MelSteimen
Hello everybody
I just took my first GMAT Test last week and I am not fully satisfied with my score. I scored a solid 570 points (Q 42 V 25) but I know that I can do way more. I prepared myself with the Manhatten Review books and also solved their mock exams. My focus was mainly on the Quant part since I really had to brush up my gemoetric skills. At the mock exams I usually scored 47,48 in Quants and I am confident that if I keep solving questions from the GMAT Official Guide and analysing my mistakes, I can score up to 49/50 in the real exam.
The part in which I really need advise is the Verbal. I defintely started too late familiarizing myself with the three different questions types and the strategies to solve them. I have never used any books and just solved the three free turtorials of the eGMAT. I thought that daily practicing for a few weeks with the GMAT Official Guide will be enough. But, I am still too slow and I've never had time to solve the last six questions. Furthermore, the sentence correction questions often end in just guessing between two,three possible answer chioces. The same for the reading comprehension. Often can I eleminate two,three answers choices but miss probably the last detail in the passage in order to clearly choose only the single correct option.
In order to reach my aim of 35 points. What would you recommend me doing and studying?
- I still have the Sentence Correction Book of Manhatten Review, is this a good study tool?
- I also have the GMAT offical & verbal Guide to practice with.
- I also heard that there is a possibility to buy an enhanced score report of the GMAT exam. Can I buy that report even I already got my score?
Hi MelSteimen,
A score of V25 indicates that you have to work on all the three modules. It's better to start the verbal module from scratch that is learn the concepts right from the beginning. Verbal questions can be very tricky on GMAT as test makers use similar words to frame close answer choices. If you have gaps in your conceptual understanding or if you do not use the right methodology, there are high chances that you will get stuck between two answer choices. So, before you dive in, it's important to learn what is actually tested on on each module of Verbal.
Let me explain you from the perspective of Sentence Correction questions. There is a misconception that grammatical rules will help you solve SC questions. But the reality is,
it is the ability to convey the right meaning that is tested using SC questions. You might have come across answer choices which are grammatically correct and convey a logical meaning but are indeed incorrect. So, it's important to understand the intended meaning of the original sentence, identify errors and then eliminate answer choices either which are grammatically incorrect or which do not convey the intended meaning.
How do you learn the right methodology?
If you are thinking by practicing questions, then I'm afraid that's not the right way. For every question you solve, go through it's solution. By solution I mean the detailed solution. Compare your approach with the right one and identify at which step you faltered. There's no harm in analyzing the solutions for questions which you got right.
Spend as much time on analyzing solutions as you do on practicing questions. But before practicing, make sure you learn the concepts and the methodology.
So, ask yourself if the resources you are using help with the methodology. And yes you can buy your ESR which will provide you the analysis of your performance. You can share that with me if you need any help in analyzing it.
Having said that, I gave you a generic plan of what to do next. I would need a few more details to suggest you a specific plan. It would be great if we can connect over a call and discuss the same. You can use the below link to schedule a free consultation call.