Correct way of approaching OG?

I have already done the error log of Og11.
Thanks superman!Thats a clear and concise answer!Any particular way would u suggest?Or just sit 2 days and complete the 4 sections?

yeah, just sit down and finish quant on saturday and verbal on sunday ... even if we take 2 minutes a question it should not take more than 14 hours ... then review on the next one or two days ...

Yes it is very much ... But doable as in 7 hrs a day on weekends as u have one month left ... If u have time over the next one month I would suggest u to break it up into 5 days with each of the sections a day ... But again remember it's only 1/3 new so I guess it won't take the full 14 hours ... I remember seeing a link mentioning only the new ones in 12th Ed ,,, do u wAnt it ? I'll try to dig it our for u

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My strategy would be completely different from what has been suggested in the above posts.

I would suggest to pick around 10-20 questions at one go, specially the difficult ones. At the end of each batch of 10-20 question go through the explanation given in the OG and try to see if your logic matches with the book's logic. Prepare notes or underline the explanations which you find interesting.

If you do 50-60 questions at one go, probably you'll forget your reasons for selecting a particular choice, and will not be able to compare it with book's explanation. Remember, you are doing OG to learn the concepts and not for practicing.

For instance, in SC, after every 10 questions, go through the explanations and maintain a category of wrong answers in your error log. At the end you'll be able to analyze the category (e.g. Idioms, tenses) in which you are making most of the mistakes.

Secondly, if you are not able to understand the explanation, mark the question, post it in the GMAClub forums. But never leave anything NOT understood.

This is certainly a time consuming process, and you may need more then a week to complete the book.

Also, my suggestion would be to work on different sections in parallel. You may not like to mix quant and verbal, but surely work on RC, CR and SC in parallel (i.e. on a typical day you would solve around 20 questions from each of three sections) and work on PS and DS in parallel. After all during actual tests you'll have to keep shifting your focus

I am a single tasker, so I would approach banks of 20 questions probably and spend 30-35 mins on them.
I would also only do one section at a time, and then immediately review and organize my errors, mark the questions I missed and kick myself for missing those questions.Would also only do it after you have covered that particular topic in your guidebook or workbook


Here are some FAQ from my Review of OG 12:

* Why is this book valuable/must-have?
The Official Guide is published by the creators of the GMAT and therefore it is the only source of actual GMAT questions representative of what you will see on the test.

* Why is the book not sufficient by itself?
This Guide contains only questions and lacks insightful information about the test, a math/verbal concept review section, or any test-taking strategies. To get up to speed, you will need to get a study guide such as Kaplan Premier Program or Princeton Review's Cracking the GMAT Cat.

* How should this book be used?
This book should NOT be used as a study-guide. It is a collection of questions - think of it as a way to practice your test-taking strategies but not a way to learn them.

* What if I own a previous edition of this book?
If you have the 11th edition, the only difference between the two is 300 new questions, or about 30%. Most test-takers agree that 300 new questions is not a compelling enough reason to own both editions, as the 11th edition offers enough practice. If you do need additional practice questions, get the Math or Verbal workbooks instead as they each have 300 questions.

* What is a recommended study plan using The Official Guide?
There are a number of approaches that work - here is one that most find reasonable:

Step 1: Buy a GMAT Guide from Kaplan or Princeton Review. Get familiar with the test and brush up on fundamentals (math and grammar); also these books will give you a good base for test-taking and timing strategies.

Step 2: Take a GMAT Prep (2 free tests downloadable from MBA.com) - but don't waste these; these are free but very valuable tests. Take 1 after you go through the Guidebooks and save the second one for later. These tests will be representative of your GMAT score (plus/minus 40 points).

Step 3: (Optional - if you want a 650+ score) Get a specialized Math and/or Verbal workbook from Kaplan, Manhattan GMAT or EZ and do a deep dive into the fundamentals - this is what will help you crack the test - solid knowledge of Math and Grammar.

Step 4: By now you should have a good understanding of question patterns, strategies, and timing. Start working on the Official Guide and honing your skills - this is especially important for Critical Reasoning questions that have certain unspoken patterns and rules that only the Official Guide offers - work through the questions to train your ear. Keep in mind that these questions are on the easier side if you are aiming for 650+.

Thanks guys..I opted for the middle way out since doing it in 2 days would be too hectic and a week's too much!!

Planned to do it in 4 days(skipping the first 40-50 sums)
DS:slot of 30 questions
PS:.........40..........
SC:.........25...........
CR..........20.........
4 RC's everyday.

Since I have a whole day to myself I plan on brushing up Manhattan SC and Powerscore CR in these days.
The fifth day planning to take a test..Manhattan??
Depending on the results i'll see what to the in the last 3 weeks.
I believe if i sit for the test today i'll score around 650..aiming for 690-700.
Inputs?

P.S:I am glad i decided to do the OG12..I just finished my first slot of PS..this time under time constraints for the FIRST time(yes kicking myself)..I realise that the ticking clock is throwing me off..I am actually getting the problems I know by heart wrong

Yes timing yourself is the hard part. Otherwise it's shooting fish in a barrell

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By the way, keep an eye on the time spend on questions as well. May be you can divide your time into 25-30 mins slot (or whatever comfortable to you) and make a target to complete a specific number of questions everytime.