GMAT Strategy

Hi All,

I kicked off my prep for GMAT with Kaplan Diagnostic CAT 1. My overall performance was decent - 740. QA -51, VA -33. VA has always been my nemesis - this is my 2nd attempt at GMAT ( First Attempt was in 2012 in which I scored 48 on QA and 33 on VA). Analysis of VA revealed I could get only 4 correct out of 14 RC questions.The order of my strength in VA would be CR>SC>RC. How should I approach the verbal section overall and RC specifically. Books I have -Manhattan RC Strategy guide, Manhattan Sentence Correction and Powerscore Critical Reasoning. Would like to hear opinions on the approach I should take to make a significant improvement here.

Thanks.

Hi Rich

Thanks for the response. To answer your questions:
1) I rechecked my diagnostic test scores. Its indeed what I mentioned earlier - QA -51 VA- 33 OA -740.
2) I took IR section as well scoring 7 but did not take the AWA section. How much of a drop should I expect in the scores if I were to factor in missing the AWA section.
3)Official GMAT break up - AWA - 5.5 QA -48 VA - 33 OA - 670. In the run up to the GMAT I had done decently on the practice tests scoring in the range of 700-730 and the official GMAT was my worst performance of all.
4) I have Kaplan GMAT Premier Online 2014.

I do have GMAC 12th Official Guide from my previous GMAT attempt. Do you recommend having the 13th edition as a must?

I am planning to take the official GMAT in August 2014 giving myself 3 months prep time - 2 hours on weekdays and 4-5 hours on weekends. I am reasonably confident of my QA abilities but pretty circumspect when it comes to VA. Hence looking for assistance from experts like you.

Thanks
Pratyush

Thanks again Rich. I will get in touch with Kaplan and figure out the discrepancy. Totally agree with your point about endurance being a factor when you take the full test including the AWA and IR sections. I would make sure that when I am appearing for my upcoming mocks I take the entire test and simulate the test environment to the maximum possible extent.

When I took the practice CATs last time I did make the mistake of not taking the full length test (skipping AWA - IR was not included as a section then) apart from the two official GMAC practice tests that I took right before the actual GMAT. Although I had obtained 720 each on those I believe I was still not properly conditioned enough to replicate my performance on the final day. So this time round I would make it more of a habit to take the entire test without skipping any section.

I have plans of buying the Quant and Verbal official guides so I believe that should give me more practice questions and prep me up better for the final day.

As part of the strategy I am planning to brush up the quant fundamentals early and keep doing 5-10 practice questions everyday so that I dont lose touch. For Verbal I am planning to devote the majority of my daily time - forming a sound knowledge base first, taking notes and then practising as many questions as I can. I am planning to get started with RC first since that's my weakest spot. Often I find myself lost in the passage - not able to connect the small pieces together to comprehend the bigger picture which obviously causes the problem in getting to the correct answer. So I am looking forward to understanding the key principles of attacking any RC passage and read as many passages as I can. What approach do you suggest I should take here - writing a summary/understanding the author's tone/ etc?

I wasn't enrolled in a course in the first go and plan to keep the same strategy even this time around. Just looking to gather as much help as I can from this forum and work towards implementing my plan in a disciplined manner. I hope that should be alright.

Thanks again
Pratyush

Thanks for sharing the resources Brent. I definitely believe engagement is indeed the first requisite to understanding what is being said. Every time I come across an RC passage I been trying to impress upon the fact that there is something new to be learnt from the reading especially if it's an alien topic. Let me go through the videos and I would get back to you for any clarifications. Thanks again for sharing.

Pratyush

Hi Rich/Brent/Others,

I am about 20 days from my actual GMAT. Since my last update here I have been following the rough outline of the plan I mentioned. My practice scores in VA have improved from 33/34 to 39 in the last couple of tests. However I would really want the score on the final day to be anything above the 40 mark. Would you guys be able to recommend something specific to push my VA score a notch or two higher.

To give you some details here - I have given 4 MGMAT, 3 Kaplan and 1 GMAT Prep tests. Following is the break-up of my scores.
GMAT Diagnostic - Kaplan 20th April QA -51 VA -33 AWA - not taken IR -7
GMAT CAT2 - Kaplan 14th June QA -51 VA -34 AWA - taken IR -7
GMAT CAT3 - Kaplan 21st June QA -51 VA -34 AWA - taken IR -8
GMATPrep Exam 1 GMAC 28th June QA -50 VA -36 AWA - taken IR -8
GMAT CAT1 MGMAT 5th July QA -50 VA -34 AWA - taken IR -7
GMAT CAT2 MGMAT 6th July QA -50 VA -39 AWA - taken IR -6
GMAT CAT3 MGMAT 12th July QA -50 VA -36 AWA - taken IR -6
GMAT CAT4 MGMAT 13th July QA -51 VA -39 AWA - taken IR -7

Specific to VA I have been doing better in RC and SC as compared to CR. I have prepared/practised from MGMAT SC, MGMAT RC, Powerscore CR, OG -12th Edition, OG-VA 2nd edition and have been taking Veritas prep questions banks as well. Of late my general accuracy in RC and SC is close to 75% and CR hovers between 50-70%. What do you think should I do to push my scores in excess of 40 now that I have around 20 days left. I have brushed up my CR and SC fundamentals again and am planning to redo OG. Also I would take short tests on a daily basis.
In terms of test resources I have 2 Kaplan and MGMAT tests each remaining in addition to 1 GMAT Prep test. Would you recommend adding 2 more GMAT Prep tests and additional Prep pack questions too?. I would be off work for around 7 days prior to my GMAT and should have sufficient time to finish off the additional 2 tests and Prep questions.

Thanks
Pratyush

Thanks a lot for your insight Rich. I will go back to the previous tests and take those again. You are right it does make sense to have a greater focus on quality. The reason I wanted to write more CATs was to make myself more at ease during the last 15-20 minutes where I have observed that I do start tiring and losing focus a little bit.


thanks
Pratyush

For CR, I really recommend adjusting your strategy based on the Question-type you're looking at. For example, we'd approach a "Paradox" and a "Bolded Statement" question in two VERY DIFFERENT ways:

GMAT "Bolded Statement" (or "Boldface") questions ask about the structure of a Critical Reasoning passage. We'd ideally follow a strategy like this:

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 fundamentals in Critical Reasoning! If you need to go back to previous chapters and practice identifying evidence, assumptions, and conclusions, it would be best to do that before attempting these Bold Face questions.

Step 2 - Recognize the Question Stem

Bolded statement questions are the most easily recognizable Critical Reasoning question-type because have at least one and sometimes two bolded phrases or sentences. The question-stems usually take one of two forms:
"¢ In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
"¢ The first boldface statement has what relationship to the second boldface statement?

Step 3 - Use Symbols to Break Down the Argument

Since we don't have to summarize what the argument is actually saying, we only need to focus on the argument's structure. Identify whether each sentence or clause is a piece of evidence, a conclusion, or a stated assumption using these pre-determined set of symbols. They will help you move through the passage quickly and efficiently:

MC = Main Conclusion (the author's argument or position)

OC = Opposing Conclusion (an argument in opposition to the main conclusion)

F = Fact (basic given information, backstory, premise, etc.)

A = Stated Assumption (think of this as part of the passage that "links" given facts/evidence to stated
conclusions)

E (+) MC = Evidence Supporting Main Conclusion (this is what the author cites to support his conclusion)

E (+) OC = Evidence Supporting Opposing Conclusion (this is evidence that is cited in support of the

Whereas in order to "resolve" a GMAT paradox question, you must choose the answer that best explains how both facts could be true. An incorrect answer for a "Resolve a Paradox" question will often contradict one of the two facts or introduce completely irrelevant information.

Because it's an entirely different question-type, our approach should be entirely different:

Step 1 - Identify the Question-Type. Reading the question-stem, it should be fairly obvious when you're looking at a paradox question.

Step 2 - Bullet-point the Paradoxical Facts. There might be more than two pieces of evidence in the passage, but there will only be two contradictory facts that need resolving. Identify what those are, then write them on your scratch pad in shorthand. It will help you visualize the paradox, and come up with your own ideas for how it can be resolved.

Step 3 - Write Down a Prediction. Just like you must do with most other Critical Reasoning question-types, come up with your own pre-phrased answer BEFORE looking at the answer choices. The correct answer may not be an exact match, but you'll recognize it faster if you're spent a few seconds anticipating what it should look like.

Step 4 - Analyze the Answer Choices. For each choice, ask yourself: does this explain how both facts are true? Only one choice will answer "yes" to that question! Remember, if a choice merely explains one of the facts, it is not the correct answer.

Hope that makes sense -- I think you should list ALL the CR question-types and get really clear with yourself HOW you're approaching each one. What does the correct answer for that question-type typically "look" like?

Hi Rich/Brent/Vivian/others,

My GMAT is on 2nd August. I am mostly done with all my prep and just finished my GMAT Prep Exam 2. I scored a 750 (QA- 50 VA -41). I have scored pretty much around 730-750 on my last few MGMATs. I have given 4 CATs over the past 2 weeks and was thinking should I do a couple more of the official tests just to keep myself conditioned for the final day. As mentioned earlier my scoring has been consistent in the range of 730-750 and timing is not a big concern as such. Is it a good idea to go ahead with buying Exam Pack 1 and take those tests or maybe reset the two exams I have now to take 1 more or just relax for the 4 days, revise a bit and mentally prepare for the occasion. Please advise.

thanks,
Pratyush