How to improve verbal from V38-42 to V46 ?

Question

Test  V  AWA  Days passed  Comments    GMAT Prep 1  41  NO    Before reading MGMAT SC guide, 1 mistake in CR and    MGMAT 1  41  NO  36  After MGMAT SC guide    Kaplan 1  28  NO  35  What? Well, some questions were tough, but 28?    Kaplan 2  38  NO  6  Better but below my expectations    MGMAT 2  35  NO  6  A lot of SC mistakes    Veritas CAT #1  35  NO  7  too many CR mistakes!    GMAT Prep 1  42  YES  1  Back to square one, I had >22-23 questions correct in a row, and then ~10-12 mistakes, including 2 in RC and 4 in CR

A bit of background: I am non-native speaker, but I consider my English ability to be good enough to get 46, I read scientific literature in English, I watch TV's/Movies / read a lot of fiction etc. I believe that for CR and RC the main sources of my mistakes are fatigue and misunderstanding of some GMAT concepts / traps. As of SC, I need some good reference guide that is easy to comprehend and that will help me identify my weaknesses.

What do I do? these mistakes seem very random, I'm rereading MGMAT SC and started PowerScore CR. Will e-gmat help me?

What do I do? these mistakes seem very random, I'm rereading MGMAT SC and started PowerScore CR. Will e-gmat help me?

Breakdown is below (mistakes/total questions):

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear ansard , I'm happy to respond. :-)

Mastering the GMAT verbal section is tricky. I would say that reading is the very best thing you could do. See: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2014/how-to-imp ... bal-score/ TV & movies are great for learning colloquial English, but after a certain point, they are counterproductive for learning the formal language of the GMAT. I get that you already read scientific literature, and I assume that you have a relatively strong background in science. That's great. I think the biggest improvement will come when you force yourself to read the material that is much harder for you to read. You say you are reading fiction: are you reading what could be called "literature"? Are there academic fields, say in the social sciences, that you find less accessible? How well read are you about economics and the modern business world? You would do well to make yourself an expert in your chosen sector well before you even apply to business school. You need to practice reading for, say, a hour at a time. That's the stamina you need to build, so that a three paragraph GMAT RC passage will seem like nothing. You need to practice with the most sophisticated reading material you can find. Are you familiar with the New Yorker or the Atlantic Monthly ? The Economist magazine is a wonderfully sophisticated source for info about the modern business world. My friend, don't overestimate Americans who have spoken English from birth. Many of my fellow Americans have atrocious grammar, and the vast majority of people on the street would have no chance on the GMAT SC. Virtually all of the TV and movies and most of the low quality writing caters to these folks with poor grammar. If you want to achieve excellence on the GMAT, you need to avoid the material that caters to the American masses. Be very discerning about searching out the most sophisticated material. For what it's worth, here are some free GMAT idiom flashcards: https://gmat.magoosh.com/flashcards/idioms Magoosh also has a thorough set of SC video lessons. Here's a sample: https://gmat.magoosh.com/lessons/944-substantive-clauses Many students find that the Magoosh videos combined with the information in the MGMAT books provides a thorough preparation. I think you are quite right that verbal excellence is within your grasp. I wish you the very best of good fortune, my friend. Mike :-)

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ansard,

There's enough of a 'swing' in these Verbal scores that I really would like to know more about how you've been studying before I offer any advice:

1) How long have you been studying?
2) Have you taken the GMAT before? Have you taken any of these CATs before?
3) What resources have you been studying with (please include ALL resources, even the ones you used for Quant)?

4) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

Since you did NOT take the ENTIRE CAT each time, I think that most (if not all) of these Verbal scores are 'inflated'; by retaking GMAT Prep1, that score is ALSO likely inflated. As you continue to study, you must do everything in your power to make each CAT "event" realistic (and skipping sections is NOT realistic). Sometime soon, you should also take a *new* FULL-LENGTH CAT (including the Essay and IR sections), so we can get a sense of your overall performance.

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

ansard · Answer

Hi Mike! 
I read a lot in english, my background is in finance, but I am interested in neuroscience, quantum physics, genetics etc. so I red number of books concerning these topics. I'm not a huge fiction fan, but I read a lot of classic works, as well as newcomers, such as Atlas Shrugged and Game of Thrones. To be honest, I didn't encounter any difficulties, with the exception of vocabulary, but only when reading 'difficult' literature.
Currently, I don't read that much, as my exam is in less than a month. So, I suppose reading won't help me much.

As a matter of fact I'm a Magoosh subscriber, but the format is not very useful for me, it highly depends on the videos, and that takes too much time, still, I watched like hald of SC videos, and, probably, will finish, but I'm not seeing any significant improvements. I would prefer a tool, that could help me focus my attention to specific topics that I'm having difficulties with, and Magoosh dashboard is pretty uninformative unfortunately, I think you really need to work on that. Anyways, I find Magoosh to be helpful, but I think I need a bit more for these extra points.

ansard · Answer

Hi Rich!

first, I want to say that I find your posts on this forum very helpful, like Mike, you provide a lot of great advice and I see you are very experienced in GMAT and I consider you to be one of the most helpful folks on the board. So, thank you for that!

I think the swing comes from fatigue, because 90% of mistakes I do are careless (except for mistakes in kaplan tests, the questions are tough), sometimes I miss the tense, sometimes I miss the subject, I think my result would be higher if I would practice with printed material, where I can cross words. So, I'm trying that. Any mistake in RC and CR comes as a shock to me, and I feel powerless, I believe I lack some foundation, that will help me tackle GMAT problems, you know, simple rules like "watch out for superlative". I don't really use any system, I just go at it, I usually am capable of finding the answer before reading answer choices, but sometimes they are so confusing, I'm lost. It's nice to know why you made a mistake, but when I can't answer that question, I am at a loss.
So, to answer your questions:

1) I started somewhere in April, but mostly concentrated on Quant, and a bit on SC. CR and RC are naturally easy for me, so I just started doing OG (I'm almost finished with SC, I will finish CR quick, as I spend around 1-1.3 per question).
2) No, these CAT's are what I have take, I also had take Magoosh CAT and scored 35 as well, that was somewhere in the beginning, but I didn't add it, as I took it for fun in the evening after a work day, so I was exhausted anyways. 
3) 
  Quant:   MGMAT 5 guides, MGMAT Advanced Quant (currently reading, need a boost to get to 50-51), Magoosh videos & questions, GMAT club app for Android, GMAT club guides and questions.
OG 13, my best improvement came from solving OG, so currently I use GMAT Club tests and I'm thinking about buying Jeff Sackmans question, to actually boost my score, what do you think?

Verbal:   MGMAT SC, watched a few of Magoosh videos on SC, and solved all of the questions I think, watched free videos provided by e-gmat, currently I am solving OG, I think I will add OG Verbal and I need some other sources of questions for SC, I believe. For CR and RC I will solve only OG, to be honest questions of other providers seem to be off. I can successfully solve questions of any difficulty level, as well as make mistakes in a question of any difficulty level, I think I lack stability and knowledge of some concepts used in GMAT. I am very familiar with GMAT related materials, so I really need advice from someone else, as my resources are also limited.

Also, I took a class from a local provider, but to be honest that was a waste of money, just listing it to keep this list complete.

4) June 30, 2015...

I didn't encounter any GMAT questions I solved before in GMATPrep, I will be taking more of it in the coming weeks, do you thinks it's time to take Prep #2 ? I will be purchasing 3 and 4 as well.

As of AWA's, I agree, that's why I added them, Each of the next CAT will be done in full, and to be honest, I don't have any troubles with AWA in terms of fatigue, though I am yet to receive any feedbacks.
I think I will stop doing Kaplan CAT's. Math is a bit on the easier side, while Verbal is on LSAT level. 
I will continue with MGMAT and maybe Veritas (what do you think? Is it worth purchasing with GMAT Club membership?).

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear ansard, I'm happy to respond my friend. :-)

I think I am starting to get the picture here. You are very bright, well-read, a bit more techy and less artsy in your predilections. You process things very quickly. Your problem, it seems, involves making careless mistakes: that is to say, you jump in with great intensity, but because your mind is moving a mile per minute, you don't fully "show up" to each problem in front of you, and in some sense, it is a rare thing for the whole of you, with pure undivided attention and integral focus, to confront a test question, especially when the pressure is on. You are all about speed and efficiency, and want the strategies and quick tips that will "fix" your weak spots in short order. Does this resonate? You mentioned the Magoosh video lessons and the dashboard. I wonder how conscientious you have been about watching the video explanations to individual questions that you have gotten wrong. I wonder if you have taken the time to learn carefully from each and every mistake. I wonder how good you are at pausing to appreciate subtleties, or if it goes by in a blur. You seek excellence, and are engaged in particular modes of being to achieve excellence. The problem, I would say, is that excellence is not simply the product of strategies. Excellence is not the achievement of a uni-modal approach. Excellence involves our wholeness. To say it slightly poetically, excellence comes from the heart. I think you have exhausted how much you can far you can go purely with efficiency & strategic thinking & the frenzied rush to success. I think the game-changer for you will involve cultivating a very different mode of being, one that involves centering, mindfulness, deep appreciation, and abiding focus. I am going to recommend a series of four blogs about this: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/overcome-g ... y-breathe/ https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/beating-gmat-stress/ https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/the-gmat-b ... g-picture/ https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/zen-boot-c ... -the-gmat/ It may be that these blogs represent a mode of being that you find uncomfortable. Are you willing to be uncomfortable in order to achieve greater success? Please let me know if you have any questions. Mike :-)

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ansard,

From what you describe, there are 2 immediate 'red flags' in your approach to the Verbal section:

1) You do a LOT of 'book work', which is NOT realistic. No book can properly prepare you for the physical challenges that you will face on Test Day.
2) You admit to not having a standard step-by-step approach for Verbal questions (you just 'go at it').

Both of these issues can be dealt with, although you'll likely have to invest in some new computer-based resources to lock-in a stronger, consistent Verbal performance. Taking FULL-LENGTH CATs, under test-like conditions that match up with what you'll face on Test Day, is also a must.

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

How to improve verbal from V38-42 to V46 ?

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My Rewards

Test	V	AWA	Days passed	Comments
GMAT Prep 1	41	NO		Before reading MGMAT SC guide, 1 mistake in CR and
MGMAT 1	41	NO	36	After MGMAT SC guide
Kaplan 1	28	NO	35	What? Well, some questions were tough, but 28?
Kaplan 2	38	NO	6	Better but below my expectations
MGMAT 2	35	NO	6	A lot of SC mistakes
Veritas CAT #1	35	NO	7	too many CR mistakes!
GMAT Prep 1	42	YES	1	Back to square one, I had >22-23 questions correct in a row, and then ~10-12 mistakes, including 2 in RC and 4 in CR