GMAT Verbal Improvement

Question

Hi all,

I have given my GMAT exam and scored 620(V25, Q49)

Need very good suggestion/strategy to improve my verbal score in 1 month. I have tried e-gmat and was able to score 650 in GMAT preps. Please help me with your best solutions.

I have done OG, verbal review and e-gmat for practice.

Goal Score 680+

Thanks, 
Veenu

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Veenu21,

I have the perfect article for you:

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

Feel free to reach out with additional questions.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Veenu,

With a 620, you're actually closer to a 680+ than you probably realize. With a V25 though, you would have lost significant points in All 3 major Verbal categories (RC, SC and CR); this means that you don't actually have to become an 'expert' in any of those 3 areas to hit your Score Goal, but you will have to hone enough of your overall Verbal skills to pick up those additional points.

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) How long have you studied in total? 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 taken?
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)?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

If you took your Official GMAT at a Test Center, then you might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

Veenu21 · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks a ton for replying. 
To answer your questions: 
1. I have been studying consistently from last 2 months, but overall doing some practice questions since last year. 
2. E-Gmat, official guide, udemy GMAT verbal course. Practice test: mba.com, Kaplan, Manhattan. 
3. MBA.com
1st : 570 V22 Q47
2nd: 660 V31 Q49 (12 incorrect Q, 14 incorrect V)
3rd: 640 V29 Q49
4th: 700 V34 Q50 IR 4 (3 incorrect Q, 14 incorrect V)
5th: 690 V34 Q49 ( 8 Incorrect Q, 10 In V)

Manhattan Scroe:
620, Q 42, V 33, IR 4.5

Kaplan Test:
640, Q46, V32, IR 6

ExpertGlobal: 
560, Q 48, V 19, IR 4

4. Targeting for June and July dates for Schulich and Ivey

I would really appreciate if you can share some insights on how i can improve my verbal score. What study plan should I follow.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Veenu,

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

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

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Veenu,

GMAT is a test which focuses on application of concepts. You can definitely push your score to 720+ if you work on your Verbal. Let me help you here.

How to improve your Verbal score?  
GMAT Verbal is mostly about the methodology and the logical approach. So, before you learn the concepts of any module, try to understand what is being tested using that module. For example, 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 recording below to understand the process in a better way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SGA8bwFNJM

Critical Reasoning:  
And similarly, before solving CR questions, you need to understand that most of the CR questions are based on one of the four frameworks:

Plan - goal 
 Causality 
 Comparison 
 Quantitative

And each framework has a set of guidelines to pre-think. So, once you learn the framework and the guidelines, the process of solving CR questions becomes a lot more structured.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCrobt7hZl8

As you see, it's important to learn the right process of solving questions. Test makers set a lot of traps in the answer choices. If you are not conceptually strong, if you do not use the right approach to solve questions and if you do not use the right strategies to eliminate answer choices, then you will most likely end up choosing the trap answer choice.

Please go through the recording below to understand the right way to improve your Verbal score.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiQlDg0bhaI

How to proceed further?  
I can guide you in a much better way if you can provide me a few more details about your GMAT preparation. I would like to know more about:

your weak areas 
 your current study strategy 
 your approach of solving questions (SC, CR and RC)

You can write back to me here or a better way is to discuss the same over a call. You can schedule a call with me using the link below.

Click here to schedule a call

GMAT Verbal Improvement

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards