Verbal improvement

Question

Hi,

I have been preparing for the GMAT since December,2019. I’m aiming for 2021 fall admissions. My target score is 710+
I have completed my concept preparations and decided to give official prep exams to evaluate myself.Find below the scores.

1. GMAT official prep exam 1 - 610(Q46,V29) - April 10
2. GMAT official prep exam 2 - 650(Q49,V28) - April 25

Self retrospection :

1. Timing verbal:
My timing strategy was terrible for verbal section in prep exam 1. I even did not complete the last question. After thorough evaluation, I worked on improving my timing by practicing OG under time pressure. In my second prep exam, I had better control of the timing or at lest better than first attempt.

2.Verbal skills:
SC: After evaluation of both preps exams, I feel that my grammar basics are pretty good except that I am not good at applying those under exam conditions.Both the preps exams, I got 5-6 questions wrong, only to find that I can figure the errors under relaxed time situation. I am practicing lot of OG questions and my accuracy is always between 80-90%.
How do I improve here under the given circumstances? I think I still can spend 1-2 months on preparation before time runs out. I was following egmat verbal course so far.Also I’m not a native speaker.
CR: Same problem, takes sometime to use the prethinking approaches, under time pressure, I fail at those.
RC: section that I perform better compared to the other 2 sections.

What I am looking for is an advice on how to get better on application and under time pressure. Is there any course material that can help me to get better?

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi Vishnu, surprisingly, your score dipped in the second prep (despite better control over time). Any reason you can think of?

That's almost a 50% accuracy rate Vishnu! That needs to  significantly  go up, to propel your score to at least a 35-36 in Verbal (which, together with Q48-49 can take you beyond 700).

Since you have been preparing for around 4-5 months now, it is possible that you already  know  a lot of questions from OG and hence, you  feel  that your accuracy rate is significantly high, when solving OG problems?

Also, when you are solving the questions in a  relaxed  manner (outside the exam pressure), are you able to exactly pin-point the grammatical/logical reason as to why an option is correct and why others are wrong? In other words, are you truly able to  apply  your knowledge, while solving the questions, or is it still  gut/intuition  based?

ArunSharma12 · Answer

I think before improving upon the timing it'll be worth noting which sub-sections within SC and CR are giving you the most trouble. Once you have identified those sub-sections you would want to target those particular areas and give most of your attention to improve your concepts on those areas. 
Only after you are satisfied with your overall improvement in verbal you might want to switch to strategy side of the stuff.

Rashed12 · Answer

It is a decent score which you have got in second mock test. To get more score and to eliminate possibility of mistakes under time pressure, you need to appear more mock test. Veritas prep is good one and GMAT club tests is good resource for mock test as well. I think by doing so, your problems will be reduced and you will be confident enough to get your desired score in real gmat exam.

Best of luck of your preparation and wish you will be able to get an outstanding gmat score.

If the comment helps you what you desire to get, do not leave without giving +1 kudos. On the other hand, if do not, you can discard the comment.

Vishnu311991 · Answer

your score dipped in the second prep (despite better control over time). Any reason you can think of? 
I did not understand that. Also the number of questions i answered right was higher in 2nd exam than the first. My person feeling again as i said in the post is that, even-though I am good with the SC concepts, I am not good at applying them especially under time pressure. Any strategies in this situation would be appreciated.

That's almost a 50% accuracy rate Vishnu! That needs to  significantly  go up, to propel your score to at least a 35-36 in Verbal (which, together with Q48-49 can take you beyond 700). 
Yes, you're right and hence my post here.I definitely want to get my verbal score to more than 36-37 to make it comparable with Quant. What i did after both test is that i started to reattempt these incorrect SC questions without checking the answers and I was able to answer them all correctly.

Since you have been preparing for around 4-5 months now, it is possible that you already  know  a lot of questions from OG and hence, you  feel  that your accuracy rate is significantly high, when solving OG problems? 
No, not the case, I just started attempting OG questions from March. Accuracy rate is from the first time answering those OG questions.

Also, when you are solving the questions in a  relaxed  manner (outside the exam pressure), are you able to exactly pin-point the grammatical/logical reason as to why an option is correct and why others are wrong? In other words, are you truly able to  apply  your knowledge, while solving the questions, or is it still  gut/intuition  based?  
As you asked , yes i am able to pin point the grammatical/logical reason at least 90% of them if not all the flaws.
So i am not sure if i have to start from scratch on the basics to fix the flaws or keep practicing with more detailed analysis/retrospection.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Vishnu311991,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your 2 CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 630 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. Raising a 630 to the point that you can consistently score 710+ will likely require at least another 2 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) Have you been studying consistently since December? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) Did you take just these 2 practice CATs/mocks or were there any others? On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
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

Vishnu311991 · Answer

Hello Rich,

Thanks for your reply. For the questions, here are the answers:
1. yes, I spend typically between 12-15 hours per week, sometimes more especially on long weekends.
2. I have been using egmat and OG's so far.
3. I took only 2 GMAT prep exams so far (first one on 10 april/second one on 25 april). First 610(Q46,V29), second 650(Q49,V28)
4. I am planning for Fall admissions 2021 and looking at Tier 1 schools.

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi Vishnu, if this is the case, then it does seem to be only an issue of:
i) Doing  more  official questions so that you get more opportunity to apply the concepts, so that the act of applying the concepts becomes second nature (intuitive) to you.
ii) Better time management

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Vishnu311991,

The good news is that your quant scores have been really solid, so nice work! Regarding verbal, since you seem stuck around 28/29, would you like some general advice on how to improve all aspects of verbal?

Vishnu311991 · Answer

Hello Scott,

Yes, especially how to improve the application of concepts in verbal(again specifically in SC and CR). Should i revisit all the concepts or should i take more CAT's? If so, what kind of CAT's are recommended. I am looking for something concrete that can help me boost my score to >V35-36.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Vishnu311991,

If you've been consistently studying for the last 4-5 months, then it's possible that "your way" of approaching the Verbal section has gotten you "stuck" in the high-V20s. At that score level, you would have lost significant points in ALL 3 major Verbal categories (RC, SC and CR), so beyond learning new Verbal Tactics, we also have to consider HOW you work through Verbal questions (how you read, take notes, spot - and take advantage of - Verbal patterns, etc).

1) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
2) Going forward, will you be able to consistently study 12-15 each week or will that change?

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

Vishnu311991 · Answer

Hello Rich,

I am looking at mid of July or early August to take the GMAT. It depends on how much I can improve. Going forward I have decided to spend at least 20 hours a week, given the current situation.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Vishnu311991,

Since you're currently working with some study materials, I suggest that you study as you like for the next 2 weeks, then take a NEW, FULL-LENGTH CAT. That result will help to better define whether you're truly stuck at this current Verbal score level or not. Once you have that next Score, you should post back here (or you can feel free to PM me directly) and we can discuss the results and how you might best proceed with your studies.

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Vishnu311991,

Did you see that we launched our verbal Pre-Beta? It includes our SC and CR chapters. Why don't you give it a shot? I think TTP verbal could be exactly what you need.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

I think you def need to spend some time working on your CR and SC knowledge prior to taking any other Cats. In fact, here is some more specific advice you can follow to improve your CR and SC skills. I'll start with CR.

To improve in Critical Reasoning, you first need to master the individual Critical Reasoning topics: Strengthen the Argument, Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, etc. As you learn about each question type, do focused practice so you can track your skill in answering each type. If, for example, you get a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific question type? Were you doing too much analysis in your head? Did you skip over a keyword in an answer choice? You must thoroughly analyze your mistakes and seek to turn weaknesses into strengths by focusing on the question types you dread seeing and the questions you take a long time to answer correctly.

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 as many as 15 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 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.

Finally, 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, learn to see the key differences between trap choices and correct answers.

Regarding SC, here are three aspects to getting correct answers to GMAT Sentence Correction questions: what you know, such as grammar rules, what you see, such as violations of grammar rules and the logic of sentence structure, and what you do, such as carefully considering each answer choice in the context of the non-underlined portion of the sentence. To drive up your Sentence Correction score, you likely will have to work on all three of those aspects. Furthermore, the likely reason that your Sentence Correction performance has not improved is that you have not been working on all three of those aspects. 
 
Regarding what you know, to be successful in Sentence Correction, first and foremost, you MUST know your grammar rules. Let's be clear, though: GMAT Sentence Correction is not just a test of knowledge of grammar rules. The reason for learning grammar rules is so that you can determine what sentences convey and whether sentences are well-constructed. In fact, in many cases, incorrect answers to Sentence Correction questions are grammatically flawless. Thus, often your task is to use your knowledge of grammar rules to determine which answer choice creates the most logical sentence meaning and structure.
 
This determination of whether sentences are well-constructed and logical is the second aspect of finding correct answers to Sentence Correction questions, what you see. To develop this skill, you probably have to slow way down. You won't develop this skill by spending less than two minutes per question. For a while, anyway, you have to spend time with each question, maybe even ten or fifteen minutes on one question sometimes, analyzing every answer choice until you see the details that you have to see in order to choose the correct answer. As you go through the answer choices, consider the meaning conveyed by each version of the sentence. Does the meaning make sense? Even if you can tell what the version is SUPPOSED to convey, does the version really convey that meaning? Is there a verb to go with the subject? Do all pronouns clearly refer to nouns? By slowing way down and looking for these details, you learn to see what you have to see in order to clearly understand which answer to a Sentence Correction question is correct.
 
There is only one correct answer to any Sentence Correction question, there are clear reasons why that choice is correct and the others are not, and none of those reasons are that the correct version simply "sounds right." In fact, the correct version often sounds a little off at first. That correct answers may sound a little off is not surprising. If the correct answers were always the ones that sounded right, then most people most of the time would get Sentence Correction questions correct, without really knowing why the wrong answers were wrong and the correct answers were correct. So, you have to go beyond choosing what "sounds right" and learn to clearly see the logical reasons why one choice is better than all of the others.
 
As for the third aspect of getting Sentence Correction questions correct, what you do, the main thing you have to do is be very careful. You have to make sure that you are truly considering the structures of sentences and the meanings conveyed rather than allowing yourself to be tricked into choosing trap answers that sound right but don't convey meanings that make sense. You also have to make sure that you put some real energy into finding the correct answers. Finding the correct answer to a Sentence Correction question may take bouncing from choice to choice repeatedly until you start to see the differences between the choices that make all choices wrong except for one. Often, when you first look at the choices, only one or two seem obviously incorrect. Getting the right answers takes a certain work ethic. You have to put in the necessary time to see the differences between answers and to figure out the precise reasons that one choice is correct.
 
To improve what you do when you answer Sentence Correction questions, seek to become aware of how you are going about answering them. Are you being careful and looking for logic and details, or are you quickly eliminating choices that sound a little off and then choosing the best of the rest? If you choose an incorrect answer, consider what you did to arrive at that answer and what you could do differently to arrive at correct answers more consistently. Furthermore, see how many questions you can get correct in a row as you practice. If you break your streak by missing one, consider what you could do differently to extend your streak.

Formless · Answer

Hi,

I am stuck with my Verbal and I don't see any improvement or maybe I need to change my strategy to address these issues.

Background
Non-native English speaker.
I started my GMAT prep 20-25 back and was aiming to give GMAT this week. After trying 4 official mock test in the last 3 weeks
Test 1 - (640 - Q47/V30), Test 2 - (620 - Q47/V28), Test 3 - (540 - Q44/V21), Test 4 - (590 - Q44/V28)

Considering my profile I am aiming for a minimum 700 to be considered by my preferred B-Schools.

Flaws with my approach:
- question-based approach. Try OG questions and then learn the logic by doing mistakes.
- Unorganized study.

Reason -
- After reviewing Test 1, I figured out that I am lacking with SC and CR + I have to work on my speed for Verbal. And I started following a question-based approach.
- R2 R3 deadlines are approaching in the next 30 days and I wanted a good score before that.

So I have rescheduled my GMAT exam for 10th June. I can dedicate whole my time on studies (till the point it is fruitful)

Question -
I have registered myself for e-GMAT course. Sentence correction lessons are nice but not convincing "for me". Maybe I have to spend some more time on basics. or any other better solution?
CR I not sure how to approach.
Meanwhile, I am also considering an online Tutor if that would make sense to pace up the process?
Any other suggestions based on the situation?

Vishnu311991 · Answer

Hello Rich,

I took my third GMAT PREP exam today. The result confirms that I am stuck in verbal in high 20's score. My score was Q49 V27 640.
Also I didn't start well this time with verbal since 3 RC's was thrown in first 20 questions and I totally lost the control of time. I have booked my GMAT for July 20th. I definitely need to be in V35's to reach my goal. Your advice would be much appreciated.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Vishnu311991,

This recent Score - combined with your prior CAT Scores - heavily implies that you're consistent with how you're approaching the Verbal section (and you'll have to make some significant changes to how you "see" - and respond to - the Verbal section before you can regularly score 710+). Based on your timeframe, you have plenty of potential study time to hone the necessary skills to earn that higher Score.

"Review" is an exceptionally important part of the GMAT training process; your ability to define WHY you're getting questions wrong is essential to defining the areas that you need to work on (and the specific things that you need to 'fix'). As such, I'd like to know a bit more about your last CAT. While a full Mistake Tracker would provide a lot more information, there are some basic questions that you should be able to answer (and the more EXACT you can be with your answers, the better):

After reviewing the Verbal section of this recent CAT, how many questions did you get wrong....
1) Because of a silly/little mistake?
2) Because there was some verbal that you just could not remember how to do?
3) Because the question was too hard?
4) Because you were low on time and had to guess?
5) How many Verbal questions did you 'narrow down to 2 choices' but still get wrong?

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

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