CR and RC Timing Issues : Please Advice

Question

Hi All,
Please advice.
Its a long time for GMAT. But I have never studied in a strech. But one month ago I restarted by preperation and was attempting to take the GMAT by sepetmber. But I think I have to re-think.
My Q is now 48+(Gmat Prep), 44 av (MGMAT) .But V ( 35 - untimed ) in MGMAT and V(30+) in GmatPrep.
I am aiming 40+ in Verbal. Something with can bring my score to sure 700+. So I have decided to take GMAT in NOV 08.

Guys, the main issue with VERBAL is my timing.

SC: Not very bad. But in some Q's I can't find the grammar rule to apply ! Then it shoots my time about 2 mins + in a Q. But I think this more to do with practice may be. I have completed about 400 Qs in 1000 SC. Mebbe I need to complete the set.

CR: I have gone through CR bible for GMAT.( Upto Assumption part properly, but did not much time for the rest so just parsed it ). It helped me. But the problem is to grasp the intent of RC it takes most of the time 2 mins approx. How can I improve on this ?
To read the Stem properly ( 2ice sometimes ) about just less than 1 min. Then to go answer choises and parsing each of them , finding the correct one and eliminating the wrong....etc - 1 min. It seems sometimes I have to read the choices 2ice/3rice to get the
correct answer.
How do you suggest to improve. I think I can get the difficult CRs also correct but it the time which is killing. I have purchased 10 lsat PrepTests to study , but I have not completed the whole book. Abt 8 are still remaining. How to proceed , how do you suggest the time management ?

RC: A real pain. I have tried many methods but boiled to one. Reading the whole passage ! I don't feel confident when I try reading just the first line of Para etc. So end up spending 4-5 mins reading the para and then appx. 1 min / Q ( some thimes more ). So typically

Short Para with 4 Qs = 4-5 mins (reading ) + 5 mins Qs = 9-10 mins total.
Long Para with 5 Qs = 6-7 mins ( reading) + 5 mins Qs = 11-12 mins total.

There is another big problem with RC. Some difficult pasages I don't really grasp what author is trying to say really? And when I get stuck and try to move on , I am sure of geeting of all the Qs wrong. The KEY is to understand the pasage well !

How to improve my time management please ....advice.

dk94588 · Answer

I would suggest simply practicing reading passages under pressure, do a lot of specialized practice tests in RC, with kaplan or some other prep book provider. practice makes perfect. If you have a lot of time to study for I would drop the Q studying for a while (upper 40s is a pretty solid score, it would be much easier to improve your V than your Q) and just read a lot and burn your brain out like every day on practice V tests. You will eventually speed up, but you're main goal in practice tests is to get the right answer. The V section is at the end of the test, so it is critical to be prepared to read and absorb large passages when your brain is tired. as for CR, read different approaches in different test prep books, for almost all of them do it differently, and see which one you like best. CR is pretty self explanatory, but remember, it is better to get the first ten right than answer them all without guessing. If you educatedly guess on the last ten V questions, leaving like 5-10 mins, but take the time to try and get the first 31 right, you're probably better off. If SC is pretty solid for you, I would focus on the areas that need improvement ASAP.

hope I was helpful. 700 (45Q 41V)

hope I was helpful. 700 (45Q 41V)

dk94588 · Answer

also, for RC, I would rather read the passage twice than read it once and not understand a bit of it. It helps to make a map of the passage (either mentally or on paper) for reference, but does just take up time if you do not need it. RC questions are mostly reference questions, so you can more than likely skim (but do read all the words, just dont try to memorize everything), then look up the answers as they come up. It does involve inferring things from the passage too tho, so I would try to work on that if its a weak point for you.

huntgmat · Answer

Thanks dk94588 !
A much needed advice.

Where can I find good RCs to practise with explanatory answers. Do u have any reference ?

I have now started practising with Gmatter, its really great.

dk94588 · Answer

I like Kaplan Premier 2008, its CD tests specialize into each type of question and the answers are pretty reliable, but dont put too much faith in the actual score on their CATs (which arent computer adaptive they just give you the same questions), they usually underestimate your score by like 100-150 points. But you can just take RC specialized tests where you have 25 mins for like 12-15 questions and you can focus on your RC skills. Only problem is you only get 3. Also, try Official Guide to GMAT review or verbal review, they go into RC in deep detail as well, but the questions only go up to like 650-700 level. There are a lot of ways to do it, but I would recommend just to do a lot of reading and practice reading under pressure.

CR and RC Timing Issues : Please Advice

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