by Rich Cohen/EMPOWERgmat; Rich.C@empowergmat.com
This series of emails and PMs focuses on situations that many Test Takers face during their studies. The names of the original posters have been changed to protect their identities.
One CAT After 2 Months is NOT Enough
Dear Rich,
I am over 2 months into my preparation which included going through several books and I am currently doing OG 2016th Edition. Last week I took my first diagnostic test to gauge my level and scored a 620, but there were pacing problems in both the math and verbal sections. How do I improve my pacing?
Vivian
Hi Vivian,
Taking FULL-LENGTH CATs (including the Essay and IR sections) on a regular basis is essential to your overall improvement in ALL areas (not just your scores). There are aspects to your overall training that can ONLY be defined (and improved) by taking those CATs. Many Test Takers experience pacing ‘issues’ in either the Quant or Verbal sections (or both). One of the benefits of taking CATs is that you’ll learn to be more ‘efficient’ with the time that you have – and you’ll learn how to make ‘pressure’ decisions (such as when you get ‘stuck’ on a question and have to guess and move on). As such, instead of waiting so long before your next CAT, I'd suggest that you plan on taking one FULL CAT every 1-2 weeks. As you get closer to your Official Test Date, you'll want to increase the frequency to 1 CAT/week.
A ‘Stuck’ Verbal Score Often Means Too Much “Guessing”
Rich,
I just gave my GMATprep-2 and scored a 650(Q48, V31). My last 3 CATs were all V30-V31. I got in SC 12/17 correct, in CR 6/10 correct and in RC 5/13 correct. Please suggest what further can be achieved in the next 20 days. My goal is at least 700.
Wiggins
Hi Wiggins,
If your Verbal Scaled Scores are that consistent, then you have to look at your "mechanics." You're clearly doing certain things well (and consistently), but you're likely making the same mistakes consistently. I'd suggest that you go through the ENTIRE Verbal section of this last CAT. Count up the number of times that you "narrowed it down and guessed." How many times did you get the question right? How many times did you get the question wrong? THAT level of instability is one of the things that’s keeping you from 700+ right now. It means that you need to do a little bit more Tactical ‘work’ to hone in on the correct answer and eliminate some of the ‘guess-work’ from how you approach the Verbal section as a whole.
Questionable Practice Materials From Questionable Sources
Hi Rich,
How would you approach this question?
Is |x -y| > |x| + |y|?
(1) y < x
(2) xy < 0
Xavier
Hi Xavier,
There’s something interesting about this prompt – it has not been properly designed. GMAT prompts NEVER start you off with enough information to answer the given question. This prompt can be answered as “Sufficient NO” without any additional information (re: the information in either of the two Facts). As such, it is "faulty" and should not be used. If the source of this question is not well-known (re: reputable), then you might want to consider NOT using any other questions from this source – there are plenty of other sources for realistic (and accurately designed) GMAT prompts.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
