Blood shed for a 710 (Q42 V46 IR6) - retake imminent

Question

Preface

I'd like to preface this brief debrief (edit: not brief at all, rambling to follow) by saying that I'm a native speaker and I'm fully aware that the vast majority (though not all) of you have more issues with the verbal than with the quant; for me it's the opposite. I think that that was important to mention in case you saw "V46" and thought a kindred spirit would have excellent and relevant advice. I'll offer up what I can and hope it helps in some way but honestly I was getting around high 30's before any kind of studying for verbal so please remember that when I say what worked for me.

I also plan on retaking the test as many of my mocks were in the mid to high 700's so the 710 was actually a bit of a letdown and because the quant in particular was so low I feel a retake is necessary.

Materials

Official Guide 13

- Not much to say, can't imagine you'll find many people who think the OG isn't worth the money or a necessary component of study.
Official Quant Review 2016

- You may have heard some people mention the importance of working on official problems, I wouldn't say I agree wholeheartedly because the problems I faced on the actual GMAT weren't all too similar to problems I've seen before and I've now done hundreds of official problems. THAT SAID, it is definitely beneficial to work loads of these problems because it (as GMAC likes to say) puts you in the mind of the test-makers. You start to get a sense of what the trick they're hoping you fall for might be. From what I've read I'm also a bit of an outlier with my actual GMAT problems being more difficult (in my opinion) to what I've seen in the OG or Quant review. So take my opinion with a serious skepticism.
GMAT Pill Course (gmatpill.com)

- I feel the math might be adequate for some of you but for those of us needing the basics, GMAT Pill's math is far more useful as a supplement to a course rather than as a course itself. That said I really enjoyed the SC series (and verbal in general) as it does a great job getting you in the right mindset and breaking down the majority (though not all) of what you'll see and how the GMAT expects you to answer. In regards to E-GMAT I personally struggled with the instructors accent for whatever reason but have heard fantastic things about their verbal as well. From my understanding both Pill and E-GMAT offer some form of try-before-you-buy so I recommend you investigate as both are great for verbal.
Manhattan Number Properties & Geometry books

- If you're reading a debrief on gmatclub.com than you've probably already heard of these books and I agree with all the reviews these are a fantastic resource for the price and even just one book comes with 6 practice CATs online. No offense to Bunuel and his math explanations, but Manhattan does a fantastic job breaking the math down verbally so that you can follow the reasoning that way if the math processes are too difficult for you to follow.
Tutoring

- I was stuck at around 39Q for weeks and weeks and it got to the point that I enlisted a tutor to work with. As you can see by my Q42 it wasn't truly eye-opening but I definitely got something out of going over problems with a tutor and I have even scored a Q47 at one point in a mock so was hoping for a 44-46 on test day.
Online Resources

- GMATClub first and foremost. I recommend you just stalk Bunuel like a madman following his posts and click literally anything he has in his forum signature including the GMATClub mathbook. I glanced over it initially but now that I'll be retaking in 4-6 weeks I'll absolutely be diving right into it. Also If you come across any good question like official guide, quant review, manhattan, veritas, etc., I highly recommend you google "site:gmatclub.com ______" and fill the blank with the question. There will almost certainly be a couple threads of discussion on that question with excellent answers and you'll start to love some of the regular posters; shout out to VertiasPrepKarishma, PareshGmat, and of course the moderators like Bunuel, all of you have been a tremendous resource for me (Bunuel's explanations are a little over my head sometimes but he has posted a great explanation for every question on the planet it's incredible).

- Veritas' youtube series on SC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8YVymgVTcg). Free and great.

- GMAT Quantum OG explanations (https://www.gmatquantum.com/og13th/) and Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/) for brushing up on simple math concepts

Strategy

I did entirely self-prep (discounting last minute tutor for the sake of argument). I also don't consider GMAT Pill a course though it technically is, I used it more on demand after awhile like brush ups on concepts. I think of a course as a more structured schedule but I suppose it's debatable.

The NUMBER ONE THING, I can recommend for those of you who choose the self-prep route is that you create a schedule and stick to it. I wasted months being lackadaisical in my approach and before long I realized that I hadn't actually learned a single thing. That said it was a benefit that I was reading and working problems, even on and off, as it started to train my mind and ear towards the way the GMAT prefers things to be written (which is particularly helpful for SC and CR in my opinion).

After creating a schedule, I built from the ground up. "What's my weakness, geometry, I'll work on that", a couple weeks later moved on "number properties, alright I'll work on that". That got me to Q40 and that's the purgatory I've been in essentially but if you keep strengthening your weaknesses (don't neglect strengths though) eventually the weakest link isn't all that weak.

Be sure to take full length practice CATs fairly frequently. I took several a week for a couple weeks leading up to the test. This is crucial for verbal! I say that because it is so hard to give enough focus and attention to the CR and RC if you're mentally exhausted by the end of the test. You should experiment doing an RC passage at 1:00am and then in the middle of the day. I doubt you'll even do that because we both know what that will look like and it's very similar to what the difference is between no test stamina and plenty of it by the time you're reading scientific passages in hour 3 of the GMAT

Verbal Tips

People appreciate Sentence Correction the most as it's the easiest to improve and I completely get that. I have a tremendous advantage being a native speaker in regards to the CR and RC to the point where all I really needed to do was practice a good bit.

For CR and RC I suggest you bullet point it for yourself. For me I can read through and get a good idea but for CR in particular I definitely benefit from making a note (mental or written) of the essence of what's being said. The wording almost always indicates what the argument boils down to and you can focus on that one component. If the question asks what weakens the conclusion above, well then what's the conclusion? It's basically if you were to ask whoever said the argument "what's the point of your argument?" and then you find what it is that they would choose to reiterate. Often it will be after an example or statistic and then followed by "thus" or "so" and then a suggested course of action or clear conclusion off of this "evidence". RC in particular is where I can't offer much advice. I read a lot, come from a very well-spoken family, and have a natural affinity for literature - so I just read through the passage and then refer back to it as the questions necessitate.

For SC, you don't need to learn a thousand idioms (obviously it's helpful if you can and have the time but the ROI isn't great). You can get by with simply learning a handful of the more common idioms if you focus on sentence meaning and specific purpose of individual words and phrases (what precisely is it that the sentence is trying to describe, or what exactly is being compared).

The main improvement I have been able to have is through critical analysis of the sentence in different sections and then also the sentence as a whole. Here are 2 quick fairly simple questions without the answers just to illustrate the first thing I think of when I see a sentence:

"Unlike the conviction held by many of his contemporaries, including fellow astronomers, that the Earth was flat and still, Galileo stuck to his own theories about how the Earth was a round globe moving about space, and now many years later, we know that Galileo was correct."

Immediately I see "Unlike the conviction".... let's ignore the rest of the sentence until we finish this thought. If you see a comparison being made you can essentially read the sentence as "blah blah blah" until you get to the comparison so you can nail down what exactly the comparison is between. Scanning through we get to "Galileo" which comes after the comma. I read 4 words and I know that A is wrong because you can't compare a specific person to an intangible idea like a "conviction". This type of illogical comparison is very frequent in SC

"The pattern of whisker spots on the face of a male lion, like human fingerprints, are a lifelong means of identification, since they are both unique and unchanging."

The comparison noted previously isn't an issue here, however I see "The pattern.......are". The GMAT loves to try and distract you from linked parts of the sentence. Pattern is singular. Don't let the GMAT divert your attention by the plurality of "spots" and "fingerprints" from the crucial components that are really being tested as it tries to do so often. Should read "The pattern....is".

My Testing experience, There Will Be Blood

I have actually taken the test previously and scored a 650 (39Q 41V) but I cancelled it immediately and it all started with me going to the wrong test center (I rescheduled and forgot I changed the location so all self-inflicted I'm afraid). THIS TIME, was not much better.

I woke up in the middle of the night and early AM sweating because of a heat wave and we did not turn up the air conditioning in anticipation so bit of a rough night before the test that included dreams of me melting into the bed (I do not recommend this approach). Final time in morning I woke up, went to the gym, shot a basketball for awhile, and did some cardio. Then I went home and ate some cold smoked salmon that was wonderful. Left for my 12:45 test and arrived to the correct test center, checked in, did the AWA and IR (man I hate this section, sometimes I get a 2 sometimes a 6 and the questions are very tedious). This is where things start to get really enjoyable. I started my break and raised my hand to leave and the check-in lady (very nice woman by the way) was slower than a glacier when it came to getting around to letting me check out and I had lost 2 minutes before I even got to my locker for a snack. Same thing happened on way back (and for verbal) and I started the quant section 2 minutes late, made me anxious for the entire first half of the quant and then again somewhat for verbal.

I highly recommend if you have time to spare don't simply advance to your break. I used whatever minutes I had to write what I remembered from my self-written cheat sheet down for reference, rest my eyes a bit, and also later on gauge when the woman at the desk would be available to check me out so that I wouldn't lose that time for my break.

I hit a few problems I've done before but simply could not for the life of me remember how to do them (part exhaustion, part excitement from starting late, part poor quant knowledge). Well a circle question finally pops up, and I guess my brain was in overdrive because my upper lip starts to get kind of cold. The cold starts spilling over my lips when I realize, "oh.. oh no... my nose is bleeding". Yup, in the middle of the test my nose just started bleeding. Basically I had to use my hands until Mrs. Arctic Glacier eventually makes it to me with some tissues and then damage control sets in. That lasts a minute or two, and at this point there's blood on my face, the desk, my pad, and on the mouse for the computer (I kept working the problem like a champ until she got to me with the tissues). During my last break I convinced them to let me spend my break cleaning up the mess because I felt so badly about it. I don't have any kind of diseases or anything but for the sake of sanitation I felt awful.

Because of the the wrong test center experience the first time, my tutor just laughed at my face when I told him what happened this time.

For the verbal section there were a few moments that were dicey 50/50 questions but I suppose I got lucky on a few guesses otherwise it wouldn't have been a 46.

Conclusion

So that's my experience, I apologize for the length of my writing I get very carried away sometimes. If you have any questions please ask as I'll be on the forum frequently these next few weeks as I prepare for my retake and if there's anything I can do to help you or explain something I'd love to do so.

Also, I hate to be a beggar but not enough to not do it. If you found this informative/helpful/beneficial I'd really appreciate a kudos here or there so that I might earn enough to use the GMATClub tests a bit before my next retake.

Best of luck in your studies all! I sincerely hope you all score to the best of your abilities whatever that may be.

gmathopeful25 · Answer

Congrats on the high verbal score! I consistently get between -1 and -2 on CR and RC. Any advice on how to improve once someone gets to that level? I took the GMAT a couple of weeks ago and got a Q45 (but a weird split of q50 for DS and q38 for PS).

raarun · Answer

Mrs.Arctic Glacier LOL!! :-D

redfield · Answer

I'm sorry but by "-1 and -2 on CR and RC" are you referring to just one or two misses? I'd say for me the main improvement for CR I ever had was as I described above when you basically start to analyze the argument as you do the AWA argument in which you start to notice when there is an assumption or they jump to a conclusion or state some kind of link and mark down (mentally or in writing) that moment. Is there any kind of pattern in regards to the question type you are missing? For example do you typically miss a "strengthen" CR or a "weaken" or so on? Maybe it's the subject matter more than the question type? Let's go through 2 problems and tell me if either of these you made a mistake in (I did not face any CR much harder than these but neither is particularly difficult) ------------------------------------- "The media claim that the economy is entering a phase of growth and prosperity. They point to lower unemployment rates and increased productivity. Their analysis is false, though. The number of people filing for bankruptcy has increased every month for the last six months and bankruptcy lawyers report that they are busier than they have been in years. " Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? A. Unemployment rates are not useful indicators of growth and prosperity. B. Economic growth cannot be measured in terms of productivity. C. Legislation has not been recently passed to make legal bankruptcy easier to obtain. D. There has not been an increase in the number of bankruptcy lawyers. E. The media often misrepresent the current state of economic affairs. Okay so when I read the above I pick up the key words and simplify it in my head "media claim...phase of prosperity...evidenced by lower RATES and increased productivity........this is false though because the NUMBER people filing for bankruptcy up, and lawyers busier than normal" Notice I went crazy with bolding and capitalizing "rates" and "number". It's frequent on GMAT CR that an argument or conclusion is based on comparing a percentage to a total number (this is common in DS too so I imagine you might have noticed) A. Unemployment rates are not useful indicators of growth and prosperity. "Unemployment rates" is only mentioned initially, the argument doesn't refute or even mention it B. Economic growth cannot be measured in terms of productivity. Same as above, the argument is battling that there is growth and then cites other reasons, doesn't seem to care at all about measuring productivity or unemployment rates, argument has it's own agenda focusing on bankruptcy otherwise there would have been an explicit attack on A or B. GMAT isn't very ambiguous, either something was explicitly attacked or it typically isn't relevant C. Legislation has not been recently passed to make legal bankruptcy easier to obtain. I'm all about this. The argument is saying economy isn't doing so well because the bankruptcy numbers are up. Well if it's a whole lot easier to file for bankruptcy now then that would ruin this argument. D. There has not been an increase in the number of bankruptcy lawyers. bleh, argument said they're busier than ever, if there were more lawyers it would only prove his point further E. The media often misrepresent the current state of economic affairs. What the heck does this have to do with anything? Get out of here E Assumption questions aren't too dissimilar from a weaken question. You're basically saying which of these would most hurt this argument by being false. --------------------------- "In 1886, the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh began to exhibit simple, elegant lines and vivid colors. Art historians explain this change as the incorporation of another culture's artistic tradition and argue on this basis that Van Gogh became interested in Japanese art at this time." Each of the following, if true, provides some support for the art historians' account described above EXCEPT: A) Black contours typical of Japanese Yamato-e paintings appear in Van Gogh's work from 1886 on but at no earlier time. B) Van Gogh's notebooks dating from the inception of his art career until 1885 contain hundreds of sketches for paintings, none of which exhibit the style distinctive to Japanese artwork. C) A thriving market for Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints existed in Paris, where Van Gogh settled in early 1886. D) Bridge in the Rain, which Van Gogh painted in 1885, exhibited striking similarities to Sudden Rain at Ohashi Bridge by Japanese print master Hiroshige. E) Some of Van Gogh's sketches were drawn using a reed shaped into a quill, a traditional Japanese instrument Van Gogh began to use in 1886. Okay so whats the gist/crux/essence/point of the argument? In 1886 our guy Vincent started using a style that historians say indicates his interest in Japanese art at this time. "This time"? Okay that's clearly a key indicator we're likely going to see answers giving us a timeline to pick from. Furthermore you can see the question says that each answer is similar to each other except for 1. I love these questions because even if you don't know what's being asked you can guess based on which answer is most different A) Black contours typical of Japanese Yamato-e paintings appear in Van Gogh's work from 1886 on but at no earlier time. Alright I see 1886 and no earlier, looks to stay on message B) Van Gogh's notebooks dating from the inception of his art career until 1885 contain hundreds of sketches for paintings, none of which exhibit the style distinctive to Japanese artwork. No Japanese styling all the way until 1885, so basically nothing before 1886, stays on message C) A thriving market for Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints existed in Paris, where Van Gogh settled in early 1886. He moved to a Japenese vibe area in the year in question, stays on message by lending support to the hypothesis D) Bridge in the Rain, which Van Gogh painted in 1885, exhibited striking similarities to Sudden Rain at Ohashi Bridge by Japanese print master Hiroshige. Woah woah woah... He had a painting BEFORE 1886 (the year in question) that was similar to a Japanese painting? All the other answers have been saying the same thing, that he didn't really have any Japanese styling until 1886 now this answer is giving me something different. I don't even remember the question but the fact that D gives me something different from A/B/C strongly indicates this is likely the right choice. E) Some of Van Gogh's sketches were drawn using a reed shaped into a quill, a traditional Japanese instrument Van Gogh began to use in 1886. Yup back to the pattern, using a Japanese tool starting in 1886 I honestly did forget the question for a moment while I did this and found the answer then confirmed by rereading the key elements (typically evidence/hypothesis/conclusions). Like GMAT math, the verbal actually has several approaches and ways to get to the answer as well. I highly recommend you practice and anytime, and I mean anytime you miss a question or even get it but only had it narrowed down to a couple answers and got lucky, do the google search I mentioned previously and read the explanations on this forum. You'll find excellent explanations in different forms. For example you'll get my explanations which are terribly casual breakdowns in which I say things like "My boy Vincent didn't get his Japanese on until 1886". I find casualizing (making up a word for this) it into bullet points really helps me remember and by making it less formal it also somewhat reduces stress. Others have entire very formal laid out systems in which you rewrite the key points and then eliminate answer choices as you go. I have found I use both approaches depending on the problem. If it's a very information heavy problem then it definitely helps to write down key points and then cross out answers (a/b/c/d/e) on the notepad as you go along (including answers you don't like but not sure why, sometimes the answer is the lesser of two evils so even though you don't like it you don't like the other answers more). CR really is similar to the AWA in which you're given a statement and you know for a fact somewhere in there is an assumption or link between two things that you can strengthen/weaken/tear apart/explain with the tools providing to you in the answers , select the best weapon to do so. For RC I believe it comes down mostly to practice, if you build up your stamina it gets a lot easier to read about 1960's chemical isotopes from the moon if it feels like you just started the test. You also start to figure out YOUR best approach in regards to reading the passage, maybe you prefer to just glance over it and then coming back depending on questions, or read the entire thing taking notes, try multiple approaches. Sorry I can't be more of a help as I truly am lucky to be able to almost play it by ear on some of these questions because of my upbringing; but it is worth trying it out my approach a couple times and if it works that's fantastic and if it doesn't I'm sorry but now you know. All I can do is say what worked for me. That said you should definitely look at some of the sticky posts on gmatclub's CR and RC sections, and also google "site:gmatclub.com ace verbal" or whatever it is you're thinking and there's likely a thread with some very helpful tips and strategies you can use. Of course I'd love to answer anything you ask me here or through PM but that's how I found 95% of what I've learned. Edit: Wow I am terrible at being brief. First I thought my debrief would be short and it ended up 2,800+ words and now this response is an essay. I apologize for the length, hopefully reading it will help you build up RC stamina :-D

WayneHam · Answer

I like how you apologize for being long winded at the end of your posts when nobody even made it there.

redfield · Answer

Haha good point, I suppose the apology is for anyone that did in fact make it all the way.

gmathopeful25 · Answer

Redfield, thanks for the detailed response. I thought both of those problems were fairly easy. Sometimes I just don't see what the underlying assumption is. Maybe I just need to spend a little more time reading the stimulus.

redfield · Answer

Sorry I can't be of more help to you, but I would definitely find a problem that you're having trouble with and maybe reword each statement/phrase within the prompt and see how you find that. Not necessarily dumbing it down the way I do (like I did with the Van Gogh problem above) but essentially breaking it up into more easily digestible pieces. For me rewording all the elements makes it easier to see which ones are key.

I think you (like me) are at the level where you can go a test without missing one CR/RC question or go a test missing a couple all depending on the questions. From what I've gathered at this point it's just a matter of practicing medium and hard problems a lot until you find your rhythm.

Best of luck with your studies, I'll be brushing up on my verbal as well so if you find anything beneficial do let me know so that I may share in the knowledge!

mba33 · Answer

Mrs.Artic Glacier, Wow! You really cracked me up today. Good Luck with the next exam.

AjiteshArun · Answer

No, you don't. You're just that good :-D

Congrats on the score, and all the best for the retake.

madhuratdce · Answer

Best of luck for exams.. I myself gave GMAT recently.. I started with Q44 V29.. Ended up scoring Q50 V41.

For Maths, practice for higher side.. When I was preparing for GMAT, I practised basic level of CAT level Maths (Indian MBA Entrance Exam for IIM).. That worked for me.. Rest u know better what will suit you..

Posted from my mobile device

redfield · Answer

I appreciate the advice!

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Blood shed for a 710 (Q42 V46 IR6) - retake imminent

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