Struggling: Read the question first or not..Gurus plz help!

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dv2020: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 112; Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:39 pm; Location: Delhi; Thanked: 2 times

by dv2020 » Thu May 12, 2011 9:09 pm

Dear Friends,
I read the Powerscore GMAT CR book and developed good concepts for the CR section. The powerscore book insists that you read the argument, understand & then go to the question stem. After that I attempted the OG CR questions. I had a healthy strike rate between 80-85%. However timing was not so good (2.5-3 mins per question). I didn't worry too much abt the timing hoping with time and more practice timing will eventually improve. (As the the test makers say GMAT is a test of accuracy not speed). But, yesterday i took Kaplan CD's CR test 1 (under time pressure now) I got only 7 correct out of 16. I felt had I got 9 or 10 correct I would have been course. But now I am rethinking the strategy shall i read the question first??? It was not that i could not understand the argument or anything I got the first 5 qs right but as the clock kept on ticking i started feeling the time pressure and cudn't keep up. I have about six weeks before I take the GMAT and all my prep is centered on my performance in the Verbal section. Gurus please also give your valuable inputs.
Thanks a lot to all of you in advance.
Dheeraj

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Critical Reasoning | Thu May 12, 2011 9:09 pm

mundasingh123: Legendary Member; Posts: 2330; Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:14 amFollowed by: 26 members; Thanked: 56 times

by mundasingh123 » Fri May 13, 2011 3:10 am

dv2020 wrote:Dear Friends,
I read the Powerscore GMAT CR book and developed good concepts for the CR section. The powerscore book insists that you read the argument, understand & then go to the question stem. After that I attempted the OG CR questions. I had a healthy strike rate between 80-85%. However timing was not so good (2.5-3 mins per question). I didn't worry too much abt the timing hoping with time and more practice timing will eventually improve. (As the the test makers say GMAT is a test of accuracy not speed). But, yesterday i took Kaplan CD's CR test 1 (under time pressure now) I got only 7 correct out of 16. I felt had I got 9 or 10 correct I would have been course. But now I am rethinking the strategy shall i read the question first??? It was not that i could not understand the argument or anything I got the first 5 qs right but as the clock kept on ticking i started feeling the time pressure and cudn't keep up. I have about six weeks before I take the GMAT and all my prep is centered on my performance in the Verbal section. Gurus please also give your valuable inputs.
Thanks a lot to all of you in advance.
Dheeraj

I dont feel reading the stem later brings down your speed . It depends on what works fro you
now that you have tried out the powerscore strategy , maybe now you could try the kaplan strategy and see if it works for u

I Seek Explanations Not Answers

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GMAT/MBA Expert

Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri May 13, 2011 7:07 am

I've always felt that it's best to read the question stem first.
I think it helps direct one's reading.

My 2 cents

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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David@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2193; Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:30 pmFollowed by: 512 members; Location: Vermont and Boston, MA; Thanked: 1186 times; GMAT Score:770

by David@VeritasPrep » Fri May 13, 2011 2:12 pm

The main aspect to consider in terms of increasing your speed is probably not whether you read the question stem first or the stimulus. You should be able to make either strategy work. At Veritas we do recommend that students read the question stem first. However, when I teach the LSAT, which has a much more complicated critical reasoning section, I do instruct the students to read the stimulus first - this is where PowerScore is coming from since they are more oriented to the LSAT.

However, the point is that you can bring down the amount of time it takes you to do these problems reading either part first. The key is to really have a strong technique and to understand what the argument is focusing on. Have you read this article? https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/02/ ... duncan-way

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dv2020: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 112; Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:39 pm; Location: Delhi; Thanked: 2 times

by dv2020 » Fri May 13, 2011 6:51 pm

Thanks guys,
So what is coming out so far is is that I should continue with my original strategy and keep improving by the day....@David I hope MIP strategy helps me improve my timing...

Cheers

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David@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2193; Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:30 pmFollowed by: 512 members; Location: Vermont and Boston, MA; Thanked: 1186 times; GMAT Score:770

by David@VeritasPrep » Fri May 13, 2011 6:56 pm

Let me know how it goes as you apply that strategy and just remember that what is really important is understanding that on the GMAT there is often as much "background" information as there is important information and maybe even more. AND lots of incorrect choices are based on the background info!!!! So we can save time and not get caught up in false choices if we understand what is really the essence of the argument and what is not.

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fitzgerald23: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 219; Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:51 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 62 times; GMAT Score:750

by fitzgerald23 » Fri May 13, 2011 7:24 pm

Though I often like reading the question first I think the idea of doing what works best for you is most important. Everyone does things differently and if you are comfortable reading the passage and then the question you should do it that way. My guess is that you simply put too much pressure on yourself in your practice exam and tried to rush, which caused you to make poor mistakes that you will not make as you get more and more used to the test format.

If you get concerned later in your studies about verbal the place to really build speed is in SC. The comprehension part of those questions is not the same as in CR and RC and you can usually eliminate at least 2 answers very quickly in SC. Get good at those and get them answered fast and you will have plenty of time in the RC and CR to really read and analyze the passages.

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