice questions MGMAT has an advanced quant book that gives you the most difficult ...”
October 24, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to BARRONS in the GMAT Strategy forum
“There is actually a newer version of the Barron''s out there that is better than the version Rich linked you to. That link is http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-GMAT-Bobby-Umar/dp/1438002319/ref=dp_ob_image_bk I would still recommend multi-volume GMAT study materials (or computerized materials) ...”
October 24, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to GMAT and Mental toughness in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I think one important way to combat lack of focus is building your mental endurance by taking A LOT of full length practice tests (including IR and AWA), to help you train your brain to focus for the full 3.5 hours it has to. Most people aren''t used to fully concentrating for that long of a stint, ...”
October 20, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Need suggestions for timing strategy :stumped in 2nd attempt in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Te best way to work on timing is practice, practice practice. I recommend that you purchase another set of GMAT practice tests, perhaps Kaplan since they tend to be harder, and take one every other day. Try to actively keep pacing in mind and perhaps experiment with skipping questions here and ...”
October 20, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Just took my first practice test. Now what? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“First of all congrats on your baseline score! Its a great place to start! You are correct, that improving gets more difficult the more higher the score goes up as you will face increasingly difficult problems, but it can definitely be done! I think your next step should be assessing your ...”
October 20, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to After 2-months Studying, What to do? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“1. I agree with Rich, it seems like you need to get a good grasp on RC and CR strategy to progress further in those question types. You can do this either through a book (I used MGMAT and found that very helpful) or purchasing just the verbal section of a course (MGMAT, GMAT Pill, and Magoosh ...”
October 20, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Retaking GMAT in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Your next step should be assessing your weaknesses. To do this, take a look at your last few CATs and look at what type and topic you are getting wrong the most. Then focus on these topics, especially those that you are getting the easiest wrong and getting wrong because you didn''t know the ...”
October 20, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Last 30 days in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I think the MGMAT Advanced Quant book is definitely a must for a 740. Whether or not you need Kaplan 800 as well depends on how your close your verbal score is to your goal score. If you are not close in your CATs then it is probably a good idea to also get practice with those difficult verbal ...”
October 20, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Score discrepancies during practice tests in the GMAT Strategy forum
“That is not inconsistent! You got a 44 twice on the official practice exam and all three times on the unofficial ones you took. You scored a little better on one test with the 47 and a little less on another with the 42. A 47 is the 68th percentile and a 42 is the is 51 percentile while a ...”
October 16, 2014
VivianKerr posted a reply to Very high verbal and low quant... V48 Q39 in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hi Katherine, First of all, a 710 is super-respectable, so congrats!! It''s not uncommon for students to be "lopsided" in the way you describe. When you reviewed your practice CATs, did you do any type of Error Log to track specifically what TYPE of Quant questions you were getting ...”
October 16, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Controversial veritas Q in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Many unofficial questions are copies of official questions. This is not a copy of an official question. So I cannot share any official question that it is based on. You are free to disagree with the answer or with the entire question. I think that this question has a logical - if not difficult - ...”
October 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT and Mental toughness in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I do have all of my articles in one place with a table of contents. I will PM you with the link. Glad to help! David”
October 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT and Mental toughness in the GMAT Strategy forum
“It is true that these things are not enough. Fortunately there are a couple of other things you can do. Make sure that you are not "multi-tasking" research shows that just knowing that you have an email waiting for you to read diverts your attention enough to lower you IQ by 10 ...”
October 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT and Mental toughness in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Here is one problem. You must eat during the breaks. Experiments have shown that the portion of the brain engaged during difficult decision making uses only glycogen. It is the only part of the body that only uses glycogen. Meaning that it needs to be fed constantly. In the New York Times ...”
October 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Official Questions Enough to prepare ? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“gmat_winter - You ask an impossible question! For some (rare) people just doing the questions from one official book is enough to go in and get a score much higher than 710. Most people, however, will need some help with a combination of: 1) knowledge (formulas, equations, grammar, etc.) ...”
October 15, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Took the GMAT recently. Not satisfied. in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I would definitely recommend that you bring snacks next time for the break to help you refuel. As far as studying for verbal, its hard to say definitively without knowing exactly what your weaknesses are but in general for studying verbal: -For RC and CR, you don''t need to learn rules or memorize ...”
October 14, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to GMAT STUDY PLAN in the GMAT Strategy forum
“When going through the manhattan guides, I would also suggest that you take detailed notes, especially when going through SC and quant stuff because there are so many equations and rules you need to memorize and keep track of. You will definitely need to review these periodically as well and I ...”
October 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Controversial veritas Q in the Critical Reasoning forum
“I see that a couple of people have posted this question here or on GMATClub and have disagreed with the answer. That is fine, it is not an official question and you have the right to disagree with it. I will say that on this question 75% of the over 1600 people who have answered this one on the ...”
October 13, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Took the GMAT recently. Not satisfied. in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hi Nakul, This may be a result of test day fatigue as verbal is the last section. How many full length (including IR and AWA) practice tests did you take in preparation for your GMAT? It is a long and mentally exhausting test, so I usually suggest that students take around 10 full length ...”
October 13, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Controversial veritas Q in the Critical Reasoning forum
“I am happy to discuss this one. What is controversial about it? The subject matter or the official answer?”
October 13, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Should I keep studying or take a break? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Only you can make this call, but I can help you with some things to think about when you make this decision. 1) When you are trying to begin business school? If you want to go in the Fall of 2015 then you know you will need to have your applications in soon, even round two is coming right up in ...”
October 12, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Should I keep studying or take a break? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Why do you feel that you do not need to improve on Quant? A Quant 41 is right at the 49th percentile, while even a 34 on the verbal side is the 71st percentile and a 41 Verbal is the 94th percentile. The way the scores are scaled is confusing, but as you stand right now your verbal score is ...”
October 12, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Score calculator in the GMAT Strategy forum
“You should never do this. For a few reasons, #1 you do not know if this test gave you an accurate reflection as you were too tired and #2 when you retook the test it was not accurate as you saw repeated questions. #3 unless you typically go to sleep at 3AM you have actually disrupted your sleep ...”
October 12, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 760 on Official GMAT practice test??? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“The official GMATPrep practice test is the closest to the actual exam. The question is, did you recognize any of the questions, had you seen them before? Maybe on a forum like this on. If so that may have inflated your score. Have you visited the location yet? It might be a good idea to do that ...”
October 9, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Best GMAT Book for Strategy? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I agree with Rich that the best way to learn strategy is by practicing. You will need to learn a lot of content, especially for SC and Quant. Once you have an understanding of the basic content, you could look into books like Kaplan 800 or MGMAT Advanced quant which do discuss strategies for the ...”
October 8, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Trying to improve quant from v39 to v47 in the GMAT Strategy forum
“One way to improve on quant quickly is to pinpoint your weaknesses and address them. In order to do this, meticulously go through your last few CATs and document which type and topic you are getting wrong the most (for example DS: circular geometry). Then, focus on reviewing those topics. In ...”
October 8, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Gave gmat today in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I think that you have studied too many verbal sources. They are probably giving you different techniques that are not needed. For example, PowerScore is for the LSAT and for some students it is too much to take in for the GMAT and can lead to confusion. Ask yourself this, "Do you have a ...”
October 7, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Trying to improve quant from v39 to v47 in the GMAT Strategy forum
“How is your data sufficiency? People that score well on the verbal, particularly on Critical Reasoning can often do well on data sufficiency without having to become math experts. If you are under-performing on Data Sufficiency you can probably make up some ground rapidly. David”
October 7, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 700+ CR in the Critical Reasoning forum
“In my opinion, this question does not have a correct answer. The listed OA is C. However, that does not rise to the level of an assumption. What if legislation had just been passed that made it easier to file for bankruptcy? People could still be filing for bankruptcy because the economy is ...”
October 7, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Spinach factory!! in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Here is a great discussion of this topic from Karishma, a Veritas instructor and one of the top experts on GMAT Club. Here is what she had to say: We need to explain how spinach-growing facility near Chicago could be profitable. Note that the argument tells us that the production of factory ...”
October 7, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Spinach factory!! in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Here is the question in a readable presentation. Please take the time to correct for line breaks. The original post is hard to read. "Near Chicago a newly built hydroponic spinach "factory," a completely controlled environment for growing spinach, produces on 1 acre of floor space ...”
October 7, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG VR2 #7 Pls help in the Critical Reasoning forum
“There is a great discussion of the question on the Veritas Prep Blog. One of our veteran instructors, Antony Ritz, not only breaks down the causation assumption in this question, but also points you to several other official questions that you can practice causation on! here is the link: ...”
October 7, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to doubt 16 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi aditya8062, The "it causes red welts to appear, posing minor health risks to infants" part of the sentence is correct. "It" refers to the sting, which has the effect of causing red welts to appear, which pose minor health risks. The sentence doesn''t actually use ...”
October 5, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to doubt 16 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi aditya8062, You are correct to eliminate answer choice C because of the "particularly vulnerable to their" part of the sentence. "Their" is not the best pronoun, because the sentence is talking about the sting (singular), not the scorpions (plural). Answer D uses ...”
October 4, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to GMAT in a week!! Any last minute tips please!! in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Do you have extra time at the end of the quant section? This would be a good sign that you should work more slowly to avoid making these silly mistakes. In general, it might be beneficial to slow down to make sure that you avoid those silly mistakes might be good. A few guesses at the end without ...”
October 4, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Please guide in the Sentence Correction forum
“Nice use of commas! Keep up the good work. David”
October 4, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Correct Preposition in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi sarthak.agarwal, Of the three, the best choice is the third one: "I took this photo with my phone." The preposition "with" correctly suggests that you used your phone to take a photo. The preposition "on" is incorrect in this sentence. It would be acceptable ...”
October 3, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Veritas SC. Doubt with Veritas Explanation in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi again imskpwr, English often has sentences that contain verbs with different tenses. It happens when a sentence has more than one clause (a clause is a group of related words that have a subject and a verb). One clause might use one tense, while another clause has a different tense. Here is an ...”
October 3, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Veritas Prep SC question in the Sentence Correction forum
“AndyMann, You''ve highlighted the correct rules, and also a dodgy question. Good work. Answer D is the best among the answer choices, but ALL of the answer choices break the rule with respect to placement of the verb-ed too far away from the noun upon which it is supposed to act. Due to the ...”
October 2, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Veritas SC. Doubt with Veritas Explanation in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi imskpwr, The answer you quoted seems overly complex, and not entirely correct, to me. For example, neither "hatched" nor "permeating" are adjectives - they are verbs. Let''s look at the correct sentence (A), and the two verb tenses bolded below: The simple concept of ...”
October 2, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Anxiety Relief: Lay the Groundwork for Stress-free Test Prep in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I ask this question not to be rude, but rather because I am genuinely interested. I have heard a few other instructors mention speed reading before, but I have never understood the logic behind it or evidence for it. I was hoping that you could shed some light on this particular recommendation. ...”
October 2, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Ice tea in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Showing that answer choice C is correct is a very simple matter. This is like a quantitative problem with two numbers that may not be comparable. The manager is basing his recommendation of ordering more iced tea on the basis of the number of drinks left at the end of the day. He or she is ...”
October 2, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Anxiety Relief: Lay the Groundwork for Stress-free Test Prep in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I wonder what the science is behind this recommendation. Do you have scientific research or other evidence that suggests that reading this fast is good for your score? Or is it just the general notion that faster is better...”
October 2, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to IR strategy in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Schools are going to want to see that you at least attempted the IR section and as time passes your score on this section is likely to become more important. I would say that you would want to be at the 50th percentile or above in order to show your effort. That means getting a 5.0 out of 8.0. In ...”
October 1, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Each in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, The correct answer is A. The reason D is incorrect has to do with "all" and "one," shown in red below: The jersey of the Colombian soccer club Independiente Medellín is emblazoned with five stars, all of which represent one of the club''s five national ...”
October 1, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Ice tea in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Nice analogy Ameya! As you noted, j_shreyans, we want to strengthen the author''s argument. As Ameya points out, D does not actually strengthen the argument. In truth, we don''t know what will happen over the course of the day - it could be that three iced tea beverages all sold within the first ...”
October 1, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Ice tea in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi j_shreyans, It comes down to an absurdist argument to prove that C is correct. Here goes... What if the cooler was stocked in the morning with 16 iced tea beverages, and 15 TRILLION cola beverages? The point is, no matter how many of either beverage was stocked, we could still have the ...”
September 30, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to RC -1 in the Reading Comprehension forum
“That made me laugh, aditya8062, good job! Maybe "sentiment" is the wrong word. My point is that C is LEAST LIKELY to occur. A court is not likely to uphold the right of a government office to destroy documents, "created in the course of running the government, thereby denying ...”
September 30, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to verbal score30 in the mocktest- how to imrpove? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hi Roopa, Like Rich said, you have made some improvements already so congrats! Th best way to study for CR and RC is to practice, practice, practice. Unlike the other sections of the test, you don''t have to learn anything new to answer those questions, you just have to learn how to answer ...”
September 30, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Extra Time? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I have worked with many students who received an accommodation of extra time on their GMAT exam. What I can tell you is this: 1) It is usually a lengthy process. Many if not most of the students I have worked with have been denied the first time by GMAC and have had to appeal. This process ...”
September 30, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Multiple Questions on GMAT Strategy in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hi Fernando, Obviously the GMAC tests are the best score indicator, because the questions and scoring algorithms are from the actual test makers. The downside is that they don''t come with answer explanations which I find to be a key aspect in improving your score. AS far as the most helpful ...”
September 30, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Got a 680. Have to retake. 1 month strategy? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hi! You are clearly doing well and considering the fact that you can devote all your time to studying in the next month, you will be able to improve a lot. I was scoring in the late 600s a month before my test and scored a 770 on the official test. I think there are two important things you ...”
September 30, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Strategy on SC Questions, Take notes? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“High scorers on the verbal section generally have a very thorough process for sentence correction that goes something like this: 1) Notice a word or phrase that seems questionable to you. 2) Look for other options for this word or phrase in the 5 answer choices. 3) Select the better of ...”
September 30, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Footwear in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Sure! The evidence is that the exotic prints are not more expensive to make and that they sold at a much higher price and their seems to be strong demand for these exotic prints. The conclusion is "de los Santos could earn a higher profit per unit by producing a greater percentage of his ...”
September 30, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Editorial: Companies worldwide have started adopting MAT (Ma in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This is not in the format of a GMAT question. There are multiple problems with the language and the logic. This question was posted at GMAT Club and the consensus over there is that this is not a good question. What is this answer supposed to mean? This does not make sense. My ...”
September 30, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT query in the GMAT Strategy forum
“It depends on the application deadlines. You can certainly be ready for round 2 applications if you take the GMAT in November. However, the rest of your application needs to be done as well and that can take some time. So you will likely need to be working on your applications while you are getting ...”
September 30, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to RC -1 in the Reading Comprehension forum
“The passage tells us that a "do not destroy documents" sentiment exists, as per the following snippet: "Government officials, opponents maintain, are civil servants; the public should thus have the right to review any documents created during the conducting of government ...”
September 29, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to RC -1 in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Hi aditya8062, We''re looking for the answer choice which is LEAST likely to occur. Answer B is actually LIKELY to occur. (B) A private-sector employer is found liable for wiretapping an office telephone conversation in which two employees exchanged disparaging information about their ...”
September 29, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Election in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi j_shreyans, For answer D to be true (remember, we''re looking for the answer that must be true, meaning that everything in the answer has to be true), two things must be true: D) 45% of the voters in the election were male and none of them were 75 years old. One of the things is the ...”
September 29, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to doubt 1 C/R in the Critical Reasoning forum
“I think it''s safe to presume, from the context of the passage, that only businesses with disabled employees and/or customers have to comply with legislation "which requires that certain businesses make their properties accessible to those with disabilities." On the GMAT, not every ...”
September 28, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to verbal review - CR in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi abhasjha, In this question, we''re asked to find the correct conclusion among the answer choices. That means that the correct answer choice is the one that must always be true given the information in the passage. The correct answer is A. Let''s take a look at all the answer choices: A. The ...”
September 28, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to doubt 1 C/R in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi aditya8062, The strongest "proof" that SwiftCo has at least one disabled employee or customer is in the opening line of the passage: :SwiftCo recently remodeled its offices to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)..." Businesses with disabled employees or ...”
September 28, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to SC OG#12 QNO#121 -> COMMA + AND Usage Clarification in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi Uva, The COMMA + AND structure is used when adding a clause to an existing sentence, when the additional clause adds new information that is related to the information presented in the first part of the sentence. Here is an example: The brown dog is the fastest in the pack, and it is also ...”
September 28, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Kindly rate my essay in the GMAT Essays (AWA) forum
“You make some good points. I would say that the main issue is that you seem to be relying on outside knowledge of one particular country and you are making definite statements that should only be phrased as possibilities. For example, you state the railroads are nationally owned and maintained. ...”
September 28, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to doubt 1 C/R in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Here is the text of an article I wrote for the Veritas Prep Blog. It is Called "Shift the Burden on Inference Questions" and it directly addresses the issue you have here. "The correct answer to an inference question is the answer that must be true based on the facts given in the ...”
September 27, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to doubt 1 C/R in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi aditya8062, The reason E is not the correct answer choice has to do with the nature of SwiftCo''s business. Whatever that business is, we are told that it had adaptive computer equipment installed. However, not all businesses that comply with the ADA necessarily install adaptive computer ...”
September 27, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to doubt 1 C/R in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This question is from the Veritas Prep Advanced Verbal book. It is an inference question. So you are looking for the answer that must be true! Your statement: Is exactly what makes C a great inference answer choice. With an inference question, generally the weaker the statement the ...”
September 27, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Baggage in the Sentence Correction forum
“HI j_shreyans, You''re right. Strictly speaking - or writing - one should include a comma after the word baggage. Separating clauses is particularly important in a complex sentence like the one above. Given that this is a GMAT question, we know that there will only be one right answer. We can ...”
September 27, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Please guide in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi sarthak.agarwal, You are correct that the sentence needs the verb "is" in order to be correct. In addition, while we often see sentences begin with verbs like "hope," it is not strictly correct. It is missing a subject. Who hopes? Here is the complete, correct sentence: ...”
September 27, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Calcium in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This is indeed a causation passage, where the author says that X causes Y. In this case, calcium deficiency causes laryngeal polyps. The problem with this sort of argument is that it may be the other way around. What I mean is, it could be that laryngeal polyps cause a calcium deficiency. ...”
September 26, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to OG SC- 114 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi abhasjha, The correct answer is B. Answer C is incorrect because of the "sometimes by the animal overcompensating" phrase. "Sometimes" implies that a certain action (growing extra arms) does not always take place, an idea which might make sense. However, the placement of ...”
September 26, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Strategy on SC Questions, Take notes? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“What kind of notes do you take? Can you give an example of what you write down that helps you? Sentence correction is 100% a process of elimination so it is important to keep track of the answers you have eliminated. You can do this by writing A B C D E vertically for each sentence correction ...”
September 26, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How many GMAT attempts ?? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I have to agree with Rich here. Having spoken with numerous admissions officials (and former admissions officials who now work for Veritas Prep admissions consulting) the main theme is this: if you are not happy with your GMAT score, and if your score is not at least within the middle 80% for ...”
September 25, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to First I was afraid, I was petrified / Kept thinking I could in the Sentence Correction forum
“Great to hear that you are happy, Fernando. Preparing for the GMAT is a lot of work. It''s a journey with many "downs" - and a few "ups!" It''s really good that you are celebrating learning new things. That makes GMAT preparation even easier - seeing value in learning, not just ...”
September 25, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to How the GMAT works on the RC passages in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Hi fermar84, For a very comprehensive look at how Reading Comprehension questions work, as well as numerous practice questions, check out all of our video-based Reading Comprehension lessons (all FREE) here: http://gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-reading-comprehension Good luck with your ...”
September 25, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Collateral in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, Good work in eliminating answer choices A, B and C (all incorrectly use the singular "is" rather than the plural "are" as you no doubt spotted). Choosing between answers D and E has to do with the preposition rule that says a preposition should be as close as ...”
September 25, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Collateral in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, Good work in eliminating answer choices A, B and C (all incorrectly use the singular "is" rather than the plural "are" as you no doubt spotted). Choosing between answers D and E has to do with the preposition rule that says a preposition should be as close as ...”
September 25, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Test in 3 days! Anxious! in the GMAT Strategy forum
“dshah9380 - I am glad to be able to help. Here is an article that I think you should read. Basically it tells you how to fake a little confidence early and have more confidence as you go! http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/06/10/laugh-your-way-to-success-on-the-gmat And here is one that ...”
September 24, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Mental illness in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This is an official GMAT question and it is a classic!! There are dozens of imitation questions based on this one. When dealing with cause and effect there are a couple of things to keep in mind. 1) When two items are correlated either of them can be the cause. For example, those persons ...”
September 24, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Test in 3 days! Anxious! in the GMAT Strategy forum
“As you said yourself, these two things are almost certainly correlated: You are correct to think that a lack of concentration - caused by thinking about something other than the problem in front of you - is a major source of silly mistakes. You job on test day is to focus on the ...”
September 24, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Mental illness in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi j_shreyans, Actually, the correct answer is D. This is a question that deals with cause and effect. The immune system protects against MENTAL ILLNESS. The immune system protects against PHYSICAL ILLNESS. But if a pre-existing MENTAL ILLNESS lowers immune system activity, then the ...”
September 24, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Election in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi RiyaR, We''re looking for the single answer that MUST be true. The correct answer is D. Let''s look at why the other answers can be eliminated. Answer A is not necessarily true. We are told that 2/3 (66%) of the voters supported the mayor, and 55% of the voters were female, therefore 45% of ...”
September 24, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Easier way to understand the answer? in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Actually the numbers in the problem are in percentages. And as you know the total is always 100%! So if we get 115% we know that something has been counted too many times. And remember that we do not have exactly 15% that are in the both category, but anywhere from 15 to 25% and that is why ...”
September 24, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Placement of modifier 'Which' in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi Uva@90, Thanks for posting the full question and answer choices - that makes it easy! You can eliminate all of the answer choices that fail to show the correct structure of "something AS large AS something else." Answer choices A, B and E fail to show the correct structure; ...”
September 24, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Scored 680 in Veritas Prep Test - How to reach 710+ in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hi Umang! There are two important steps to breaking the 700 barrier. The first is to pinpoint your weaknesses and address them and the second is to take lots of full length (including AWA and IR) practice CATs. In order to pinpoint your weaknesses, take a look at your last few CATs and see ...”
September 24, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Easier way to understand the answer? in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Duplicate post: please see the following link for the discussion on this one. http://www.beatthegmat.com/easier-way-to-understand-the-answer-t279652.html”
September 24, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Easier way to understand the answer? in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This question is from MGMAT and many people consider it a difficult one. The OA is C. The explanation is thus: 90% of those employees who are working at home say that they are more productive. Yet, 25% of those working at home work less than 1 hour. Think of this as a Venn Diagram! ...”
September 24, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Placement of modifier 'Which' in the Sentence Correction forum
“I guess I would want to see what the answer choices are, as a strategic means for eliminating answer choices. There are cases where a sentence can correctly be constructed with either "which" or "that," for example - although the meaning changes. Consider the following two ...”
September 23, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to As having in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, The correct idiomatic expression is "credited with" when we want to say that someone has achieved something. Example: "Brent is credited with inventing Calculus." "Credited to" is used when we want to recognize the source or inspiration of ...”
September 23, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Placement of modifier 'Which' in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi Uva@90, In your sentence, "which" is meant to refer to "planets," not "Jupiter." We can see that the sentence still makes sense when we remove the clause that mentions Jupiter: In the past several years, astronomers have detected more than 80 massive planets ...”
September 23, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Chez Shay valet parking in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Yes but the problem is the exact wording of choice C. It says (one can reasonably conclude that Chez Shay customers) "are not deterred from dining at Chez Shay by the expense of valet parking." But this goes too far. Perhaps customers are deterred. Perhaps Chez Shay would be sold ...”
September 23, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to CR ques in the Critical Reasoning forum
“I really like this paradox question! Thanks for posting this one. It is a fun question and the answer is certainly beyond dispute.”
September 22, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Calcium in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This is a very standard cause and effect set up. Be ready to see something like this on test day! So the question shows us the CORRELATION between two things: laryngeal polyps and low levels of calcium. Then they arbitrarily decide that one of the two caused the other. So in this case they ...”
September 22, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Good GMAT Stragies in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Its hard to say what is the best strategy, because people will have different needs. For example, a non native English speaker with a strong math background will have different study requirements than a English teacher. Some general strategies that work for everyone are: - Study consistently: ...”
September 22, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to supermarket industry in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, There are two problems with answer D. The first is the placement of the verb "is." (D) how frequently is the inventory turned over are often <--- incorrect To be correct, "is" needs to be placed between inventory and turned, because it is the ...”
September 22, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Gmatprep SC in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi gmat_guy666, We can eliminate answer A because it begins with "by far better." The "by" part of that phrase is unnecessary. The sentence tells us that Chekhov is better known for X than Y. In fact, Chekhov is far better known (where far is a superlative that modifies ...”
September 22, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Need to know the right time to schedule test in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Do you mean how fan in the future should you schedule your exam? That depends on a few factors. Depending on your responses you could be a couple of months away from being ready for the exam or you could be ready to schedule it for the next opening * You say you have given two practice tests. ...”
September 22, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to best book for verbal practice? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I am wondering why you "skimmed" those guides. You are looking for recommendations for books on verbal, but you have only skimmed the materials that you have. A 21 score gives you plenty of opportunity to move that score up. A 40 is the 90th percentile and indicates a real ...”
September 22, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Mock Test score range from different tests in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I would not worry as much about the "score" on the Kaplan tests as what weakness it may point out. Clearly the official tests give you the most realistic prediction of your score. However, as Rich indicated that does not mean that you should dismiss the other exam without seeing if it ...”
September 22, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Wage in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Choice D is not moving in the correct direction at all. Remember that you are trying to weaken the conclusion that the overall impact on wages of the increase in the minimum wage "will probably be negligible." Now how could a law that changes the minimum wage have a negligible ...”
September 22, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to special mortgage offers in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This is from the GMAT Club tests right? I went over to that forum and found that people over there do not think that any of these answers are correct. I might agree with them. The official answer (and the obvious one) is really focused several years into the future whereas the argument ...”
September 22, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Chez Shay valet parking in the Critical Reasoning forum
“I am not sure that any of these can be reasonably concluded. What is the source of this question?”
September 22, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Which CAT's to Buy in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I am not sure that "People consider the Veritas CAT too easy." Some people have said that they think that the score they received was higher than expected (although others said it was lower and most seem to believe it is pretty close). However, a higher than expected score does not mean ...”
September 22, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How the GMAT works on the RC passages in the Reading Comprehension forum
“If you check the Official Guide for GMAT Review (2015 or 13th edition, 12th edition, etc) you will see that there are many as 8 questions for a single passage. Clearly 8 questions will not be given to a particular test-taker for a single passage. You will also notice that there are pairs of these ...”
September 22, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Clams in the Reading Comprehension forum
“The answer is indeed D, as noted in the thread above. But let me reiterate a point made above that to answer Reading Comprehension questions, you must NOT bring in any "outside" knowledge to help you. What I mean is, ALL of the information you need to answer the question is contained ...”
September 21, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to It is possible for students to obtain advanced degrees in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Hello aditya8062, Early in the passage we are presented with a problem (or shortcoming), which the author describes as an "unfortunate" lack in knowledge about "traditional scholarly methods." The author then goes on to describe a solution to the problem, as follows: ...”
September 21, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to OG12_SC_Need a good explanation. in the Sentence Correction forum
“The correct answer is D, for the reasons noted above. UmangMathur, your suggestion would be correct. Good job understanding how to match the verb tense and correctly construct the sentence. Of course, on the GMAT you are only given one right answer. It sometimes comes down to two answers ...”
September 21, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT TEST TIME in the GMAT Strategy forum
“If you mean 4:30 or 5PM...that is one of the starting times that is commonly offered. Therefore many thousands of people have taken an exam ending around 9PM. However, this time frame is not for me. I prefer the afternoon time, which is around 1PM. Now the time that works for you is something ...”
September 21, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Critical Reasoning Sulutions in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Practice practice practice! But make sure you know what you are practicing! :) Here are some free video lessons and free video practice questions: http://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-critical-reasoning See if you like learning with a video resource (everybody has a different way to ...”
September 20, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Capuchin Monkeys in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi vivekvijayan, Answer E is interesting information, to be sure, but we are looking for an answer that is MOST USEFUL to evaluate the argument. That is to say, we are looking for an answer that will help us to either REFUTE or ACCEPT the argument. In this case, the argument is that the ...”
September 20, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Download GMAT questions with Expert solutions! in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I just checked out the critical reasoning 300 questions and there are a couple of issues with this document. 1) It contains a mixture of official questions and unofficial questions with no sources given. Some questions may be much better than others and there is no way for the non-expert to tell ...”
September 19, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 1997/1998- Is this even a valid GMAT question in the Critical Reasoning forum
“To answer your question vivekvijayan: The phrase "percentage of people suffering from hay fever" tells you how to set up this fraction. Whenever you have the word "of" "to" or "per" you should draw a fraction line and whatever comes after one of those ...”
September 19, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 1997/1998- Is this even a valid GMAT question in the Critical Reasoning forum
“For the original question posted by akhilsuhag, there is a GREAT explanation on an earlier post of this question. Kudos to Ilyana for an great explanation. http://www.beatthegmat.com/not-convinced-with-the-answer-t271905.html It turns out that neither B nor E is well supported and E is even ...”
September 19, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT prep with veritas in the GMAT Strategy forum
“The best source of course is the GMATPrep add-on pack or the Official Guide for GMAT Review 2015 (or 13th edition). That is because these are official problems that have been used on the exam and the retired. I would lean towards using the resources online. The GMATPrep pack 1 add-on is all ...”
September 19, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Good GMAT Stragies in the GMAT Strategy forum
“You have essentially asked the same question twice. I replied to your question at the other thread which asks the same question. Please refer to that thread http://www.beatthegmat.com/information-about-online-gmat-exam-preparation-t279496.html#730216”
September 19, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning Sulutions in the Critical Reasoning forum
“What do you know already? Have you tried many critical reasoning questions? Are you identifying the evidence and the conclusion when working with strengthen, weaken, and assumption questions? Here are a couple of articles that might help you look at critical reasoning the "correct" ...”
September 19, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Information about Online GMAT Exam Preparation in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I generally give the following guidelines to people think about beginning on the self-study track or starting with a course. 1) How close are you to your goal right now? If your goal is a 700, for example. If you take a practice test now and you score within 100 points of your goal then you ...”
September 19, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Information about Online GMAT Exam Preparation in the GMAT Strategy forum
“That is an extremely open question!! You can do what is called "self-study" which is probably misnamed since it generally involves using paid resources such as the Official Guide to GMAT Review by GMAC and any of the several strategy books written by GMAT experts, as well as the use of ...”
September 19, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Uses of THAT in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, Here are a couple of free resources that students find helpful with "that": http://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-sentence-correction?id=1165 (video lesson) http://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/vs-which (article) Good luck!”
September 19, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Sentence correction in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi vipinsharma, Don''t go crazy! :D The scheme which will be launched during the next two years requires an additional investment of one hundred crore. We need "requires" because it refers to the scheme. Another way to write it is, "The scheme requires an additional ...”
September 19, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Should I wait to take the GMAT in the GMAT Strategy forum
“You are in a great position! Many people seem to decide that they want to apply to business school within a few months. This means packing in not only the GMAT but the rest of the application as well. It also can be difficult for people to know where to apply since their GMAT scores have a ...”
September 19, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Verbal is killing me! PLEASE HELP. Urgent! in the GMAT Strategy forum
“You can buy official LSAT questions from LSAC (The GMAC of the LSAT) here: https://os.lsac.org/RELEASE/Shop/Publications.aspx Ignore all the logic games stuff, that won''t really help you with the GMAT. Each test will have two logical reasoning (CR) sections and one reading comp section that you ...”
September 18, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Economist Tutor CR Q Pls explain in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This seems like a flawed question to me. I am not sure how being illiterate even relates to audio. These are different things. Are they suggesting that people say "Oh, I don''t want to be able to read, I can just listen to things on audio?" And then how does choice B relate to ...”
September 17, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This question is from the Veritas Prep free question bank (over 7 million questions have been served from the question bank so far!) Here is the link if you want to try the question bank for yourself http://www.veritasprep.com/gmat-question-bank/ The funny thing is that I actually wrote this ...”
September 17, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Passive voice and active voice in the Sentence Correction forum
“Nice reply ceilidh.erickson! I had my browser window open so long that I didn''t see your excellent explanation above, before I clicked submit to send in my own. D”
September 17, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Passive voice and active voice in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, Good job picking up on the passive voice. The verb structure of the "has been" (correct) answer is the present perfect tense in the passive voice. Why this verb format? Take a look at the second part of the sentence, "by the rapid motion of the galaxy away from ...”
September 17, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Prep course: Veritas vs. Manhattan vs. Kaplan in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hey Caitlin, I run a course comparison website, here are some of the differences between the three: Teaching hours: Veritas: 36, Kaplan: 27, MGMAT: 27.5 Total full length CATs: Veritas: 12, Kaplan: 9, MGMAT: 6 Total Practice Questions provided: Veritas: 3,000, Kaplan: 5,000, MGMAT: 4,200 ...”
September 17, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Verbal is killing me! PLEASE HELP. Urgent! in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Because you are not learning anything new for RC and CR, the best way to improve is to practice. I am guessing that it is most likely the harder level questions that are tripping you up on these sections, so you might want to try practicing with LSAT material. The RC and CR sections of the LSAT ...”
September 17, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to scored a 640:Retake in a month : please help with strategy in the GMAT Strategy forum
“If you want to improve your score efficiently, then an effective way is to pinpoint your weaknesses and work to improve them. In order to do this, take a look at your last few CATs and figure out exactly where you are going wrong. Write down which question type and topics you are getting wrong ...”
September 17, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Focus strategies? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“#5 - Nutrition Nutrition is the most controversial topic because there is a lot of money in processed foods. Some things to possibly avoid if you have focus problems: 1) MSG 2) Artificial Colors and flavors 3) Simple Carbohydrates (white bread, etc.) 4) Sugar Let me say some ...”
September 17, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Focus strategies? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“#4 Sleep Sleep is essential to proper mental functioning for several reasons: First, sleep helps gently wash away the cares and concerns from the previous day. If you don’t believe me, try to remember what you had for lunch three days ago. Unless that lunch was a particularly memorable ...”
September 17, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Focus strategies? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“#3 - Exercise is a MUST! Exercise is everything for the brain. Without exercise you cannot create new brain cells and you cannot protect the ones you already have. Exercise is crucial for your ability to focus and for you emotional control. The importance of regular exercise cannot be overstated. ...”
September 17, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Focus strategies? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“#2 The second thing you can do is to stop multitasking! This goes hand-in-hand with mindfulness, but definitely deserves its own discussion. I have written several articles about this subject that I will reference in a moment, but I want to first mention a new book called “The Organized ...”
September 17, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Focus strategies? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“#1 way to increase your ability to focus = Meditation and mindfulness practice. When I mention “meditation” people think that I am talking about sitting in an uncomfortable position and meditating for hours at a time. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Meditation and mindfulness ...”
September 17, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Focus strategies? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I am so glad that you asked this question. This is something that I think and write about very frequently. Focus is one of the most underrated aspects of the exam. Basically there are several things that you can do to improve your focus. I will address each of them in turn but let me just ...”
September 17, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas CR Tough to interpret? in the Critical Reasoning forum
“I responded to that other thread. Let me know if you run into any other "interesting" CR questions! David”
September 17, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Valid/ Invalid Veritas score? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“You always want to verify your improvement with official questions. But assuming that you have not seen similar questions before, you should be able to trust your improvement in CR. As for reading comp it looks like the questions that you faced were of similar difficulty but this time you got 10 ...”
September 17, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to depressed :( in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hi adi90, I like your attitude - you''ve had some GMAT setbacks, but you''re willing to keep working at it in order to succeed. That''s exactly the right approach. My advice right now is to take a look at the way you best learn. You mention practice tests (good, everybody should do that!), and ...”
September 16, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Could anyone please review my essay? in the GMAT Essays (AWA) forum
“This looks like a 5 to me. The thread above has provided some good feedback, which I agree with. I would also reiterate the advice to use the official prompts, which are all available from the official GMAT site: ...”
September 16, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas CR Tough to interpret? in the Critical Reasoning forum
“I am glad to help feel free to alert me anytime you have a posting that you would like a response to. You know looking at this one -- it is a tough question to interpret! We are always editing and improving the questions and this one may need a little editing to make it clearer.”
September 15, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to doubt 9 in the Sentence Correction forum
“I see your point that the sentence is slightly ambiguous with respect to whether it is elderly people, or elderly Japanese people, who are treated with greater respect in Japan than in Western countries: Elderly people in Japan are treated with far greater respect than they are in most Western ...”
September 15, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to doubt 9 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Yes, your sentence is correct. Elderly people in japan are treated with far greater respect than they are in most Western countries. Nice work!”
September 15, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to doubt 9 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi aditya8062, The correct answer is E. You are correct, "they" refers to elderly people in Japan. We need the plural pronoun "they" to refer to a plural noun introduced earlier in the sentence, and it needs to refer to the right subject (an example of the wrong subject is ...”
September 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to SC in the Sentence Correction forum
“This is one of my favorite sentence corrections myths!! My other favorite is that you cannot change the meaning of the sentence from what is stated in choice A. Not only is "being" acceptable on the GMAT, the test makers know that people think it is unacceptable so they make sure that ...”
September 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 690 to 730 in 2 months...crossing the 700 mark!! in the I just Beat The GMAT! forum
“dp26389 - Congrats on the score! Thanks for sharing your story. In addition to the links you just shared (GMAT Club and Veritas question bank) there is also the free Veritas Prep practice test at http://www.veritasprep.com/gmat/free-gmat-practice-test/ Hope others are able to achieve their ...”
September 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 600 -> 770! Advice: Practice, Practice, Practice in the I just Beat The GMAT! forum
“Congratulation lukedmurphy! That is an exceptional score. I am glad that the Veritas practice tests were a part of your success. I notice that there were a couple of questions from others about practice tests: The Veritas practice tests use Item Response Theory, which is also the basis for ...”
September 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Prep course: Veritas vs. Manhattan vs. Kaplan in the GMAT Strategy forum
“You should check out the verified reviews here on Beat the GMAT. These reviews are written by actual students who have enrolled in the course they are reviewing. The link is above at the top of the page, or click on http://reviews.beatthegmat.com/ Why not try out a session of Veritas to see ...”
September 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Assumption or Strengthen Question? Why is D not correct? in the Critical Reasoning forum
“To answer your question - this is a STRENGTHEN question, not an assumption. The question stem is worded in a confusing way. The word assumption in this question merely indicates that we should take the answer choice as true, something that you always do on strengthen questions anyway. The key ...”
September 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Valid/ Invalid Veritas score? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Again - this test is very consistent with your other Veritas tests and your GMATPrep test. You seem to have settled into the 710 to 720 range. You are very consistent, with the exception of one GMATPrep and one Veritas test that were below 700. I looked through your exam and I see nothing ...”
September 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas CR Tough to interpret? in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This question is a bit above average in terms of the difficulty rating, but it is a typical "questionable statistics" problem. I would stay that statistics in critical reasoning can be the most confusing. I have seen some official CR questions with statistics that are very confusing. ...”
September 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to untimed diagnostic test. in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I will tell you how to take an untimed "diagnostic" and that is to purchase the GMATPrep Tests add-on pack called the "Prep Pack 1." You can create quizzes with this question set and you can see how you do on a mix of questions on the verbal and on the quant. Now this will ...”
September 15, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT prep with veritas in the GMAT Strategy forum
“First let me say that a 680 is very close to a 710 or 720. It is certainly very different from a 610. So you are moving in the right direction! Two of your statements struck me! 1) You said, "Even in the Q section i almost knew when i was making a mistake but had to keep moving in ...”
September 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Detailed topic breakdown of GMAT OG 13 in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Brent is quite right... A CR question is not a strengthen and a weaken, a Word Problem is not a work/ rate and a venn diagram, but a sentence correction problem is often many things at once. Thanks Brent!”
September 14, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Established in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, You are correct about the general rule about using "to." However, in this case we can correctly use "to established" because "established" is being used as an attributive verb. An attributive verb is a verb that modifies a noun in the manner of ...”
September 14, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Sentence Correction in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi RiyaR, I''m not convinced this is an official GMAT sentence correction question. It has some funky aspects that make me think it is not legit - what is its source?”
September 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This is a great LSAT assumption question. It fits well with the GMAT critical reasoning format. Start by finding the conclusion: "We must conclude that North American children can be made physically fit only if they participate in school calisthenics on a daily basis." What ...”
September 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Can someone please rate my essay? It's my first try! in the GMAT Essays (AWA) forum
“This is quite a good essay. There were a few grammar errors that seem to result perhaps from haste. Did you find that you were rushing? Did you use the whole 30 minutes? You could have done just as well on the score with more precise sentences and perhaps fewer words. For example, you said, ...”
September 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Could anyone please review my essay? in the GMAT Essays (AWA) forum
“Nice Work here! I enjoyed reading this essay. I thought that the reasoning was good and I only caught a couple of grammar errors, (you can spot these if you just paste your essay into a Microsoft word document). I would rate this as a 5.0 or above. Certainly this is in the top half of essays ...”
September 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Detailed topic breakdown of GMAT OG 13 in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Unfortunately, a breakdown of the SC questions by topic would render them useless for students to use. You see, if you know in advance that you have a strengthen CR question that is no big deal because the question stem will tell you that it is a strengthen question! But if you know in advance ...”
September 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Assumption question in the Critical Reasoning forum
“I wrote a very popular article on this question. Here is the link to the article. http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/06/27/approaching-assumptions-questions-like-an-expert I have also excerpted just the part that explains this question and I am including that portion here: "Remember that ...”
September 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to RC Time Allotment in the Reading Comprehension forum
“As for the time you should spend on reading versus answering the questions, we have incredibly experienced instructors at Veritas who different thoughts on this. I have taught well over 100 courses and was a contributing author to the latest edition of the Veritas books. I tend to take longer to ...”
September 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to RC Time Allotment in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Unless I am mistaken, the GMATPrep timing is only based on taking the 75 minutes and dividing it evenly between either 37 questions on Quant or 41 on verbal. 75/ 41 = 1min 49.2 seconds. So it seems that at 1 min and 50 seconds on EACH verbal question regardless of question type, the GMATPrep will ...”
September 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas Prep Question: Doubt in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Notice that the question stem says "Which of the following can be concluded from the argument above?" This is an inference question. Which means that you are looking for the answer choice that must be true. If we look at choices B and C that you favored, you can see that these are ...”
September 14, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas Prep Question: Doubt in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Here is the text of the question: A new medical procedure replaces all three of the tiny bones in the inner ear with a single piece of ultra-thin fiberglass. The procedure has been found to greatly improve hearing in people who have experienced damage to these bones, though it is useless to ...”
September 14, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to doubt 7 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi again, I think I understand what you are asking, thank you for clarifying. We need parallelism in singular forms of noun and pronoun ("construction industry" is the singular noun, and "it" is the singular pronoun). My point is that we need the "it" in "it ...”
September 13, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to doubt 7 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi aditya8062, You are correct, the answer is C. I''ll get to your specific questions shortly, but first let''s look at how the incorrect answers can be eliminated. "...making the construction industry’s economic health much more robust than it was five years ago" We need ...”
September 13, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Miners' union on strike against Coalco. in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi amysky_0205, The correct answer is E. That means it is the answer which is LEAST likely to be asked by the union members as they consider whether or not to proceed with the boycott. Of course, the reason it is LEAST likely to be asked is that it is IRRELEVANT to the aims of the boycott. ...”
September 12, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Confuse in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, The correct answer to this Sentence Correction problem is D. The question is testing parallelism. If we simplify the sentence, we get the following: Kleine-Levin syndrome is characterized by X (cyclical episodes of extreme lethargy, heightened irritability), AND Y (one of the ...”
September 11, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to GMAT Tuesdays: RC – Detail Questions in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Hi realkaka08, Our entire video library of Reading Comprehension lessons and practice questions is FREE! Check them out here: http://gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-reading-comprehension Good luck with preparing, and good luck on Sept 17th for your exam!”
September 11, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Screwed up big time due to timing. What to do? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I think nerves on test day are a problem for a lot of people, so don''t be too discouraged! And the good thing is that schools don''t really care how many times you take the test. My advice to help combat timing issues and test day nerves is talking a LOT of full length (including IR and AWA) ...”
September 11, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to annouced that sb will vs. would in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi MICHAELIU, We use "will" as follows: - to talk about the future, i.e. to say what we believe will happen - to talk about what people want to do or are willing to do - to make promises and offers Example: We will be late for the play, so we will have to take a taxi. <-- ...”
September 10, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to doubt 4 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi aditya8062, If we take your modified sentence and place it in the full passage, we have the following: Researchers have discovered a new species of sparrow that lives only in cypress groves, that is almost wholly dependent on the berries of a certain type of vine that grows on cypress ...”
September 10, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Need guidance - going to 5th attempt!!! :-( in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hi! First of all, what is your goal score? That might help us better give advice. You''re doing well in quant! I would recommend now trying to work with the most difficult material to help you get it up that last little bit. I used the MGMAT advanced quant book. It has useful strategies ...”
September 10, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Percentage of IS or ARE? in the Sentence Correction forum
“Look at the focus of the sentence. Here are two close examples: The group of people IS happy. The people in the group ARE happy. In the first sentence, which perhaps is discussing the emotional state of people at an event, we are focussed on a singular thing - the group is a singular ...”
September 9, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to CLEAR!! in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hey j_shreyans, Both of them can be correctly used. Which one you pick depends on the meaning you wish to convey, because they each suggest slightly different time frames in which subsequent action might take place. Take a look at these two close examples: If it (a door) were to open, I would ...”
September 9, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to OG 13 Qs #94 : As a construction material, bamboo is as in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi RBBmba@2014, As you noted, the correct answer is B. Let''s look at all the answers in more detail: (A) Buildings constructed of bamboo are less likely to suffer earthquake damage than are steel and concrete buildings. Incorrect. There is no relationship between "bamboo buildings ...”
September 9, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to parallism in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi gmat62, The correct answer to this sentence correction question is D. Good on you for narrowing down the answer choices to D and E, for the grammar reasons noted in this thread. Differentiating between D and E comes down to the context of the passage. It makes sense that the mothers want to ...”
September 9, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to CLEAR!! in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, "If it were to open" is correct. The above phrase is written in the subjunctive mood. As a reminder, the subjunctive is used to express situations that are hypothetical or not yet realized and is typically used for what is imagined, hoped for, demanded, or expected.”
September 8, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Please explain! in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi tanvis1120, a. Multi-party initiatives deal with proposals too large and complex for a single party to have passed into law. Incorrect. While the passage says that multi-party initiatives are more likely to pass than single-party initiatives, it does not suggest that it has anything to do ...”
September 8, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to 90 day plan in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hi! I think the most important first step to GMAT studying is assessing your needs. In order to do this, you need to first figure out your target score by looking at the median and average scores for the schools you want to go to. The next step is figuring out how close you are to that score by ...”
September 8, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Of the many organisms found in marine ecosystems in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Hi aditya8062, In this passage, we are presented with a lot of information about sea otters and their relationship with the environment in which they live. Various facts are presented, including the direct impact of too many sea otters in the environment, and too few. Essentially, we are ...”
September 7, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to As the honeybees in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi all, The correct answer is E. C is a common choice for many students. C. The honeybee''s stinger, heavily barbed and staying where it is inserted, results in the fact that the act of stinging causes The problem with C is that it says that the stinger results in. Of course, the ...”
September 7, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Computers in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, The answer is E. Let''s look at the answer choices. A) Despite that they were able to calculate faster than ever before possible Incorrect. "Despite that" is not correct. B) Even though it could calculate faster than previously possible Incorrect. ...”
September 6, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to a question for "A Noun to Verb" in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi David, I''m not sure what you''re asking about the SC question you quoted: Simply being genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely to become an invasive or persistent weed, according to a decade-long study published in the journal Nature. What is the noun to verb you ...”
September 6, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning Practice in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Here is a good, Free source of GMAT questions The Veritas prep question bank Here is a link to the Beat the GMAT review of the Veritas Question Bank (it received a 10/10 rating) http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2014/02/16/review-veritas-prep-free-gmat-question-bank And here is the link to the ...”
September 6, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Analysis of an Issue still possible AWA question? in the GMAT Essays (AWA) forum
“The Analysis of an Argument was the better essay of the two and I am glad that the analysis of an issue is the one they let go of. The analysis of an argument is much more predictable and can be approached in a consistent and even an enjoyable manner. Here are a couple of articles to read ...”
September 6, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is it too late to start GMAT for 2015 admissions ? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“While your credentials are certainly impressive, I would still believe that you need to differentiate yourself from other candidates with a similar background. That means that a good GMAT score is indeed necessary. A 710- 720 (your goal) would certainly qualify for that. As to whether you ...”
September 6, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How do I handle abstract language? in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This is a great question that you ask. The point is to simplify the process instead of making it more complicated. One of the easiest ways to simplify is to focus on what you do know. You have stated, You have forgotten a couple of other things that can make this process less ...”
September 6, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Brutal SC #15 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi jangojess, We can eliminate the answers with "has" in them (B and D) because we need the past tense of the verb. Schliemann determined at the age of seven to find the site of ancient Troy and devoted his subsequent career to do it/to such an end/to that end. We can eliminate ...”
September 5, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Legal limits in the Sentence Correction forum
“I should also add that we have a free video that explains relative clauses and "that" versus "which" - check it out: http://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-sentence-correction?id=1165 I know this will help!”
September 5, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Guidebook writer in the Critical Reasoning forum
“I see... That is a big assumption though isn''t it? That hotel guests using a place would lead to the idea that the carpentry is bad? I mean I am no "guide book writer" but I think that when I rated the carpentry it would be the quality of the cuts made, how everything lined up, whether ...”
September 5, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Alligator in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi j_shreyans, The correct answer is B. Let''s look at the answers in detail, given that we''re looking for something to support the the idea that relocating alligators will reduce the number of attacks on humans. A) Alligators prefer humans to other food sources. Eliminate A. This answer ...”
September 4, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to digital cameras and cellular phones in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi nahid078, The correct answer is E. Most students will correctly eliminate A, B and D because of misplaced words and other egregious sentence structure problems. That leaves C and E to closely examine. C) Portable devices used for personal audio entertainment, such as digital cameras and ...”
September 4, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Guidebook writer in the Critical Reasoning forum
“prudhviram - You said that option B - although clearly not the correct answer - seems to weaken the argument a bit and you went on to explain: Do you see how many assumptions you are making here? You are assuming that larger projects mean more carpenters (a logical assumption) and that ...”
September 4, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to HELP!! in the Critical Reasoning forum
“j_sheryans - Here are two postings that I have written that will help you with these subjects: Most useful to know in order to EVALUATE: http://www.beatthegmat.com/evaluate-what-does-the-test-want-t72335.html Assumption questions: ...”
September 4, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to BasketBall in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This is a strengthen question. We want to say that even though Smith made 80% of his shots (an exceptionally high percentage) that this does not mean he is a great shooter. Instead it is because he took most shots from close to the basket while the best shooters take shots from 20 feet away or ...”
September 4, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Allowences in the Critical Reasoning forum
“The answer is B. What we need to know is if the parents are using the same standard for what is frivolous. If they are using the same standard than this seems like a pretty good argument. However, if they are not using the same standard then the difference may not be in what the children spend ...”
September 4, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Horses have a unique system in the Sentence Correction forum
“In English, we use "in which" to mean "where," but sometimes the "where'' is used colloquially, not to mean a specific geographic place or location. Here is a simplified version of the sentence to make the point: The legs serve as a sling in which the body weight is ...”
September 3, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Legal limits in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi All, The correct answer is C. It looks like everybody was able to eliminate answer choices B, D and E, so let''s look more closely at A and C. A. There are no legal limits, as there are for cod and haddock, on the size of monkfish that can be caught, a circumstance that contributes to their ...”
September 3, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Discovery in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi j_shreyans, The correct answer is C. Let''s look at the other answer choices to see why they are incorrect. A) his discovering of methane gas, Alessandro Volta, the Italian physicist, had developed what would become known as the voltaic pile, the first electric battery Incorrect. The ...”
September 3, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Manhattan Gmat Interact vs The Econmist GMAT Tutor in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, so different courses will suit different people. I would recommend taking a practice test to see how close you are to your goal score and where you need improvement. For example, you may be very close to your goal score in verbal, but still need a ...”
September 3, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Q20 - SC Test 4 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi garson0in, "Was" in answer C matches "failed" (both verbs need to be in the past tense). Also, "was" is the singular past tense of the verb, which we need rather than "were" (because Chester A. Arthur is singular). Answer E is overly long and awkward. ...”
September 2, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Please help? can 55% be "very likely" in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi disneylover2014, "Very likely" might stretch the definition of 55% ("more likely" would be better). However, the other answers can be eliminated with better reasons.”
September 2, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Horses have a unique system in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi Md Raihan Uddin, The correct answer is E. Let''s look at each of the other answer choices to see what is wrong with them. a) legs, serving as a kind of sling in which, with their body weight suspended and the muscles in their limbs completely relaxed, the result is "in which... the ...”
September 1, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to A local school board has passed a measure requiring principa in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi aditya8062, Good work eliminating answer choices A, C and E - which all are missing the necessary "to" before the verb "provide." WIth respect to choosing between B and D, notice that answer B''s "so as to" is unclear about who is improving the quality of their ...”
September 1, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to 5 months till test, when is a good time to start studying? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hi James, If you are planning for a 700+ score, I would recommend taking the course earlier and then having time at the end to work out the final kinks and improve on your weak areas. I think a lot of people will be starting the course having not studied at all and you can review topics as you ...”
September 1, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Anti-poverty initiatives have in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi again aditya8062, The definite article for both singular and plural nouns, is "the." We use the definite article to indicate specific nouns (a person, place or thing), rather than general ones. For example: The cattle know the safest way home to their barn. The sentence above ...”
August 31, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Exam Pack-1 Test 4 SC in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi Md Raihan Uddin, The correct answer is D. Let''s take a look at the various problems with the other answers. A. Imported into Massachusetts from Europe in 1869, the gypsy moth was used by a French scientist in an attempt at developing a strong strain of silk-producing insects, crossing ...”
August 31, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Anti-poverty initiatives have in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi aditya8062, Good for you, eliminating A because of the wrong use of "little skills" - you are correct, because "few" should be used instead of "little" when modifying countable items. The point is that the workers do not have many skills, rather than the skills ...”
August 31, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to FUNBOYS! - sentence structure in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi Michaeliu, The short answer is sure, you can use the conjunction "and" to connect those two parts of the sentence. The longer answer is that your example breaks the rule of parallelism, by which I mean that "whose parents are out of town and his grandparents are staying with ...”
August 30, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to SC in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi anksm22, There are two main parts (independent clauses) in this complex sentence, the first of which contains three main ideas, and the second of which contains two main ideas. The first part of the sentence contains Barry Manilow''s real name, his age, and lists a number of musicians he ...”
August 30, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to OG 10 SC in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi prachi18oct, Answer B is correct. From your post, it sounds like you eliminated B (and A) because of the adverb "mysteriously," which describes how the pearls move from one necklace to another. In fact, it''s a perfectly correct use of the adverb. In any case, all of the answers ...”
August 29, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to OG13 Practice Questions - Overall Performance in the Sentence Correction forum
“¡Hola Fernando! Don''t worry. It''s common to see some performance drop at this time in your studies. I have two suggestions. First, move on to another aspect of your GMAT preparation and come back to sentence correction later. Give yourself some headspace to build your confidence back. ...”
August 28, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Kaplan-800 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi anksm22, The correct answer to this question is indeed C, because it demonstrates correct parallelism, and the correct coordinating conjunction. With respect to parallelism, the sentence states that the traders do X, but that they not do Y. Only answers C and D have "that" in the ...”
August 28, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Diagnostic Test - Below Average results in all sections in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Ho Gauri You said that you can dedicate 6 hours of studying per day. Would that be on top of working or are you taking time off to study? If you are taking time off, then 60 days might be enough for you as you can concentrate solely on the GMAT, however if you are working full time it might be ...”
August 28, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to Getting ready for my first GMAT test in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I agree with Rich. It is important to start of by taking a practice test, because then you can gauge where you are and plan your study accordingly. GMAC, the official test makers, provide you with 2 free practice tests when you download their GMAT Prep software. I would recommend starting there. ...”
August 28, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to which online gmat course to take in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I agree with the other posts that it is important to first take a practice test to see how close you are to your target score. You might be closer than you think, especially if you have a strong math or grammar background. If this is the case you might only need part of a course (ie just verbal or ...”
August 28, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to GMAT 770- My study schedule in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Yes, sorry for the confusion. The numbers (1-4, etc) means chapters. Because I had taken the LSAT previously which has a critical reasoning and reading comp section, I only skimmed the chapters for the RC and CR guides, but did all the practice problems. For the other guides, I read the chapters ...”
August 28, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Self Stufy or take the course? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“The reason to take a GMAT course - particularly on the verbal side of the equation - is not really for tips and tricks. It is much more fundamental than that. While on the Quantitative side of things there are particular shortcuts for various problem types - such as weighted average problems - on ...”
August 27, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Aiming for 740 - Strategy and books required?? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Have you taken that first practice test? I echo what Rich says about taking the GMATPrep - just use one of the two free practice tests it will give you an indication of where you stand and if you do end up studying for several months you can retake that test since you will have forgotten the ...”
August 27, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to GMAT Prep : Anthropologists studying the Hopi in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Hi sanjoy18, Answer A cannot be correct, because it contradicts information presented in the passage. In the first sentence we are told that Hopi society between 1680 and 1880 went through "a period of diminution in population." Earlier in the same sentence the Hopi society is ...”
August 27, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Serious RC Problems in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Hi bruinbear, You''re obviously smart and capable. Normally those are stellar adjectives, but sometimes they can lead to less than success, as you''re discovering with reading comprehension problems. It''s easy to overthink them, and to follow the white rabbit down the logic hole. The best ...”
August 27, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Psychoanalytic theory in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi greenwich, The correct answer is D. Let''s look at all the answers: (A) Changes in the patient''s anxiety level during therapy can generally be used as an accurate measure of the extent to which the patient is becoming conscious of previously repressed beliefs. Incorrect. At first ...”
August 27, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to SO vs SUCH "You have so beautiful features" in the Sentence Correction forum
“You''re making me dig deep, RS1. :) We usually use "so" with an adjective and "such" or "such a" with an adjective and noun. I say "usually" just in case somebody really clever thinks up an example that counters the rule - there are always cases like ...”
August 27, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to object of preposition in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi sukkhi, The noun preposition noun construction ("danger of extinction") is awkward, but it is probably only technically incorrect if "danger of extinction" is treated as a really big noun, like "House of Horror" or "Temple of Doom." In sentence A I think ...”
August 26, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Proton X-Ray DOUBT in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi qwerty12321, The quick answer is YES, a technique can analyze something. A clue that this issue - whether or not it is the technique doing the analysis, or the people using the technique to do the analysis - is not an issue to rule out any of the possible answer choices, is that ALL of the ...”
August 26, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to object of preposition in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi sukkhi, I agree with you, B sounds good. "Becoming" in sentence B is a linking verb (sometimes called a copular verb). Linking verbs show a relationship between the subject (species X, in your example) and the sentence complement, the part of the sentence following the verb ...”
August 26, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Sentence Correction in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi nishith17, Good work noticing those two words, because "extending" and "extended" do suggest different meanings. Specifically, "extending" suggests that the highway itself is long enough to extend across the required 2,500 miles of South America. On the other ...”
August 26, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to SO vs SUCH "You have so beautiful features" in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi RS1, This is a really good question! "So" is actually a coordinating conjunction, often used with adjectives to show extremes, and with adverbs to show extreme actions. For example: Breakfast was so good! <--- "so" is used with the adjective "good," which ...”
August 26, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Assumption in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi prateek9567, Answer E is correct because it helps "fix" a potential problem with the conclusion. What I mean by "fix" is the assumption upon which the conclusion of the passage is based. The potential problem is the unsubstantiated idea that "best-selling" is the ...”
August 25, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to CR Practice Material in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi ABONAROLL, GMAT Prep Now''s founder, Brent Hanneson, wrote an article about writing practice tests multiple times that you may find interesting. You can access the link to the article “Taking the GMATPrep Practice Tests Multiple Times” from here http://www.gmatprepnow.com/faqs#faq022 ...”
August 25, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Pronoun Antecedents in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi qwerty12321, Sort of. :) A pronoun like "which" must agree with its antecedent (the noun or pronoun preceding it) in three ways: Person - the quality of being. Number - the quality that distinguishes between singular and plural. Gender - the quality that distinguishes between ...”
August 24, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to GPREP SC- 19 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi again abhasjha, I think we''re saying the same thing. :) Answer E demonstrates correct parallelism in comparing X and Y. We need both the "as" and the "for" in the sentence structure to do that. Here is answer E again: E) as well known for her eccentric personality as ...”
August 24, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Tobacco Advertising in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi greenwich, The question asks for the statement that is the most reliable conclusion from the information. On the GMAT there is only ONE correct answer to each question, but that does not mean there are no "kind of right" answers. In essence, we are asked to compare each of the ...”
August 23, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to GPREP SC- 30 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi abhasjha, The correct answer is C. Let''s take a quick look at all the answers to see what is wrong with the incorrect ones: (A) As it is with traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successful Incorrect. What does "it" refer to? We''re not sure ...”
August 23, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Traditionally, candidates for elected offices - CR Inference in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi parul1591, In real life we are used to reading or hearing news stories in which election poll results are reported. The fact that it is news stories that carry poll results information has conditioned us to believe that the poll results are correct, true, verifiable, trustworthy, and ACCURATE. ...”
August 22, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Discolored varnsish- Mona Lisa in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi qwerty12321, This is a classic conditional sentence with the "if clause" at the beginning. It has the following format: the "if clause" in the simple present, and the main clause containing will-future infinitive. Here is a simple example of this kind of sentence: If I ...”
August 22, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Nothing quite like this Broadway in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi aditya8062 You are right about the use of the present perfect tense when referring to an indefinite time in the past. However, there is another rule about indefinite times that says the PAST PERFECT is to be used when two events happened at some point in the past, with one past action having ...”
August 22, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Sentence Correction in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi RiyaR, Answer C is almost correct! Of course, almost correct is the same as NOT correct. But you''re on the right track in narrowing down the correct answer by eliminating the incorrect ones (A, D and E). Let''s look at the two remaining answers. The difference between B and C is the placement ...”
August 21, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Market Analyst: Recent research confirms that the main cause in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi again francoimps, I think you''re over-analyzing the latter half of the passage, specifically the "becomes more widely known" portion. :) The reason I say that is because the "becomes more widely known" portion of the passage is not the flaw in the argument; that is ...”
August 21, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Market Analyst: Recent research confirms that the main cause in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi francoimps, The flaw in the argument hinges on a implied causal relationship between people knowing certain information, and changing their behaviour. Specifically, the argument is that if people know that tongue scraping is a good way to eliminate bad breath, they will stop purchasing other ...”
August 20, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to GPREP SC- 19 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi abhasjha, This is a handy GMAT question to come across because three of the answers can be eliminated immediately. The answers to eliminate are the ones that do not include "as" at the beginning of the phrase. "As" is required because in order to be correct the passage must ...”
August 20, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to GMAT 770- My study schedule in the GMAT Strategy forum
“For the first month of that schedule, I studied an average of about 3 hours per day, 5 days a week. During the final month I took time off work and studied about 6-8 hours a day 6 days a week”
August 19, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT prep with veritas in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Different people perform differently on the various practice tests. The Veritas exam is based on real student responses and is one of the most realistic practice tests. However, I do like to know how my students have done on the GMATPrep official practice tests from MBA.com. Those are the ones ...”
August 16, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to gprep SC-1 in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi abhasjha, The correct answer is C. It is concise, shows correct modification, and shows correct parallelism. The other answers have errors; let''s look at them in detail: A. When working with overseas clients, an understanding of cultural norms is at least as important as grasping the ...”
August 15, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to To Josephine Baker, Paris was her home long before in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi chetan86, You are right, the correct answer is D. And you are also right that, at first glance, there seems to be something a little weird with that answer: what does "it" refer to? It looks weird because, as a general rule, "it" is a pronoun, and pronouns refer to other ...”
August 15, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a new topic called GMAT 770- My study schedule in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hey Guys! I already posted about how I beat the GMAT here, but I just found my study schedule for my last two months of study and thought I would share in case anyone found it helpful. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.”
August 15, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to 770 (IR-8, AWA-5)--How I beat the GMAT! in the I just Beat The GMAT! forum
“Thanks so much!!”
August 15, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to GPrep CR ques in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi AnuragRatna, Let me help you with the first question, about Egyptian bread. The passage presents a relationship between two things: the Egyptians'' discovery of leavened bread, and the introduction of a new kind of wheat. The first half of the passage suggests that the yeasts required to ...”
August 14, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Past Perfect Tense in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi tanvis1120, You are quite correct, the past perfect verb tense is used to denote an event that occurred before another event, some time in the past. In fact, there are two major uses of the past perfect verb tense. First, as noted, the past perfect expresses the idea that something ...”
August 14, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a reply to IMP: Information Needed..More Practice !!!! in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Hey Tanvis1120. I personally used the MGMAT strategy guides to study and found them very useful. The SC correction guide, in particular helped me a lot! As for the CR I thought it was good too, but I only skimmed it because I had already taken the LSAT, which also has a CR section.”
August 14, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Explanation Request in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi tanvis1120, The argument in this passage is related to a plan, specifically that the government''s plan to produce information cards will result in angler''s reporting any ruffe they catch (so the government can track the ruffe''s spread). The assumption is what must be true for the ...”
August 13, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT Retake - AWA and IR in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Confused13 - Rich has said it. There is such a thing as pulling back and not shooting for a perfect 6.0 and 8.0, but you do need to do the work. And I am not sure that it benefits you to skip these things anyway. They can provide a nice warm up. This is just an anecdote but once when I took ...”
August 12, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Parallelism- Usage of that in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi qwerty12321, Yes, we need to keep the second "that" because of parallelism. Even though the sentence is a long one, and it seems like better writing to remove any unnecessary elements (it IS better writing to remove any unnecessary elements!), the second "that" is ...”
August 12, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How to study in one hour per day? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“If you have just one hour per day you need to get the most from that hour. You need to turn off the phone, lock the front door, and focus strictly on the task at hand. One hour of focused study is worth 2+ hours of distracted studying. Now you will need to have your one hour be very targeted. ...”
August 12, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas CAT in the GMAT Strategy forum
“Wow! Those are some great scores. It looks like the Veritas scores are consistent with what you are seeing on the GMATPrep. 750 is the 98th percentile on GMATPrep and then the 99th percentile on the Veritas exam. My bet is on you scoring at least a 750 on test day if you can carry this through. ...”
August 12, 2014
BestGMATEliza posted a new topic called How to get started with GMAT Prep in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I see a lot of posts on here about how to get started or what are the best courses, etc, so I wanted to write about what I think the best way to get started is. I think the first step to GMAT studying, even before you start looking at course and tutoring options, is assessing your needs. Only ...”
August 12, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Pronouns after comma in the Sentence Correction forum
“Dear Uva, Your initial question was about the placement of commas and pronouns - specifically whether or not the pronoun after the comma always refers to the noun just before comma. It''s a good question in light of the sentence you want to correct: "We finally chose the coffee table ...”
August 11, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to MGMAT Parallelism in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi Uva, The bare infinitive form is used in more than just "rather than" comparison sentences - but this is a common example of it used on GMAT questions. Here are few other cases where the bare infinitive form is used: First, with the word "why." Example: "Why yell at ...”
August 11, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to A pioneer journalist, Nellie Bly's exploits in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi chetan86, Answer B contains the descriptive phrase "a pioneer journalist," offset from the rest of the sentence by commas. If you remove the phrase, you have a little less information, but you still have a correct sentence: "The exploits of Nellie Bly included circling the ...”
August 10, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to SC doubt in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi Nijo, The correct answer is E. Answer A makes the sentence non-sensical, because is is impossible that Joan would attend so many meetings and review so many applications as a former (i.e. no longer participating) chair and board member. She can''t both participate and no longer participate ...”
August 10, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to MGMAT Parallelism in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi Uva, A is correct. In sentences where "rather than" is used to compare two different actions, it us usually followed by the bare infinitive form of the verb. The bare infinitive form is the infinitive form of the verb, without "to" in front of it. For example, ...”
August 10, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Can a noun have two modifiers, both preceding and succeding in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi gauravprashar17, You bring up a good question. The reason that "India" is singular in "India is one of the five nations in the BRIC" is that it is referring to the country, which is singular. There is one country, India. If we refer to the people of that country, ...”
August 9, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Assumption in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Hi prateek9567, Answer C contains a double-negative: There is no reason to believe that the leak-preventing technology would be ineffective when installed in the pipeline in Lake Konfa. Another way to express answer C without changing it''s meaning is to remove both of the negatives: ...”
August 8, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Can a noun have two modifiers, both preceding and succeding in the Sentence Correction forum
“I''ve reviewed Mitch''s post and I think he is right, in this case "the Oneida" is employed as a plural subject. Thanks for your perspective, Mitch, much appreciated!”
August 8, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to GMAT SC Parallelism in the Sentence Correction forum
“Hi qwerty12321, Yes! In the sentence you cited, the adjective "beautiful" refers to both the house and the kitchen. They have a beautiful house and kitchen. The reason this is technically correct is that the adjective is referring to a pair of things: the house and the kitchen. ...”
August 8, 2014
David@GMATPrepNow posted a reply to Can a noun have two modifiers, both preceding and succeding in the Sentence Correction forum
“You''re right, bubbliiiiiiii. "Who" refers to the Oneida, which is the name of a group of people - a North American Indian tribe. The short answer to your question is YES, "who" can be used when referring to a group. In fact, if the group is a group of people, and the context ...”
August 8, 2014
David@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What to do if one falls behind by say, 10 minutes?? in the GMAT Strategy forum
“I assume you are speaking of the Quant section so that is the section I will address. If this is a practice test, take note of how you fell behind so that you can avoid doing this on the real exam. On the official exam the key is not to panic. You may not actually be behind. I once appeared ...”
August 8, 2014