suggestion to improve strategy

Question

when i work to improve SC, i do bad at CR and when i work to improve CR, i do bad at SC. I make such silly mistakes which i could not have ever expected. Basically when i work to improve any section on verbal i start doing bad at other 2 sections

Why is this happening to me

Why is this happening to me

GMATPill · Answer

SC questions require you to think in a slightly different way from the way CR questions make you think. They use different parts of the brain and when you switch from one to the other - your mind is probably still stuck in the other mode. You will need to train your brain to be able to switch back and forth between different parts of your brain in smooth way. If you are having significant trouble, try making the transition slowly. Try 1 SC, then 1 CR. Also try 10 SC then 10 CR. Make a conscious psychological effort to "change mode" - see if that helps.

vikram4689 · Answer

Looking for advice 
i did 33 ques of SC and got 6 of them wrong. I categorized them on the basis of concept they were testing. I realize that all of concepts are clear to me but somehow i marked incorrect answer. What should be my plan of action

2 - Pronoun
1 - idiom, verb, modifier, connecting 2 independent clauses

arun@crackverbal · Answer

Hi Vikram,

Knowledge of a rule is not the same as applying the rule. For example take this question on Subject Verb agreement. Now sample these statements:

The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets—Mercury, Venus, and Mars—spins were determined by collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets—Mercury, Venus, and Mars—spin were determined by collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets—Mercury, Venus, and Mars—spins was determined by collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets—Mercury, Venus, and Mars—spin was determined by collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

The subject "the direction" corresponds with "was determined" and the subject "earth and other solid planets" corresponds with "spin". Tricky right?

However even application of the rules can be less complex. GMAT can get really nasty at the higher level, where even knowledge might not be enough.

Here is the "totem pole" of SC:

Level 1: Applying basic rules of grammar such as SVA, Parallelism etc.

Level 2: Applying more complex rules such as tenses,

Level 3: Identifying incorrect idioms, active-passive

Level 4: Concision, clarity, meaning etc

I might have posed more questions than providing answers. However I hope this helps you in the right direction.

Arun

However even application of the rules can be less complex. GMAT can get really nasty at the higher level, where even knowledge might not be enough. Here is the "totem pole" of SC: Level 1: Applying basic rules of grammar such as SVA, Parallelism etc. Level 2: Applying more complex rules such as tenses, Level 3: Identifying incorrect idioms, active-passive Level 4: Concision, clarity, meaning etc I might have posed more questions than providing answers. However I hope this helps you in the right direction. Arun

egmat · Answer

I agree with Arun that knowledge does not equate to application. Even though one needs knowledge to be able to apply it, knowledge alone does not guarantee higher score in Verbal. If it did, you could have read 5 B school books (that provide the knowledge) and skipped the MBA all together (and saved a bunch of money).

I have the following questions for you:

1. What is your approach towards solving Sentence Correction?
2. Do you have a defined process for CR?
3. Do you spend a day revising SC/CR/RC prior to your mock?

I take a strategy session where I provide guidelines to avoid such issues. The next one most likely will be this weekend. It would help if you attend the same. Register on e-GMAT or look up the events bar tomorrow for details. You may also view the recording of the previous sessions (you dont need to be a customer, just a registered user).

Regards,

Rajat Sadana

suggestion to improve strategy

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