Last visit was: 14 Dec 2024, 03:01 It is currently 14 Dec 2024, 03:01
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Reviews
Social
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
avatar
gleyceoliveira
avatar
Joined: 11 Sep 2016
Last visit: 12 Mar 2017
Posts: 1
Own Kudos:
1
 []
Given Kudos: 2
Posts: 1
Kudos: 1
 []
Leaving a couple of questions unanswered not so bad? From mba.com 06 Mar 2017, 20:04
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi guys,

I just came across an article (from GMAT oficial website) debunking the myth that you can't leave any question unanswered at all. It actually says that in some cases you should work on the question at hand and just leave the following unanswered (details below). I am puzzled. The article is from 2009, so I was wondering if there was any change since then. Does anybody know?

Unfortunately I am not allowed to link to the article, but here is the summary:
    - If you only have 1 or 2 items left in either section, it doesn’t make much difference if you guess or omit the question. You should finish the item you are on to the best of your ability and not worry about the others.
    - If you are on the Verbal section, it doesn’t make much difference if you guess when you have up to about 5 questions left. You should finish the item you are on to the best of your ability and not worry about the others.
    - In the Quantitative section, your odds improve if you guess and complete all the questions rather leave the final questions unanswered. After all, there are fewer questions in this section, so each item left blank in this section comprises a higher proportion of the test than in the verbal section. Guess as smartly as you can, but guess nonetheless—do not leave items blank.
    - If you have an idea what your relative ability is ahead of time (i.e., you’ve taken a practice test or diagnostic test), then your guess versus omit strategy differs based on where you think you would fall. If your scores tend to be relatively low on the section, leaving the questions blank may actually result in a higher score than getting even the easy questions wrong by guessing. If you are near the top of the scale, you have farther to fall if you omit the items and therefore you should guess. Low ability—omit; high ability—guess; medium ability—see above.

If you want to find the full article, go to mba . com and search for 'Tactics and Guessing´, from Sep 17 2009.

The only prep test I took I guessed the last couple of questions in both sections, so I am wondering if I should change the approach next time...



Thanks!
User avatar
abhimahna
User avatar
Board of Directors
Joined: 18 Jul 2015
Last visit: 06 Jul 2024
Posts: 3,570
Own Kudos:
5,591
Given Kudos: 346
Status:Emory Goizueta Alum
Products:
My Reviews
Expert reply
Posts: 3,570
Kudos: 5,591
Leaving a couple of questions unanswered not so bad? From mba.com 06 Mar 2017, 23:40
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
gleyceoliveira
Hi guys,

I just came across an article (from GMAT oficial website) debunking the myth that you can't leave any question unanswered at all. It actually says that in some cases you should work on the question at hand and just leave the following unanswered (details below). I am puzzled. The article is from 2009, so I was wondering if there was any change since then. Does anybody know?

Unfortunately I am not allowed to link to the article, but here is the summary:
    - If you only have 1 or 2 items left in either section, it doesn’t make much difference if you guess or omit the question. You should finish the item you are on to the best of your ability and not worry about the others.
    - If you are on the Verbal section, it doesn’t make much difference if you guess when you have up to about 5 questions left. You should finish the item you are on to the best of your ability and not worry about the others.
    - In the Quantitative section, your odds improve if you guess and complete all the questions rather leave the final questions unanswered. After all, there are fewer questions in this section, so each item left blank in this section comprises a higher proportion of the test than in the verbal section. Guess as smartly as you can, but guess nonetheless—do not leave items blank.
    - If you have an idea what your relative ability is ahead of time (i.e., you’ve taken a practice test or diagnostic test), then your guess versus omit strategy differs based on where you think you would fall. If your scores tend to be relatively low on the section, leaving the questions blank may actually result in a higher score than getting even the easy questions wrong by guessing. If you are near the top of the scale, you have farther to fall if you omit the items and therefore you should guess. Low ability—omit; high ability—guess; medium ability—see above.

If you want to find the full article, go to mba . com and search for 'Tactics and Guessing´, from Sep 17 2009.

The only prep test I took I guessed the last couple of questions in both sections, so I am wondering if I should change the approach next time...



Thanks!

As per my knowledge, leaving a question unanswered is more dangerous than attempting it wrong.

This article is very old. So, I would not consider this as a source of truth. You may always contact them and get this clarified.
User avatar
AjiteshArun
User avatar
GMAT Club Legend
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 12 Dec 2024
Posts: 5,666
Own Kudos:
4,907
Given Kudos: 706
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Posts: 5,666
Kudos: 4,907
Leaving a couple of questions unanswered not so bad? From mba.com 08 Mar 2017, 05:59
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
gleyceoliveira
Hi guys,

I just came across an article (from GMAT oficial website) debunking the myth that you can't leave any question unanswered at all. It actually says that in some cases you should work on the question at hand and just leave the following unanswered (details below). I am puzzled. The article is from 2009, so I was wondering if there was any change since then. Does anybody know?

Unfortunately I am not allowed to link to the article, but here is the summary:
    - If you only have 1 or 2 items left in either section, it doesn’t make much difference if you guess or omit the question. You should finish the item you are on to the best of your ability and not worry about the others.
    - If you are on the Verbal section, it doesn’t make much difference if you guess when you have up to about 5 questions left. You should finish the item you are on to the best of your ability and not worry about the others.
    - In the Quantitative section, your odds improve if you guess and complete all the questions rather leave the final questions unanswered. After all, there are fewer questions in this section, so each item left blank in this section comprises a higher proportion of the test than in the verbal section. Guess as smartly as you can, but guess nonetheless—do not leave items blank.
    - If you have an idea what your relative ability is ahead of time (i.e., you’ve taken a practice test or diagnostic test), then your guess versus omit strategy differs based on where you think you would fall. If your scores tend to be relatively low on the section, leaving the questions blank may actually result in a higher score than getting even the easy questions wrong by guessing. If you are near the top of the scale, you have farther to fall if you omit the items and therefore you should guess. Low ability—omit; high ability—guess; medium ability—see above.

If you want to find the full article, go to mba . com and search for 'Tactics and Guessing´, from Sep 17 2009.

The only prep test I took I guessed the last couple of questions in both sections, so I am wondering if I should change the approach next time...



Thanks!
What they say in that article should still hold. However, if you are aiming for a high score, you should certainly mark every single question before the end of the exam.
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatRichC
User avatar
GMAT Club Legend
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Last visit: 31 Dec 2023
Posts: 21,807
Own Kudos:
12,060
Given Kudos: 450
Status:GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat
Location: United States (CA)
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
Posts: 21,807
Kudos: 12,060
Leaving a couple of questions unanswered not so bad? From mba.com 08 Mar 2017, 13:01
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi gleyceoliveira,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. If you're thinking in those terms, then the 'penalty' for not answering the last 1-2 questions in a section would technically be considered 'negligible' - but it could still be 10 to 20 points (and you also have to consider how you were performing immediately before running out of time - a 'string' of wrong answers, followed by 2 unanswered questions, could hurt your score considerably). However, if you could remove that penalty by simply answering ALL of the questions (even if it's just by guessing), then that would help to maximize your performance (and that's something that most Test Takers would agree is one of their goals).

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