Do CR exercises help you do RC better?

Question

Hi all,

I feel like doing CR exercises helped me do RC better, am I imagining things? after a week of intense CR training, I just feel like certain RC questions are easier to do
I guess reading good fiction an hour everyday also helped.

Also, what's your recommended order to study verbal? CR>SC>RC?

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  Haryem . Yes, it is true that working through CR passages and answer choices can help you become more astute at tackling RC passages and their questions. The same sorts of verbal traps in the answer choices appear across both categories of question type. Most importantly, you have to be ready to defend the answer choice with evidence from the text, regardless of whether you are practicing RC or CR questions. (It is not good enough to go by impressions, given the nuances of more difficult questions.)

To answer your question about study recommendations, I am a proponent of integrated study. I would  not  advise you to focus on any particular type of question at the exclusion of other types. It is okay to focus primarily on one area at a time—say, perhaps, you spend 2 hours a day on CR at first but just 30 minutes on RC, and every other day, you alternate between CR and SC as a primary concern—but you will gain more, as well as keep your interest up, by weaving in material from all areas on a consistent basis.

You can check out any of a number of study plans on this site or elsewhere, such as  this plan  by GMAT Club founder   bb  . I hope you find something that works for you.

- Andrew

SohGMAT2020 · Answer

Yes totally agree with  AndrewN . CRs did help me a lot initially in building my ability for RC. But practicing both does help you to stay up in the game and not lose track of any question types

sarthakaggarwal · Answer

Yes as a matter of fact it does help in doing RC as it increases your comprehension speed.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Haryem,

You are not imagining things. Many of the skills you learn in CR do carry over to RC. Regarding your study order, since CR and RC are loosely related, you could start by learning SC, then CR, and then RC.

Also, since you are asking about GMAT verbal, here is a helpful article to check out:

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Haryem,

Since the GMAT is a big 'critical thinking test', many of the skills that you can learn to deal with a particular question type can also help you to perform better on other question types (even across the 4 sections of the GMAT).

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

Haryem · Answer

ScottTargetTestPrep   sarthakaggarwal   SohGMAT2020   AndrewN 
Thank you all for your prompt replies! I appreciate the responses and will look into some of the links provided by everyone.

EMPOWERgmatRichC

As for the questions above:

1. I have studied for 40 days so far. I study strictly 5.5 hours per day (usually including 45min-1hr of GMAT Ninja Charles' youtube session on either SC RC or CR for the first few days) + 1 hour of reading (reading memoirs of a geisha at the moment, recommended by fellow GMAT members.) I used to study 4 hours per day in the 1st week.

2.I've mainly used OG for the first 14 days, until I realised they're too valuable and I've used up quite a lot already. Now I go on GMAT forums to look for LSAT questions for RC and CR. I took the mock tests offered by Scholaranium (e-gmat) and the 2 official free mocks.

3. I took my 1st official free mock as a diagnostic without looking at any strategies and knowing what Data Sufficiency questions are. (scored a 510, Q43 V18). Feeling a little dissatisfied I had a brief look through all of the sections and components of GMAT, and looked a little deeper into SC for around 8-9 days, then took my 2nd official free mock exam WITHOUT TIMING MYSELF (scored 650, Q49 V30, I probably took an extra 7-8min for each section). I took the 3rd diagnostic test on e-GMAT/scholaranium 21 days later after my 2nd mock exam after looking through various quant sections and some more SC and a little bit of RC, THIS TIME FULLY TIMED (scored 610, Q46 V28). I didn't realize I was that much weaker on Verbal until I finally looked at my breakdown of each exam after my 3rd mock exam. Now I'm mainly focusing on Verbal until I get something higher. I did around 7 days of CR training after that (mainly just LSAT, I don't use other prep company questions as often since I find them a little....off somehow), and now I'm looking at RC questions after watching Mike Kim's lecture on how to tackle LSAT RC.

Goals:
4. 700 would be ideal

5.I'm from Australia, and I'm planning to apply to Japanese Universities for MBA since I want to live there later in life. I want to study at Hitotsubashi or Kyoto University, preferably. 1st window of application is due 20th of October for Hitotsubashi so I'm planning to take my 1st exam on 21st of September. (average acceptance is around 650, but I want to aim for scholarship which requires around 695). I kind of doubt I'll get a 700 in 20 more days but it never hurts to try and get familiar with the test environment. The second application window is around November-February, so I have a couple more months to study before then.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Haryem,

Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you've been studying for just about 6 weeks, then you shouldn't expect to have mastered any of the concepts or Tactics of the GMAT yet. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. Assuming that you took your most recent CAT in a fashion that matches-up with how you will take your Official GMAT - and that this 610 is an accurate assessment of your current skills - you will likely need far more than just another 20 days of study to get to the point that you can consistently score 700. There's no harm in taking the GMAT at that time, but if you're going to continue to study until you score at that higher level, then you could save some time, money and potential frustration by pushing back that planned Test Day.

In addition, you have to be careful about confusing "quantity" of study with "quality" of study. I've never asked anyone to study 30+ hours a week - and while it's great that you might have the available time to study that much, with that number of study hours, you would run the risk of 'burning out' before Test Day (and that is something that we want to avoid). If you are going to try to study that much, then I suggest that you take one hour "off" for every two hours of study. For example, you could study for 2 hours, then stop for an hour, then study for another 2 hours, then take an hour off, etc.

From what you describe, it sounds as though you have a study routine in place, so I suggest that you stick with that routine for now. You should plan to take your next CAT/mock this coming weekend - make sure to take it in a realistic fashion that matches-up with what you will face when you take the Official GMAT (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, if you will be at a Test Facility, then wear a face mask, etc.). Once you have that Score, you should post back here (or you can feel free to PM me directly) and we can discuss the results and how you might best proceed with your studies.

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

Haryem · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

Thanks for the reply and various suggestions Rich, I'll do another mock test as you've asked this upcoming weekend and let you know my results!

In terms of burning out..I try to follow the routine of 1hour of video/session/reading strategies + 3 hours of practice questions with short 5 min breaks in between. After lunch I would go for another 1.5 hours of practice questions/reviews and finally 1 hour of reading. I feel like I'm not having a rough time keeping that routine. I treat this almost like a full time job at the moment (considering I quit my previous position for further studies), and hopefully I don't burn out.

Honestly I'm aiming for a 650 in the upcoming exam in about 2 weeks. I don't fancy a 700 just so soon, I thought I could practice and apply for the school within this application window at the same time. Are you suggesting to spend that money on more mock tests and materials instead?

Harry

TheGraceful · Answer

Yes, I too have experienced this.
CR definitely helps in improving RC to a certain extent.

As for sequence, SC then CR and then RC is what many experts advice.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Haryem,

From what you describe, it sounds as though you are prioritizing applying for Round 1 (with a 650 or something close to it) over potentially applying later (with a 700 - and potentially earning a Scholarship). There's nothing wrong with that - but the immediate issues are two-fold. First, how well will your Application stand out in Round 1? Second, IF you're going to keep studying with the goal of scoring 700 anyway, then why pay to take the Test early when you are not likely to earn that type of result?

Since we're ultimately dealing with an Admissions issue, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions (including which Round you should apply for and the type of GMAT Score that you might "need" to be considered a competitive Applicant) and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

It's probably best to wait on discussing which additional study materials you might purchase until we have your next CAT/mock result and you've had a chance to reach out to the Admissions Experts on this site.

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

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Haryem,

Let me share my insights here.

GMAT Verbal requires  3 skills  –  Comprehension skills ,  Analytical skills  and  Ability to focus on Main Point . These skills are inter-dependent and should be built up progressively. Beginners should start with SC then work on CR and finally move to RC. Let me explain why:

Acing SC  requires mastering only 1 skill that is Comprehension skill. Your focus is on understanding the meaning of only one sentence and conveying the intended meaning clearly. Hence, you should start with SC.

Acing CR  requires you to master 2 skills – Comprehension and Analytical skills. You not only need to understand the meaning of each sentence well, but also need to understand how multiple sentences are linked and then only you can identify logical gaps. Hence, mastering SC before CR makes your life easy.

Acing RC  requires mastering all 3 skills, and hence I strongly recommend doing RC at the end. Obviously for some people (avid readers), RC is much more natural, but I will still recommend keeping it for the end.

Working on 1 module at a time allows you to put focused effort on one area. This is more important if you are a working professional as you will have hardly any time to study on weekdays. Dividing that already small amount of time in multiple modules is not advised. Go in depth on one module and revise other modules for 2-3 hrs on weekends. That’s enough.

So, the tip is start with SC, then do CR and finally move to RC.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions around preparing for GMAT. Happy to help!

Haryem · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

I took another mock exam earlier today and received 650 (V32 (7 wrong SC, 4 wrong RC, 2 wrong CR) Q48)

When I was doing the exam, I thought I screwed up my Quant, given I had 15min remaining at the end of the exam. That was poor time management on my side.. I barely finished Verbal, the time was quite tight in the end.

The test was taken with mask, noise cancelling headphones, and cold hands. I just studied Verbal in the past few days after 
my last exam (currently reading the LSAT Trainer CR and it's game changing), but it seems like my Quant also improved just a tiny bit with a lot of remaining time..or maybe that's just the normal fluctuation.

I talked with the marketing team for Hitotsubashi University, and they told me most of the scholarship opportunities are offered in September, and there's a small chance of receiving scholarship in the february window..I'm going to do a little more digging to see if any other universities in Japan are open for application during this time before I decide to reschedule my exam.

GMATWhizTeam

Thanks for the insight GMATWhizTeam! I'll definitely take that into consideration when doing further review.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Haryem,

If you would be comfortably applying with a 650, then you certainly appear to have the skills to potentially earn that type of Score on the Official GMAT. So now, the other issues are about whether applying for Round 1 is the proper choice or not and the type of GMAT Score you might need to receive a Scholarship (and if you ultimately "need" a Scholarship to attend any of the Programs that you are interested in - or it's just something that you would like to have). This will ultimately all involve some additional research on your part - including discussing this with those individuals who understand the Admissions process well. As such, I still highly recommend that you discuss your plans/options with an Admissions Expert.

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

Haryem · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

Thanks for the prompt reply, I'll definitely ask some of the admission specialists for more information. I will likely reschedule my exam for a later date as you've suggested since I believe I'm able to score more than a 700 with just a few more months of work.

I realised after looking through the questions, my worst section in Verbal which is the CR has now become my best section. I have ignored SC for the past few weeks, and I think I'll be able to grab a few easy points there as well.

Given that I distribute my time more wisely, I'll probably be able to score a 49 or even a 50 after some work on Quant.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

CR and RC both test a person's ability to ABSORB a passage, so it's probably fair to say there are some skills that cross over.

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