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5 Game-Changing GMAT Sentence Correction Tips
Tip #1: The “Original” Sentence Is Not Special
Some GMAT students get the impression that the original sentence in an SC question stem conveys the “true” or intended meaning of the correct sentence, or that answer choices that deviate significantly from the “original” sentence will not be correct. Indeed, these Sentence Correction myths have been around for a long time. In reality, all answer choices must be weighed equally. Choice (A) does not set a standard for the sentence meaning or structure that must be followed by the correct answer. In fact, in many Sentence Correction questions, all five answer choices provided are quite different from one another. A correct answer choice may create a sentence version that conveys a meaning that is very different from the meaning created by choice (A), or incorporate a word or phrase that didn’t appear in choice (A) (or eliminate one that did).
As a result, you must resist the urge to view the meaning of the sentence in the question stem as the “real” or “correct” meaning. There is no intended meaning that the correct sentence version has to express. The correct version will be the one that most effectively expresses a logical meaning.
Tip #2: Meaning Matters in Sentence Correction!
There is no denying that you won’t get very far in GMAT Sentence Correction if you don’t know grammar rules. However, too often, students rely on grammar as the sole determinant of which answer choices are correct and which are incorrect in SC questions. And you know what? The GMAT test-makers design Sentence Correction questions to test whether you’ll do just that! Sometimes, incorrect answers in Sentence Correction are perfectly grammatical, yet they convey illogical or nonsensical meanings. Unfortunately, many GMAT students focus on finding grammatical errors in order to eliminate answer choices while neglecting to analyze the sentence meaning.
Don’t allow yourself to fall for this trap. It’s very easy to get stumped deciding between two answer choices because you failed to consider each sentence’s meaning or to choose a wrong answer because it’s grammatically correct, and you didn’t notice that it makes no sense.
Of course, your knowledge of grammar rules will allow you to spot common SC errors such as subject-verb agreement errors, pronouns without logical antecedents, and dangling modifiers. Spotting those grammatical errors will allow you to quickly eliminate certain answer choices. However, any time you don’t find a “slam dunk” reason (or two) to eliminate an answer, you should ask yourself, “What is the meaning conveyed by this version of the sentence if I read it literally? Does that meaning make sense?” Furthermore, when you think you have a correct answer, double-check the meaning conveyed by that version of the sentence to ensure that the meaning is logical. You know that grammatically incorrect answers are incorrect; just don’t assume that grammatically correct answers are automatically correct.
Tip #3: Correct Answers Don’t Have to Be Perfect
Often, the correct answers to GMAT Sentence Correction questions push the boundaries of what is acceptable or logical. Consequently, you must look for the best version of the sentence, not a perfect version.The best version of the sentence will be the one with the most logical sentence meaning and structure out of all the versions. However, “better than the rest” doesn’t necessarily mean that you couldn’t come up with a cleaner, more straightforward way to write the sentence.
You’ll find that, in many SC questions, none of the answer choices create “ideal” or flawless sentences. The answer choice that is most concise, for example, may be grammatically incorrect or convey a ridiculous meaning. In contrast, a sentence structure that seems a little more awkward than some others may be the only one that creates a sentence version that is both grammatically correct and logical.
Ask yourself, if correct answers to Sentence Correction questions always looked and sounded perfect, would finding them be much of a challenge for anyone?
Tip #4: When Stuck Between Two Choices, Lean Into Them
It’s common for people taking the GMAT to eliminate three sentence versions in an SC question. At the same time, it’s also common for them to get stuck between the final two versions. How do you choose between the final two sentence versions in a Sentence Correction question? You lean into both of them, asking yourself the following questions:- How are the two sentence versions different?
- Does one of the versions contain an error in grammar?
- Does one of the versions say something illogical?
- Is one of the versions more effective at conveying a logical meaning than the other?
- Does one of the versions convey an ambiguous meaning?
When you get into the habit of asking yourself these questions, you’ll become more proficient at choosing the correct answer from the final two sentence versions.
Tip #5: Clearly Articulate What the Errors Are in Wrong Choices
A great way to ensure that you’re not falling for trap answers because you’re going by what “looks right” or “sounds wrong” is to learn to clearly articulate what the precise errors are in each wrong answer you see. This skill is one that you should practice again and again. If you can point to specific errors in answer choices and articulate why they are in fact errors, then you have a powerful weapon at your disposal for eliminating wrong answers and increasing your accuracy in Sentence Correction.
You can start by becoming more aware of how you are going about answering SC questions. For example:
- Are you evaluating logic and details, or are you quickly eliminating choices that sound a little off, and then choosing what seems to be the best of the rest?
- Are you considering the meaning conveyed by each version of the sentence?
- Are you matching a verb to the sentence subject and making sure that each pronoun clearly and logically refers to a noun?
Careful analysis of answer choices may initially require devoting a good chunk of time to each practice question — far more than a mere two minutes. To develop your eye for the logical differences between SC answer choices, you have to go beyond simply answering practice questions and reading explanations, and learn to notice everything that is going on in each choice.
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