GMAT Strategy

I gave my first practice exam few days back and scored 610 (Q48 & V27). I am hugely disappointed with my verbal score especially when I did pretty good in practice questions from different materials.

As I know, being non-native speaker, that Verbal is my week area since Day-one, I was really not much bothered about taking practice tests, and finally I took it just one week before my scheduled date (I was able to squeeze just 3 week of preparation time from my tight travelling consulting job schedule. Two weeks for preparation and one week for giving practice exams).

As my practice exam made me realized that I am not yet ready for exam, I postponed it to end of next month. I am very confident that I can easily push my Quant to another 3 points, I am now focusing more on my Verbal. I started going through OG guide and learning from each and every verbal question. I want to follow suggestions on this forum to take a practice exam atleast once a week. Lets see how it goes. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Aimhigh,

This is indeed a wise idea that you have rescheduled your exam date.To improve on your verbal section, besides going through OG guides, it would be best if you start reading articles, science journals , business tabloids and read them online and figure out for yourself if you can understand the language and the main idea present in the passage. This will not only improve your vocabulary but will also enhance your grasping power of the passages.Also there are idioms posted on this forum , do have a look at them too.

www.manyagroup.com

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 time.

2) Mastery of SC concepts. Time to sit down with the MGMAT SC book and do EVERY SC question in the OG. How well do you know how the more challenging concepts present themselves?

3) Regular CATs. Sounds like you studied a lot before you took your first CAT. Now that you're off to the races, I'd recommend you take 1 CAT a week and create a detailed Error Log after finishing. Create a schedule TODAY, either with a tutor or alone. And stick with it. Timing is very important.

4) Don't ignore RC. Summarization is NOT the key. Answer the questions and break down the STRUCTURE of the passage as you go. Don't obsess over the confusing details. Predict an answer as often as you can, and use process of elimination as you examine the answer choices. A high level of discernment on RC will lead to higher CR scores as well.

5) Know (REALLY know!) why you get questions wrong. Some students believe that more questions answered = better scores on the GMAT. Fundamentally, answered a ton of GMAT practice questions will only lead to faster pacing, but without solid strategies and disciplined reviewing, your overall score will not improve. Don't be a lazy reviewer!

6) Study in shorter blocks. Don't burn yourself out as you aim for better GMAT scores. It's better to study in shorter 2-3 blocks, taking frequent breaks to eat, stretch, and exercise, rather than to park yourself in front of your computer and books for 10 hours at a time.

You can find more free advice on my blog: https://gmatrockstar.com/blog/

Let me know if you have any questions!