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1) I am currently attempting questions in a block of 37/41(15 RC, 13-15 CR, 11-13 SC) of mixed difficulty. I do this basically to practice endurance because the last time I took the live test, I was so tired that my mind stopped working. I find that every time one section pulls me down. And it is not the same section always. When I think I am strong in SC, I falter badly in SC. Most of the times, I get 1-2 in a block of 11-13 wrong, the last time, I got 4 questions wrong in a block of 11. Not continuously though.
Endurance can be a huge issue on the GMAT, and it sounds like you're basically on the right track with your study plans. There could be a few different reasons why your results are inconsistent, though. My first thought is that the questions you're using might not be uniform in terms of difficulty level. If you're plucking verbal questions from the OGs, that's great, but questions #1-15 are inevitably much, much easier than questions #100-115. If you're using questions from random test-prep companies, then you're even more likely to have erratic results.
So sure, maybe you're really inconsistent from day to day for one reason or another. Maybe you're not being careful and methodical enough in your approach. Or maybe every batch of SC questions is a little bit different, and that's why your results vary.
If you really are inconsistent with SC, then take a good, hard look at your methodology. I'll bet that you've studied the grammar rules extensively, but do you always notice keywords such as "it" or "they" or "and" or "which" or "like" when they appear in your answer choices? Or do they slip past you sometimes? Do you often end up selecting answer choices based on what "sounds good", or are you 100% analytical all of the time? If your approach isn't consistent, then your results won't be, either.
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3) The CR! My God! I just can't understand how to deal with this. Although I don't seem to have a problem when I look into the concepts (which I do every time I start to practice), but the problem just creeps up when I attempt questions. Either I am too overwhelmed or in a rush to finish off the test, I overlook a lot of aspects. Also, just for the heck of it, I tried doing the same set of 15 CRs again, before checking the answers, and to my utter horror, I found varying answers for 1/2 questions, but the same wrong answers in the 2nd time I did.
And now for the bad news: it sounds like you're just not very good at CR and RC yet. It sounds like you've read through some test-prep books and you've learned the concepts, but my bet is that your reading just isn't precise enough. It's not glamorous, but CR and RC are all about understanding the precise meaning of every single word in each passage and answer choice. It's all about catching the little nuances that change the conclusion, a key detail, or an answer choice. If you're not tuned into those nuances, you'll inevitably struggle, at least to some degree.
Sure, it's possible that you have some logical issues (such as weaknesses on specific CR question types) that could be improved by working through some test-prep tactics, but it sounds like you've already done that, and the issue might be deeper. If this is the case, there's really no magic bullet. You obviously want to keep an eye on trends in your results (if, for example, you disproportionately miss assumption or inference or main idea questions, then maybe there's a way to fix those issues), but most of your gains will likely come from working with challenging, official CR and RC questions, and gradually getting stronger at capturing the precise meanings of the passages and answer choices. LSAT questions aren't a magic bullet either, but if you need some additional, challenging CR or RC questions, LSAT materials might be a good supplement... and they're definitely better than GMAT CR and RC questions written by test-prep companies.
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4) The timing! The biggest of all my problems. I am finishing off the section with at least (I stress AT LEAST) 10 minutes to spare. I just don't seem to understand why. I sometimes think if I slow down a bit, I could, I really could spot the right choice. But, I am really not able to!
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I have started to do every single question timed, even if it for 1.5 min. Ironically, I am always exceeding time in these single questions.
You aren't going to like this advice very much, but I'll say it anyway: screw the times. For now, anyway. It sounds like you're overly concerned about hitting some timing benchmarks (1.5 minutes per question is awfully fast), and maybe you're racing through everything. If your accuracy isn't where you want it to be, the timing is completely irrelevant. Why put yourself under time pressure prematurely? It will just encourage you to be less careful and less precise with your reading. And that's probably at the heart of your struggles on CR and RC.
So whatever else you do, spend some time focusing exclusively on accuracy. Do RC and CR when you're at your sharpest, and concentrate on being 100% dialed in to the nuances of the passages. Maybe you're already reading with maximum concentration--I don't know. But it sounds like you're really concerned about timing, and that makes me suspect that you're allowing the time pressure (or
perceived time pressure) to throw you off your game. Dump the timer for a while, and see if you can improve your accuracy.
Sorry, this turned into a really long novel. I hope this helps!
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