No improvement in Verbal after 2 months of study (GMAT Retaker)

Question

Hi Guys,

I am a GMAT retaker and have been preparing Verbal since 2 months using e-gmat, however I see no improvement in my Verbal Scores. I need advice on how should I approach and what should I change in my study pattern. I feel I need some fundamental shift in the way I study.

Below are the details of my gmat prep mocks:

6 months back my scores on gmat prep were:
Default exam pack - V28 and V33
Exam Pack 1 - V28 and V34

Real GMAT Exam - V29

After 2 month of verbal preparation (e-gmat and OG), my scores are
Default exam pack - V33 and V35
and obviously the above result is somewhat inflated since a few questions were repeated (though I didn't remember the answers)

On further analyzing my mocks I see that 50% of incorrect answers are in SC. This was the same case 6-months back and is the same now. (SC is my weakest area and I spent last one month trying to improve). I am also fairly confident that I can work on CR and RC through practice. However for SC I really need some solid advice. I do know all the grammar rules (alteast the ones taught through e-gmat).

I think the 2 main difficulties I am facing in SC are:
1. Time crunch- It takes me > 2 mins to solve difficult (700+level questions) with 50% accuracy
2. Meaning - I fail to understand the meaning (infer) what the question statement means (or fail to logically connect the clauses with each other)- I loose 20% questions to this.

Based on stats I know that I get 50% difficult (650- 750 level) questions correct and 80% medium (600-650 level) questions correct.

I feel I need to change some fundamental study techniques as my current study style is definitely leading me nowhere. Please guide me what should I change in my study and what additional notes/ questions I should solve.

Please let me know if anyone requires any further inputs to analyse my situation. Thanks

u1983 · Answer

Hello  Rahul2708 ,

I am was struggling with the same issues. I believe the two factors helped me was --

1. Putting in more & more time to understand the Q-stem........ even if it was taking 10 mins. Then with more and more encounter with such question will reduce the time.
2. Don't worry to much about the level of the question.

For, comprehension I heard e-gmat has a comprehension course which is pretty good.

Hope this helps.
u1983

akela · Answer

Hi Rahul2708 , The best strategy in SC that worked for me was practicing official questions. You can get them here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-most-com ... 40372.html I read explanations by Ron for the questions that I got wrong. Just paste the beginning of the SC question in google, and you will see Manhattanprep forum thread that explains each question. Hope this helps!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Rahul2708,

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long did you study before taking the Official GMAT? How long have you studied since? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
3) How did you score on the Official GMAT (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

Goals:
4) What is your goal score?
5) When are you planning to retake the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
7) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Rahul2708 · Answer

Hi,

Thankyou for taking out time! Here are details:

1. I had studied a couple of months before starting with the Official Guides. By couple of months I mean 3 months before my first GMAT and roughly 2 months (studying only verbal) for the current preparation stint.

I typically study 20-25hrs/week.

2. My scores on Veritas mocks are as under:

1- 640 Q48 V30
2- 650 Q48 V33
3- 610 Q45 V29
4- 620 Q46 V29
5- 680 Q49 V34

Manhattan free mock
1- 680 Q46 V36

GMAT Prep Scores:
1- 630 Q48 V28
2- 690 Q50 V33
3- 640 Q49 V28 (Exam Pack 1)
4- 670 Q48 V34 (Exam Pack 1)

3. My actual GMAT score which I took on 22nd November is 650 Q49 V29

4. My target score is a Q50 V37 the least and aspirational is Q51 V41

5. I plan to take GMAT in a month and half from now. (I had scheduled the date for next week, but I would extend the date to mid/end of next month. I can also put in more no. of hrs. as required)

6. I plan to apply bschools in Round 1. The deadlines for most of which would come by Mid-Sept.

7. I have not concluded my target schools, it would largely depend on the GMAT score I get. I am into Finance, so MBA colleges with a repo in finance would be my target schools. Countries- India, US, Canada, Australia, HK, Singapore (pretty much flexibile- depends on scholarships and college rank)

Thankyou!

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Rahul2708,

To start, pushing back your Test Date is a smart idea. With the potential study time that you have, you could potentially improve a great deal. That having been said, the variations in your Verbal Scaled Scores implies that you might be "winging it" during the Verbal section - instead of doing the proper note-taking and consistently using Verbal Tactics - and your guesses (lucky or unlucky) are currently too big of a factor in your performances.

In mid-April, the GMAT length was shortened (fewer questions and less time for BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections).

1) Which of these practice CATs (if any) did you take in the new, shorter format?
2) When was the last time you took a FULL-LENGTH CAT (with the Essay and IR sections) in the new format?

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

Rahul2708 · Answer

Hi, Yes I agree, I think I'll need to maintain consistency and discipline in using verbal strategies. Could you please help me with that? What should I do to make sure I do not falter. Since I think I am comfortable with my basic grammar skills, is it the question practice I am lacking or should I re-visit my basics and strengthen them? There is a chance that I also fail to apply the grammar skills efficiently on questions. Is there any workaround for it? read more? or practice more? Largely I am worried about my Sentence Correction since those are the questions I am unable to solve in a timely manner. (50% incorrect every-time) To answer the questions- 1. I haven't taken any GMAT exams with the revised structure. 2. None after my last real GMAT exam. (The ones I took last weekend were Quant/Verbal only with the older format) Thank you once again for taking out time

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Rahul2708,

While your self-analysis is important, it's likely that there are additional areas in the Verbal section that you will need to work on. Since you have not taken any CATs in the current, shorter format, I strongly recommend that you take one soon - and take it in a realistic fashion (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, take it away from your home, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.).

Since you've taken the first 4 Official CATs and the Veritas CATs, you should NOT taken any of those Exams again (even in the shorter format, you might see 'repeat' questions - and we want to avoid that). Once you have that score, you should report back here and we can discuss how best to proceed.

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

Rahul2708 · Answer

Sure, I'd do that! Thanks a lot for your inputs!

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi Rahul! Since you mention SC as your specific area of concern, thought I would mention that our sentence correction book  Sentence Correction Nirvana  is perhaps the  only  book that offers a score improvement  guarantee , and is especially designed for  non-native  speakers.

After reading the book  twice  (yes! it's an  academic  book, and so must be read twice in all seriousness, to  reinforce  the concepts), you will start looking forward to solving SC questions!

The book is available on  Flipkart  and  Amazon.in . You might want to refer to these sites, to also read testimonials of how readers have benefited.

See  here  how Mohit, who scored 750 on GMAT, vouches for our book.

If you want to  sample  a chapter before deciding to go ahead with our book, please PM me your mail-id (along with the chapter that you would like to sample) and I will be happy to send that chapter to you by mail. In addition, the entire Grammar section of the book is also available for free preview at  pothi .

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No improvement in Verbal after 2 months of study (GMAT Retaker)

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