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efekose83
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efekose83
Hi everyone,

I am kind of desperate and looking for a solution to improve my GMAT score. Thanks in advance for reading and suggesting ways.

First of all, a little background about me; I am a non-native English speaker, but living abroad and using English all the time in daily life. I started to prepare GMAT 32 days before the real exam. I did five mocks (GMATPreps and Manhattan) in this period. In all of these mocks and also in the real exam my Quant was 51 straight - so no problem there and I didn't spend any time for it. Also, IR was 8, another time-saver for me.

However, it is the opposite for Verbal, especially for SC. In 32 days, I spend around 75 hours and at least 60 hours on SC. I studied from MGMAT and e-Gmat, I solved all questions on OG and Verbal Review, I took notes, I created an error-log, I used GmatClub a lot to understand my mistakes, and so on. The problem is my accuracy on the practices is around 80-85%; however, somehow in the real exams, it can go as low as 30%. For instance, in some mocks, I got 730-700, but in some of them I got 640, and all this difference is mainly coming from SC. If I 'guess' correct or if I am 'lucky' about the questions, I can score high, but otherwise, the result is unsatisfactory. Consequently, I resulted in 660 in the real exam and still no clue how can I consistently increase my SC score. I mention SC because my RC or CR mistakes are 2-3 max. in each exam, whereas SC can go up to 8-9.

I think my main problem is that I am unable to understand what is the issue in the sentence. I understand the sentence, if it is an obvious mistake, I can fix it, but otherwise, I struggle a lot. I think my accuracy when practicing was high because when I practice I knew what the question about was. Also, in theory, I know almost every 'rule' (i.e. like vs as, modifier, pronouns and so on) but I feel especially in the new 2020 questions and exams the sentences are somehow different -more direct- so if you are not really good it is hard to understand what is the problem. It can be because of the fact that my grammar foundation is not so strong as a native, I am not sure.

All in all, I really need some advice about what to do. I decided to give myself around 10 days rest before preparing again. I am planning to study for another 75 hours in 30 days before the second attempt. I just don't know what else should I do or where else should I study from?
Should I re-do Manhattan and e-Gmat again? Or try something else? I don't I need a tutor, but is it a must since my initial method didn't work?

Thanks a lot in advance. Oh, btw, my target is 700+

I donot know if you've heard but veritas SC book is quite descriptive
Jamboree course has all the official material you can have
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efekose83

it is the opposite for Verbal, especially for SC. difference is mainly coming from SC.

I think my main problem is that I am unable to understand what is the issue in the sentence. I understand the sentence, if it is an obvious mistake, I can fix it, but otherwise, I struggle a lot. I think my accuracy when practicing was high because when I practice I knew what the question about was. Also, in theory, I know almost every 'rule' (i.e. like vs as, modifier, pronouns and so on) but I feel especially in the new 2020 questions and exams the sentences are somehow different -more direct- so if you are not really good it is hard to understand what is the problem. It can be because of the fact that my grammar foundation is not so strong as a native, I am not sure.



First understand what the sentence says, e.g. what the subjects are doing or what is happening to them, etc.

Cut out the unnecessary bits from the sentence and focus on the necessary ones. Form your own correct sentence keeping the original meanings intact.

Go through answer choices and eliminate those that have mistakes or change the meaning.

Avoid robotic application of grammar rules.

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I am currently reading education aisle SC nirvana book..
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