740+ Study diary

I'll share my experience with SC. First of all, the grammar rules are not so hard to learn. The problem comes when you have to apply these rules for a very short time. Covering piles of "indispensable for a 700+ score" books, in my opinion, is a counterproductive approach, since they convey the same basic material, but with different words. Practising SC question is much more important than checking things you've already known. I've read MGAMT SC Guide and unfortunately the "before and after" effect was not so visible. Only when I stared to do the OG Questions again have I begun to improve my wrong/right answers ratio even with new questions. In this regard, it is better to take some questions again and again until you completely understand their logic and structure, with the caveat that you don't remember the exact answers. Gallopping over hundreds of questions, without understanding their entire logic is a waste of both time and unique questions.

If you do a lot of SC, you will be accustomed to its pattern . THe average time should be spent on SC is under 1 minutes and the gain in this section will help you get more time on difficult RC and CR.
Why don't you try SC1000..? In my opinion, it's quite good ( although some questions are debatable).

@kapac: You name it! I tried to understand the logic behind every questions I solved (correct/guessed/wrong), but sometime the OG12 just was written in an ambiguous manner. Do I understand you right that, in your eyes, it's better to first re-do the SC problems from OG12 (when needed a couple of time) and then move to other resources?
Which other resources have you used?

@hellscream: I don't know how it was with all of you, but in fact now, that I've almost completed one time the entire MGMAT SC I have mixed feelings. It's just the fact that there are many SC topics which I understand, but just can't memorize resp. just don't see their pattern when solving the questions under the 60 sec time limit. I think I grasped above 90% of the theory in the book and am looking for the best way of developing my SC skills. I

I guess, today I would do fewer mistakes on SC in Verbal, but am still not perfect. At first, I planned to re-read the entire SC book, but currently more and more get the feeling that it would be better to re-read just my notes(about 20 pages) and then just do more SC problems, because only this training allows you to get familiar with a particular problem within this small time frame. How did you improve SC?
a) more theory?
b) more practice?

It's then another question which material to use until my second time with the OG12/error log. I should buy some practice questions, but which? OG13 (if it has some new SC practice problems), Aristotle SC Grail, SC1000, Manhattan Review SC. To be honest, I'm quite unsure about this.

Thank you ver much for your help!

Regards,

SC is my favorite part compared to RC or CR. In my opinion, you should do OG first , move to other resources and return to OG after you have exhausted other material ( or G-day is in front of you :D). There is no point in redoing OG then moving to other resources as you will remember the answer from previous experience. I use Og 10+11+12, Verbal review, mgmat CATs, SC1000. If you can, find SAT tests and do their writing section. SC is waiting for u right there :D and I get to this point ( average SC <60s) thanks to a lot of experience from SAT.

About MGMAT SC, you should only review your notes , do more SC and review your mistake. Why do you need to re read all the book when you have your notes in hand, right :D. It's much more concise and it's your knowledge .

OG 13 has only 200 additional questions but you can get 400 questions on mba.com for 25$.
I heard something good about SC grail , but I do not buy it as I am bankrupt :D, anyway if you can afford it, buy it.
SC1000 is free.....

hellscream,
personally speaking, I do remember the patterns, but not the exact answers. Maybe I don't have a long memory and maybe this approach is not suitable for people who have it. But it works perfectly for me, since we do aim at mastering those patterns. Moreover, I strongly believe that if you re-check a particular type of discrepancy in a pattern constantly, you'll become faster and faster in spotting it on the real exam. Thus, it is not without a reason to take a look over questions that you find interesting from time to time. For this purpose are flashcards created, aren't they ?

Hi guys,

It seems - I should find the approach that works for me. What I can conclude is - it's all about the questions, not that much about the theoretical foundation. After a certain level, it all comes down to practicing. I'll try both things - work on the OG12 questions, which I've put wrong, and also look for new SC question sources. I'll be thankful, if you share your experience. If 1000SC is free than I can't loose anything. It's jsut the thing that I want to stick mostly to questions, which accurately represent the ones, I'll face at the exam. They should better be hard than easy ones. Nothing more

@kapac: Each person has different strategies:). I am glad that you found one :D
@bgpower: https://thousandsc.blogspot.com/ Here it is :D. I used to do 50 SC1000 a day until I reached question 800... Check the answer and find online explanation for the questions. If some questions are debatable, forget them and move on. Hope it helps .

Out of the topic question: Which exact date will you take the test? I'm on 2nd of June =). Maybe we are on the same boat....

Well, I started with the idea of sitting for the exam in the end of May (let's say 28). That's my goal. But if I see that time is not enough, I'll move it to June, no matter I'll face the new section (I've some forthcoming management consulting interviews and the integrated reasoning section will be a very good preparation for a certain type of tests they give there (as McKinsey PST)).

But we're definitely in one and the same boat Thanks for the 1000SC link. I'll make use of it.

Regards,

How about other section of verbal? CR and RC?
The June test is my first time doing GMAT so score is not so much important... anyway, I hope for 700+... :D

I find myself a little slow in CR. When I focus on timing more, I find my accuracy even more worse. But, I have just started working on CR. So do I have to focus on getting the answers/concepts right originally before focusing on speed or do I have to focus on timing first?

Which books do you use for CR?
Accuracy is the most important thing. You should focus on the concepts and answers first. There is no point in rushing doing the questions and in the end you understand or gain nothing. With practice, you will be familiar with the pattern, leading to higher speed while maintaining the accuracy.
Review your mistakes, weaknesses as well as your strengths regularly.

After doing MGMAT strategy guide, jumped onto OG12.

Why don't you take a look at CR bible? I think it complements MGMAT CR in a good way.

https://www.4shared.com/get/32LEJnpx/GMAT_CR_Bible.html This is the one?

Yes, it is.... It gives more details about the type of questions you can expect on the real GMAT in a very clear way.