Dear all,
Would just like to see what strategy everybody had for approaching an SC question.
I currently utilize a "list-check" approach and check the answers one by one e.g.
1. S-V agreement ok?
2. Parallel?
3. Pronoun reference correct?
4. Modifiers in position?
5. Tense correct?
6. Comparisons make sense?
After using this strategy for some questions I found that it really takes a lot of time and it may be inefficient since you might miss out an error and continue moving down.
Would anybody be kind enough to share their insights on what strategy to use?
Thanks
SC strategy and the approach
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- Bill@VeritasPrep
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I think using a checklist is a great way to start. It helps you get comfortable with the errors being tested, and it make sure that you're not missing anything.
As you said, it's fairly time-consuming. Your goal should be to get to the point where you know the common set-ups for different error types (misplaced modifier, tense error, etc.) so you can pick them out as you read the sentence without having to run through the list.
As you said, it's fairly time-consuming. Your goal should be to get to the point where you know the common set-ups for different error types (misplaced modifier, tense error, etc.) so you can pick them out as you read the sentence without having to run through the list.
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lkcr -
I prefer to do sentence correction based on a more fluid strategy. Basically you want to be looking for ways to eliminate answer choices. To do this you want to focus on the portion of the sentence that matters. You want to learn to quickly check modifiers to see of they are misplaced and then ignore them if they are not misplaced. You want to learn to recognize "decision points" - differences in the answer choices (say different forms of a verb) - and "decision makers" the portion of the sentence that will help you choose select the correct version of the decision point (in our example the subject of the sentence would be a decision-maker if it helped you choose the correct form of the verb).
Here are some postings are articles about sentence correction that may help you.
Sentence correction strategy: Think "Better" not "Best
https://www.beatthegmat.com/sentence-cor ... 69595.html
Watch out for Zombies in Sentence Correction
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/01/ ... correction
The Truth about Changing the Meaning in Sentence Correction
https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-truth-ab ... tml#342304
Split the Pair in Sentence Correction
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/04/ ... correction
A discussion of a Good Veritas Sentence Correction question
https://www.beatthegmat.com/unlike-water ... tml#323651
I prefer to do sentence correction based on a more fluid strategy. Basically you want to be looking for ways to eliminate answer choices. To do this you want to focus on the portion of the sentence that matters. You want to learn to quickly check modifiers to see of they are misplaced and then ignore them if they are not misplaced. You want to learn to recognize "decision points" - differences in the answer choices (say different forms of a verb) - and "decision makers" the portion of the sentence that will help you choose select the correct version of the decision point (in our example the subject of the sentence would be a decision-maker if it helped you choose the correct form of the verb).
Here are some postings are articles about sentence correction that may help you.
Sentence correction strategy: Think "Better" not "Best
https://www.beatthegmat.com/sentence-cor ... 69595.html
Watch out for Zombies in Sentence Correction
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/01/ ... correction
The Truth about Changing the Meaning in Sentence Correction
https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-truth-ab ... tml#342304
Split the Pair in Sentence Correction
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/04/ ... correction
A discussion of a Good Veritas Sentence Correction question
https://www.beatthegmat.com/unlike-water ... tml#323651
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- lunarpower
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i received a private message regarding this thread.
when it comes to discussing sentence correction strategy, the elephant in the room -- the thing that no one likes to talk about -- is the fact that you can't progress past a certain level in sentence correction without significant intuition.
in fact, this is one of the principal reasons why the test writers chose to include sentence correction, of all things, on a test for business-school applicants (who have no explicit need for the actual skill set required to solve SC problems). namely, any given sentence (except the simplest ones) has way too many moving parts to process entirely through rules and conscious thought processes. you can look consciously for the most major topics -- and thereby do decently well -- but you're not going to reach the highest levels without developing the right intuition.
as an analogy, think about listening to a symphony orchestra. if you are a conductor, you have to listen to the entire orchestra at the same time, and you have to detect mistakes. how do conductors do this? primarily through intuition -- no conductor will be able to consciously analyze the instruments one at a time, at the actual pace of a symphony piece. the conductor might be consciously listening to the most conspicuous instruments -- first violin, first cello, and/or whoever is playing a solo or cadenza -- but he or she clearly can't pay conscious attention to all of the instruments at once. that has to be done intuitively.
similarly, in sentence correction, the best you can do with conscious rules and thought processes is to pay attention to the few most significant "instruments". in that respect, your checklist is a pretty good start -- most things in your checklist do qualify as major topics. however, you've got to realize that this checklist is not the end goal; you should view it as an intermediate step in developing the right kind of intuition.
if you are studying to become a conductor, you have to study each instrument explicitly at some point -- but not with the end goal of continuing to think explicitly about that instrument. instead, the goal is to incorporate those thoughts, eventually, into an intuitive process that's more subconscious and fluid. (this is also the only real justification for spending more than a trivial amount of time studying, since all of the individual concepts are rather simple -- it's just integrating them into that intuition that takes time and experience.)
similarly, if you are studying to become a sentence correction expert, you do have to study the components explicitly -- but that's the starting point, not the point of mastery. mastery is what you have when you can notice things without explicitly having to look for them anymore.
--
in sum:
* your checklist is pretty good; these topics together should be able to knock out many, perhaps even most, of the problems you'll encounter.
* you're also correct that considering these topics individually, one by one, with explicit thinking, will eat up a lot of time.
the missing link is that that's a temporary state. if you feel yourself developing the right intuition, don't discard it in favor of continuing to use rules all the time.
when it comes to discussing sentence correction strategy, the elephant in the room -- the thing that no one likes to talk about -- is the fact that you can't progress past a certain level in sentence correction without significant intuition.
in fact, this is one of the principal reasons why the test writers chose to include sentence correction, of all things, on a test for business-school applicants (who have no explicit need for the actual skill set required to solve SC problems). namely, any given sentence (except the simplest ones) has way too many moving parts to process entirely through rules and conscious thought processes. you can look consciously for the most major topics -- and thereby do decently well -- but you're not going to reach the highest levels without developing the right intuition.
as an analogy, think about listening to a symphony orchestra. if you are a conductor, you have to listen to the entire orchestra at the same time, and you have to detect mistakes. how do conductors do this? primarily through intuition -- no conductor will be able to consciously analyze the instruments one at a time, at the actual pace of a symphony piece. the conductor might be consciously listening to the most conspicuous instruments -- first violin, first cello, and/or whoever is playing a solo or cadenza -- but he or she clearly can't pay conscious attention to all of the instruments at once. that has to be done intuitively.
similarly, in sentence correction, the best you can do with conscious rules and thought processes is to pay attention to the few most significant "instruments". in that respect, your checklist is a pretty good start -- most things in your checklist do qualify as major topics. however, you've got to realize that this checklist is not the end goal; you should view it as an intermediate step in developing the right kind of intuition.
if you are studying to become a conductor, you have to study each instrument explicitly at some point -- but not with the end goal of continuing to think explicitly about that instrument. instead, the goal is to incorporate those thoughts, eventually, into an intuitive process that's more subconscious and fluid. (this is also the only real justification for spending more than a trivial amount of time studying, since all of the individual concepts are rather simple -- it's just integrating them into that intuition that takes time and experience.)
similarly, if you are studying to become a sentence correction expert, you do have to study the components explicitly -- but that's the starting point, not the point of mastery. mastery is what you have when you can notice things without explicitly having to look for them anymore.
--
in sum:
* your checklist is pretty good; these topics together should be able to knock out many, perhaps even most, of the problems you'll encounter.
* you're also correct that considering these topics individually, one by one, with explicit thinking, will eat up a lot of time.
the missing link is that that's a temporary state. if you feel yourself developing the right intuition, don't discard it in favor of continuing to use rules all the time.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.
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Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi
--
Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
Yves Saint-Laurent
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Learn more about ron
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this is great! sometimes I felt good, but things went badly. many times I felt bad but things were on the right tract.lunarpower wrote: you're also correct that considering these topics individually, one by one, with explicit thinking, will eat up a lot of time.
the missing link is that that's a temporary state.
my question is how should I study SC if I hate to memorize many details?
lunarpower wrote:i received a private message regarding this thread.
when it comes to discussing sentence correction strategy, the elephant in the room -- the thing that no one likes to talk about -- is the fact that you can't progress past a certain level in sentence correction without significant intuition.
in fact, this is one of the principal reasons why the test writers chose to include sentence correction, of all things, on a test for business-school applicants (who have no explicit need for the actual skill set required to solve SC problems). namely, any given sentence (except the simplest ones) has way too many moving parts to process entirely through rules and conscious thought processes. you can look consciously for the most major topics -- and thereby do decently well -- but you're not going to reach the highest levels without developing the right intuition.
as an analogy, think about listening to a symphony orchestra. if you are a conductor, you have to listen to the entire orchestra at the same time, and you have to detect mistakes. how do conductors do this? primarily through intuition -- no conductor will be able to consciously analyze the instruments one at a time, at the actual pace of a symphony piece. the conductor might be consciously listening to the most conspicuous instruments -- first violin, first cello, and/or whoever is playing a solo or cadenza -- but he or she clearly can't pay conscious attention to all of the instruments at once. that has to be done intuitively.
similarly, in sentence correction, the best you can do with conscious rules and thought processes is to pay attention to the few most significant "instruments". in that respect, your checklist is a pretty good start -- most things in your checklist do qualify as major topics. however, you've got to realize that this checklist is not the end goal; you should view it as an intermediate step in developing the right kind of intuition.
if you are studying to become a conductor, you have to study each instrument explicitly at some point -- but not with the end goal of continuing to think explicitly about that instrument. instead, the goal is to incorporate those thoughts, eventually, into an intuitive process that's more subconscious and fluid. (this is also the only real justification for spending more than a trivial amount of time studying, since all of the individual concepts are rather simple -- it's just integrating them into that intuition that takes time and experience.)
similarly, if you are studying to become a sentence correction expert, you do have to study the components explicitly -- but that's the starting point, not the point of mastery. mastery is what you have when you can notice things without explicitly having to look for them anymore.
--
in sum:
* your checklist is pretty good; these topics together should be able to knock out many, perhaps even most, of the problems you'll encounter.
* you're also correct that considering these topics individually, one by one, with explicit thinking, will eat up a lot of time.
the missing link is that that's a temporary state. if you feel yourself developing the right intuition, don't discard it in favor of continuing to use rules all the time.