Problem With Verbal

Question

Hi,

I am quite ok in quant, but verbal is my weak part. I was doing very good in CR upto last month and due to that I started focusing on Quant and SC specifically. I am planning to give GMAT around end of the August, now only 25 days left.

I started to revise questions and solving new CR questions, and I found that I am marking many wrong option. More than 50% of my chosen answers are wrong. I have started to panic now as in verbal CR was my strongest part.

What should I do now to get more correct answers.

Thanks

Kuldeep

coldmass · Answer

if you are getting above 700 level questions wrong then donot panic , you will get only 2 or 3 above 700 level cr. just stay calm and try to figure out what mistakes you are really making .

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Kuldeep,

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 long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When is your exact Test Date? Are you taking the At-home GMAT or are you taking your GMAT at a Test Facility?
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

Kuldeep1312 · Answer

1. I’ve seriously started studying for last 2 months now, mostly 4/5 hours a day and on weekend around 7-10 hours. 
2. I’ve studied from OG and coaching materials of Jamboree Education. 
3. I’ve not given any CAT yet, I’m still practising. 
4. 730
5. I’m planning to take exam on 24th August at test facility only. 
6. Just after giving exam

Thanks

Posted from my mobile device

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Kuldeep,

Students trying to focus on weaker areas generally tend to neglect their strengths. In the process, they start losing touch with the stronger areas. In the journey of GMAT preparation, it is important to plan your studies properly making sure that you practice a few questions of each module every day simultaneously working on your weaker areas. Let me share a few tips on how to get back on track.

You were good in CR but lost touch recently. This means that you have the ability in you. It’s just that you have to polish a few things. I’m not sure if you followed a specific approach previously. But this time, when you start solving CR questions, make sure you solve them using the right methodology. To solve CR questions, you need to develop the ability to pre-think the answer. This is possible only when you understand the underlying framework.

CR questions are mostly divided into four types and each has a specific framework.
  Plan-Goal 
 Causal arguments 
 Comparison 
 Quant

Let me give you an overview of causal argument framework. In causal arguments, the argument consists of premises and a conclusion. The conclusion generally consists of a cause (X) and effect(Y) and co-relates both of them. The question stem either asks you to strengthen or weaken the conclusion. For this, it is really important to pre-think the underlying assumption and choose the answer based on lines of assumption. Below are the three guidelines to pre-think in causal arguments:
  X happened before Y 
 No alternate cause 
 No reverse causality

Once you have an assumption, you can simply eliminate the answer choice which do not match your assumption. You can understand the gist of all the frameworks by watching the following video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZG-oIl09Rk

If you wish to know strategies and the right methodology to solve SC and RC questions, you can watch the following videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWf5npGuX5U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCcaY1NOvDQ

If you wish to know more about the study strategy, you can schedule a free consultation call with a GMAT Strategy Consultant using the below link.

Click here to schedule a call

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Kuldeep1312,

Here is some general advice you can follow to improve your CR skills.

To improve in Critical Reasoning, you first need to master the individual Critical Reasoning topics: Strengthen the Argument, Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, etc. As you learn about each question type, do focused practice so you can track your skill in answering each type. If, for example, you get a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific question type? Were you doing too much analysis in your head? Did you skip over a keyword in an answer choice? You must thoroughly analyze your mistakes and seek to turn weaknesses into strengths by focusing on the question types you dread seeing and the questions you take a long time to answer correctly.

A major mistake that people make when training for CR, and for GMAT verbal in general, is that they do practice questions too fast. To get Critical Reasoning questions correct, you have to see exactly what's going on in the passages and answer choices, and it's likely that you won't learn to do so by spending a few minutes on each question. At this stage of your training, you may need to spend as many as 15 minutes on each question, learning to see what there is to see. Here is a way to look at this process: If you get a new job in a field in which you are not experienced, you may not be as fast as the other people working with you, but you know you have a job to do and you make sure you learn all the angles, so that you do the job well, if not as quickly as those around you. Rushing through the job and doing it incorrectly would not make sense. Then, as you gain more experience, you learn to do the same job more quickly. Think of Critical Reasoning questions similarly. Your job is to do what? To get through questions quickly? Not really. Your job is to get correct answers.

So, first you have to learn to get correct answers, generally at least 10 to 15 in a row consistently, and more in a row would be better. Doing so is your job, and if it takes you fifteen minutes per question to get correct answers consistently, then so be it. Only after you have learned to get correct answers consistently can you work on speeding up. Working quickly but not doing your job is useless. Better to work slowly and learn to do your job well. You can be sure that with experience, you will learn to speed up, and then you will still be doing your job well, i.e., getting correct answers consistently.

Finally, a key aspect of getting correct answers to Critical Reasoning questions is noticing the key differences between trap choices and correct answers. Trap choices can sound temptingly correct but don't get the job done. The logic of what a trap choice says simply doesn't fit what the question is asking you to find. So, to get better at your job, learn to see the key differences between trap choices and correct answers.

Feel free to reach out with further questions.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Kuldeep,

To score at a high level on the GMAT, you have to have a variety of skills (more than just content knowledge) and the only way to properly assess whether you have those skills or not is to take FULL-LENGTH CATs/mocks under realistic conditions AND at regular intervals. Right now, since you have not taken any FULL-LENGTH CATs yet, we have no measure of your overall ability level. As such, I strongly recommend that you take one of the Official GMAT CATs and take it in a realistic fashion (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, take it away from your home if possible, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.). Once you have that score, you should report back here and we can discuss the results and how best to proceed.

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

Kuldeep1312 · Answer

Hi Rich, Today I took one Full length Test and score is 530 only

, which I never expected considering my Quant preparation is quite good. Accuracy is 15/31 in quote and 12/36 in verbal. Pl. help.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Kuldeep,

While it's possible that you have the knowledge to score higher than you did on this CAT, we have to measure this result against your Score Goal and timeline. Raising a 530 to the point that you can consistently score 730+ will likely require at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. However, since your planned Test Date is only about 4 weeks away, the type of improvement that you are looking for in such as short timeframe is likely too difficult to be considered realistic. As such, you should consider pushing back your Test Date.

While you might also be tempted to try to take a lot of CATs/mocks in a short period of time, that is not a good idea (and will likely be a waste of a bunch of practice CATs). A CAT is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to learn the necessary Tactics and put in the proper practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. As such, you really shouldn't take more than 1 FULL CAT per week.

1) Assuming another few months of study time, how many hours do you think you could consistently study each week?
2) From your prior messages, it's still not clear what Schools/Programs you are interested in (and that information is relevant since it can help to define the type of Score that you might 'need' to properly apply). What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Kuldeep1312 · Answer

Hi,

1. I have taken leave from office till 24th August to prepare for exam, and mostly I want to give Exam in last week of August. So, I have ample amount of time which I can spend of study.
2. I am planning any Indian top collage. Not sure about foreign colleges due to COVID.

Thanks

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