Hmm Thanks much for spreading out the news ! I followed the link and came across some excerpts that made me feel more like , instead of penalizing , GMAC is trying to make SC neutral to native and non native speakers alike. It's more like GMAC is now really getting better in terms of a " Standardized Test " . Why ? let me quickly outlay my points based on the minutes of 4th GMAC Test Prep Summit.
Excerpts from the 4th GMAC Test Prep Summit :
Many students have been reporting that Sentence Correction on the real test has been feeling… different this year. We had some theories as to what was changing, and we were able to get confirmation yesterday from Dr. Larry Rudner, who is in charge of psychometrics for GMAC (or, in less fancy language, he’s the one who’s responsible for the overall development and construction of the test).My Analysis : This is making me nervous and blows the life out of me. But again , without deep diving into the issue, i do not think there is a need to become apprehensive. Know the facts, Analyze whats being told , Check the authenticity of the source. Only once done , let's figure out if we really need to press the panic button and shriek for help !
They’ve been writing more Sentence Corrections that emphasize issues surrounding meaning. There are more questions now in which two or more answers are grammatically correct, but only one maintains the meaning of the original question stem.so those who are focusing primarily on grammar without paying much attention to meaning are going to find the real test a lot harder. My Analysis : Is it not true ? GMAC did emphasize menaing and proper diction makes a effective expression.
In fact OG12 clearly states
" An effective sentence expresses an idea or relationship clearly and concisely as well as grammatically ".What does it mean ? The term "clearly" in the above statement refers to a sentence being unambiguous. That is the intended meaning should be clear and a well chosen option based on POE by application of grammar rules should retain the intended meaning. The term "concisely" refers to concision or style. The latest MGMAT SC Guide clearly discusses this " Grammar , Meaning and Concision " in detail in the very second chapter.
Also in Logical predication section of OG 12 , it is stated that " If modifiers are not positioned clearly, they can cause illogical references or distort the meaning of the statement. "
So, all i can say its not that we are not aware of this change rather the clear emphasis on meaning is something we need to look at. We do have material that highlights the theoriticial value of this concept but yes i agree we need more and more practice with questions like this. Can someone guide on some source that gives us such practice ?
OG 12 has few questions like that. May be verbal review
official guide will have such more ! I am not sure as of yet.
Larry also told us that they are moving towards completely phasing out idioms! They don’t want to penalize non-native speakers for things that don’t really interfere with comprehension and communication, so they are moving away from idioms entirely.My Analysis : This is really great news ! No more we do need to memorize loads of idioms. I felt this is one topic that being unfair to all non native speakers and GMAC's move make more sense . I fell it is poised toward the real meaning of a " Standardized test " hmmm
When we asked how common idioms still are right now and when they would be gone completely, he said that “ideally” he hopes they’re all gone already, but there may still be some in the pool – it takes time to scrub the questions completely. So that’s big news – we really shouldn’t be worrying about idioms any longer!My Analysis : Wow that's it ! Though i am not taking the focus away from Idioms completely. At-least I do not need to cram up several flash cards and shift my focus to several other things of SC.
So, really am not running around to press the panic button . Idioms are gone or on the verge of becoming invisible ! That's good. But what is the official or test prep sources which allow me to practice questions based on new emphasis of SC " the meaning " ? Perhaps i can use verbal review edition 2 or not . This is the one questions that bothers me. Man we need more practice that complements the recently emphasized part of SC ! I will wait for it and see.