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26 May 2020, 03:22
Kudos
Bookmarks
Official Mock- PREP 1: Q48 V38
Verbal Section:
1-9: Incorrect 2
10-18: Incorrect 1
19-27: Incorrect 3
28-36: Incorrect 5
RC: Passage 1:: 3/3
Passage 2:: 4/4
Passage 3:: 2/3
Passage 4: 1/4
SC: 11/13 ( I saw a couple of questions before)
CR:4/9 ( I saw a couple of questions before, still got them wrong)
*****************************************************************************************
Official Mock- PREP 2: Q48 V35
Verbal Section:
1-9: Incorrect 1
10-18: Incorrect 3
19-27: Incorrect 2
28-36: Incorrect 5
RC: Passage 1:: 2/3
Passage 2:: 4/4
Passage 3:: 2/3
Passage 4: 1/3
SC: 12/14 ( I saw a couple of questions before)
CR:4/9
CR is making my life difficult. CR accuracy is generally above 70%, On a good day I get 8/10 700 level LSAT questions correct. However I am not able to replicate the same on official mocks. How can I improve performance in CR? Should I change the way I practice CR?
Also, can someone please advice what materials do I use to make the cut from Q48 to Q50? More practice, perhaps? My plan is to solve Manhattan Advanced quant and attempt GC quant tests after I finish the Manhattan guide.
Please help.
Verbal Section:
1-9: Incorrect 2
10-18: Incorrect 1
19-27: Incorrect 3
28-36: Incorrect 5
RC: Passage 1:: 3/3
Passage 2:: 4/4
Passage 3:: 2/3
Passage 4: 1/4
SC: 11/13 ( I saw a couple of questions before)
CR:4/9 ( I saw a couple of questions before, still got them wrong)
*****************************************************************************************
Official Mock- PREP 2: Q48 V35
Verbal Section:
1-9: Incorrect 1
10-18: Incorrect 3
19-27: Incorrect 2
28-36: Incorrect 5
RC: Passage 1:: 2/3
Passage 2:: 4/4
Passage 3:: 2/3
Passage 4: 1/3
SC: 12/14 ( I saw a couple of questions before)
CR:4/9
CR is making my life difficult. CR accuracy is generally above 70%, On a good day I get 8/10 700 level LSAT questions correct. However I am not able to replicate the same on official mocks. How can I improve performance in CR? Should I change the way I practice CR?
Also, can someone please advice what materials do I use to make the cut from Q48 to Q50? More practice, perhaps? My plan is to solve Manhattan Advanced quant and attempt GC quant tests after I finish the Manhattan guide.
Please help.
26 May 2020, 13:27
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi ARIEN3228,
Based on the information that you provided in this post, it sounds as though you have taken these two practice CATs/mocks BEFORE. While the most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC, retaking a CAT that you've already taken is NOT a realistic way to assess your skills - since you will likely see some 'repeat' questions that you have already faced. Unfortunately, seeing even a couple of repeats can 'throw off' the Scoring Algorithm and impact your pacing, energy levels, fatigue, etc. (meaning that they would likely all appear to be better than they actually are). Thankfully, the CATs from Kaplan, MGMAT and Veritas are all 'close enough' to the real thing that they will provide you with a relatively realistic score assessment (assuming that you correctly take the CAT in a realistic fashion) - so you can use any NEW CATs from any of those sources next.
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:
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) When was the last time you took a NEW CAT (with questions that you had NOT seen before)? 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 take the GMAT?
6) 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
Based on the information that you provided in this post, it sounds as though you have taken these two practice CATs/mocks BEFORE. While the most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC, retaking a CAT that you've already taken is NOT a realistic way to assess your skills - since you will likely see some 'repeat' questions that you have already faced. Unfortunately, seeing even a couple of repeats can 'throw off' the Scoring Algorithm and impact your pacing, energy levels, fatigue, etc. (meaning that they would likely all appear to be better than they actually are). Thankfully, the CATs from Kaplan, MGMAT and Veritas are all 'close enough' to the real thing that they will provide you with a relatively realistic score assessment (assuming that you correctly take the CAT in a realistic fashion) - so you can use any NEW CATs from any of those sources next.
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:
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) When was the last time you took a NEW CAT (with questions that you had NOT seen before)? 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 take the GMAT?
6) 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
26 May 2020, 19:06
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi ARIEN3228,
To improve in Critical Reasoning, you first need to master the individual Critical Reasoning topics: Strengthen the Argument, Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, etc. As you learn about each question type, do focused practice so you can track your skill in answering each type. If, for example, you get a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific question type? Were you doing too much analysis in your head? Did you skip over a keyword in an answer choice? You must thoroughly analyze your mistakes and seek to turn weaknesses into strengths by focusing on the question types you dread seeing and the questions you take a long time to answer correctly.
Another major mistake that people make when training for CR is that they do practice questions too fast. To get Critical Reasoning questions correct, you have to see exactly what's going on in the passages and answer choices, and you likely won't learn to do so by spending a few minutes on each question. At this stage of your training, you may need to spend even fifteen minutes on each question, learning to see what there is to see. Here is a way to look at this process. If you get a new job in a field in which you are not experienced, you may not be as fast as the other people working with you, but you know you have a job to do and you make sure you learn all the angles, so that you do the job well, if not as quickly as those around you, Rushing through the job and doing it incorrectly would not make sense. Then, as you gain more experience, you learn to do the same job more quickly. Think of Critical Reasoning questions similarly. Your job is to do what? To get through questions quickly? Not really. Your job is to get correct answers.
So, first you have to learn to get correct answers, generally at least 10 to 15 in a row consistently, and more in a row would be better. That is your job, and if it takes you fifteen minutes per question to get correct answers consistently, then so be it. Only after you have learned to get correct answers consistently can you work on speeding up. Working quickly but not doing your job is useless. Better to work slowly and learn to do your job well. You can be sure that with experience, you will learn to speed up, and then you will still be doing your job well, i.e., getting correct answers consistently.
Finally, a key aspect of getting correct answers to Critical Reasoning questions is noticing the key differences between trap choices and correct answers. Trap choices can sound temptingly correct but don't get the job done. The logic of what a trap choice says simply doesn't fit what the question is asking you to find. So, to get better at your job, learn to see the key differences between trap choices and correct answers.
Regarding resources, check out some of the success stories of past GMAT students as well as reviews of various GMAT prep courses to see what prep materials have worked for other test-takers.
Lastly, you may find it helpful to read this article about
how to score a 700+ on the GMAT.
To improve in Critical Reasoning, you first need to master the individual Critical Reasoning topics: Strengthen the Argument, Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, etc. As you learn about each question type, do focused practice so you can track your skill in answering each type. If, for example, you get a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific question type? Were you doing too much analysis in your head? Did you skip over a keyword in an answer choice? You must thoroughly analyze your mistakes and seek to turn weaknesses into strengths by focusing on the question types you dread seeing and the questions you take a long time to answer correctly.
Another major mistake that people make when training for CR is that they do practice questions too fast. To get Critical Reasoning questions correct, you have to see exactly what's going on in the passages and answer choices, and you likely won't learn to do so by spending a few minutes on each question. At this stage of your training, you may need to spend even fifteen minutes on each question, learning to see what there is to see. Here is a way to look at this process. If you get a new job in a field in which you are not experienced, you may not be as fast as the other people working with you, but you know you have a job to do and you make sure you learn all the angles, so that you do the job well, if not as quickly as those around you, Rushing through the job and doing it incorrectly would not make sense. Then, as you gain more experience, you learn to do the same job more quickly. Think of Critical Reasoning questions similarly. Your job is to do what? To get through questions quickly? Not really. Your job is to get correct answers.
So, first you have to learn to get correct answers, generally at least 10 to 15 in a row consistently, and more in a row would be better. That is your job, and if it takes you fifteen minutes per question to get correct answers consistently, then so be it. Only after you have learned to get correct answers consistently can you work on speeding up. Working quickly but not doing your job is useless. Better to work slowly and learn to do your job well. You can be sure that with experience, you will learn to speed up, and then you will still be doing your job well, i.e., getting correct answers consistently.
Finally, a key aspect of getting correct answers to Critical Reasoning questions is noticing the key differences between trap choices and correct answers. Trap choices can sound temptingly correct but don't get the job done. The logic of what a trap choice says simply doesn't fit what the question is asking you to find. So, to get better at your job, learn to see the key differences between trap choices and correct answers.
Regarding resources, check out some of the success stories of past GMAT students as well as reviews of various GMAT prep courses to see what prep materials have worked for other test-takers.
Lastly, you may find it helpful to read this article about
how to score a 700+ on the GMAT.
