GMAT, how to improve speed in verb section

Question

Hi,

I took my first OG mock-up test over the weekend, and only got 640, Q50 V25. I spent the past 2 weeks getting acquainted with the question type on the test. I was able to finish all the quant on time with seconds to spare, but was unable to do the same with the verbal. I didn't get to the last 5 questions, and scrambled with the 5 before these. What is the best way to improve the speed when it comes to verbal, aside from doing more practice questions? I have the OG 2018, Keplan 2018, and the latest MGMT books, which one should I start with, and which should be saved for the end?

My target is 720ish. Background: Professional Engineer, Mater degree from MIT and hope to go back there for MBA, and English is not my first language. Thank you so much for the help!

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Recognizing why certain answer choices are wrong can be helpful in noticing those 'same' answer choices again in future questions.

How to get a V40 or higher on the GMAT? What about a V51?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Aku28,

Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you scored a 640 after just 2 weeks of study, then you are likely a strong critical-thinker (which is great!). 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). Many GMATers face pacing issues in the Quant section, the Verbal section or both – so you are not alone. However, it's important to remember that pacing problems do NOT exist on their own - they're the results of OTHER problems. Most GMAT questions are written so that they can be approached in more than one way - and from what you describe, it's likely that "your way" of approaching many of the questions in the Verbal section is the 'long way.' If you can commit to learning and practicing the proper Verbal Tactics, then both your pacing and score results should improve.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on your timeline and your goals:

1) How many hours do you typically study each week? Assuming another couple of months of study are needed, would you continue to study this number of hours each week?
2) Are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
3) 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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Aku28,

I have the perfect article for you to check out:

How to Get Faster at GMAT Verbal

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

Aku28 · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thank you very much for your through response. To answer your questions,

1) I only have 15 hours each week to set aside for studying, since I have a full time job that's rather demanding.
2) The current plan is taking the test at the end of May at a Test Facility
3) At the second half of this year, targeting either Sloan or HBS, main reason being I live in the great Boston area, and I have a master degree from MIT

Thank you again!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Aku28, I've sent you a PM with some additional notes. GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made, Rich Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi  Aku28 ,

For scoring 700 and above, you need to get the easy medium questions right as GMAT test is adaptive in nature. You can afford making mistakes only in the latter half of the Section, not in the beginning. You have to make the GMAT algorithm serve you difficult questions and get them right. For that, being conceptually clear on all topics is really vital. Not only this, you have to be good with application of concepts because  GMAT is a test of application of concepts .

As evident from your score breakup, you have a good command over Quant. However, your Verbal score is an area of concern. You clearly need to work hard in case of Verbal and develop a solid understanding first by revisiting the concepts and then approach the problems in a systematic and logical method.

Time management is one of the most important skills for competitive exams that most students struggle with. There is a significant penalty for failing to complete any section of the GMAT exam, so it is also important to develop pacing skills. Once you hone your time management skills strategically, you will be confident about not missing out on any questions on the test day.

The possible reason for struggling with time management in case of Verbal: 
Let me share my 2 cents from my experience of scoring 740 on GMAT and helping many students reach their target score. Taking extra time to solve questions is a symptom and not the disease itself. Let me elaborate.

There are 2 things that you do while solving questions - 1. You think about how to solve the question and 2. You solve the question. It's the first point that eats up unnecessary time. Now how do you tackle Point 1. Most people think the best solution is by solving additional questions. It does help but sadly is not the most effective solution because by just practising more questions you end repeating the same mistakes.

The better solution is to learn the right logical methods to solve questions and then master these methods with additional practice.

Talking about the reason behind struggling with time management in Verbal, you are likely taking more time to solve RC questions. The reason for this might be you are taking too long to read a passage or you might be going back and forth to the passage for every question. This happens when you don’t use the right reading strategies. Students often read the passage from a detail perspective and stuff themselves with the details. And once they come across an inferential question or a main point question, they cannot answer it and they read the passage again to find the answer. This would often lead to the wastage of time.

For GMAT Verbal, it is very important that you follow the  right methodology  and the  logical approach . Your focus has to be on  eliminating four incorrect choices rather than choosing the right one . The key is to develop a solid understanding of the concepts that are typically tested on the GMAT and master the process skills that are required to solve GMAT questions. Only then, you will be able to smartly avoid the traps set by the test makers and avoid taking too much time in solving questions.
• For  SC  – Follow the meaning based approach. 
• For  CR  – Focus on Scope Analysis and Framework driven Pre-thinking. 
• For  RC  – Involve yourself in the passage and understand why the passage is written and not just on what’s written. 
This should help.

Important Tip  –  Don’t practice tons of questions directly. First focus on learning the right methods for each question. That plays a significant role in getting hard questions correct within 2 mins.

Feel free to reach out to me in case you have any more queries.

If you wish to discuss this over a call, you can schedule a free consultation call using the below link. I would really like to know the concerns and help you improve your score.
    Click here to schedule a call

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