How to analyze a sentence.

I think there may be some over analysis here. The best way to go about SC is in a natural way. Analyzing too heavily can get you stuck in "analysis paralysis"....follow the Nike slogan "Just do it." - The more natural and casual you approach it, the more you'll actually get it without realizing how. We strive to teach this way.

It's good to analyze some - but also note that some of the best people test takers "just do it."

Hi BN1989,
I agree with the points you have mentioned for SC.

I did try at some point to follow that, but miss the 90 second time limit for a question.

Now after a year & a half I'm starting back to work on my GMAT.

As usual Verbal devil is hitting me hard.

I'm very confused to understand how others are able to crack every SC-rule (per MGMAT SC guide-8) and get the question done correctly within 90 seconds.

Earlier I had lost all hope to cope with Grammar/SC and stopped my GMAT prep. Returning back now.

Hope someone would be able to show me the right path, before I breakdown again.

PS: I'm an Indian and an non native English speaker.

Thanks, Sam

It helps to have a personal list to ensure you don't end up with a silly mistake. However the list in the original post will definitely suck up more time and also as gmatpill pointed out is non intuitive.

Here is a simpler way:

Step 1: Check if there is a modifier, subject-verb, comparison or parallelism issue. These are usually easy to catch and should have some markers such as "than" or "as" would indicate comparison etc.

Step 2: Check for pronoun and tense issues. Somehow I feel these are less tested but more complex.

Step 3: Remove modifiers and make sure that it is not a sentence fragment, or a run-on sentence.

Step 4: See if there is an idiom you are not sure about

Step 5: See if there is word that is redundant or the construction is passive.

Step 6: See if the meaning of the sentence gets distorted in the answer option.

I know 6 steps looks like an overkill but the idea is to write down the answer choices one by one:

A

B

C

D

E

Keep striking out the answer options as you go through each step. The idea is you should be able to stop at step 2-3 for easy questions. Also as you practice you should get faster in getting through this almost subconsciously.

Arun

We always recommend you start with understanding the intended meaning of the original sentence, then analyze the errors in the original sentence and finally do the POE to arrive at the right answer. While this process may sound quite daunting at first, we and our 1200+ have had tremendous success with it - not only in regards to answering questions in less than 75 seconds but also achieving consistent score improvement. All our SC solutions follow this 3 step process. I have provided the sample solution below:

Example Solution
Even though the solution below is 7 minute long (not the 40 second ones that are for marketing purposes), it includes the thought process that one needs to go through and is completely repeatable for solving all SC questions. e-GMAT experts, Payal and Shraddha have responded to 500+ forum posts on GC and BTG and cleared doubts based on this process.

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This is a good thread and an important topic. To the original poster, your list is very good and very thorough (so +1!) - like you say, it's a great list to check when you are reviewing SC problems. One thing I might add is verb voice (active vs. passive) - make sure it's consistent throughout the sentence.

You are also right in saying the goal of studying is to internalize each of the points on your checklist before test day. But keep in mind that's probably an impossible task, so also think about what topics you're good at spotting and which ones you're not. For example, I had a student who had trouble with pronouns. I advised her that if she was ever stuck on a problem, she should always quickly scan the answer choices for the words "it," "its," "them," "they," and "their." That was her "test day checklist," and it worked for her - but like I said, this is a very individual thing, so I wouldn't give the same advice to everyone. Make the list that works for you.

Well, let's take a glance into the fundamentals of analyzing one's handwriting using easy tools. viewing your handwriting, you'll surprise how I will predict my very own character from this. Take this as a projective psychological take a look at and interpret the writing vogue, slant, spacing in between the letters, sizes, the loops and therefore on. Psychologists use this method very often to spot things like health problems, metal issues, ethics, and hidden abilities of their patients.

This is a pretty good list. Agree with the suggestion to add passive/active voice to checklist. However, it is absolutely mandatory that you internalize these tools before taking a real test. The only way to succeed on GMAT Verbal is to cruise through the questions with intuition as your guide.