URGENT. need your advise for my score report

Question

Hello

I took my 4th exam 2 days ago, and there was only marginal improvement.
Score was 650 (Q49, V31), and my target score is 700+ (previous score 570-590-630, and math score have been always 48~49)
Same as the last exam, it's obvious that I was defeated by hard questions once the exam started getting me hard questions.
Hard questions were way harder than the ones from PREP or any GWD questions for me...

I have studied GMAT for last 6 months for your reference,
please advise me what I can do for Verbal improvement.

Sub section ranking : CR 55th, RC 60th, SC 68th

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Sub section ranking : CR 55th, RC 60th, SC 68th

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kimkm509,

First off, a 650/Q49 is a strong score (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

If you do choose to retest, then it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long did you study before each of your Official GMATs?
2) What materials did you use for each attempt?
3) On what dates did you take each Exam? How have you scored on each of your GMATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

Goals:
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

If you'd like a more detailed analysis of your score results, then you'll have to post the FULL ESR. As an aside, with a V31, your biggest 'issue' in the Verbal section was NOT hard questions. You would have missed out on a bunch of 'mid-level' questions that would have netted you some significant points if you had answered them correctly. It's likely that you're "narrowing the answers down to 2 choices and then 'guessing'" far too often in that section.

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

TrevorKleeTutor · Answer

Well, if you're looking for additional study materials, I'd recommend my guides, linked in my signature. Otherwise, I'd say that you need to start studying more systematically. Don't take so many practice tests, but spend a lot of time reviewing the problems you had trouble with in the past.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi kimkm509,

To improve your verbal score, it may be a good idea to concentrate on learning/practicing one section at a time: reading comprehension, sentence correction, or critical reasoning. Have you been able to study in this way?
 
For example, when learning about critical reasoning - your weakest topic according to your ESR- attempt to master all aspects of critical reasoning before moving on to another section. Follow up your learning with focused critical reasoning practice, so you can determine your specific weaknesses within that topic. For example, if you continually have trouble with strengthening arguments based on scientific evidence, you will want to identify and overcome that difficulty. You should follow a similar routine for sentence correction and reading comprehension.

Also, to help improve your reading comprehension, I recommend reading publications such as the Economist, the New Yorker, Scientific American, or the Smithsonian so you can get used to reading and analyzing long, sophisticated passages that are well-written.
 
To master sentence correction you must become proficient in the use of grammar rules (parallelism, subject-verb agreement, comparisons, pronouns, etc.) and accepted English usage. Concentrate on one topic at a time, such as modification, and practice with as many realistic modification questions as you can find. Only after you feel confident with modification should you move to the next topic. In addition to your dedicated study, notice grammar and usage in your everyday life. When you read emails, articles, or even blog posts, pay attention to sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, the use of pronouns, and even punctuation. Use proper grammar in your everyday writing as well. Have you put parallel ideas into parallel constructions? Do all of your pronouns agree with their antecedents? The more you reinforce your study with related activity outside of your study, the greater the likelihood you will master the topics, and have fun doing so!
 
If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out!

URGENT. need your advise for my score report

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