Is it required to mug up rules for SC

Question

I have just started with my GMAT preparation and have finished with the diagnostic test in OG 2019(got above avg in SC) and the questions on SC in the OG. I have not gone through the rules at the beginning of the chapter on SC in the OG as it was too time consuming and confusing,so I directly started solving them by the theory whichever sounds right and having a general idea about grammar.I would say I was 75% accurate with practice questions in the OG(not timed) .I am avoiding the rules as I feel it will make me confused in mugging them up and remembering them and applying them and take more time in tackling the questions. I recently gave the free sectional test on verbal in gmat club and got 16.With regards to the SC questions some of them I made careless mistakes and the 700 + questions the answers were weird and although the sentences seemed easy the differences were subtle.How to proceed further with my preparation to increase my score. I am having the verbal review 2019,manhattan prep material,, advanced official questions and SC grail 2018 by Wiley. I plan to appear on July.

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turjya · Answer

Memorize the grammar rules I. E know which rule to apply when in a given sentence. But this I find time consuming, confusing to understand and remember.

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DisciplinedPrep · Answer

bb  - Your question cracked me up. Mug up means cramming and is a common phrase used by Indian test-takers.

turjya  - The short answer is no. Memorizing a bunch of grammar rules will not help you answer sentence questions correctly; in fact, doing so could prove counterproductive. Instead, you must focus on the basics and start approaching questions with the right stategy.

aditiwadhan · Answer

I understand your plight, but no.
There is no shortcut or perfect rule book to it.
I would suggest solving the SC question bank on the GMAT club itself!
They have a lot of questions with people answering and explaining even. With time you will get a hang of it.
Pick a subject and start practising but do maintain the log, learn from your mistake.
Try and track which rule is when you often fail in identifying.
The answers may seem close, but they do have a strong distinction which you are currently missing, but with practice you will get it.

ramlala · Answer

Hi  turjya

Here the game is different, not Maths or English, but reasoning.
So meaning is the most important part to play.

Also you don't have to find the correct answer but  most appropriate .

I think, you may agree on this.

bb · Answer

Thank you for the clarification

I have actually studied a bunch of grammar rules back in the day though not all... but it helped to get better with proper english and structure of such things as comparisons, subjunctive, imperative, and get better at writing in general.... (of course TOEFL also had an SC section that was much more rule-based)... which is why we came up with the GMAT Club Grammar Book.... but there many roads to get to the same place. some study the grammar rules (took a while though, again, I had to for the old TOEFL format) while others focus more on meaning and more minimal grammar rules. I don't know...

turjya · Answer

So how do I proceed I.e what is the good strategy? Which is not confusing, does not require memorizing,will not cause me to spend more time per SC question but get the answer right quickly and proceed

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turjya · Answer

How do I proceed with the preparation then?

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MohitGeat · Answer

No need to mug up rules.

The exam is meant to test your aptitude and a preparation in line with that will help you get a good score without mugging.

turjya · Answer

So how to prepare for SC without getting confused with all the rules,managing time and increasing accuracy?

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aditiwadhan · Answer

Start by understanding the grammar rules
There are a bunch of videos explaining the same

In the end, you will really have to practice and understand your mistakes, log them, understand them, correct them

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi turjya,

Rules are definitely important but that's not all. Before you start preparing you need to understand what is actually tested using those questions. In this case, do SC questions really test your knowledge of grammatical rules? The answer is NO!

How to approach SC questions? 
SC questions test your ability to convey the intended meaning without any ambiguity. So, it's important to approach them from the meaning stand-point. You might have often come across answer choices which are both grammatically correct and convey a logical meaning but are indeed incorrect. So, it's important to comprehend the meaning the original sentence is trying to convey, identify errors if any and then eliminate answer choices which are grammatically incorrect or which do not convey the intended meaning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SGA8bwFNJM

So, learn the rules. They are definitely important but make sure to approach the questions using meaning stand-point. If you have a good standard resource to learn the concepts of SC, then go ahead with it. If not, choose a standard resource which can help you with concepts, the right methods to approach questions, questions to practice and their detailed solutions. And not just SC, make sure to focus on the right parameters for CR and RC as well. You might find the below article helpful/

The importance of learning in the right order

Make sure to focus more on the process of solving questions than on practicing questions and choose the resource accordingly. And I can help you in a much better way if you can give me a little background about yourself and the way you are preparing for GMAT right now. If you wish to have a detailed discussion on the same, you can get in touch with me using the below link.

Click here to schedule a call

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi turjya,

In a prior post, you stated that your Score Goal was 750+; that type of result requires an incredibly high level of 'precision.' SCs are 'technical' in nature (similar to how Geometry questions require knowledge of formulas), so you need to know the grammar/idiom rules really well (and be able to spot when they apply) to score higher in this category. There is no substitute for this knowledge. Beyond learning the major Grammar rules (along with a list of Idioms that may show up on your Exam), I recommend that you read the explanations for every SC that you work on (including the ones that you correctly answer) - and keep a running list of grammar rules that you did not realize were involved with each prompt that you worked on. By periodically reviewing that list, you'll be more likely to spot similar SC patterns in later questions (and pick up points!).

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How long have you studied so far? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) On what dates (or approximate 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)?
3) 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

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Hi turjya,

I’m sure you would agree with me when I say that Grammar in itself is a very vast area. Trying to by heart all the grammatical rules in English can be an onerous task. However, knowledge of rules that are often tested on the GMAT can be very useful to solve sentence correction on the GMAT. The priority should always be the intended meaning of the sentence followed by grammatical rules, including idioms.

Going by “what sounds correct is correct” may not be a good idea to approach SC on the GMAT. There are cases where “what sounds correct” is the wrong answer choice and the correct answer choice may not ALWAYS “sound correct”.

GMAT SC tests you on certain areas such as Subject-verb agreement, modifiers, pronouns, parallelism, subjunctives, tenses, idioms, etc. Therefore it is ideal that you start by learning the basics of each of these commonly tested topics and try making use of what you have learned when you solve SC questions.

Please feel free to reach out to us if you need help with anything on your GMAT journey.

Good luck with your preparation

VP
GMAT Verbal SME

VP GMAT Verbal SME

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Is it required to mug up rules for SC

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