Death by Sentence Correction

Question

Hello all,

I'm really struggling with Sc and it's not that I don't know Sc in terms of what I keep in mind, it's the fact that I'm not able to have a standard-ish approach when seeing a question, much like I do when I see a CR and RC question.
It rattles me and I almost don't know how or where to start, and I get scattered but the options and tunnel-visioned that I either assumed things that don't exist or forget about parts.
There seems to be a massive GAP in implementation and structure and from what I know or maybe what I think I know isn't enough.

it's the feeling of you walking down the street you know you're being followed without even looking but you don't know who is or even if you are. but you can't be sure is how I feel with every question. It's hard to not be exhausted with all the misses and you can't even get make sense of where the gap is to fix it. 
I have watched videos and read all the must-read articles. there still seems to be a block. If anyone has any suggestions I'd really appreciate it, to help self asses because I know I'm missing something just can't figure it out.

I don't want to keep doing questions and inculcate the wrong habits in my approach when there's a gap. so any direction would really help.

thanks a ton.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

I enjoy tutoring Solving Approach for Verbal. It's something perhaps many people don't really consider for the Verbal section.

Here are a few free tips for the Verbal section. Hope they help out:

https://www.gmatknight.com/post/5-verba ... gmat-tutor
https://www.gmatknight.com/post/3-readi ... gmat-tutor

Here's a gmat debrief post by a recent student of mine who got a near 10 point Verbal increase in roughly 32 days. There may be some insight there that you find helpful:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-online- ... 68599.html

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

ashmithas  - I understand your situation and promise that you can become a master in Sentence Correction if you decide to put in the required effort. There is plenty of advice out there about how to master GMAT Sentence Correction, but the truth is, gimmicks won’t earn you a high GMAT Verbal score, and in some cases, relying on shortcuts may even hurt your score.

I recommend that you read the Sentence Correction article I wrote a few months ago. In addition, I have shared two other articles from Target Test Prep.
   GMAT Sentence Correction: 8 Essential Tips

Additional Resources 
   How to Score High on GMAT Verbal  
  Timing Strategy for GMAT Verbal

Please let me know if you have any questions.

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi  ashmithas , since you mention SC as your specific area of concern, thought I would mention that our sentence correction book  Sentence Correction Nirvana  is perhaps the  only  book that offers a score improvement  guarantee , and is especially designed for  non-native  speakers.

After reading the book  twice  (yes! it's an  academic  book, and so must be read twice in all seriousness, to  reinforce  the concepts), you will start looking forward to solving SC questions!

The book is available on  Flipkart  and  Amazon.in . You might want to refer to these sites, to also read testimonials of how readers have benefited.

You can als go thru  this post  on how  Soubhik ,  who scored  V51  (overall score 780) , vouches for our book.

If you want to  sample  a chapter before deciding to go ahead with our book, please PM me your mail-id (along with the chapter that you would like to sample) and I will be happy to send that chapter to you by mail. In addition, the entire Grammar section of the book is also available for free preview at  pothi .

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ashmithas,

SCs are 'technical' in nature (similar to how Geometry questions require knowledge of formulas), so you need to know the grammar/idiom rules really well (and be able to spot when they apply) to score higher in this category. Sometimes additional work is needed (such as determining the intended meaning of the sentence) - but to score at a high level on your SCs, you need to have the requisite knowledge first.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi ashmithas,

Let me share my insights.

For GMAT Verbal, it is very important that you follow the right methodology and the logical approach. Your focus has to be on eliminating four incorrect choices rather than choosing the right one. The key is to develop a solid understanding of the concepts that are typically tested on the GMAT and master the process skills that are required to solve GMAT questions. Only then, you will be able to smartly avoid the traps set by the test makers.

Before you start learning, it's important to understand what is actually tested using the questions. Each module in Verbal (SC, CR and RC) has to be approached in a different way. For example, before you start learning the concepts of SC, you need to understand that SC questions on GMAT test your ability to convey the right meaning without any ambiguity. So, it's important to approach them from a meaning stand-point. You might have often come across answer choices which are both grammatically correct and convey a logical meaning but are indeed incorrect because they do not convey the intended meaning. So, the process to approach SC questions is to:

• Comprehend the original meaning of the sentence
• Identify errors if any (both grammatical and meaning wise)
• Eliminate answer choices which either are grammatically incorrect or do not convey the intended meaning

You can go through the link below to understand the process in a better way:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SGA8bwFNJM

Once you start solving SC questions using a systematic approach as detailed above, you will be able to avoid taking too much time in SC questions as there will be no confusion in your mind regarding the approach.

Hope this helped and feel free to contact if you have any further queries.

You can always write back to me here or the better way would be to connect over a call and have a discussion. You can schedule a free consultation call using the below link.

Click here to schedule a call

ashmithas · Answer

I've been studying since August, I put in 4-6 hrs a day 
I have taken two mocks thus far, MGMAt at the start and the official mock a week ago, due to a lot of test anxiety I kept pausing and solving.
I went from a V22 to V33, Q31 to Q 49, not sure if we can count the raise
I want to be at a 700-720. but comfortably not reach there with doubt if it'll drop or not. 
I'm planning to apply for am MIM, for R2.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  ashmithas ,

I would normally consider the official practice test score estimate more reliable. Did you see any questions that you were already familiar with?

V33 and Q49 are both very good scores.

yasharoraa · Answer

Hey  ashmithas , I’ve been through similar anxiety at times, it’s absolutely fine to feel so. It’s fine if you had to pause out of anxiety this time. But please do remember, that in the real thing, whatever happens, no matter how much anxiety we have, we can’t pause. There’s no harm in getting a bad score in practice tests, but please take the practice exams as stepping stones and stamina building exercises for the real things. If you do really bad in the practice exam, you’ll know where you can go wrong and once you see your mistakes, you can try to make sure next time you don’t repeat the same mistakes. So it’s absolutely fine to perform poorly in practice tests, but it’s important to get back and work on your weaker areas as many experts have suggested here and just be confident, whatever happens, you are giving your best and you’ll do great! All the best! 😊

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ashmithas,

I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

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