Hello,
Mck2023. Pardon the delay, but this was another long workday for me. I will respond inline below.
Mck2023 wrote:
Hi Experts
I have around 90% accuracy in the Sub-600 level (as per GMAT Club tag) and around 80% accuracy in 600-700 level SC questions when I practice. In 700 level questions, my accuracy goes down to around 60%. The similar pattern is in my CR practice. I have seen in my Practice Tests that I make mistakes in one or two Easy or Medium SC and CR questions, dragging my score down to to V33,34,35. And I need at least V39.
My concern is the mistakes in Sub-600 and 600-700 level questions. Because, if I make mistake in these questions, my score will go down. (I have learnt that mistake in easy question kills the score more than mistake in hard question.) So I do not want to make any mistakes in these level of questions. I have a little more than 3 weeks to prepare. What shall I do in these days to achieve my target score?
You have identified the real issue here. I know it can be tempting to practice Hard question after Hard question, but there is no trickle-down effect that will necessarily make you better at Easy and Medium questions. Focus instead on these Easy and Medium questions. Instead of 90 percent accuracy on Easy, aim for 95; instead of 80, 85-90. When you put the fundamentals first, you are much less likely to miss the types of questions that will keep you from seeing those 700-level questions. I teach my students to place as much emphasis on review as on practice, if not more, toward the end of their preparation. That is, solving more questions will likely only reveal that you keep making the same mistakes. But if you spend time reviewing questions you have missed or even struggled with in the past and can improve your understanding of the issues that were getting in the way, you can see questions in a new light thereafter.
Mck2023 wrote:
Talking about my RC performance, it all depends on the passage. If I could not comprehend the passage well, then I will make mistake on the Sub-600 level questions easily [Hard passages gives easy questions if you make mistake in row]. Is there any way I can eliminate the mistake in easy question in this kind of scenario?
You should be looking for the same sorts of things in each RC passage, regardless of its type: authorial presence, the relationship of the different paragraphs, the use of transition words (e.g. "however"). You might try watching some YouTube videos from
GMATNinja. Many members have found them quite useful.
Mck2023 wrote:
One more question, I got V34 (Q49,680) in my recent CAT (Kaplan Free Test), where I had 7 mistakes out of 14 RC questions. And, when I checked the question tag in GMAT Club, all 4 passages were long passages (3 Science and 1 Humanities) where 3 passages were 700 level. Is this (getting 4 long passages) usual in real GMAT? I am bit scared.
It is atypical to get four lengthy passages, but go in ready to take on whatever the exam throws your way. Then, if you see a shorter passage on the screen, you can laugh to yourself and ease into it. It is not worth worrying about what
could be on your exam.
Mck2023 wrote:
Finally, I take take Quant first and then Verbal section on my practice and real exam. What happens is, during the Verbal section, I start to see the blurred vision due to long staring. A little bit of fatigue is also felt. How shall I practice to overcome this?
Thank you!!
Regards,
Mck2023
Mental fatigue is something that every test-taker must overcome to achieve a peak performance. If you find that you are better able to concentrate on Quant questions, maybe you should get Verbal out of the way first, while your mind is fresh. Your mocks should help you figure out pacing strategies as well. Some people look to hit time targets for each set of five or ten questions, or whatever corresponds to a quarter of each section. Make a game of it. Have fun.
If you need to reset your eyes, look away from the screen for a few seconds, take a deep breath or two, and get back to it. When you are calm and are able to think clearly, you will do your best.
Good luck with your studies. Thank you for thinking to ask me for advice.
- Andrew
close
10 Sep 2021, 20:07
