SC and CR - Moving in a new direction

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SC and CR - Moving in a new direction

by AbhiJ » Thu Jun 14, 2012 11:07 am
GMAT has been changing the pattern/style of sentence correction and critical reasoning questions?
For example - sentence correction focuses on meaning based concepts. Similarly critical reasoning questions are trending towards new type of questions - logically completes the paragraph etc(as seen in OG13).
Has GMAC done this to keep up the surprise element of the test and hence better judge the ability of students ?

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by OfficialGMAT » Fri Jun 15, 2012 9:35 am
AbhiJ wrote:GMAT has been changing the pattern/style of sentence correction and critical reasoning questions?
For example - sentence correction focuses on meaning based concepts. Similarly critical reasoning questions are trending towards new type of questions - logically completes the paragraph etc(as seen in OG13).
Has GMAC done this to keep up the surprise element of the test and hence better judge the ability of students ?
Thank you for your question! I want to clarify for you what is and is not happening with the GMAT exam. Both the sentence correction and critical reasoning sections are, and always have been, designed to measure your reasoning ability. In the past, sentence correction problems could, in some cases, be solved by identifying the grammatically correct answer. Questions you see on the exam today may have more than one answer choice that is grammatically correct; however the correct answer will be not just grammatically correct, but also the most "effective" in expressing an idea. Both sentence correction and critical reasoning should be viewed as tests of reasoning, not as tests of general knowledge around idioms or grammar. You are correct that we are constantly reviewing our exam to ensure that the questions you encounter will best judge your reasoning abilities. In that sense the exam is constantly evolving, but the core reasoning skills the exam is designed to measure have not changed. The GMAT exam tests higher order reasoning and preparing for the exam remains an exercise in developing and exercising those skills. I hope that makes sense, but if it doesn't feel free to reach out again.
Leah
Official GMAC Representative

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