GMAT counselling

Question

Looking for some advice. I've been preparing for GMAT for quite some time. In jan, I scored Q48/V28(630). 

After some preparation, I appeared for a mock and just bombed(Q50;V19). Honestly, I was preparing for the verbal portion with some consistency. Revised the reliable books(Manhattan/Veritas)Feel down today

Answer 1

Hi Yasir!

 

I'm sorry to hear that you're having a bit of trouble with the verbal section of the GMAT. It certainly isn't easy! As I am sure you know, one of the most important parts of the whole exam is time management. Within the verbal section, you must budget your time between the three sections: reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence correction.

 

Reading comprehension can be the most time consuming portion of the exam due to the long paragraphs you are asked to read and interpret. I am not sure how you are approaching these questions, but it is often helpful to skim the question stem and the answers prior to reading the long passage so that you have an idea of why you are reading this passage. This can prevent you from having to read and re-read the paragraphs, both allowing you to be more directed in your approach and freeing up time for some other questions.

 

Within the critical reasoning section, my advice would be slightly different. In this section, the answer choices are often longer than the stem (or close to it!). Reading the answers first can become confusing. I would advise you to briefly review the question, but to read the short paragraph stem prior to proceeding to the answer choices. Reading the question will again allow you to be more focused without cluttering your thoughts with difficult, wordy answer choices.

 

Lastly, you are faced with the sentence correction section. While these question stems are the shortest of the three, this does not necessarily make them any easier. Test takers can sometimes focus immediately on the underlined phrase without reading the whole sentence; after all, that is the part of the question you are asked to analyze! However, you are better served reading the question in its entirety; it is difficult to uncover grammatical errors without the frame of reference of the sentence to guide you to the best answer choice.

 

Just remember, there is no one way to approach an exam or approach the verbal section. The trick is finding the approach that works best for you! Keep reviewing and keep working on these questions; your familiarity with the types of questions asked can also give you a boost on test day. Feel free to reach out directly if you're interested in some more tips or tricks about the GMAT or would want to discuss how to best tailor your approach to the verbal section. Good luck!