GMAT Strategy

Stuck at 28 verbal score...what should i do next?

Harsh,

The best thing to do is to go over the questions you have already solved, and do a first level of analysis to identify the following:
1. Which is your weakest section: SC, CR or RC?
2. Within each section, which concept is tripping you up? For e.g. within SC, is it modifiers or tenses? or anything else?
3. What kind of mistake are you making? Conceptual (completely lost!), Timing (took more than 2 minutes and still got it wrong) or Silly mistakes?

As you do this review and collect this information for 100-200 questions using an error log (find the simplest one here: https://www.crackverbal.com/nailed-it-mi ... crewed-it/), you will be able to identify exactly where you are going wrong.

The way ahead would then be easy because now you know what is tripping you up, and how. Let me know if you have more questions.

hi..thanks for giving the feedback..another thing i want to know is the general framework for attempting SC,CR,RC...a set of rules that one needs to follow mentally while doing the verbal section

Here are some Golden Rules for Sentence Correction:

1. Understand what concept is being tested. If it is parallelism, try to figure out what items should be parallel. If it is comparison, figure out what items are being compared. If it is modifiers, identify what the subject is and what each clause should refer to. I hope you get the drift.

2. Look for subject verb mismatches - at least 1 option can be eliminated in this way in most SC questions. SVA error is easy to identify.

3. Don't get confused by pronoun ambiguity - many OAs have pronoun ambiguity. Pronoun ambiguity is a problem only if the meaning of the sentence is tampered with.

4. Don't eliminate based on idioms in the beginning itself - unless the idiom is something very obvious. For e.g. whether versus if; such as versus like; because versus due to etc. If the idiom tested are more complex (for e.g. estimated at versus estimated to be), don't try to choose/eliminate based on idioms as you may get confused. The wrong option will always have some other error that will help you eliminate it.

5. Don't get misled by red herrings. Just because a sentence begins with 'not only', doesn't mean that the 'not only but also' construct is required in the sentence. The right answer may not use this idiom at all - so don't jump to conclusions

6. Even if you feel a particular answer choice (let's say B or C) is right, don't make up your mind till you have really looked at the other options.

7. Substitute the answer choice you picked back into the original sentence and see whether it makes sense

8. Pick up clues from the non-underlined part of the sentence. This is especially true for tenses, parallelism,comparisons and subject verb.

I hope this helps.

Now some tips for Reading Comprehension:

This answer may seem obvious at first, but really, the only way to get better at reading RC passages critically is to practice, practice and practice.

Try reading 300-400 word articles/blogs that appear on historytoday.com, economist.com, nature.com etc. These are very similar to RC passages. Try out critical reading and mapping on these, and answer the basic questions: what is the central theme, main purpose etc., giving yourself 3-4 minutes per article. This will help you improve your overall reading skills.

Practice RC when you are bored/tired - even on the exam, this could be your mental condition if you get an RC passage at Qn 37. So, better get used to it!

Don't check the time after every question - allot x minutes to a passage (approx 6 mins for a 3 qn passage and 8 for a 4 qn passage). You need to be conscious, but not concerned about time.

Approach inference qns in RC the same way you would, inference qns in CR. Logically extrapolate the info in the passage. Also, the answer must be 100% right, given the info in the passage. These are some checks you could do.

Here are some RC tips from top scorers: https://www.crackverbal.com/gmat-reading ... sion-tips/

And finally, a Step-by-Step approach for Critical Reasoning:

1. Read the question carefully - don't try to save time here by skimming

2. Identify the type and the structure of the argument. In some cases, the question might be fairly straightforward and recognizable. For e.g. boldfaced questions or mimic the reasoning. But some questions can be trickily worded. For e.g. flaw in the argument, inference etc.

3. Next, identify the premise, conclusion, counter-conclusion etc.

4. Come up with a one sentence summary of the argument with the help of keywords- Premise Keywords such as because, since or due to, and Conclusion Indicators such as thus, hence and therefore

5. Try to anticipate the answer without the answer choices

6. Apply the process of elimination - try first to eliminate answer choices that are irrelevant to the argument or "So what?" type.

7. Look for common CR traps: for e.g. reverse causation, alternate causation, statistical traps and so on. Don't fall for these!

Do remember that there are no universal rules/techniques for GMAT Verbal, and you shouldn't try to look for catchall formulae or short cuts. Have a focused, systematic approach, look for thumb rules, and learn from your mistakes. Most importantly, keep at it and don't give up!

Hi..thank u so much for detailed reply...another thing i want to know...will it be a good idea to go for Crack verbal course(for non-natives) and which one is better crack verbal or e-GMAT?

Thanks

Harsh,
As a CrackVerbal isntructor, let me talk about the advantages of the CrackVerbal course:

1. Instructor-led Courses
CV instructors are the best in their field, have actually taken the GMAT, and have scored 700+ on it. So we will be speaking from experience, and the insights you get will definitely be valuable. You have 2 options to choose with CrackVerbal:
(A) A live, instructor-led online course, where you will be part of an online class, being taught by and interacting real-time with an instructor who has the 99th percentile on the GMAT. So you will have a fixed week night schedule and a plan to keep you on track.
(B) An on-demand class, which is a recorded version of our actual classroom sessions - this means that you can see the instructor (not a disembodied voice) and experience an actual classroom setup, minus any distractions. This gives you the flexibility to set your own learning pace.

2. Unmatched student support:
(A) You will have dedicated email and telephonic support for all academic doubts, for not just GMAT, but also your MBA applications. So whenever you are stuck, you can just pick up the phone and talk to us!
(B) We have an online discussion forum exclusively for our students to post their doubts. Our academics team answers there everyday. You can see this here: https://crackverbal.com/forum/

Why don't you attend one of our classes? I'm sure that will give you a very good idea of what to expect. Please PM me so that I can put you through to someone who can add you to one of our classes, or give you access to a video class.

Cheers.