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picking the right books

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picking the right books

by Gnans » Tue Nov 02, 2010 3:20 am
Hi BeattheGMAT members,

I'm new to the BeattheGMAT forum. I have an experience of 4+ years. I wish to give the GMAT test after a solif preparation, so, no hurries for me.

Happily I kicked the preparation off. But, I'm stuck with picking the right books. I would like to absorb the core concepts before taking a blind attempt at questions. I see most of the pages in the popular GMAT books are dedicated to questions rather than explaining the core concepts & tips/strategies. Or, I may be wrong. So, if you any idea, kindly guide me with the books explores the basic fundas comprehensively in quans & english verbal, relating to GMAT test.

Or, if you feel, there are specialized books dedicated to each section of GMAT exam like PS, DS, SC, CR & RC, you shall offer me in that line.

Thanks
Gnans
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by kvcpk » Tue Nov 02, 2010 1:12 pm
Hi Gnans,

I have not used many materials for Quant. But I heard good reviews regarding the MGMAT qunat books. So you can go through them for PS and DS.

After Lot of analysis, I recommend the following for Verbal:
CR - Powerscore for theory and Veritas Prep for practice problems.
There are certain standard patterns found normally. Once you practice these patterns, the hit ratio increases.

RC - Veritas Prep book is good for theory and practice. You can try your hand on some LSAT passages also for more practice.
Only trick here is : PRACTICE. some of the CR approaches will help here. You can watch a couple of the Thursdays with Ron videos which discuss the main point and purpose questions. these will help.

Next comes the tricky section: SC

Reason I say its tricky is because, it takes constant & continuous practice to master. and once mastered, it can turn out to be easily high scoring section. If you dont master it, no matter how many tests we take, we cant find distinct improvement.

I started with some notes on Web and forums. As adviced by many, I bought the Manhattan GMAT SC book. This book is a very good one. But, I dont think it addresses naive readers precisely. I had troubles going through it because, loads of information is presented, leaving less scope to hold anything at the back of mind. I felt happy when I read the book. But I was unable to apply my learning at the right place. I think this is the exact point where MGMAT SC fails to make presence.

Then I was adviced by a fellow BTG member (gmatmachoman) to join e-GMAT.com
I joined for free and had a look at the free preview files. I was very much impressed by the illustrative way of learning with flash presentations all through the course. I was able to retain much information because the course is illustrative style. I was amazed to find all the concepts that I learnt till then in a single place. It took me 3 months to prepare some notes and I found all of it right there. So, without wasting much time I got the full access to the course.

Here is my analysis. The main Plus points of E-Gmat course:
1. The course provides a standard process to approach SC questions. I couldnt find such comprehensive approach in any other materials.
2. Amazingly quick responses to queries. There is a questions section for each of the subject modules. We can post the queries there. I posted around 20 till now, and for all of them I got response under 12 hours. I wonder in what timezone e-gmat works.
3. There are a set of application files which can be used for non-timed practice. these have a detailed explanation of the approach that needs to be followed to attack SC.
4. There is a set of 200+ questions for timed practice. All new & fresh questions. Highly recommended for practice.
5. Concept Map - which shows the list of concepts you have mastered and which are yet to be mastered.
6. Very Crisp videos without loading too much information. Easy to access user interface.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need further information.

Cheers!!
"Once you start working on something,
don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it.
People who work sincerely are the happiest."
Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275BC)
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by Gnans » Tue Nov 02, 2010 7:54 pm
kvcpk wrote:Hi Gnans,

I have not used many materials for Quant. But I heard good reviews regarding the MGMAT qunat books. So you can go through them for PS and DS.

After Lot of analysis, I recommend the following for Verbal:
CR - Powerscore for theory and Veritas Prep for practice problems.
There are certain standard patterns found normally. Once you practice these patterns, the hit ratio increases.

RC - Veritas Prep book is good for theory and practice. You can try your hand on some LSAT passages also for more practice.
Only trick here is : PRACTICE. some of the CR approaches will help here. You can watch a couple of the Thursdays with Ron videos which discuss the main point and purpose questions. these will help.

Next comes the tricky section: SC

Reason I say its tricky is because, it takes constant & continuous practice to master. and once mastered, it can turn out to be easily high scoring section. If you dont master it, no matter how many tests we take, we cant find distinct improvement.

I started with some notes on Web and forums. As adviced by many, I bought the Manhattan GMAT SC book. This book is a very good one. But, I dont think it addresses naive readers precisely. I had troubles going through it because, loads of information is presented, leaving less scope to hold anything at the back of mind. I felt happy when I read the book. But I was unable to apply my learning at the right place. I think this is the exact point where MGMAT SC fails to make presence.

Then I was adviced by a fellow BTG member (gmatmachoman) to join e-GMAT.com
I joined for free and had a look at the free preview files. I was very much impressed by the illustrative way of learning with flash presentations all through the course. I was able to retain much information because the course is illustrative style. I was amazed to find all the concepts that I learnt till then in a single place. It took me 3 months to prepare some notes and I found all of it right there. So, without wasting much time I got the full access to the course.

Here is my analysis. The main Plus points of E-Gmat course:
1. The course provides a standard process to approach SC questions. I couldnt find such comprehensive approach in any other materials.
2. Amazingly quick responses to queries. There is a questions section for each of the subject modules. We can post the queries there. I posted around 20 till now, and for all of them I got response under 12 hours. I wonder in what timezone e-gmat works.
3. There are a set of application files which can be used for non-timed practice. these have a detailed explanation of the approach that needs to be followed to attack SC.
4. There is a set of 200+ questions for timed practice. All new & fresh questions. Highly recommended for practice.
5. Concept Map - which shows the list of concepts you have mastered and which are yet to be mastered.
6. Very Crisp videos without loading too much information. Easy to access user interface.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need further information.

Cheers!!
Hi KVCPK,

Thanks for your detailed response.

Yes, as you said, PRACTICE is the keyword here. I shall lookout for the resources you said here and let me see my progress.

Thanks for your neat guidance.

--Gnans--
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