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Finished Diagnostic Test and Need Tips on How to Improve

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Finished Diagnostic Test and Need Tips on How to Improve

by bigwilliestyle » Wed Mar 25, 2009 7:37 pm
I recently took a diagnostic GMAT test that composed of 1 AWA essay, 37 quantitative questions, and 41 verbal questions. My raw score was very weak: 12 Q Verbal and 22 Q Math sections. After completing the exam, I thought my score should have been higher. However, I was able to discover my weaknesses:

Endurance: I haven't taken standardized test that long since the SATs and it was even in it's entirely because it was only 1 AWA essay. I think toward the end of the Verbal I was ready to call it a day (it was also weird that the verbal was the first section, but I thought that Math is always before Verbal). How can I improve my endurance so I am able to run a marathon?

Sentence Correction: I knew this was one of my weaknesses. I always felt like I was able to eliminate a couple of answers but was not confident in making my educated guesses. Are there any suggested books that can help me freshen up on grammar?

Critical Reasoning: I felt like I was given many evaluate the argument questions. Aren't these suppose to be uncommon? I was thinking about trying diagramming, but that was taking me too long.

Reading Comprehension:I found this difficult because scrolling down the passage was annoying when searching in the essay for an answer. My technique was to write down some notes so I wouldn't lose focus on the main idea. Do you guys find this being the best way?

Data Sufficiency: For some reason I felt like I kept choosing C or E as answer. I am probably doing something wrong when I am reading the problems because I'm aware E is probably the least likely answer when guessing.

Any suggestions from the community would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Will
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by TedCornell » Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:02 pm
Hi Will,

Where did you take your diagnostic test? Math ALWAYS comes before Verbal on the GMAT so the fact that the order was reversed on your test should raise a flag about the test's accuracy

Endurance
To run a marathon, you have to practice running long distances. To improve endurance, take practice tests often. There is no substitute.

Sentence Correction: (Here is what worked for me)
For my verbal prep I used ManhattanGMAT Sentence Correction guide, The Official Guide, and gmatfix verbal flashcards.

1) If you don't already have it, consider getting the ManhattanGMAT SC guide and go through its lessons.

2) Get the gmatfix verbal flashcards (you can evaluate some for free); these cards are broken down into SC subtopics, with each topic giving you loads of examples and pinpointed lessons on how the topic is tested on the GMAT

3) Once you can go through the flashcards for a particular topic without error, use the Manhattan guide to find the specific questions in the OG that test the topic you're studying. Practice those questions and study the explanations carefully.

Critical Reasoning:
If you had mostly "Evaluate the argument" questions, again I think it should raise a flag about the accuracy of the test you took. "Evaluate the argument" is not as common as "Weaken" and "Find the Assumption" questions.

I personally don't like Diagramming as a test-day technique. I see it more as a tool to be used in practice in order to learn how to dissect an argument. ON test day, for Critical Reasoning I go through the following steps:

1) Read the question and identify whether it's a strengthen, weaken, eval, resolve/explain, or find the conclusion question

2) Read the prompt paying special attention to the chain of reasoning and to any piece of information that is introduced within the conclusion (typically the assumption will be whatever ties the premise to this new piece)

3) Write down 1 or 2 (sometimes 3) assumptions that I see right away. In practice, I force myself to find at least 2 assumptions before moving to the next step. ON the exam, if I still have no assumption about 60seconds into the question, I move on (but with good practice, this rarely happens).

4) Go through the answers

Reading Comprehension
I always map out the passage. I take shorthand notes of the main points of each paragraph. Typically, my notes consist of 12-20 words per paragraph. Notes for a single paragraph might look like

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
no explan. for phenomenon until recent study
-MG theory claims earthquakes at fault
-Author disagrees; thinks volcano
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PPl think that notes cost too much time. I don't go into details but taking notes drastically reduces the amount of time I spent per question. In practice I give myself 1 minute per paragraph to take notes. Actually taking notes improved my reading comp accuracy from about 60% to about 90+%.

Data Sufficiency
Go through the official guide DS questions carefully and study the explanations provided. If you have the official guide companion (gmatfix), use those explanations instead; they are much more thorough and show different approaches

you can see my full debrief at www.tinyurl.com/gmatpost where I point out what worked from what didn't work for me.

Best of luck
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by bigwilliestyle » Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:19 pm
Wow Ted, this was extremely helpful. I've been inconsistent with my studies so I will need to step it up. I think another factor that played a part was starting work at 8am and then taking the diagnostic at 6:30pm because that is the only time they have it scheduled. I will be taking the real test at 8am. I took my test at CUNY-Baruch which is a city university of New York. It was free so I can't complain.
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