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Practicing SC Questions ONLINE

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Practicing SC Questions ONLINE

by piyushdabomb » Sun Oct 04, 2009 9:57 pm
Hey,

I just took my first devastating gmat practice exam via the MGMAT online exam. Had a question regarding sentence correction exercises:

1. I've noticed that idioms such as "Prefer X to Y" and "...made possible by..." are not found in the Manhattan GMAT Sentence correction strategy guide book, yet I still need to know them. Where can I get the "right" list of GMAT idioms to study from?

2. How can I only target and practice SC corrections by level of difficulty knowing what score they fall into? Is there a an online resource that will allow me to practice my Sentence Correction skills knowing the question difficulty and the score it falls under? For example, if I am on a question, I'd love to know if its a 600 or 700 level question.

I know the OG provides questions by varying levels of difficulty, but I've also realized that the questions don't indicate which level category they fall under and also truly help me get better at these questions.

How is the Kaplan quiz bank for this? Is there anythign else out there?
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Sincerely,

Piyush A.
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by beatthegmat » Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:42 pm
Hi piyushdabomb,

Have you seen the GMAT Resources Directory? There are some links there to some GMAT Idiom resources that can help.

With regard to practicing questions at a specific level of difficulty--there isn't a good resource that I'm aware of to do that effectively. OG and other books usually feature questions from a range of 'difficulty'. If you are specifically seeking 700+ questions though (vs specifically 500-600 or 600-700 range), then there are a couple of options that could work. Check out the Kaplan Advanced book as a starting point.

Hope that this helps, good luck!
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by piyushdabomb » Tue Oct 06, 2009 5:42 am
Thanks for your response.

Here is the issue I'm experiencing:

While I'm studying my SC guide, I'm not able to pinpoint my weakest areas because apparently I'm making "concept" mistakes from pronouns to subject verb agreements. I don't even know where the questions I'm getting wrong fall under (scoring wise). The OG book doesn't break it up for me and the MGMAT exams have the CR and RC piece in their exam that I haven't even gotten to.

Let me ask you this:

1. I know where my mistakes lie for 'individual' questions as I work on them and they are all over the place. How do I structurally make sure I know that concept before moving on? I feel like when I learn the concept, I then see another piece to the concept in another question that I didn't see in the MGMAT SC guide or I didn't even notice (its not a careless mistake).

2. I want to get more than a 700 but since I'm stronger in my Math and hope to get higher than 700 in my math, what do I really need to get in the 700s for the verbal? I ask because I'm feel like I'm losing time and I can't afford to learn everything. I'd rather learn what I need to so I can focus on other areas rather than over killing the subject.

3. I'm almost inclined to get a personal tutor to get me through the verbal section. Any thoughts on this?

4. How about the Kaplan Quiz bank? Is it worth it? I've read numerous articles about people satisfied from it, but I've also heard that the questions are harder. Why would I want to spend time on harder questions if its going to take me longer? I'm confused.
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by beatthegmat » Tue Oct 06, 2009 4:02 pm
To address your questions:

1) I think that you need to create a spreadsheet to tracks some 'analytics' on your performance. Check out this GMAT Practice Grid post, which features tips for tracking your practice questions. Write down the concept being tested for ALL your practice questions. It's a pain in the butt, but doing this will help you a lot to pinpoint your weak areas (example: "I can't seem to understand subject-verb agreement!"). When you have these troublesome concepts pinpointed, you can then ask targeted questions in this community to improve, or design a custom study plan with a tutor.

2) If you are gunning for a 700+, there are many different raw score combinations to get you there. I agree though with your approach in trying to find the low-hanging fruit areas where you can improve the most and focusing your attention there. It will be better than spreading yourself thin. The method I outlined above should help you in this regard.

3) I think a personal tutor could be a good idea if you can afford it. But to make the most out of your prep, do the suggestions in 1) to make sure you're getting the most out of your time.

4) I've heard good things about the Kaplan Quiz Bank and I have also heard that it is difficult. Difficult is good though because it will make the real GMAT seem easier. Kinda like how Olympic athletes train at altitude. :)

Hope this helps, good luck!
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