Marking System Enquiry

Question

Hi All, I am new to GMAT preparations and planning to prepare by myself.

So, to get to know my current/ starting level, I took a mock. In Verbal section, I attempted 29 questions, with 18 of them correct and got V23.

I just want to know whether I should have just guessed the last 7 questions (due to lack of time, it would be a blind guess) or leave the way I actually did. A friend suggested I should have marked all question, even wrongly, I would have higher score. Is it true???

logro · Answer

Hey Palash - yess the scoring algorithm penalises you more for not finishing the test than for guessing those questions

harshtandel838 · Answer

Hay  Palash27

GMAT actually penalises for not completing the section. So guesses, either they are all wrong, still lead to higher score than leaving those remaining questions.

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GMATinsight · Answer

Hi Palash27 While you have received the right answer that not marking a question fetches you greater panelty than getting that wrong. Also, pay attention to the fact that the first and last quarter of the section have higher weightage in scoring than the two quarters in between so the test taking strategy must include this fact as well. Get TOPICWISE: Concept Videos | Practice Qns 100+ | Official Qns 50+ | 100% Video solution CLICK . Two MUST join YouTube channels : GMATinsight (1000+ FREE Videos) and GMATclub

Palash27 · Answer

Thank you!

Palash27 · Answer

thanks Harsh Tandel!

Palash27 · Answer

Thanks GMAT Insight team!

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  Palash27 ,

Your friend may  not  be correct. For the kind of score you mentioned, leaving questions is probably better than getting them wrong. The difference may not be great though, so there is no real reason to worry too much about this.

However, as you take more tests and your score goes up, it becomes more important to finish your test(s).

Palash27 · Answer

Thank you Ajitesh.

But the thing is I got 18 correct of 29 attempted questions. And think the difficulty level was a okay, if not hard, and got a 33 percentile.

I am not underestimating other test takers, but this seem a little hard to digest. Hence this becomes important for me to know.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  Palash27 ,

I get where you're coming from on this. It's really difficult to estimate the impact of guessing on a test taker's score though, so my advice to you would be to continue working on your concepts and timing, and then take another practice test when you feel comfortable doing so.

Here's  one possible timing strategy .

Palash27 · Answer

Sure, a big thank you! Hope that you continue to guide this way!

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