Maximize Your Verbal Score before the GMAT

Maximize Your Verbal Score before the GMAT!

So... You have almost finished your GMAT Prep. You are almost hitting your target score. But it's still 7-10 days to the test. Here is your chance to squeeze every point out of that V.


Maximise evaluation time

• Take a practice CAT (Preferably GMAT Prep. If not, get something that you've used before.)
• Simulate exact test conditions: This should include AWA, IR, breaks: exactly as you would on the test
• Test Score within 30 points of your target score - Evaluate your mistakes. Check for patterns in the test review section to figure out whether there are multiple mistakes on the same concept (for example: Weakening in CR), and note down the questions and concepts tested on those questions. Later, export them to your error log.
• Test Score with a difference of more than 30 points from your target score: You may want to reschedule depending on how much time you have left. Make sure you reschedule before 14 7 days to get the full credit. a refund
• If you cannot take full length tests for some reason, you can always take timed drills with the same number of questions that you would have to in the GMAT

Reviewing Verbal Concepts

Sentence Correction

• Take a question from your error log (Preferably an official question)
• Time yourself and find out the right answer.
• For every single incorrect answer choice, figure out what the precise reason for that option to be incorrect. Write the reason down. Do not settle with explanations such as "it is an awkward construction." If you cannot put your finger to the exact reason, you have not mastered sentence correction yet.
• Look for similar questions using GMAT Club tags and use the same strategy. You should become more comfortable. Remember that at the end of your prep, it's all about quality over quantity. So do not be afraid to spend too much time analysing a question like the way mentioned.
• Practice and Analyse for the following concepts: Modifiers, Parallelism, Subject Verb Agreement, and Meaning.

Critical Reasoning

• Review from the last CAT to find out areas of development and pressure points.
• For strengthening and weakening questions, ALWAYS find your own versions of the correct answer before looking at the option.
• For assumption questions, try to find out a possible assumption. If you cannot, it's okay. Look at the options. If anything does not jump out, try the negation technique.
• For inference and bold face questions, DO NOT put your common sense into an exercise. Rely solely on the premises of the argument and its structure.
• Use these strategies to analyse questions in your pressure areas and note for increasing accuracy while maintaining the timing constraint.

Reading Comprehension

• Reading Comprehension is a bit crucial when it comes to improvement, for if you do not comprehend a passage well you will end up making repeated mistakes, which we all know can be pretty detrimental with that Verbal score of yours. Make sure you follow a strategy that works for you and then go on a mission to solve official questions. Simplify the question set into specific sets such as main point/inference/detail and work on them. It is up to you whether you want to make notes, but make sure they are as brief as possible.
• Instead of revising from different passages, try to make your revision question specific.
• Bucket different passages using three basic question types: A. Main idea or Primary Purpose B. Details in the passage C. Inference.
• Do not be afraid to read one entire passage for one question of each type. It will only add to your reading stamina.
• For Main Idea or Primary Purpose questions, you are looking at the overarching idea of the passage. Do not overlook major hints in the first or the last or both paragraphs in the passage.
• For detail questions, make sure you are not confused or deviated by intentional wordplay. Often a detail question answer choice which lifts a word or a phrase from the passage would be the wrong one.
• For inference, let your common sense take a back seat. Analyse the argument structure to figure out what can be logically inferred AKA Must Be True.

Stamina is the Key - Timing is the Lock

Do not fall prey to the average time argument. For example there are 75 minutes to attempt 41 questions in the verbal section. So you have to attempt each question in less than 2 minutes to finish the test on time, right? Nope!! 2 minutes being the average. You may end up using more than 3 minutes in a difficult question (assuming that you are going somewhere and not struggling to comprehend the question and trying random things) and thus you need to be prepared to store some time.

Make sure to have a great endurance level in the test. The more exhausted you are, the more blurry the text will look like and the more time it will take for you to understand the question. Take one thing at a time and fool your mind to think that you were born to answer that Critical Reasoning question. Sentence Correction is your life purpose.

All the best for the GMAT!