Best way to review RC, CR and SC problems

[Mulder]

All of my scores on the verbal section of my test have been very volatile, ranging from 65% to 81%. I have read all of the MGMAT verbal strategy guides and have done several (~10) practice tests. I would like to know what the best way to review and practice verbal questions is. When I do practice problems from the Official Guide, the MBA.com application or MGMAT practice tests, should I write the entire question down on paper for later study, noting key points that I should try to remember for future questions (obviously would not do this for RC or CR but maybe for SC?) Should I just try to practice as many problems as I can and review them when done, without taking notes on paper? What is most effective way to review answers on Verbal questions?

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Hey Mulder,

SC questions are mostly about grammar knowledge and proper style, so there's not much you can do in the way of note-taking beyond keeping track of what answers you eliminate and, if you guessed, what answers you "narrowed it down to."

CR and RC do require notes though. Your success in those two areas will likely be affected by the type of notes you take and the consistency of your process. Similar to how you might handle SC questions, keep track of the answers that you've eliminated and what options you narrowed down to if you guessed.

During review, you should take additional notes on grammar rules that you didn't know (for SC) and the logic/patterns behind the CR/RC questions that you faced. Since the entire GMAT is built on consistent patterns, learning those patterns and then spotting them when they reappear should help you to improve your Verbal performance.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[KevinRocci]

Howdy!

I think that I can provide some useful tips!

Success is only achieved with an honest assessment of a one's abilities. When you do practice problems and go through the ones you missed, do you have a strong sense of your weaknesses? Do you know that you struggle more with a particular type of grammar point? Do you continually miss idioms or modification questions? Are you missing main idea questions in RC or are you missing inference questions? What slowed you down the most when reading a passage? Did you tend to make "silly" mistakes when you were almost done with a problem?

When you study, your goal should be to know the answer to these questions I just asked. And you can only do this by keeping track of your mistakes and spending more time analyzing questions and reading answer explanations. What you need is an error log!

You may be able to keep a mental error log, but memory is a tricky thing. It's harder to notice patterns this way, so I recommend using a notebook for your error log. Write down the question number, the source, question type, and concept tested. Then write down answers to the following questions:

• Why you missed the question?
  Why your answer is wrong?
  Why the correct answer is correct?
  What will you do to avoid this next time around?

Return to your error log often. Review your mistakes and errors before you take a practice test. You want your common mistakes and errors present in your mind when you sit to take a test so that you can consciously avoid them. If you do this enough, by the time you sit for the actual test, you will be aware of your common errors and "silly" mistakes and you will work to avoid them or notice them when they happen.

I hope that you find these tips helpful! Let me know if I can make anything more clear.

Cheers,
Kevin