Help improving in Verbal

Hi Swati0993,

I am happy to provide some advice about how to raise your verbal score; however, it would be helpful to first learn some more about your GMAT experience and MBA goals.

1) What is your GMAT score goal?

2) Have you taken any official MBA.com exams? If so, what are the score breakdowns of those exams? When you took the practice tests, did you take them under realistic conditions (e.g. in a quiet environment, no extended breaks)?

3) What is your study routine? For how many hours a day have you been studying and for how many total months? What resources have you been using for your prep?

4) What deadlines are you targeting?

5) To what schools do you plan to apply?

Once you provide some more information, I can give you some more tailored advice.

Hi my target score is around 730. I have been preparing for 3 months through classroom study mode and OG.

Right now my concentration is on meeting my target score but I wish to give the exam in November.

I have given 3 GMAT preps
1: 570 (Q44 V25)
2: 710 (Q50 V 35)
3: 640 (Q48 V29)



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Thank you for the suggestions

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Hi Swati0993,

I'd like to know a bit more about how you took these 3 CATs:

1) When did you take each of these CATs?
2) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
3) Did you take them at home?
4) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
5) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
6) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?

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

Hi,

1. I have taken all these exams in the past 2 weeks
2. I have taken them with IR however I skipped through AWA since I am yet to receive feedback from my verbal instructor on the AWAs I have done for practice.
3. I have taken first 2 at home and last one at the coaching centre.
5. No, gave them almost as the official GMAT
6. I took the gmatprep 2 twice but the questions were not repeated. And I took in between my first and second attempt so almost no recollection of the first attempt.



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Hi Swati0993,

Based on the fact that you took these 3 CATs over a 2-week span, there's some question as to whether any of them are accurate scores or not. The scores are wildly inconsistent for such a short period of time. Your description of how you took these CATs also implies that you did not take them in a realistic fashion that will 'match up' with what you'll face on Test Day.

Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your scores can become - and that's likely what has happened here. By skipping sections, taking the CATs at home, retaking a CAT that you've already taken, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.'

However you choose to continue studying, you really MUST make sure that you take each of your remaining CATs in a realistic way (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, away from your home, at the same tim of day as your Official GMAT, etc.). Until you take a CAT in that way - and have a score result that we can review - then it's difficult to advise you on how best to proceed with your studies.

1) What is your exact Test Date?
2) Do you have the flexibility to push back your Test?

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

Hi Swati0993,

Since your verbal scores are inconsistent, its a sign that you have some lingering weaknesses in SC, RC, and CR. To help build your verbal knowledge and find your weaknesses, you should strive for linear and targeted learning and follow that with focused practice. In other words, you want to master one topic before you move to the next. Have you been able to study in this way?

When learning about critical reasoning, for example, you want to be able to learn about all aspects of critical reasoning: strengthen and weaken the conclusion, resolve the paradox, find the conclusion, must be true, etc. Follow up your learning with targeted critical reasoning practice, so you can determine your specific weaknesses within that topic. You should do the same for sentence correction and reading comprehension.

To further improve your reading comprehension, I recommend reading publications such as the Economist, the New Yorker, Scientific American, and the Smithsonian, so you can get used to reading and analyzing long, sophisticated, well-written passages.

To truly master sentence correction, you must develop mastery of grammar rules (parallelism, subject/verb agreement, etc.) and accepted English usage. Concentrate on one topic at a time, such as modification, and practice with as many modification questions as you can find. Only after you feel confident with modification should you move to the next topic. In addition to your dedicated study, notice grammar and usage in your everyday life. Be aware of the things you habitually read, in terms of sentence structure, how phrases are worded, and whether pronouns are easy to understand, to name just a few important areas. Make sure you use proper grammar in your everyday writing as well. Have you put parallel ideas into parallel constructions? Do all of your pronouns refer appropriately to their antecedents? The more you reinforce your study with related activity outside of your study, the greater the likelihood you will master the topics, and have fun doing so!

Once you feel you have fully learned each verbal topic, begin taking practice exams to track your overall progress. You may consider taking the exams offered by GMAC, since those exams have an accurate scoring algorithm and contain retired questions from past GMAT exams.

Please keep me updated with your prep and, if you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to me directly.

Good luck!