Need Help to increase my speed in Verbal

Question

Hi, 
I appeared for GMAT on 11-Sep , and was quite disappointed with a score of 600 ( Q 48, V 25)
I gave all adaptive tests from Manhattan Gmat , and I never scored a scaled score below 35 in Verbal in all the 6 tests.I don't know what went wrong on the he D-day.

Anyways I am planning to appear for the second time at the end of Nov, and am putting all my efforts into Verbal.

What I have noticed in my practice tests is that, if I don't hurry to answer any question in Verbal, I get almost 90% correct ( be it RC, SC or CR ) , but what I have noticed that I reach only the 25th or 26th question when I have only 10 mins to go. So then I run through the last 15 questions or so in the last 10 mins and get most of them wrong. I know that 10 mins is enough to answer correctly at least 4 out of the left over 15 question, but my mind doesn't remain calm. So I can't concentrate then.
Later, when I revise the test, I find that the left over 15 questions were easy, and I could have got at least 12 of it as correct , provided I had time.

Hence, what I find is that my accuracy is good, but I am not able to solve the questions fast. 
Could you please suggest me any strategy as to how I can overcome this ?

Another question - Last time while appearing for GMAT I bought and solved manhattan gmat all 6 practice tests. This time I want to buy some other vendor. Do you have any suggestion any vendor to practice the full length tests? I want to have more challenging verbal questions

Thanks & Regards
Kusumita

IJR · Answer

I recently wrote this in another thread. It definitely applies to your situation. If you can do this, I think it will save you 15 seconds or so on each question on average just by not having to go back through answer choices multiple times.

"One verbal test-taking strategy that I think saves a good amount of time is something that's suggested in the Powerscore Critical Reasoning Bible. Before you start the verbal section, make a chart on your scratch paper with A-E columns and 1-37 rows with lines in between. When you go through each problem, write an L for "loser" in the space for any answer choices that definitely aren't correct. Write a C for "contender" in the space for answer choices that seem like they might be right. If you do this, then you won't have to go back through bad answer choices and waste time (meaning you won't re-read the "L" answer choices). Doing this saved me probably 15 seconds or so on each problem, so it was definitely worth it for me."

GMATPill · Answer

Indeed timing and psychology are a critical component as there is a HUGE penalty for not finishing.

See this article:

https://www.gmatpill.com/about/studying- ... trategies/

GMAT is not just about getting it right--it's about accuracy AND speed/time management.

For Verbal, make sure you solidify your SC so you can finish those as efficiently as possible so you have more time to think through RC and CR. Don't spend too much time double checking questions early on and neglecting the important ones later.

I'm not too sure about making a T chart and marking down contenders/losers. The amount of time it takes to coordinate between what's on your screen and what's on your paper and marking things back and forth will eat up all your time. I'd recommend mental thinking with a few notes on scrap if that helps.

Efficient logic is almost very important. Hope that helps.

Practicegmat · Answer

Thanks a lot for the help !

One more question - which practice test set you suggest me to buy ( I have already completed Manhattan Gmat).
I want more challenging verbal questions for my practice.

Thanks

FutureWorks · Answer

Hi Kasumita,

Regarding your second question I would like to suggest you 'Verbal Workout for the GMAT'. This book will help you to furnish your verbal section.

Fell free to ask any further query we'll be happy to assist you

Practicegmat · Answer

Thanks for the suggestion. But I am looking for full length practice tests.
Could you suggest anything other than that provided by manhattan gmat? I want good and challenging verbal questions.

stringworm · Answer

I agree with the logic of the CR chart, but also agree that it might eat up time. What I do is associate a name with each letter: A-Andy, B-Burk, C-Cindy....all people actually in my life. If I think the choice is a contender, I say to myself "I guess I kind of like Cindy" and then come back to it. I've found this method to be pretty efficient.

egmat · Answer

Kusumita,

If you have good accuracy when doing solving problems un timed but not otherwise then you probably are not following the right method to solve questions.for example, in CR do you do Prethinking. Similarly in SC, do you start with understanding the meaning. Having worked with hundreds of customers in the past few months, I have found these two to be the most common reason why students take longer than average to solve problems.

We offer a few free sessions to help you with this. Check out the GMATClub for dates.

Regards,

Rajat Sadana

Rmel · Answer

Veritas Prep mocks are good. I find the verbal to be a little on the tougher side but it's good practice.

Posted from my mobile device

Divad · Answer

You sentence is not very clear. So are these cited methods (prethinking, read for meaning) good or bad for the speed?? 
Because I do those 2 methods but am still not fast enough, my accuracy is very good

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

To increase your speed in verbal you can do the following:

- develop stronger verbal skills by doing thorough, untimed practice involving analyzing every choice of verbal practice questions

- find ways to answer verbal questions more efficiently

- read verbal passages, questions, and answer choices more carefully to set yourself up to readily see which choice is correct

- reduce note taking

- refrain from prethinking answers to CR questions

- seek not to get bogged down in details when reading RC passages

- use the five finger method of keeping track of answer choices

I discuss these approaches in detail in this post.  How to Get Faster at GMAT Verbal

Need Help to increase my speed in Verbal

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