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David@VeritasPrep
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Sentence correction strategy: Think "Better" not "Best"
I know that most of the sentence correction posts involve individual questions but this post is more about strategy. Let me know what you think...
One of the big mistakes that students make on sentence correction is looking for the "best" answer. This is a mistake that I made when I first began working with the GMAT. I was looking for the answer choice that I would have written or that I thought sounded great in all respects. In short, I was comparing all of the answer choices to each other and looking for the "best" of the five. Maybe this sounds familiar to many of you?
A much more effective approach is to ask the question, "which is better?" and to ask this question repeatedly until only one answer choice is left standing. If you have had an eye examination you are familiar with this procedure. The doctor does not lay a bunch of lenses in front of you and tell you to pick the best prescription for you: that would be absurd. Instead she asks you "which is better number 1 or number 2, and then number 3 or number 4, and so on.
This is the essence of sentence correction. If you are making more than one choice at a time you are attempting to do too much. Answer choices may vary in several respects but you should only focus on one of those at a time. Let's take the following example:
"The root systems of most flowering perennials either become too crowded, which results in loss in vigor, and spread too far outward, producing a bare center.
(A) which results in loss in vigor, and spread
(B) resulting in loss in vigor, or spreading
(C) with the result of loss of vigor, or spreading
(D) resulting in loss of vigor, or spread
(E) with a resulting loss of vigor, and spread"
There are several errors in this original sentence and many people will want to go answer choice by answer choice looking for the "best" answer - the one that is free from all errors. However, this is not the most efficient or accurate way. Instead look at this as a series of choices. There are several differences between answer choices that can be used to eliminate incorrect answers. Here are some of the decisions to be made, "and" vs. "or"; "spread" vs. "spreading"; "in vigor" vs. "of vigor"; and the modifier that opens the answer choice.
Of course you will not need to utilize or even recognize all of these differences. The important thing is to use choices that have a right and a wrong answer and to use choices that you are sure of...in this case I might start with "and vs. or" decision. Earlier in the sentence we have an "either" which should be paired with "or" not "and." This eliminates choices A and E. To choose between B, C, and D I would next go to the choice between "spread" and "spreading." Now with the "either...or" figure of speech we need parallel elements. The fixed portion of the sentence says "become" so we need the parallel verb "spread" not "spreading." This eliminates B and C and we are left with D as the correct answer.
Making one decision at a time can be especially critical toward the end of the test when your mind has already made hundreds of calculations and decisions. Just as the optometrist knows that it will be difficult for you to differentiate the most recent lens from the first lens, six attempts ago, you should recognize that you'll likely struggle to make multiple concurrent decisions within a sentence that is designed to be extra verbose and descriptive. Making one definitive decision at a time is an efficient way to manage your time, energy, and focus on these problems to quickly, accurately, and confidently answer them. Use "Better not Best" and you will be better at sentence correction!
I know that most of the sentence correction posts involve individual questions but this post is more about strategy. Let me know what you think...
One of the big mistakes that students make on sentence correction is looking for the "best" answer. This is a mistake that I made when I first began working with the GMAT. I was looking for the answer choice that I would have written or that I thought sounded great in all respects. In short, I was comparing all of the answer choices to each other and looking for the "best" of the five. Maybe this sounds familiar to many of you?
A much more effective approach is to ask the question, "which is better?" and to ask this question repeatedly until only one answer choice is left standing. If you have had an eye examination you are familiar with this procedure. The doctor does not lay a bunch of lenses in front of you and tell you to pick the best prescription for you: that would be absurd. Instead she asks you "which is better number 1 or number 2, and then number 3 or number 4, and so on.
This is the essence of sentence correction. If you are making more than one choice at a time you are attempting to do too much. Answer choices may vary in several respects but you should only focus on one of those at a time. Let's take the following example:
"The root systems of most flowering perennials either become too crowded, which results in loss in vigor, and spread too far outward, producing a bare center.
(A) which results in loss in vigor, and spread
(B) resulting in loss in vigor, or spreading
(C) with the result of loss of vigor, or spreading
(D) resulting in loss of vigor, or spread
(E) with a resulting loss of vigor, and spread"
There are several errors in this original sentence and many people will want to go answer choice by answer choice looking for the "best" answer - the one that is free from all errors. However, this is not the most efficient or accurate way. Instead look at this as a series of choices. There are several differences between answer choices that can be used to eliminate incorrect answers. Here are some of the decisions to be made, "and" vs. "or"; "spread" vs. "spreading"; "in vigor" vs. "of vigor"; and the modifier that opens the answer choice.
Of course you will not need to utilize or even recognize all of these differences. The important thing is to use choices that have a right and a wrong answer and to use choices that you are sure of...in this case I might start with "and vs. or" decision. Earlier in the sentence we have an "either" which should be paired with "or" not "and." This eliminates choices A and E. To choose between B, C, and D I would next go to the choice between "spread" and "spreading." Now with the "either...or" figure of speech we need parallel elements. The fixed portion of the sentence says "become" so we need the parallel verb "spread" not "spreading." This eliminates B and C and we are left with D as the correct answer.
Making one decision at a time can be especially critical toward the end of the test when your mind has already made hundreds of calculations and decisions. Just as the optometrist knows that it will be difficult for you to differentiate the most recent lens from the first lens, six attempts ago, you should recognize that you'll likely struggle to make multiple concurrent decisions within a sentence that is designed to be extra verbose and descriptive. Making one definitive decision at a time is an efficient way to manage your time, energy, and focus on these problems to quickly, accurately, and confidently answer them. Use "Better not Best" and you will be better at sentence correction!
