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Lost in CR and RC...quality and timing.

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Lost in CR and RC...quality and timing.

by sanp_l » Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:14 am
Hi All,

I am into my preparation since two weeks. I figured verbal to be more of a challenge for me. I preferred to start with that.
Did my CR from princeton and OG 1o and 11th editions. Did my RC for which i had to struggle a lot to find my way which suits me the best and in the process completed princeton, kaplan and Manhattan. Manhaattan suited me.

And when i felt i was comfortable with CR and RC, i thought of doing some small exercises like in 30 mins how many CR's can i get done with and how many as the correct one and the same for RC. I started with OG 12th edition. And here is what i got:

The first time i could do only 13 CR with one wrong in 30 mins and 11 RC (2 passages) in 30 mins with none wrong. I felt timing as an issue.

So i did the same again yesterday. I was able to complete 14 CR in 30 mins with 4 wrong and 13 RC (2 passages) in 35 mins with ten wrong.

Now i am lost. My answers are wrong with a poor timing. And additionally i am running low on questions. What should i do?
Should i let timing take a back seat till am done with all the subjects of GMAT and try to improve timing only when i plan to go for complete tests? What will be best? What does my mock 30 mins of CR and RC indicate?

Can someone please help me with advice.
Thanks.
Sandy
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by DanaJ » Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:56 am
Timing is extremely important when studying for the GMAT. Remember, most of us would nail all the questions given enough time, but that's not the case. I suggest you keep timing yourself. Here are a few tips to improve on timing:
- don't write down lengthy notes (i.e. try to summarize a passage, but end up almost re-writing it)
- read the stimulus very carefully. This is particularly important for RC: if you get the stimulus from your first go, even if you spent like 4 mins understanding it, you'll make up for lost time with the remaining questions for that passage
- practice reading things in English, especially if you're a non-native. You only get better at something if you practice

Your hit rates are all over the place. Which set to trust? I don't know: maybe on the second go you were very tired or worked in a noisy environment. If you feel like you've improved since using the MGMAT guides, then this might be the case, but there must be another reason for your poor performance.
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by sanp_l » Tue Aug 18, 2009 11:02 am
@Dana J : thanks a lot for that. I agree that i was tiered during my second set. that might be a reason. But again i am still confused if i should go for timings at this phase of my preparation. Will it be right if presently i try to reinforce my grasps of the concepts and leave timing to full length practice sets?
Or shall i continue with section wise split timings as i had mentioned.
Sandy
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by DanaJ » Tue Aug 18, 2009 11:35 am
Of course, you should have your concepts straight. If you don't feel comfortable with these, you'll just get wrong answers and waste most of your practice questions.

Example: I took a stab at some SC questions before I read Kaplan Premier's tips on this section. Naturally, I was pretty bad... But after I'd read the explanations and understood what I was supposed to be looking for (parallelism, verb-noun etc.), it was much easier for me to get the right answer.

This doesn't mean that you should spend all your time on concepts. Only when you put something abstract to work will it truly stick to your head. So here's my say on this: don't think of timing only when taking practice tests. ALWAYS time yourself when you're doing problem sets. Don't put pressure on yourself for starters, but as you progress make sure you try your best to do 10 CR questions in no more than 15 mins or so.
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by sanp_l » Tue Aug 18, 2009 11:49 am
Thanks Dana J. Will stick to it.
Sandy
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