{"id":13413,"date":"2012-08-01T19:02:10","date_gmt":"2012-08-02T02:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=13413"},"modified":"2012-08-01T16:11:24","modified_gmt":"2012-08-01T23:11:24","slug":"gmat-prep-tip-5-bad-habits-on-the-sentence-correction-section","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/gmat-prep-tip-5-bad-habits-on-the-sentence-correction-section\/","title":{"rendered":"GMAT Prep Tip: 5 Bad Habits on the Sentence Correction section"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Knewton<\/a>Jen Rugani is one of Knewton\u2019s top\u00a0<\/em>GMAT teachers<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you bite your nails? Chew on pencils? Forget to the check the subject and verb on sentence correction questions? All of these are bad habits, but only one will affect your GMAT score. Test-takers tend to make the same grammar mistakes over and over again; learn to recognize\u2014and avoid\u2014these common traps and pitfalls.<\/p>\n

1) Ignoring the Subject and Verb<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of the biggest, most basic rules of grammar: If it doesn\u2019t have a main subject and main verb, it\u2019s not a sentence. More importantly, the subject and verb are the potential home of numerous SC errors, including subject-verb agreement, sentence fragments, clause connection and more. Many test-takers head straight for more complicated issues and overlook an easy subject-verb mistake that can knock a few answer choices out of contention. In a gourmet meal, perfect side dishes don\u2019t matter if the main course is burned. Think of the subject and verb as the meat (or vegan substitute) of a sentence, and check them first.<\/p>\n

2) Overlooking Redundancy<\/strong><\/p>\n

The GMAT loves concision and clarity; it is a mistake to repeat yourself and say the same thing twice. Did you see the redundancy in the previous sentence? If so, you are ahead of the curve! The vast majority of test-takers miss simple redundancy errors, so be extra vigilant in watching out for them. Look for quantity words:<\/p>\n

Redundant: The price dropped by a 30% decrease.<\/p>\n

Awesomely concise: The price dropped by 30%.<\/p>\n

Redundancy can also appear in cause and effect relationships:<\/p>\n

Redundant: Because she is obsessed with Elvis, the result is that she eats only peanut butter and banana sandwiches.<\/p>\n

Awesomely concise: Because she is obsessed with Elvis, she eats only peanut butter and banana sandwiches.<\/p>\n

The moral of the story: Saying it twice? Not so nice.<\/p>\n

3) Trusting Your Ear Too Much (or Not Enough)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen up, native English speakers: Your natural ear for grammar can be a hugely valuable tool. Use it, and trust it to help you eliminate obviously awkward answer choices. Don\u2019t waste time analyzing sentences that you instinctively know sound wrong. However, trusting your ear is not a substitute for understanding the rules of grammar. This is especially true for GMAT idioms. Take a look at this sentence:<\/p>\n

As puppies gnaw on their favorite bones, so I gnaw on this ear of corn.<\/p>\n

This sentence might\u00a0sound<\/em>\u00a0totally fine \u2014 in fact, it\u2019s likely that many native English speakers would say this in everyday speech, especially when enjoying a delicious corn-on-the-cob. Unfortunately, \u201cas\u2026so\u201d\u009d is NOT a valid comparison idiom. The correct sentence is:<\/p>\n

Just as puppies gnaw on their favorite bones, so I gnaw on this ear of corn.<\/p>\n

The GMAT test-makers understand that a natural ear for English is an advantage, so they will purposefully include sentences that sound wrong, but are actually correct.<\/p>\n

4) Playing the \u201cWhat If\u201d<\/strong>\u009d<\/strong> Game<\/strong><\/p>\n

The \u201cwhat if\u201d\u009d game is one of the most dangerous habits on the SC section. You read an answer choice and think, \u201cI see an error here. This is wrong. But what if it had a plural verb (or a comma, or a pronoun, or some other grammatical element)? Then would it be correct?\u201d\u009d Do not fall into this trap! It doesn\u2019t matter whether the answer choice would be correct if written differently; it\u2019s not, and that\u2019s the whole point. Answer choices on the GMAT are constructed deliberately and precisely, so don\u2019t waste time with \u201cwhat ifs.\u201d\u009d If you see an error, simply eliminate the choice and move on.<\/p>\n

5) Forgetting the Logic of a Sentence<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are so many grammar rules to remember that test-takers often forget that sentences have to make sense, too. If you\u2019re stuck on a question, take a step back and do a quick logic check: What information is this sentence trying to convey, and what is the clearest, most straightforward way in which to convey it? Logic checks are particularly useful for modifier and verb tense errors. For modifiers, ask yourself: What is this phrase describing, and does the structure of the sentence make that clear? For verb tense, ask: In what order did these events occur, and do the tenses correctly express that relationship? Thinking about the meaning of a sentence can help pull the underlying grammar issues into sharper focus.<\/p>\n

Ditch these bad habits and say hello to a higher verbal score. As for biting your nails\u2026 you\u2019re on your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jen Rugani is one of Knewton\u2019s top\u00a0GMAT teachers. Do you bite your nails? Chew on pencils? Forget to the check the subject and verb on sentence correction questions? All of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1,719],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-uncategorized","category-sentence-correction-gmat","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13413"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13415,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13413\/revisions\/13415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}