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Taken GMAT thrice - Stuck at 640(Q51V25) - Target 700+

Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension
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Taken GMAT thrice - Stuck at 640(Q51V25) - Target 700+

by dubsmagic » Wed May 13, 2015 8:18 am
Hi,

I have taken GMAT thrice and got 620, 600 and 640 in the same order.
1st 620 - V21Q51
2nd 600 - V23Q49
3rd 640 - V25Q51

For preparing my latest GMAT, I studied from Manhattan Guides and OG12/13.
I am not confident in answering Verbal questions. Most of the time they are guess with some intelligence.

I also took Manhattan test series where I scored as follows:
Q51V32 (CAT1)
Q48V28
Q46V33
Q51V34
Q51V31 (CAT5)

Please help me out gaining confidence in Verbal sections and breaking the 700+ marker.

Regards,
Varun
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Source: — Verbal Reasoning |

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by [email protected] » Wed May 13, 2015 10:18 am
Hi Varun,

You posted a similar message in another Forum, although this post appears to include your practice CAT scores. I've pasted my response here with some additional questions....

Since these 3 scores are remarkably close, it's clear that you handled each of these attempts in the same general way. This implies that you've developed a number of 'bad habits' during your studies, so part of your training for this next attempt has to focus on getting you out of those bad habits and into some 'good habits.'

1) What resources did you use during each of your study periods?
2) When are you planning to take the GMAT next?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

I have a few questions about your CAT scores too:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take the CATs at home?
3) What time of day did you take your CATs and what time of day was your GMAT?
4) Did you do ANYTHING during your CATs that would be considering unrealistic (skipping sections, pausing the Test, listening to music, etc.)?

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by dubsmagic » Thu May 14, 2015 9:54 am
Hi Rich,

Thanks for your reply.

Please find below the in-liners for the questions you asked.

1) What resources did you use during each of your study periods?
Manhattan SC thoroughly
Manhattan foundations for verbal for RC and CR
Notes from a few sources for RC and CR
Nothing for Quant
OG for questions
Manhattan Test Series

2) When are you planning to take the GMAT next?
End of July 2015

3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
Planning to join in 2016 not sure of Fall/Spring.

I have a few questions about your CAT scores too:

1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
CAT 1 Q51V32 IR QV Evening
CAT 2 Q48V28 IR QV Morning
CAT 3 Q46V33 IR QV Evening
CAT 4 Q51V34 Essay IR QV Evening
CAT 5 Q51V31 IR QV Morning

2) Did you take the CATs at home?
Yes

3) What time of day did you take your CATs and what time of day was your GMAT?
Timing for CATs stated above. Latest GMAT taken in evening.

4) Did you do ANYTHING during your CATs that would be considering unrealistic (skipping sections, pausing the Test, listening to music, etc.)?
No nothing. Even the breaks were timed.

I also have the following questions for you Rich:
What guides should I use for SC, CR and RC?
From where should I practice questions?
Once I am done with OG do I need to solve extra stuff as well?
How to go about for OG? Section wise or a few questions from every section everyday?

Regards,
Varun
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Thu May 14, 2015 11:37 am
The question of whether to focus on one category at a time or to hit multiple categories in each session is ultimately a matter of taste. What's more important is that you work through the Official Guide in a methodical and mindful way. Spend time dissecting all of the wrong answer choices, looking for patterns as you do so. If any question is at all unclear, even if you answered correctly, make sure you either post it here, or search the archives to see if that question has already been discussed. Make notes about what you can improve on as you go. The goal is not only to complete all the verbal questions in the OG, but to fully understand all of them. Once you've done this, make sure you take the official practice exams: https://www.mba.com/us/the-gmat-exam/pre ... tware.aspx

Wash/rinse/repeat. Keep us posted.
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by dubsmagic » Fri May 15, 2015 11:34 am
Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply.
I got your point regarding solving questions that number of questions is rather less important than clearly understanding the reason behind every option of those questions.

Please suggest me some books/material for brushing up my concepts. (I suppose Manhattan SC is one, suggest others)

Regards,
Varun
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by [email protected] » Fri May 15, 2015 1:43 pm
Hi Varun,

Is there a reason why you scheduled your Official GMAT at NIGHT (as opposed to scheduling it earlier)? I ask because most Test Takers perform better earlier in the day, so you might be making this whole process more difficult by Testing at night.

The extra information that you've given is helpful, in that it points out some issues with how you took your CATs. Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your scores can become - and that's what happened here. By skipping sections, taking the CATs at home, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.'

At this point, I would NOT recommend any additional books (you've used a variety of them already). To raise your Verbal score, you need to focus on Verbal tactics and pattern-matching skills. Since you have over 2 months before your planned Test Date, you have to time to try different options, but I think that the EMPOWERgmat Verbal Score Booster Study Plan would help you immensely. Most of our clients can finish it in about 3 weeks (although you might need more or less time), so it would fit nicely with your schedule.

The Verbal section of the GMAT is as predictable and standardized as the Quant section is, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

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by dubsmagic » Mon May 18, 2015 10:12 pm
Hi Rich,

Thanks for your reply.
I could find verbal booster at the following path:
https://www.empowergmat.com/uploads/EMPO ... Verbal.pdf
Is this the thing?
Apart from this I want to revise all the sections once before proceeding to actual questions. Please suggest which books to refer to for SC, CR and RC.

Regards,
Varun
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by EducationAisle » Thu Aug 06, 2015 7:56 pm
dubsmagic wrote:Please suggest which books to refer to for SC, CR and RC.
Hi Varun! Good morning! Our sentence correction book Sentence Correction Nirvana is perhaps the only book that offers a score improvement guarantee, and is especially designed for non-native speakers.

After reading the book twice (yes! it's an academic book, and so must be read twice in all seriousness, to reinforce the concepts), you will start looking forward to solving SC questions! You've appeared in GMAT thrice and have a significant exposure to other books. I am sure you will find our book distinct and useful.

The book is available on Flipkart and Amazon.in. You might want to refer to these sites, to also read testimonials of how readers have benefited.

If you want to sample a chapter before deciding to go ahead with our book, please PM me know your mail-id (along with the chapter that you would like to sample) and I will be happy to send that chapter to you by mail.

There is just one last thing I would want to mention Varun. We get a lot of students who have appeared in GMAT multiple times and want to improve their scores. The issue we often face with such students is that many of them are (what I call) GMAT weary; so they just go thru the motions, without really (and I mean really) working hard again. Hope you are able to start afresh, with an almost clean slate, and I am sure things will work out.

Feel free to PM me or call me up, if you want to discuss.
Ashish
MBA - ISB, GMAT - 99th Percentile
GMAT Faculty @ EducationAisle
www.EducationAisle.com

Sentence Correction Nirvana available at:

a) Amazon: Sentence Correction Nirvana

b) Flipkart: Sentence Correction Nirvana

Now! Preview the entire Grammar Section of Sentence Correction Nirvana at pothi
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by carolinahbrah » Fri Aug 07, 2015 10:14 pm
[email protected] wrote:Hi Varun,

Is there a reason why you scheduled your Official GMAT at NIGHT (as opposed to scheduling it earlier)? I ask because most Test Takers perform better earlier in the day, so you might be making this whole process more difficult by Testing at night.

The extra information that you've given is helpful, in that it points out some issues with how you took your CATs. Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your scores can become - and that's what happened here. By skipping sections, taking the CATs at home, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.'

At this point, I would NOT recommend any additional books (you've used a variety of them already). To raise your Verbal score, you need to focus on Verbal tactics and pattern-matching skills. Since you have over 2 months before your planned Test Date, you have to time to try different options, but I think that the EMPOWERgmat Verbal Score Booster Study Plan would help you immensely. Most of our clients can finish it in about 3 weeks (although you might need more or less time), so it would fit nicely with your schedule.

The Verbal section of the GMAT is as predictable and standardized as the Quant section is, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
As someone who got 48 on the verbal section, I think this answer is nonsense. OP is clearly a non-native speaker, and his general English-language ability is poor. Recommending study guides, tips, and tricks is completely missing the point. What OP really has to do is learn the language, just like I am learning Spanish.
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by [email protected] » Sat Aug 08, 2015 11:21 am
Hi All,

Carolinahbrah is quite proud of her V48 (as she should be; that's a fantastic performance in the Verbal section) - the approach that she took to her studies is not common though (you can read about it here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/feel-free-to ... tml#750573). By her own admission, she took NO CATs, did NO RC Prep and did NO 'reasoning prep' (I assume that means no CR prep).

From what I gather from her post (above), her advice seems to focus on the value of learning English. While I can't fault THAT particular point, she doesn't seem to want to acknowledge that the GMAT is a predictable, standardized Test that is built around patterns - patterns that you can learn and take advantage of. She also doesn't appear to have helped thousands of Test Takers to score at a high level on the GMAT.

This is all meant to say that you all should feel free to follow whatever advice that you think is most appropriate for your situation. And if you have any questions about any area of your studies, then you should feel free to reach out to either of us.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by carolinahbrah » Sat Aug 08, 2015 12:29 pm
[email protected] wrote:Hi All,

Carolinahbrah is quite proud of her V48 (as she should be; that's a fantastic performance in the Verbal section) - the approach that she took to her studies is not common though (you can read about it here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/feel-free-to ... tml#750573). By her own admission, she took NO CATs, did NO RC Prep and did NO 'reasoning prep' (I assume that means no CR prep).

From what I gather from her post (above), her advice seems to focus on the value of learning English. While I can't fault THAT particular point, she doesn't seem to want to acknowledge that the GMAT is a predictable, standardized Test that is built around patterns - patterns that you can learn and take advantage of. She also doesn't appear to have helped thousands of Test Takers to score at a high level on the GMAT.

This is all meant to say that you all should feel free to follow whatever advice that you think is most appropriate for your situation. And if you have any questions about any area of your studies, then you should feel free to reach out to either of us.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
But GMAT trick books aren't an efficient way to learn English. It would be different if he already knew the language.
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