How to Improve in GMAT Verbal

Question

Hi All I took the GMAT today and scored a 660 (Q49,V32). This was my first attempt, and it is evident how I messed up verbal

. Can someone please guide me on how do I improve my verbal score from early 30s to early 40s ? This is urgent since I have registered again to take GMAT in September 1st week.

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi Ankita,  which  specific section in Verbal has been bothering you the most?

Ordering a ESR might perhaps be a good idea, to further analyze your performance.

Arro44 · Answer

Hi mate,

as you are already quite solid in quant, maybe some of these points can help squeezing the last few points out of verbal

1. Check out the SC specific threads on this forum, some of them (generally those with a lot of kudos) are very helpful

2. Listen to some of the videos on the YT chanel from Veritas, Magoosh and GmatNinja

3. Maybe check out the link in my signature, it adresses some verbal topics in general.

All the best for your prep my friend and I am confident you can crack the 700,
Chris

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ankita1394,

First off, a 660/Q49 is a strong score (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admission ... tants-124/

If you do choose to retest though, then we have to examine how you were studying for the Verbal section before.

1) How long have you studied?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

egmat · Answer

Hi ankita1394 , 660 is a good score to build upon. V32 is 66 percentile which indicates that you have specific concept and application gaps . To improve from here, you must first identify the sub-sections that you didn’t do well on. If you have ordered the ESR then you can check from there or else you may follow the below mentioned steps since you have only 20 days till your test: 1. Identify topic level preparedness using Ability Quizzes in Scholaranium 2. Isolate the topics in which you are relatively weak 3. Improve upon those topics If you need help in creating personalized study plan to reach your target score, you can also write to us support@e-gmat.com. Below are a few examples of students who were in the same situation as you and improved to their target score: • Martina improved from V31 to V46 in just 3 weeks. Click here to learn how she achieved this feat. • Nipun improved from V25 to V38 in 4 weeks. Click here to learn how he improved his RC and SC ability tremendously. Regards, Aditee

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi ankita1394,

I'm glad you reached out, and I'm happy to help.

As far as improving your verbal score, since you scored a V32, it’s clear that you are lacking some fundamental skills necessary for a good verbal score. Thus, moving forward, consider using a resource that allows you FIRST to learn the concepts and strategies related to Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension, and SECOND to practice with a large number of realistic questions. 
 
For example, assume you begin studying Critical Reasoning. Your first goal is to master the individual Critical Reasoning topics: Strengthen the Argument, Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, etc. As you learn each Critical Reasoning problem type, do focused practice so you can assess how well you understand the topic. If, for example, you incorrectly answer a Weaken the Argument question, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific Critical Reasoning 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. Follow a similar process for Reading Comprehension.
 
Sentence Correction, on the other hand, is a bit of a different animal compared to Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning. There are three aspects to getting correct answers to GMAT Sentence Correction questions: what you know, such as grammar rules, what you see, such as violations of grammar rules and the logic of sentence structure, and what you do, such as carefully considering each answer choice in the context of the non-underlined portion of the sentence. To drive up your Sentence Correction score, it is likely that you will have to work on all three of those aspects, and it is also likely that the reason that your Sentence Correction performance has not improved is that you have not been working on all three of those aspects. Let's discuss each of those aspects and how you can work on them.
 
Regarding what you know, to be successful in Sentence Correction, first and foremost, you MUST know your grammar rules.

Let's be clear, though: GMAT Sentence Correction is not only a test of knowledge of grammar rules. The reason for learning the grammar rules is so that you can determine what sentences convey and whether sentences are well-constructed. In fact, in many cases, incorrect answers to Sentence Correction questions are grammatically flawless. Thus, often your task is to use your knowledge of grammar rules to determine which answer choice creates the most logical sentence meaning and structure.
 
This determination of whether sentences are well-constructed and logical is the second aspect of finding correct answers to Sentence Correction questions, what you see. To develop this skill, you probably have to slow way down. You won't develop this skill by spending under two minutes per question. For a while, anyway, you have to spend time with each question, maybe even, say, ten or fifteen minutes on one question sometimes, analyzing every answer choice until you see the details that you have to see in order to choose the correct answer.
 
As you go through the answer choices, consider the meaning conveyed by each version of the sentence. Does the meaning make sense? Even if you can tell what the version is SUPPOSED to convey, does the version really convey that meaning? Is there a verb to go with the subject? Do all pronouns in the sentence clearly refer to nouns in the sentence? By slowing way down and looking for these details, you learn to see what you have to see in order to clearly understand which answer to a Sentence Correction question is correct.
 
There is only one correct answer to any Sentence Correction question, there are clear reasons why that choice is correct and the others are not, and those reasons are not that the correct version simply "sounds right." In fact, the correct version often sounds a little off at first. That correct answers may sound a little off is not surprising. If the correct answer were always the one that sounded right, then most people most of the time would get Sentence Correction questions correct, without really knowing why the wrong answers were wrong and the correct answers were correct. So, you have to go beyond choosing what "sounds right" and learn to clearly see the logical reasons why one choice is better than all of the others.
 
The third aspect of getting Sentence Correction questions correct is what you have to do. The main thing that you have to do is be very careful. You have to make sure that you are truly considering the structures of sentences and the meanings conveyed rather than allowing yourself to be tricked into choosing trap answers that sound right but don't convey meanings that make sense. You also have to make sure that you put some real energy into finding the correct answers. Finding the correct answer to a Sentence Correction question may take bouncing from choice to choice repeatedly until you start to see the differences between the choices that make all choices wrong except for one. Often, when you first look at the choices in a Sentence Correction question, only one or two seem obviously incorrect. It may take time for you to see what you have to see. Getting the right answers takes a certain work ethic. You have to be determined to see the differences and to figure out the precise reasons that one choice is correct.
 
To improve what you do when you are answering Sentence Correction questions, seek to become aware of how you are going about answering them. For instance, are you being careful and looking for logic and details, or are you quickly eliminating choices that sound a little off, and then choosing the best of the rest? If you choose an incorrect answer, consider what you did that resulted in your arriving at that answer and what you could do differently in order to arrive at correct answers more consistently. Furthermore, see how many questions you can get correct in a row as you practice. If you break your streak by missing one, consider what you could have done differently that would have resulted in your extending your streak.

As with your Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension regiments, after learning a particular Sentence Correction topic, you will want to engage in focused practice with 30 questions or more that involve that topic. As your Sentence Correction skills improve, you’ll then want to practice with SC questions that test you on skills from multiple Sentence Correction topics.
 
Ultimately, if you are unable to learn and practice in the manner described above, you may consider looking for additional verbal prep resources. If you are unsure of which resources to choose, check out some reviews here on GMAT Club.

You also may find it helpful to read my article for more information regarding
 how to score a 700+ on the GMAT .

Feel free to reach out with questions.

Good luck!

AkshdeepS · Answer

Below links may help you: 1. https://blog.targettestprep.com/how-to- ... -on-gmat/# 2. https://blog.targettestprep.com/gmat-ma ... ns-faster/ 3. https://magoosh.com/gmat/all-posts-by-category/ 4. https://magoosh.com/gmat/all-posts-by-category/ 5. https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-best-rea ... 53849.html 6. https://gmatclub.com/forum/sentence-cor ... l#p1863058 7. https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/tag/qu ... -wisdom-2/

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi ankita1394, For verbal, I would highly encourage you to consider e-gmat verbal online or the e-gmat verbal live course. They are both amazing courses especially designed for non-natives. They offer almost 25% of their courses for free so you can try out their free trial to decide which one you want to go for. Plus the e-gmat Scholaranium which is included in both the courses is one of the best verbal practice tools in the market. You can easily track your progress in that you can identify your strengths and analyze and improve on your weak areas. Further taking multiple mocks might help. Apart from the GMATPREP, Manhattan GMAT tests and Veritas Prep Tests in my experience have good verbal and Quant section and will certainly help you point out and improve your weak areas. Further another advantage of taking many mocks is to build up your stamina. Apart from the GMATPREP tests, taking practise tests of any major GMATPREP company ought to do that. I would also encourage you to purchase the GMATPREP QP 1 for some great additional practice. Here is a link that will help you with your decision. https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... ml?fl=menu Hope this helps. All the best.

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