Recommendations on how to get faster on CR?

Question

I just recently started preparing for the GMAT and the one thing I've noticed, specifically for level 700 questions is that I need way more time (3 -5 min) to answer it correctly. I am able to get a good chunk of these correct if I have time to think but it sucks that I only have a minute & 45 seconds to do it.

Are there any tips or guidance on how I could get better?

Are there any tips or guidance on how I could get better?

tuan1995 · Answer

My advice is that you should practice as many questions as you can. By doing this, you can easily recognise the question type and train your reasoning process.

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi WizardStatistics, Before suggesting you on how to improve your timing, I want to know if you are using the right methodology to solve questions. Because if you use the right methodology, you can solve the question no matter how difficult it is. 700 level questions might take a little more than the optimum time but that should not be a major concern. You can always take 30 seconds more to solve questions. Or it might be happening because it is in your head. Just don't consider them as 700 questions. Approach them normally as you do the other questions. Having said that, I would like to re-iterate the usage of the right methodology. The right way of solving CR questions is: Read the passage Identify the premise and the conclusion Read the question statement Pre-think the answer before jumping into solutions Eliminate answer choices which do not match your pre-thought assumption Understanding the framework behind CR questions will help you pre-think the answer with ease. You can understand the gist of the framework by going through the following recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KGgDBTQR3Q I hope you find this helpful. And while learning the methodology, do not focus on time. Once you learn the methodology and practice a few questions using it, time will automatically fall into place. All the best

nightblade354 · Answer

I highly recommend you read my CR guide (in my signature below).

unraveled · Answer

The best thing you can do in CR or for that matter in any section is to practice questions and recognize patterns. The better you get into recognizing them, the better the accuracy, the better time efficient you become. Other than nightblade's CR guide, a couple of ways are listed in Powerscore CR bible. 
Additionally, 700+ level questions would hardly be done in average time you mentioned. There is a reason that they are 700+ level questions and a test taker has to respect that. Finally, here, your reading skills(read questions first to know what you are looking for) would matter as well because if you read the passage once and understand at least the essence, if not the meaning of each and every word, you would save a lot of time and energy. Thus, reading skills indirectly helps in Verbal, overall.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi WizardStatistics,
 
You ask a great question. Keep in mind that a major mistake that people make when training for CR, and for GMAT verbal in general, is that they do practice questions too fast. To get Critical Reasoning questions correct, you have to see exactly what's going on in the passages and answer choices, and it's likely that you won't learn to do so by spending a few minutes on each question. At this stage of your training, you may need to spend fifteen minutes on each question, learning to see what there is to see. Here is a way to look at this process. If you get a new job in a field in which you are not experienced, you may not be as fast as the other people working with you, but you know you have a job to do and you make sure you learn all the angles, so that you do the job well, if not as quickly as those around you, Rushing through the job and doing it incorrectly would not make sense. Then, as you gain more experience, you learn to do the same job more quickly. Think of Critical Reasoning questions similarly. Your job is to do what? To get through questions quickly? Not really. Your job is to get correct answers.

So, first you have to learn to get correct answers, generally at least 10 to 15 in a row consistently, and more in a row would be better. Doing so is your job, and if it takes you fifteen minutes per question or even one hour per question to get correct answers consistently, then so be it. Only after you have learned to get correct answers consistently can you work on speeding up. Working quickly but not doing your job is useless. Better to work slowly and learn to do your job well. You can be sure that with experience, you will learn to speed up, and then you will still be doing your job well, i.e., getting correct answers consistently.

A key aspect of getting correct answers to Critical Reasoning questions is noticing the key differences between trap choices and correct answers. Trap choices can sound temptingly correct but don't get the job done. The logic of what a trap choice says simply doesn't fit what the question is asking you to find. So, to get better at your job, and get 700 level questions correct consistently, you have to learn to see the key differences between trap choices and correct answers.

So, in summary, to get CR questions correct consistently, you have to make the approach that you are using more sophisticated, and the way to do so is to slow down in your practice and train yourself to more clearly see the logical reasons why incorrect choices are incorrect and correct choices are correct.

Feel free to reach out with further questions.

Good luck!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi WizardStatistics,

Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you're early-on in your studies, you should not expect to have mastered any of the concepts just yet (and by extension, you shouldn't expect to be answering "700+ level" questions really fast yet either). In addition, many GMATers become too fixated on the 'implied level' of the questions that they're working on - instead of what really matters: defining WHY they're getting questions wrong and becoming more efficient at approaching the overall Exam. It's also worth noting that just because a 3rd party describes a question as "700 level" does not necessarily make it so.

Have you taken any practice CATs/mocks yet? If not, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can take 2 for free at www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). It sounds as though you've done enough studying to know the major question types that appear on the Exam, so you shouldn't wait too long to take that initial CAT. That score will give us a good sense of your natural strengths and weaknesses and will help provide a basis for comparison as you continue to study. A FULL CAT takes about 3.5 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have that Score, you should report back here and we can discuss the results and how you might best proceed with your studies.

I'd like to know a bit more about your timeline and goals:
1) What is your goal score?
2) What study materials are you currently using?
3) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

WizardStatistics · Answer

Thank you everyone for the helpful advice!!

I actually haven't done a FULL CAT Yet but will try to do that next week. I plan on taking the gmat probably next year summer (unless I feel more confident to take it earlier) but have been starting earlier cause I want to make sure I prep well enough. My goal score is hopefully a 740 minimum. As for study materials, it hasn't been the best but I've been primarily using some of the official guide and GMATClub questions. I am plan ordering a book soon, just trying to figure out the best one to use.

As for business school, I want to apply in 3 years or maybe 2 but leaning on 3. I currently have 1.5 years of WE. I am ideally aiming for CBS, Kellogg, Sloan, Tuck, & SOM but list could change depending on the score I get. GPA isn't great (around a 3.45/4.00 from a ivy majoring in math) so I'm trying to overcompensate

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi WizardStatistics,

Studying for the GMAT now - far in advance of when you'll actually "need" your Score - is a really smart choice. Depending on the study materials that you choose to use and the consistency/type of study routine that you follow, you could potentially hit your Goal Score by the end of the year (so while it's also great that you've given yourself plenty of time to study, you might not actually need all of that time).

In addition, since you're interested in applying to some highly-competitive Schools, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your current profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement (which would help you to plan out a variety of tasks over the next couple of years).

There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

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

KabxW · Answer

There has been some great advice given by everyone here. My concern is actually a bit different in case of CR.

What ScottTargetTestPrep has said is really useful in my opinion. I spend considerable amount of time on tough questions to learn the patterns and understand every bit of it. I even try to practice GMATWhizTeam and other companies' Pre-Thinking approach. It really works a lot of time.

But, I have a slightly modified question. How does one get more confident in CR?

I mean on Sub 600 level questions, I am 200% sure that this is the answer. But this is not replicated in 700-750 level questions.
I want to ask the experts and people who have achieved more than 700 on GMAT that how does one become damn sure of his answer? Also, does it really happen or are there questions that even make experts doubt their answers?

I am assuming that one does become confident on CR, so please if any expert could tell how that actually happens. Your advice has really helped me and many others, please provide your opinion on this

GMATNinja EMPOWERgmatRichC

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Kabir,

You ask a somewhat broad question, but I think that the 'intent' of what you're asking is really "what 'steps' can I take to be fairly sure that I have selected the correct answer to a CR question?"

The Verbal section is as consistent and predictable as the Quant section is, but Verbal questions have no 'safety net' - meaning that if you make a little mistake or miss a vital piece of information, then you will convince yourself that one of the wrong answers is correct (and not realize it). CR questions are built around logic patterns (and some of those patterns are fairly obvious, such as Causality and Representativeness) - meaning that you can learn about all of those patterns and train to spot them when they occur. In addition, the 4 wrong answers to a CR prompt often fall into typical 'wrong answer patterns' - and you can train to spot those too (so that you can avoid choosing them). There are additional steps that you can take as you work through each CR question that you face, but from what you describe, it's not clear whether you've trained to do that work or not.

Beyond all of those patterns that you can train to take advantage of, you have to consider YOUR process for working through a typical CR prompt. Do you have a consistent set of 'steps' that you work through? What notes do you take (and HOW do you take those notes?)? How often are you just trying to do the work "in your head...?" If you're trying to avoid doing the necessary work on your pad, then THAT is likely the basis for the lack of confidence that you might be feeling. 
 
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

KabxW · Answer

This is really helpful. Thanks!
But even I take some notes. But then the downside is the timing. It takes me close to 2.5 minutes for 700-level questions and close to 2 minutes for every other question. 
As you asked for the steps, I identify conclusion and premise. Understand Author's reasoning. I Pre-think for 30 seconds and then start eliminating answer choices. The only problem with this is that if I get stuck there's no time for me to think deeply. There are some arguments that don't get into head that easily. 
For the patterns, I have understood a lot of these. But if there's a new question it becomes too tricky and subtle. Simple questions can be done but what would be your advice to make my process more efficient and bring down the time of CR to 1:45?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Kabir,

A typical CR should take about 2 minutes to solve (with the longer/tougher ones taking up to 2.5 minutes), so the pacing that you are describing is perfectly fine. If you're trying to significantly reduce that time-per-CR, then you might be trying to compensate for an inefficiency in some other area (re: you're actually spending too much time on your SCs and/or RCs). In that same vein, since most CR prompts are just 3-4 sentences, you aren't given that much information to work with - meaning that the author refers to some really specific (but limited) information to draw a conclusion - and the correct answer to whatever question is asked must match-up with what's discussed. As such, you typically don't have to think too "deeply" about what's presented (and you might actually be 'over-thinking' some of those tougher questions).

1) What materials have you used so far to train for CRs?

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

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