GMAT Strategy

Stacey Koprince wrote:Have you been using our book? Or, if not, what have you been using to learn how to tackle RC?

You definitely need to reduce the time taken on that read-through. Because of the length of time you state, I assume you're trying to understand the whole thing thoroughly. Do NOT do that. On your read-through, your task is to do two things:
(1) understand the MAIN points (overall point of the passage and the one main point for each paragraph)
(2) know the purpose of each paragraph and the kind of stuff it discusses

You should NOT be able to tell me much (if anything) about the detail in each paragraph after your first read-through, beyond where the detail is located (by paragraph). You should be able to tell me, "Oh yeah, paragraph 2 is where they talked about the collapse of black holes." And if I said, "okay, well what did they say about the collapse of black holes?" your response should be, "I have no idea. Give me a minute to read about it."

IF you get a question about the collapse of black holes, you know where to go. And if you DON'T get a question about the collapse of black holes, you won't have wasted your time learning about them.

(Note: about twice as many questions are written for each passage as are given to one person. So there WILL be stuff in the passage about which you are never asked.)

And this "only go for the high-level outline on the first read-through" technique is about more than just saving time. You will understand the main points much better if you don't get sucked into all that ridiculous detail.

(Note #2: this isn't how you should actual try to read and comprehend stuff in the b-school or the rest of the real world. Unless your boss ever tells you that you have 3 minutes to read something and tell her the outline only and then you'll have some detailed questions but you can treat it like an open-book test at that point. Uh... that's not what "reading comprehension" is about in the real world.)

Finally, remember that your diagramming (the notes you take as you read) is NOT about taking notes as you would have during school. You are not going to have a test on this material in 3 weeks. You're taking the test right now. Your notes are just to help you understand the overall outline and know where to go to find any details you may need. That's really it!

If you don't currently have a book or other resource that is teaching you how to tackle RC, you should get something - just ask around here and see what people have found helpful. Beyond the diagramming bit, there's a whole lot more that has to do with the different types of questions, the ways in which they tend to write tempting wrong answers, etc.

akdon wrote:

General tips and humble advice:

1. I think that having confidence in your ability is the key in doing well. If you spend time second guessing your own answers and double checking everything there is no way you will finish in time.

2. Don't be influenced by the "First 8" misconception (if you get any of the first 8 questions wrong you're score is pretty much doomed). It is a big load of BS. I would however recommend not guessing on consecutive questions. i.e. if you get 5-6 in a row wrong that will bring the level down significantly. If you guess an answer on a question, concentrate extra hard on the next one to get it right.

3. Find areas of your strengths quickly and keep those areas warm by constant practice. Practice weak areas but don't obsess over them. I think the GMAT understands that not all verbal ability is reflected by perfect grammar or ability to calculate permutations and probability.

4. Take one or two practice tests in a moderately public place where there are minor annoyances and disturbances.

5. Finishing all the questions is important. Don't brood over complex problems that are very hard to solve. Make educated guesses and move on.

6. Visit the exam center and know the traffic conditions to get there. If you are caffeine addicted and the exam slot is not at your happy time, be sure to get your alertness level correct by practicing for a month or so in advance too.

7. Read blogs and experiences of other people but don't ponder over them too much. Everybody has a different background and different set of skills and weaknesses.

Thanks for reading till all the way down here and I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them. Good Luck!

Good links that I found:

https://beatthegmat.blocked/2005/08 ... ience.html

https://home.comcast.net/~dave.kim/GMAT_ ... rategy.htm

https://jc-gmat.blocked

https://www.gmatclub.com/

https://www.beatthegmat.com/

AbhinandanShah wrote:There is not much to actually STUDY about the Math and Verbal GMAT tests, but there is lots to study about the TRAPS of GMAT...

Always see what the question is trying to test

Do a meaning-scan on the Sentence correction answer that you have chosen to see if it gels with the original meaning of the sentence.

Leonard C wrote:Guys,

After speaking to a couple of guys and doing some research, I think I have got to the bottom of this issue. However, welcome any further thoughts from the group.

Rule 1: If the context of the sentence makes it clear who or what the pronoun refers to, then that sentence is fine.

Example:

Although Napoleon's army entered Russia with far more supplies than for any previous campaign, it had provisions for only twenty-four days.

Here, "it" clearly refers to "army" if we look at it in the context of the sentence. Hence this sentence is fine.

Although Napoleon's army entered Russia with far more supplies than for any previous campaign, it was a country that simply could not be conquered.

Here, the same "it" in the previous sentence is used to refer to "Russia". How do we know this? Because of the context of the sentence.

The important point to note here that "it" can refer to both "army" and "Russia" depending on the context of the sentence. Some GMAT books will tell you that there is a pronoun antecedent error here because there are several nouns preceding a pronoun, and as a result the pronoun can be used to refer to any one of these preceding nouns. However this is a very simplistic rule and should not be applied (more on this later). In fact, if we follow this strict rule, then there are pronoun antecedent errors everywhere you look - I found three or four in the newspapers in this morning in the space of 10 minutes. So, in short - ignore the rule that there is a pronoun antecedent error if there are several nouns preceding a pronoun - this is wrong and will not give you success on the GMAT.

Rule 2: If the context of the sentence is unclear, then there is a pronoun antecedent error.

Example:

Formulas for cash flow and the ratio of debt to equity do not apply to new small businesses in the same way as they do to established big businesses, because they are growing and are seldom in equilibrium.

Here, the context of the sentence is not as clear. We all know "they" refers to "small businesses" but an uninformed reader may assume it refers to the "formulas". Why? Because if I write "formulas for cash flow and the ratio of debt to equity are growing and are seldom in equilibrium" the clause makes sense. Hence, the antecedent here is not as clear as it can be, and this sentence is wrong.

One more example:

The attorney argued that students who were denied the use of school facilities for political activities had lost their right of free assembly.

Is there an unclear antecedent for "their" here? Manhattan Review says there is, but that is incorrect. There is no unclear antecedent here. "Their" can only refer to "students" - it cannot refer to "school facilities" or "political activities". Why? Ask yourself - can school facilities lose their right to free assembly? No. Can political activities lose their right to free assembly? No. So "students" is the only clear antecedent of "their", and there is no unclear antecedent error here.

In summary: when you see an pronoun which is preceded by a several nouns, substitute the pronoun for each of the preceding nouns. If the sentence only makes sense when one of the nouns is substituted (as in the example above, only "students" make sense) then there is no clear antecedent. If you can substitute multiple nouns for the pronoun and the sentence makes sense in all cases, then there is an antecedent error.

Last few words: I spoke with a colleague of mine who attained a perfect score on the GMAT two years ago and she agreed with my view. Furthermore, she said that if you check the OG and all the questions relating to pronoun errors, you will see that they allow for the meaning of pronouns to be derived from the context of the sentence. In short, ignore the strict pronoun antecedent rules put forward by some prep books. A lot of these books support the use of simplistic rules which may not apply in all cases. They seem to have little respect for the GMAT and believe that if you rote learn a set of simplistic rules, you can score well. I think that we need to have a little more respect for the GMAT than this. For sure, there are a set of grammar rules we must rote learn and follow, but there are instances (such as this) where we have to use our judgment.

lunarpower wrote:

semidevil wrote:so I"m going over the OG 11 math, and I find myself solving the problems in my own way, rather then the from the answer key.

I do a lot of 'plugging' in, 'counting,' and just doing it in my head rather than laying out the formula going line by line.

we love you.

you should of course study raw content, but these sorts of "secondary methods" are where you're going to make the big gains.

this is EXACTLY what you should be doing.

in fact, i'm a bit extreme about this, but i believe in the "10-15 second mental shot clock", a lot like the shot clock in basketball.
if you don't think of a theory-type method within 10-15 seconds of the time you finish reading the problem, then move on to secondary methods, NOW.

never stare at problems. they don't like to be stared at, and may bite you.

in the real test, does the test try to use figures in such a way that prevents you from doing that and force you to use traditional formulas?

dear lord, no.

in fact, many of the most difficult problems on the test are, ironically, more amenable to such backdoor solutions.
you see, each step of a problem usually admits some probability of a non-traditional solution. since harder problems are usually not only more conceptually difficult but also more complicated (i.e., have more steps), that translates into a higher probability of alternative solutions.

in fact, the only problems i've found to have a single, orthodox method of solution are very easy problems.

For practice purposes, should I force myself in laying out formula step by step?

dear lord, no.

you should indulge your tendency to use secondary methods. "forcing yourself to lay out formulas" is a recipe for horrible time management; it's an attitude that will make you spend too much time on solution methods that simply aren't working.

--

by the way, as jim said, many of the og solutions aren't so hot.
especially in word translations, where they NEVER use ANY charts, tables, or other such devices that i consider absolutely essential for solving such problems.

do remember that gmac is not in the business of helping you ace their own tests.

--

in fact, i've gone so far as to FORMALIZE a PROBLEM SOLVING HIERARCHY that incorporates the sort of methods of which you speak, because most students rarely or never think to use such methods under the time constraints imposed on the test.

here it is.

PROBLEM SOLVING:
1. can i find a "textbook method" to solve the problem?
- i.e., can i find an 'opener' that might be in an answer key, etc.?
IF NOT,
2. can i "plug in numbers"?
- note that there are two kinds of "plugging in numbers" for problem solving:
(a) plugging in YOUR OWN numbers, and working through the problem in the normal direction with your numbers instead of variables (VIC style problems),
(b) plugging in the ANSWER CHOICES and working the problem backwards (used if the answer choices are numbers and there's a decently easy path "backwards" through the problem).
IF NOT,
3. can i estimate, or perform process of elimination in any other way?
- if the answer choices are NUMBERS and there's a decent spread - i.e., not all of the answer choices are extremely close together - then you may be able to eliminate answers based on estimation. this goes especially for geometry problems, which have DIAGRAMS and are therefore easier to estimate, but it goes for all sorts of other problems as well.
IF NOT,
4. guess
- if you get to this point, DO NOT DELIBERATE - just guess. remember that any random guess is as good as any other random guess. if you're an extreme "deliberator", then, as weird as it may sound, you may want to have an actual method for random guessing. this could be as simple as "pick the first one of the remaining choices", but anything you can do to prevent staring at the problem is good.

DATA SUFFICIENCY:
1. can i find a "textbook method" to solve the problem?
- i.e., can i find an 'opener' that might be in an answer key, etc.?
IF NOT,
2. can i "plug in numbers"?
- note that NUMBER PLUGGING WORKS DIFFERENTLY FOR DATA SUFFICIENCY. with problem solving, all you have to do is plug in one set of numbers (VICs) or plug in one answer choice at a time (working backwards). with data sufficiency, though, you have to plug in MULTIPLE numbers or sets of numbers, with the goal being to TRY FOR 'INSUFFICIENT'.
in other words, you should try multiple values, with your goal being to get both a 'yes' and a 'no' (if it's a yes/no question) or two different values (if it's a value question).
if it's a number properties problem, you should make sure that you figure out the TYPES of numbers being tested, and plug in accordingly. for instance, if the problem involves absolute values, then it's likely that you'll have to plug in both positive and negative numbers.
IF NOT,
3. can i use the "easy statement", or perform process of elimination in any other way?
- always use the "easy statement" first, if there is one, and choose the grid (ad/bce or bd/ace) accordingly.
ironically, the hardest problems commonly have one very "easy" statement out of the two (such as a statement that doesn't contain one of the relevant variables).
IF NOT,
4. guess
- if you get to this point, DO NOT DELIBERATE - just guess. remember that any random guess is as good as any other random guess. if you're an extreme "deliberator", then, as weird as it may sound, you may want to have an actual method for random guessing. this could be as simple as "pick the first one of the remaining choices", but anything you can do to prevent staring at the problem is good.

After half-heartedly studying the GMAT for a year (going over a 2006 Princeton Review book),

first of all, good luck, and don't get discouraged. it is easy to be intimidated by the test, so stick in there and keep your head up.

question: are you studying this princeton review book BEFORE studying the official guides? if so, why?
the official guides should be your primary source. i'm not knocking 2nd tier sources such as the princeton review, but you should turn to such sources only after you've exhausted the primary sources (which should take a long, long, long time if done properly; read on).

no matter what you're studying, make sure that you study with the appropriate DEPTH, not just BREADTH. this is going to be difficult at first - there won't be that many connections to make when you're just digging back into the material after 'retirement' from academic study - but you should try to RELATE problems to each other in order to gain the maximum benefit from them.

for EVERY problem:
* don't concentrate on the solution to that actual problem, since you can be sure you aren't going to see that actual problem on the exam
* instead, try to find TAKEAWAYS from the problem, which you can then APPLY TO OTHER PROBLEMS. this is key - DO NOT LEAVE A PROBLEM until you have extracted at least one piece of information, whether a formula, a strategy, a trick/trap, etc., that you can apply to OTHER problems.
do not leave a problem until you can fill in the following sentence, meaningfully and nontrivially:
"if i see _____ ON ANOTHER PROBLEM, i should _____"
* notice the SIGNALS in the problem that dictate which strategy to use. if you miss the problem, then notice the strategy that's used in the book's solution (not always the best solution, in the case of the o.g., but better than nothing), and go back to see if there are any signals 'telling' you to use that strategy.

I took the test in October only to get an underwhelming score of 660. I just know that I have the intellectual capacity to do better, but I've hit sort of a roadblock at this point, and I need some focused advice.

Since my October test, I have taken the liberty of purchasing and going through the Kaplan GMAT 800 book. I found that in the verbal sections of the book -- qualitative being where I need the most practice -- I can generally get to the point where I'm acing the practice problems, but that is not translating to the actual GMATPrep tests I've taken in the last week (I saved the 2 for this point, 12 days from the GMAT, knowing those are the best resources I'll have for accurately assessing my ability). I find myself consistently getting 8 or so problems wrong out of 41, and I'm always extremely rushed at the very end.

question 1:
have you exhausted the official guides?
if not, then you should bury yourself in those - at the very least, the later problems.

question 2:
have you been practicing CONSISTENT TIME MANAGEMENT on EVERY SINGLE PRACTICE PROBLEM that you ever solve?

this is not an exaggeration.
you should NEVER solve a gmat-like problem untimed, EVER.
never.
ever.
if you do so, then you're undermining your efforts in two ways: (a) you're building poor time management habits, and (b) you're coming up with solutions that are, frankly, irrelevant to the official exam, because they take longer than you'll actually have.

the only things that you should ever do without a stopwatch are remedial exercises, such as the ones found in our strategy guides. if you're ever solving anything that is, or looks like, a gmat problem (i.e., has multiple choices or data-suff statements), then use a stopwatch. period.
no excuses.

if you "find yourself rushed at the end", i'd wager that the biggest reason is that you haven't been practicing time management with enough diligence or consistency.

at this point it may be too late to fix any bad time-management habits you may have built up. if it's a serious enough problem - i.e., you just can't stay within the timing guidelines, no matter how hard you try - then you should consider deferring your exam and practicing time management drills.

Most of the time, I'm getting problems wrong because I am not being thorough.

well, ok.

but if you're "not being thorough" AND you're feeling "rushed", then you've got some problems. if that's the case, then you may need to work on underlying issues such as distraction and attention. you may even have to take some sort of medicine and/or adjust your intake of such things as sugar and caffeine.
i mean, those 2 problems should be mutually exclusive: either you aren't being thorough, or you're running out of time. if you're a native speaker of english, then under no circumstances should both of them happen at the same time.

Perhaps this is a biproduct of the fact that I'm an engineer and much of my day is filled with skimming technical documents,

ironically, "skimming" is the optimal way to read most of the longer RC passages. you should not be reading these for detail, so, skimming large volumes of documents is actually the best preparation possible!

the problem, though, is that, in the event of a detail-oriented question, you have to GO BACK to the passage, and THEN read the relevant part(s) in EXTREME and MINUTE detail.
this may be the problem.
remember to be very, very, very, very, very literal when you read gmat passages. your engineering training should actually help you in this regard.

but I frequently find myself misreading problems, misreading passages, and constructing sentence correction sentences that bring tears to my eyes when I reread them.

please explain.
especially re: tears.

btw: if you're "constructing" SC sentences, then you're going about it all wrong. i'm not sure whether you mean that literally, but, if you do, then you've got the wrong strategy.
you should NOT construct your own answers to SC sentences.
no!
your job is not to be a writer, or even an editor. you should NOT generate "correct" answer choices from your own bosom; all you should do is COMPARE the constructions that already exist in the answer choices.

I have my test currently scheduled for 12 days from now, and I would like to get my apps in by January, as I've heard that is helpful for schools with rolling admissions like Columbia (#1 with a bullet for me currently).

you should post these concerns in the admissions section, where more knowledgeable heads will prevail. i know absolutely nothing whatsoever about b-school admissions.

I know I've basically written you a book here, but I hope you find the time to read through this and are willing to take a few minutes to give me some advice.

it is long, isn't it.
my my.

lunarpower wrote: ironically, the passive-voice constructions (such as being amused is better than being angered) are the only ones in which 'being' is a CORRECT, non-wordy construction, since passive voice must take some form of 'to be'.

Please help...

A committee of three people is to be chosen from four married couples. What is the number of different committees that can be chosen if two people who are married to each other can't both serve on the committee?

a) 16
b) 24
c) 26
d) 30
e) 32

VP_Jim wrote:I like to get away from using formulas on permutation/combination problems. Most GMAT problems are easier if you just think about them logically. In this problem, we have three "slots" on the team, so draw a little picture:

_____ ______ ______

And ask yourself: how many choices do I have for each slot?

For the first slot, you can pick anyone, so 8. For the second slot, you can pick anyone except the person you already picked and his or her spouse, so 6. For the last slot, using the same reasoning, we have 4 choices.

So: 8x6x4

But, since order doesn't matter in this problem, we have to divide by 3x2x1 (an easy way to think of it is to divide by N!, where "N" is the number of items in the numerator of your fraction).

(8x6x4)/(3x2x1) = 32