Last visit was: 12 May 2026, 08:35 It is currently 12 May 2026, 08:35
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
avatar
gayatri259
Joined: 03 Aug 2019
Last visit: 07 Apr 2022
Posts: 22
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 685
Location: India
Concentration: International Business, Economics
GPA: 4
Posts: 22
Kudos: 4
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
GmatKnightTutor
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 31 Jan 2020
Last visit: 01 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,203
Own Kudos:
1,577
 [1]
Given Kudos: 18
Posts: 5,203
Kudos: 1,577
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatRichC
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Last visit: 31 Dec 2023
Posts: 21,777
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 450
Status:GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat
Location: United States (CA)
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
Posts: 21,777
Kudos: 13,070
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
MartyTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 24 Nov 2014
Last visit: 11 Aug 2023
Posts: 3,471
Own Kudos:
5,649
 [2]
Given Kudos: 1,430
Status:Chief Curriculum and Content Architect
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Posts: 3,471
Kudos: 5,649
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi gayatri269.

Increasing your verbal score comes down to the following three things:

- learning more concepts

- improving your strategy/execution/overall approach

- improving your skill in seeing what's going on in the questions

So, to break out of the V23 - V25 range, you have to do one or more of those things.

Most people are well aware that increasing their verbal scores requires learning concepts, so most people do pretty well in that area of increasing their verbal scores.

At the same time, people often have trouble achieving verbal score increases because they learn flawed strategies - many flawed strategies are commonly discussed in forums and are even promoted in GMAT prep resources - and because their approaches to practicing don't really lead to development of skill in seeing what's going on in GMAT verbal questions.

So, it's likely that to, achieve your verbal score goal, you have to adjust or change the strategies you're using for answering verbal questions, and you have to practice somewhat differently from how you have been practicing.

In the following two posts, I discuss in depth how to prepare for GMAT verbal and how best to go about practicing for GMAT verbal. So, you may get the key insights you need from these posts.

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

Three Key Practice Tips for Mastering GMAT Verbal
User avatar
GMATWhizTeam
User avatar
GMATWhiz Representative
Joined: 07 May 2019
Last visit: 11 May 2026
Posts: 3,374
Own Kudos:
2,200
 [1]
Given Kudos: 70
Location: India
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41
GMAT 2: 760 Q51 V40
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 760 Q51 V40
Posts: 3,374
Kudos: 2,200
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
gayatri259
I have been studying for almost 2 years constantly but I can't cross V30 on official mocks. I usually scoe V23-V26 . Many times, in mocks, I am left with around 6-8 question and 2 minutes so l usually mess up with last 6-8 questions. Whenever I try to skip few questions and solve questions with speed so that I can finish on time, accuracy is compromised and score is still in the same range. I achieved V33-35 in few unofficial mocks and on reattempt on official mocks.

I don't know where I am going wrong. Speed is one of the problems for sure.

Inputs from test takers who have been through similar situation will be greatly appreciated. I have used egmat (2 yrs ago) and magoosh (last year).

Thank you

Hi gayatri259,

Sorry to hear that. I know it can be disappointing to not reach your target score after almost two years of preparation. Let me help you.

A score of V23-V25 would indicate that you are highly struggling with concepts and would need to start from the basics again. Before suggesting anything specific though, I would like to understand your approach till now, the structure and study plan you have followed, your target score etc.

Generally speaking, the best order of prep for Verbal is SC->CR->RC. The logic behind this is the level of skills tested. SC acts as the most basic skill tester and tests your comprehension skills. CR builds on this, and also tests your analytical skills on top of the comprehension skills. Once you've mastered these two, you move on to RC, where you are tested on both the previously mentioned skills along with a third one - your ability to focus on the main point in a given passage. This way, its a natural progression of skills that you learn.

As you may know, GMAT tests your inferential skills and your application skills, and as such, you need to learn not only the concepts but the application of those concepts, the methodologies to solve questions correctly and consistently. Thus I recommend going about the verbal prep in 3 phases - learn the concepts, learn the correct application methods (for e.g. a meaning based approach in SC etc), and practicing of questions.

For a start, you could check out this video, explaining how to ace SC questions.


The time management problem would be taken care of when you know the right methodologies and strategies to solve the questions.

The importance of using a standard resource:


The only method to make sure that you invest your time, money and effort in an effective way is to use a standard resource which teaches you the concepts, strategies and also helps you work on your weaker areas. Studying using OG or a few random resources might help you to solve GMAT like questions but I’m afraid that they won’t be able to help you much from a strategy perspective.

I would suggest you to go for some standard course for your Verbal preparation at least which can help you prepare in a structured and efficient manner thereby increasing your productivity. It’s always better to spare some more time on your preparation until you are ready instead of missing out on your dream colleges/ b-schools in hurry.

Hope this helped and feel free to contact if you have any further queries.

You can always write back to me here or the better way would be to connect over a call and have a discussion. You can schedule a free consultation call using the below link.
Click here to schedule a call
Moderators:
200 posts
General GMAT Forum Moderator
474 posts