ESR Review & Analysis - [Post Enhanced Score Report Requests here]

This refers to 'inference' questions versus 'detail' questions, generally. An inference question will ask for an answer that isn't explicitly stated in the passage: you have to use some logic to combine multiple ideas from the passage together, or to draw a logical conclusion from an idea in the passage. In a detail question, the right answer will pretty much be written explicitly in the passage, although it will probably use different wording.

I personally suspect, but don't know for sure, that general / 'main idea' questions are considered to be 'inferred idea' questions.



This refers mainly to the type of argument, not to the type of question. Some CR arguments are 'plan' arguments. In these, the argument presents you with a plan, and generally you're asked to show that the plan will or won't work, or to identify an assumption being made by the person proposing the plan. In non-plan arguments, nobody's proposing a plan - they're just trying to convince you that something is or isn't true. I'm not sure whether there's also a distinction between question types being made here. It seems more likely that you could get (for example) Strengthen, Weaken, Assumption, etc. questions for either type of argument, so those might fall into either category.

Here's the GMAC's official description of the categories:

"The Critical Reasoning Analysis/Critique graph displays the percentage of questions answered correctly. Problems in this category test your ability to analyze the information given to you in the passage and carefully make reasoned judgments demonstrated by evaluating and breaking down an argument."

"The Critical Reasoning Construction/Plan graph displays the percentage of questions answered correctly. Problems identified in this category test your ability to use the information given in a passage to construct a plan of action for find the best logical solution."



Grammar refers to problems that primarily test grammar rules (for instance, the rule that says you have to use a plural verb with a plural subject.)

Communication refers to problems that test meaning or logic issues. For instance, there's no rule that says you can't use the word 'wearing' to modify the subject 'student'. But, this sentence would be wrong on the GMAT anyways, since its meaning is illogical:

The student walked the dog, wearing a collar.

Hi vyascd,

I'll be happy to review your ESR for you, but I would need to see the FULL ESR. If you would rather not post it publicly, then you can feel free to PM it directly to me. In addition to that data, 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?
3) On what 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?
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Hi Vyascd,

I’m happy to help, but it would be very helpful if we could see your full ESR, so we can see the bigger picture of what is going on with your GMAT. If you post your ESR here, I can provide some further advice.

Hello GMATClub,
Below are my analysis for fundamental skills in GMAT ESR:

Critical Reasoning

Analysis/Critique

MBA.com: Problems identified in this category test your ability to analyse the information given to you in the passage and carefully make reasoned judgments demonstrated by evaluating and breaking down an argument.

Question Types: ??

Construction/Plan

MBA.com: Problems identified in this category test your ability to use the information given in a passage to construct a plan of action for find the best logical solution.

Question Types: ??

Reading Comprehension

Identify Inferred Ideas

MBA.com: These problems use statements that include the premise but do not state a conclusion; you are asked to draw a conclusion based on the provided information.

Question Types: Any inference based question for RC.

Identify Stated Ideas
MBA.com: These problems require you to clearly understand the explicitly stated main idea and supporting ideas which in order to answer the question.

Question Types: Any question that asks about the main idea/purpose of the paragraph/the role of paragraph with respect to the whole passage.

Sentence Correction

Grammar
MBA.com: Problems in this category assess your ability to identify the answer that will create a sentence which is grammatically and structurally sound. The resulting sentence will conform to all the rules of standard written English, e.g., noun-verb agreement, pronoun consistency, pronoun case, and verb tense sequence.

Question Types:
Any question that can be primarily solved by applying grammar rules and secondarily by meaning.

Communication

MBA.com: Problems in this category asses your ability to identify the answer that will create an effective sentence which expresses an idea or relationship clearly and concisely, as well as grammatically. The test taker must be able to recognise whether the words are well chosen, accurate, and suitable for the context and does not include superfluous words or needlessly complicated expressions.

Question Types:
Any question that can be primarily solved by applying meaning rules and secondarily by grammar rules. (I assume these tend to be tougher)

My Questions:

1. Can you please categorise the questions types in CR for me? (As per Rich I feel there will be 4 categories but still. Strengthen/Weaken/Assumption/Other types)
2. Can you validate question types I have mentioned in RC and SC section?
3. This question is based on my personal ESR. I have 80% accuracy in meaning based questions and 28% in grammar based question. But aren't these two connected? I mean how do you categorise a question in one of these two buckets?

Tagging experts : MentorTutoring EMPOWERgmatRichC egmat ScottTargetTestPrep

Others who read this post are also welcome to provide their inputs.

Regards
Rajesh!

Hello again, Rajesh. I am going to stick strictly to your questions, since you brought up a lot of issues in your post.

The OG does so in a neat little table in chapter 8.2, Critical Reasoning, identifying nine question types:
Analyzing reasoning structure (e.g., boldface/dialogue questions)
Drawing conclusions (inference) (e.g., "follows logically from...")
Identifying sufficient or required assumptions
Evaluating hypotheses
Resolving apparent inconsistency
Identifying information that strengthens or weakens reasoning
Recognizing and describing logical flaws (an offshoot of a weaken question, in my mind)
identifying a point of disagreement
Finding a solution to a practical problem (e.g., "Which of the following would most help...").


The OG lists the following six question types for Reading Comprehension in chapter 7.1:
Main idea
Supporting idea
Inference
Application (e.g., "is most similar to")
Evaluation (e.g., analysis/critique questions)
Style and tone (i.e. how the author approaches/presents the material)

In Chapter 9.2, the OG identifies eight categories of Sentence Correction questions:
Agreement (e.g., subject-verb)
Diction (e.g., "she" versus "her")
Grammatical Construction
Idiom
Logical Predication (e.g., misplaced modifiers)
Parallelism
Rhetorical Construction (e.g., active versus passive voice, conciseness)
Verb Form (i.e. verb tense).

Now for the real question: Do I carefully separate every single question into categories like these and attempt to pinpoint exactly where I or my students may go wrong? No. I consider each question holistically and look for patterns across missed questions, but as you know, one person might miss, say, an SC question for an entirely different reason from someone else, and in that case, what does logical predication, for instance, really mean to the person who did not fall for a dangling participle? For that matter, what would that same label mean to the person who did fall into such a trap? This is where I think being open and honest with yourself or with whomever you may be working beats out strict Linnaean-style categorization from the OG. That is, if you miss a question because you fell into a which clause trap, perhaps one that led to ambiguity of meaning (as they often do), then note the which clause in your Error Log, or whatever the true reason may have been that you missed the question. Going back over your errors, you will start to see certain topics pop up more frequently than others. Those are the areas you need to target the most. And if you do not understand why you may have missed something, then hey, you have plenty of people in the community who would love to help and offer their views on whatever the matter may be. This is a community that wants to see you succeed.


Yes, a single question in SC often covers multiple bases, as discussed above. This is why the ESR is of some interest, but it certainly does not tell the whole story. Either way, I would take the data at face value if my accuracy dipped below what I considered to be an acceptable threshold. In your case, it would help to practice more questions and review any grammatical issues that consistently cause you grief. That is the only way you will improve.

Best of luck, and keep at it. You know what Rich would have to say about GMAT assassins.

- Andrew

MentorTutoring

Thanks Andrew!

Thank you for writing such a detailed Post. I was just trying to fetch the maximum insights possible from the ESR (I believe everyone wants to do that) but what you mentioned makes more sense.
I will take a look at everything again and see what my key takeaways are.

Thanks once again!

Bump - this post is a placeholder. Please delete after merge

Hi,

I took my first GMAT attempt this morning (Feb 1st) and scored 650 (V26 Q50), IR6. I canceled my score immediately as I'm aiming for top business schools, which prefer 730+.

I have been practicing for 2 months now, bought 6 office practice exams from GMAC (score four 620+, two 700 first attempt and all 730+ second attempt). I also did many GMAT prep exams online, probably 20 full tests and scored from 630 the first six to 710+ the last fourteen. I read all 10 Manhattan books, some main threads here and somewhere else talking about techniques for Verbals (SC: aims at meaning, parallel, SV, pronoun, modifier; RC: jot down main points in each paragraph and think like the author, what he would prefer and what he wants to know; CR: sticks to the premises and conclusions). I finished my exam on time this morning, but did rush through a few questions without much confidence.

I'm taking CFA Level II on June 6th, approximately 120 days left, and need 300+hrs preparation (average 3hrs/day after work).

I wonder if I should retake the exam on Feb 17th (President's Day), it might be my last chance in the next 6 months. But I don't know if 2 weeks of preparation are enough to boost my score from 650 to 730+ with current foundation (I also have to work 5 days/week). I felt a bit out of look and not in focus during the exam this morning though. I should have nailed it if I can concentrate more. And if I take such a long break, I might have to restudy and my foundation might weaken then.

Here enclosed my ESR report, please advise and let me know whatever you think and what I should do to improve my score now or later after the CFA exam.
Thanks in advance!!


* You must be a member for at least 5 days and have at least 5 posts before you are allowed to post URL's or attachments.
I cannot update the file but I can put in some Verbal report information here:
THE FIRST NUMBER IS MY SCORE AND THE SECOND IS RANKINGS (IN PERCENTILES)
Overall: 28 (51st)
Sub section:
+ CR: 38 (78th)
- Analysis/Critique: 100% (correct answers/performance fundamental)
- Construction/Plan: 75%
+ RC: 25 (41st)
- Identify inferred idea: 40%
- Identify stated idea: 80%
+ SC: 25 (39th)
- Grammar: 60%
- Communication 57%

Overall time: 1:48 (mean time and referred time for the past three years is 1:44)
+ CR: 2:04
+ RC: 2:01
+ SC: 1:28

Percent correct divided into 4 equal time quarters during the exam - Average time per response:
+ Q1: 62%/38% (correct/incorrect) - 1:59
+ Q2: 86%/14% - 1:59
+ Q3: 57%/43% - 1:51
+ Q4: 62%/38% - 1:26

Average difficulty for each answer: Incorrects are a stable (almost straight line) just a bit above Medium difficulty
Corrects line goes from mid low-medium (pretty low in first quarter) to right medium then finally slide down a bit in the last two quarters

YOUR TWO CENTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT AND I TAKE YOUR ADVISE SERIOUSLY. Hope I can make it in time to decide whether to retake the test on President's Day.

Tyle - Thank you for your post. I am merging this post with the existing master ESR thread. Please take a few moments to review some of the insights already provided in the thread.

Hi Tyle,

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you've studied for just 2 months, then it's likely that you just have not put in enough time and effort to have scored higher yet.

I'll be happy to review your ESR for you, but I would need to see the FULL ESR. If you would rather not post it publicly, then you can feel free to PM it directly to me (or you can email me at Rich.C@empowergmat.com). In addition to that data, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used besides the books that you listed?
3) On what 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)?
4) 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

Hi Tyle,

The good news is that you’ve been studying for only 2 months and scored 650 on the GMAT. That said, I think that you may need more than just two weeks to achieve your 730+ GMAT score goal.

I’m happy to provide some detailed advice; however, could you first respond to the question already asked, so I can learn more about your situation with the GMAT? In the meantime, you may find it helpful to read the following articles:

How to Score a 700+ on the GMAT — A Mini Guide for Success

The Phases of Preparing for the GMAT

Dear GMAT Gurus,

I have appeared in the GMAT recently and scored a disgusting 500 (V17, Q42)-First Attempt. I am preparing for GMAT since August 2019. (However I took a break in October 2019 as I had to travel abroad for 2 weeks and then there were Diwali Holidays). Later in Nov 2019, I started my preparations in full swing. I am a working professional and MBA was in my mind for a long time but as I haven't prepared for any exam for more than 10 years, I thought of joining a classroom training. Therefore, I joined a coaching called 'Jamboree'. The teachers were average and kept on rushing the program and they finished everything by the end of September. Below are the books/sources that I have used for the preparation:
1) OG 2019 and 2020
2) OGVR 2019
3) OGQR 2019
4) Powerscore CR Bible 2019
5) eGMAT Verbal Course- Did only SC part
6) GMAT Club- Did plenty of questions and reviewed expert reviews.
Below are by past mock results:
Jamboree Mocks:
Mock1--650
Mock2--660
Mock3--520
Mock4--550
Mock5--610
Mock6--530
GMATPrep
Test1----600 (Q-46,V-27)
Test2----710 (Q-50,V35)
Test3----620 (Q-45,V31)
Test4----640 (Q-50,V27)

I was confident to get atleast 620+ but to my agony I got only 500! Since I performed very bad in Verbal section, I ordered ESR immediately. (Attached).
Clearly, RC is my problem area as I scored null in RC.(This was never the case in any mocks in fact I perfomed well in RC than other sections). I have comprehended the RCs well in the actual exam but I think I was confused in selecting the answer choices and clearly made bad decisions. I am planning to give GMAT again but I will wait till my score in verbal improves to a satisfactory level. I know I have to improve on each and every section of the exam but I think I have to improve a lot in the verbal and IR sections. Please suggest some good ways to improve on my reading comprehension capabilities and some tips to improve on IR as well.

I have read few threads on this forum which says :
1) Read Slowly
2) Comprehend and paraphrase each paragraph in your own words and then write it down on the scratch pad.
3) Understand the tone/geography of the paragraph
4) Understand the relation between the paragraphs (+/- or neutral)
5) Read the question stem and then answer.

Honestly, I have tried this several times but I think over time and under time pressure I often not do it properly. I was having issues in time management as I was writing alot on the scratch pad and almost left with 2-3 questions unanswered. Therefore I dropped writing everything on the pad and started answering questions based on my understanding. I simply read the passage (slowly), comprehend it in 2-3 mins and hopped on to the questions .This strategy was working fine for me and it resulted in 70-90% strike rate in each mocks. But by looking at the ESR, this strategy didn't work in the actual exam. So I need a better strategy to tackle the RCs. Should I start paraphrasing the RCs everytime? Should I follow the same strategy in CR questions too i.e. writing Premise and conclusions on the scratch pad and then only start reading the question stem? Should I take LSAT RCs and CRs to improve my comprehension?. I would really appreciate if someone can point out any potential area in which I can improve.

P.S: My Exam day experience was good overall. (Except for the results ). I reached the exam center 1 hour early (the ride to the center was good). I kept myself hydrated and ate adequately on the day before. Also, there was not much disturbance during the exam.

Thanks and Regards,
Antriksh Rawat

Hi Antriksh,

To start, you'll likely receive more of a response if you post your story in the Shared Experience Forum here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/share-gmat-experience-8/

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. When these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information in your new post on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How many hours did you typically study each week?
2) On what 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:
3) What is your overall goal score?
4) 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

Hello Rich,

First of all thank you for investing time in analyzing my ESR and reading my review. I had posted my experience under 'Share Experience Forum' but later I found this mega thread, so thought of posting it here and deleted the earlier post. Nevertheless, I have reposted my experience under 'Share Experience Forum'.
Here are the responses to your questions:

Studies:
1) How many hours did you typically study each week?

During Aug-Sept 2019 I spent around 3 Hours/day for studying, including weekends. Very less study in Oct'19 as I was travelling a lot. (Although I was studying via several Mobile Apps). From Nov'19 -Jan'20, I spent atleast 5 Hours a day and almost whole weekend(~16 hours/weekend).Although I have wasted a week in Dec 2019 as I was Sick , I spent pretty much the same hours for study as mentioned above.I also took off for 2 weeks before the actual exam (Feb 8th) and studied for atleast 8+ hours per day.

2) On what 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)?

Jamboree Mocks:
Mock1--Dec 15 2019--650(V 27,QA 44)
Mock2--Dec 21 2019--660(V 29,QA 44)
Mock3--Dec 24 2019--520(V 17,QA 34)
Mock4--Dec 28 2019--550(V 15,QA 37)
Mock5--Jan 17 2020--610(V 22,QA 42)
Mock6--Jan 28 2020--530(V 17,QA 33)

GMATPrep
Test1---Jan 27 2020--600 (Q-46,V-27)
Test2---Feb 2 2020 --710 (Q-50,V35)--Might be inflated as I got some known questions.
Test3---Feb 4 2020---620 (Q-45,V31)
Test4---Feb 6 2020---640 (Q-50,V27)


Goals:
3) What is your overall goal score?
720
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
I am planning to apply for B schools from August 2020. Preferred B Schools are IIM A/B/C and ISB. I haven't really thought of applying outside India yet

Additional Info: ERP Consultant, 10 Years of overall experience, Married.

Do let me know if you need more details.

Thanks and Regards,
Antriksh Rawat

Hi Antriksh,

I've sent you a PM with an analysis of your ESR and some additional questions.

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

Hey!

I took my GMAT on March 5th. I was aiming for 750+ but my result was a bit frustrating - 710 only. What I felt about the exam is that, for verbal section, I was rushing because I was afraid i couldn't finish. In my last question, I was still left with 2 mins though.

Studies:
1) How many hours did you typically study each week?
I started my preparation from the new year. And I study about 20 hours a week (not much given that my job is pretty busy).

2) On what 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)?
My first attempt for GMAT Prep 1 mock: Feb 8, scored Q50 V42 (760)
My second attempt for GMAT Prep 2 mock: Feb 16, scored Q50 V39 (740)

Goals:
3) What is your overall goal score?
My overall goal score is at least 750.
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
I am planning to apply this year and I'm applying to top 10 schools in the US.

Could anyone help to take a look at my ESR? I feel my sentence correction questions were terrible and certainly it pulled down my score a lot.

Hi aerograce,

I've sent you a PM.

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