How do I improve my verbal score to 40+ ? Stuck at 34-37 level

Question

Hi, 
 MartyTargetTestPrep   GMATNinja  please help me with this.

I'm planning to give my GMAT in the next 2 months (haven't scheduled a date. I need the score for next year's applications). My goal is an elite score of 740+
 
 Here are my mock test scores 
Official Prep #1 - 540 (Q46 V20 IR2) - Aug 9 2020
Official Prep #2 - 630 (Q47 V30 IR2) - Oct 02 2021
Official Prep #3 - 710 (Q50 V37 IR6) - Oct 24 2021
Official Prep #4 - 690 (Q50 V34 IR4) - Nov 20 2021

Couple of things I've noticed upon self-reflection:  
I specifically have a hard time with pacing through the verbal section. I end up guessing a lot of questions towards the end.

For RC 
  I feel intimidated by passages in RC. I end up spending a lot of time per passage. I have a hard time with main point questions.

For CR
  I'm weak at analysis/critique questions specifically assumption & evaluation of the argument.

For SC 
  I have a hard time with the communication subsection, specifically parallelism and comparisons

Sources used:  
 TTP Quant+Verbal (Completed)
 Done with Easy and Medium question of OG 2021 (Using Wiley's online tool) 
 Few  GMATNinja  videos on SC & CR

How I study:  
Using the Wiley tool, I select all easy questions from a specific topic (such as CR - Construction/Plan) and then do 10 at a time. After that, I review the errors and log them in a google sheet. 
I try to time this quiz but I specifically spend time on understanding each and every answer-choice and then eliminating the wrong ones (POE)
After I'm done with easy questions, I move on to easy questions of the next topic. This way, I have completed easy and medium questions from the OG 2021. My plan is to use the same method to complete hard questions as well. I do about 30 problems per day.

Here are my accuracy stats. 
CR - 79.00%
RC - 77.08%
SC- 88.18%

Please help me understand what I can do to improve my verbal score.

Russ19 · Answer

Hi hydrone03 @RonPurewal's video lessons are useful for the people willing to secure v-40 or over: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijvBigm ... RL&index=2 Good Luck!

GMATinsight · Answer

A single line suggestion will be focus on CR and SC section as your accuracy simply suggests possible higher side in the two types of questions. However in case you need a personal feedback on your areas of improvement then you may consider booking a free demo class with Dr.Sushma Jha who is an expert of helping students improve from a level of 20s to a level of 40+

You can DM me if interested.

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MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi hydrone03.

The solution to all GMAT verbal problems, including time related issues, is always one of the following:

- learn more concepts

- improve your strategy/execution/overall approach

- improve your skill in seeing what's going on in the questions

Since you've completed TTP Verbal and have been preparing for a while, you likely have a good grasp of verbal concepts. So, now you have to work on the second and third aspects of verbal mastery.

For that purpose, I'd recommend remaining flexible with the clock to give yourself time to see what's going on in the questions, tune your strategies, and practice executing efficiently. Put it this way: it works better to achieve 100 percent accuracy in 20 minutes per question and then work your way down to 1:48 per question than it does to achieve 80 percent accuracy in 1:48 per question and seek to work your accuracy up to 100 percent while maintaining a 1:48 per question pace.

So, for SC, get better at the communcation aspect of SC by taking time with the sentence versions to articulate the meaning each version conveys and determine whether that meaning makes sense. For CR, take all the time you need to identify exactly the relationship between each answer choice and the passage. If you need 30 minutes to be 100 percent sure you have the correct answer, then take 30 minutes. Go through the motions of succeeding. For RC, similarly, take all the time you need to see the key differences between choices and achieve basically 100 percent certainty that the choice you're choosing is the correct answer.

With regards to RC, when you completed the TTP Verbal Course, was RC included? If not, your move for RC may be to complete the Primary Purpose portion of the RC component of the course. Those lessons on Primary Purpose/Main point questions cover the topic super well. Also, I know that the passages can seem intimidating at first, but the truth is that every passage has a simple story to it, and if you go in with the attitude that the passage will end up being in a way simple, then you won't be so intimidated at the outset.

For some more insights, see these posts.

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

Three Key Practice Tips for Mastering GMAT Verbal

happypuppy · Answer

Thank you Marty! This makes a lot of sense, especially   the truth is that every passage has a simple story to it, and if you go in with the attitude that the passage will end up being in a way simple, then you won't be so intimidated at the outset  .

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi hydrone03, Let me share my insights here. OG may be a great source for solving GMAT like questions, however, it is definitely not the ideal way to prepare in your case. Moreover, you may find that the OG is a good option as a question bank but lacks detailed explanations for you to use for improvement. It’s always better to prepare with a definitive resource to help you learn concepts while formulating a consistent strategy to solve questions before practicing them from the OG. This way, your preparation will be a lot more structured, and the chances of you leaving gaps in your learning will be significantly less. Focus on improving the method you follow to solve questions because that's what stops people from scoring 700+. As such, following a resource which focuses on the right methodologies becomes even more crucial. Verbal questions on GMAT are very tricky. Let me help you with the right way to approach your Verbal Prep. How to Ace your Verbal Prep? 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. Before you start learning, it's important to understand what is actually tested using the questions. Each module in Verbal (SC, CR and RC) has to be approached in a different way. For example, in RC, you need to have the right reading strategies to understand the inferences which are not directly stated in the passage. You can go through the links below to understand the process in a better way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy9gCqhak9g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjZUplucYeM Once you start solving RC questions using a systematic approach as detailed above, you will be able to avoid taking too much time in RC questions as there will be no confusion in your mind regarding the approach. Also, improving in RC alone won’t fetch you the desired score. You need to prepare for SC and CR as well in a structured and efficient manner. You have to follow a methodical and systematic approach while solving the questions in order to work on your accuracy and increase your score. For example, • In SC, you have to read the sentence from the meaning standpoint and then start looking at the grammatical errors. • In CR, you have to understand the argument, identify the premise and the conclusion and then pre-think the answer before looking at the solutions. The importance of using a standard resource: The only method to make sure that you invest your time, money and effort in an effective way is to use a standard resource which teaches you the concepts, strategies and also helps you work on your weaker areas. Studying using OG or a few random resources might help you to solve GMAT like questions but I’m afraid that they won’t be able to help you much from a strategy perspective. I would suggest you to go for some standard course for your Verbal preparation at least which can help you prepare in a structured and efficient manner thereby increasing your productivity. It’s always better to spare some more time on your preparation until you are ready instead of missing out on your dream colleges/ b-schools in hurry. GMATWhiz helps you with all these things as we follow a structured and methodical way of teaching things , which makes the learning process simpler and efficient. It also helps you to develop an understanding of the test maker’s intention behind asking the question. It uses an AI powered learning platform to provide you with real time improvement modules after every practice quiz. It provides you with additional concept videos and practise quizzes which helps you overcome your weaker areas in a specific topic right away without having to put in additional effort to identify your weaker areas. You can check out GMATWhiz and go for its Verbal Prep Course. Here’s a link to our free trial – https://learn.gmatwhiz.com/?page=signup You can go through the below link to see how Rishabh, with a full time, hectic job schedule, improved from V33 to V41 in 20 days with GMATWhiz private tutoring, exhaustive videos, and the strategies, bringing it to a GMAT 740: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw5TvxA_1zE Hope this helped and feel free to contact if you have any further queries. You can always write back to me here or the better way would be to connect over a call and have a discussion. You can schedule a free consultation call using the below link. Click here to schedule a call

How do I improve my verbal score to 40+ ? Stuck at 34-37 level

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