Desperate for the verbal part - urgently looking for help

Question

Hello GMATClub members,

I am looking for some tipps to improve my verbal skills after a really bad GMAT score.
First of all I would like to share a short background information about my journey so far.

I began in October 2021 studying with all Manhatten Prep books in the evening for 1-2 hours beside my full-time job. Unfortunetaly I haven't done it regularly due to illness or work-overload. So I decided to take 3 weeks off from 22.12.2021 to 14.01.2022 to focus only on the GMAT. I learned 6-7 hours a day and took over the whole time 5 practice tests.

The first 3 were from Manhatten Prep and my results were: 
- CAT 1 (26.12.2021): Q 37 / V 26 (this was a lucky shot because I haven't learned for the verbal section at that moment) with Total 530
- CAT 2 (03.01.2022): Q 33 / V 25 (lucky again...) with Total 490
- CAT 3 (07.01.2022): Q 40 / V 23 with Total 530

The other 2 were the official GMAT practice exams:
- Practice-Exam 1 (10.01.2022): Q 45 / V 23 with Total 570
- Practice-Exam 2 (13.01.2022): Q 40 / V23 with Total 530

The date of my real GMAT-Exam was the 15.01.2022 and I already knew from the practice exams that I wouldn't do that well on the exam day but I still decided to go for it as my goal isn't that high; I just want to reach a GMAT score above 600 (650 is my dream)....

So after practicing some more questions here on GMAT Club I finally took the real exam yesterday and got the same score as the others....my verbal got even worse....
- Real-Exam 1 (15.01.2022): Q 41 / V 21 with Total 530

I am pretty devistated at the moment and don't know why my verbal score got even lower over the whole time of hard work. The whole christmas time and the two weeks in the new year I did nothing else than studying for this test. Feels like wasted time at the moment and I doubt my intelligence.
 I would be really grateful if someone in the community has some tipps for me to improve in the verbal section. I already thought about to read more english articles. Is "The Economist" a good way to go or are there other papers which would be better to help me to improve?

Have a nice day and stay healthy.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

There are three key aspects of preparing for GMAT verbal.

- Learning concepts.

- Learning strategies.

- Practicing to develop skill in applying the concepts and strategies.

Since you've been preparing for GMAT verbal for a while, you've likely covered the first aspect, learning concepts. So, the second two aspects a likely the ones you need to address the most, and effective practice is often the biggest missing piece of people's verbal prep. For one thing, most people do their verbal practice timed and, as a result, do a lot of practice without developing the skills they need to hit their score goals. To master GMAT verbal, you have to most of your practice untimed, to give yourself time to learn to succeed.

For in-depth discussion of how to prepare for GMAT verbal see the following two posts.

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

Three Key Practice Tips for Mastering GMAT Verbal

Russ19 · Answer

Hi Delfargo , You might find the link useful as it has some verbal video lessons: https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmat-nin ... l#p2396353 Best Wishes!

Archit3110 · Answer

Get this in mind that solely studying for the GMAT wont help you achieve score , you need to be regular and also make effort to learn by understanding the reasons why is the given option incorrect.
In case you are now re attempting I would advise you to maintain an error log and practise from official sources only for verbal.
Later review your performance and progress on weekly basis by giving mocks or tests.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Delfargo,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not turn out better. GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within approximately +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your various CAT score results - along with your Official Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 530 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) Have you used any other study materials besides the books that you mentioned? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
2) If you had scored 600 on this attempt, would you have stopped studying or continued on (with the goal of hitting 650)?
3) 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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

Delfargo · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC 
Hey Rich,

Thank you for your response and the offer of specific advice. To answer your questions: 
1) As I've mentioned I used the CAT exams from Manhatten Prep Ed.6 and the Practice exams on the mba side. Additional I studied GMAT club specific topics in every difficulty.

2) If I had reached between 630-650 on that day I had stopped studying in the first place to focus on the other requirements I need to fulfil for the application. After that, I would continue studying and try to reach between 650-700.

3) I am planning to apply for the Mannheim University and the LMU in Munich (both German universities). To be honest I would like to study at the LSE in London but I guess this would be too hard for me to achieve.
I want to begin my master studies this September, so most deadlines are 31.05.2022. Till then I have to deliver the 600+ score.

I hope my answers contain the missing information you need to give advice.
Thank you very much for your help!

Posted from my mobile device

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Delfargo

I would be really grateful if someone in the community has some tipps for me to improve in the verbal section.

The GK blog has some Verbal tips you may want to check out:

https://www.gmatknight.com/blog

Here's a post of a past student who used a variety of resources along the way. They took 6 hours of Verbal Solving Approach (SA) tutoring, but there may still be some helpful insight you can take.

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

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Delfargo,

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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Desperate for the verbal part - urgently looking for help

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