Just given GMAT got 500 (Q 44, V 17) very disappointing... :

[greatdangi1857]

Hi,

I am very upset with my GMAT score of 500, i was expecting 650+. In all my earlier tests i was scoring between 580 and 630. I found verbal is my week area specially SC and RC.
I have already gone through Manhattan SC and OG 10 and OG 11 for all SC and RC problems but still solving SC questions are more of guessing game for me. I will appear for GMAT again and planning to score 700+. I just want to know how I should start preparation for SC and RC as they are my week areas and I don't want to guess the answers. Please help.

Thanks a lot in advance...

[DanaJ]

There are other resources available for SC and RC improvement. I suggest taking a look at the PowerScore series. The company has a strong reputation in the LSAT business, which is a test taken by law school candidates. The LSAT is mainly about verbal, so their guides should cover this section nicely. I myself used their CR Bible and found it to be a great resource for both CR and RC (after all, RC is CR with simpler questions but longer passages).

Also, improving RC and SC might require you to work on your general English. You'll often see posts recommending that you read as much high quality material as you possibly can: books, newspapers... You could also try buying a general grammar book (published by reputed companies such as Longman or Oxford) if you feel your SC isn't improving.