Difficulty with SC

Question

Two weeks into preparing for GMAT and facing a lot of difficulty with SC. Can someone please guide how to start. I had started with Manhattan SC but all the rules are just overwhelming.

Kinshook · Answer

Hi  nidhipoddar31

Please watch some introductory videos on GMAT sentence correction.
One good video on GMAT SC is provided below: -

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ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi nidhipoddar31,
 
Here is some general advice you can follow to improve your SC skills.
 
There 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, it is likely that you will have to work on all three of those aspects.
 
Regarding what you know, 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 under 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 those reasons are not 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. It may take time for you to see what you have to see. Getting the right answers takes a certain work ethic. You have to be determined to see the differences 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 that resulted in your arriving at that answer and what you could do differently in order 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 have done differently to extend your streak.

As with your Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension regimens, after learning a particular Sentence Correction topic, engage in focused practice with 30 questions or more that involve that topic. As your Sentence Correction skills improve, you will then want to practice with questions that test you on skills from multiple Sentence Correction topics.

RetaketheGMAT · Answer

Hi Nidhi,

I can understand the feeling of overwhelm when you first start out with learning grammar rules. If you align your efforts to your target score -- then you can take a bit of the pressure to master every bit of the grammar and still get the score you need in SC.

A lot of how you should approach SC is dependent on your overall target score and your strength in quant.

If you're targeting a score in the mid 700 (ie 750 ish) then the approach is different than if you're targeting a 700 or lower score. And your quant strength will also determine how much you have to perfect your knowledge of grammar rules, sentence structure etc.

If you're just starting out, the best idea is to do a complete review of grammar rules (following the official guide or other SC study programs). Once you've done that, you can start to look at your areas of strength and which areas you need more improvement in (everyone has both).

The most difficult decision is how much you look to PERFECT your grammar skills. With good (not great) grammar skills you can use solid step by step processes to answer questions (things like point-to-point answer elimination) to get to right answers in SC questions.

I'm happy to discuss with you more specifically if you need help coming up with a plan.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi nidhipoddar31,

Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you've been studying for just 2 weeks, then you should not expect to have mastered any of the concepts or question types just yet.

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) How many hours have you studied each week? Have you been working on anything besides SC?
2) What study materials do you currently have access to?
3) Have you taken any practice CATs/mocks yet? If you have, then how did you score (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) 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

CAMANISHPARMAR · Answer

Although GMAT is a reasoning test, the SC section requires you to be aware of the grammatical rules.

There is no short cut to success. You will have to go through the learning process.

All the best!

logro · Answer

Hey Nidhi - I would suggest going through the E-gmat verbal course (It actually helped me get my SC basics covered). You can then move on to GMATNinja's videos for advanced SC topics

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi Nidhi, Since you mention SC as your specific area of concern, thought I would mention that our sentence correction book  Sentence Correction Nirvana  is perhaps the  only  book that offers a score improvement  guarantee , and is especially designed for  non-native  speakers.

After reading the book  twice  (yes! it's an  academic  book, and so must be read twice in all seriousness, to  reinforce  the concepts), you will start looking forward to solving SC questions!

The book is available on  Flipkart  and  Amazon.in . You might want to refer to these sites, to also read testimonials of how readers have benefited.

See  here  how Mohit, who scored 750 on GMAT, vouches for our book.

If you want to  sample  a chapter before deciding to go ahead with our book, please PM me your mail-id (along with the chapter that you would like to sample) and I will be happy to send that chapter to you by mail. In addition, the entire Grammar section of the book is also available for free preview at  pothi .

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