Struggling with DS....Suggestions required!

Question

I've GMAT slated for 22nd August and target score is north of 720.

This will be my second attempt, score for my first attempt was 620 (Q48, V27)

My preparation took the back seat due to personal and professional commitments. Though I started the preparation again 1 month back through OG22 and repository of OG questions on GC.

Recent scores of mocks are as follow: - 
1. Expert Global 1 - 640 (Q46, V32)
2. SigmaX - 650 (Q48, V32)
3. GMATPrep-1 - 690 (Q50, V32)
4. Expert Global 2 - 680 (Q47, V36)

The issue that's dragging my score down is DS, my accuracy at times is as low as 40% and as high as 70%. I'm fine with PS as my accuracy hovers around 80% and above.

I've started doing good in SC by way of consistency and focusing more on OG questions.

Struggling with CR; however, my average accuracy in CR is 70%
I believe I can improve my RC bit more and take it past 90% accuracy from my current 75% accuracy.

I request the experts to guide me on future course of action, since I've two weeks to go for retake.

I'm yet to attempt GMATPrep 3-6 and Expert Globals 13 Mocks. Shall I focus more on mock giving or practice from OG?

How many mocks are recommended to given in next 14 days?

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Abhinay66.

DS and CR are pretty closely related in that getting both types of questions correct requires seeing various angles and avoiding trap choices. So, the same type of practice approach will get you to higher DS and CR accuracy.

That approach is to do more practice questions and spend all the time you need to very carefully analyze each question and achieve super high accuracy. Then, once you are achieving accuracy close to 100 percent untimed, you can seek to work the time per question down to test pace.

For more on how to practice GMAT verbal for best results, see the following post.

Three Key Practice Tips for Mastering GMAT Verbal

BrentGMATPrepNow · Answer

Your situation is common. The truth of the matter is that every struggles with Data Sufficiency (DS) questions at first, and it can take a while to master the wide variety of DS strategies. It just takes time for the concepts and strategies to become secondary, at which point you may come to find that DS questions are actually easier than Problem Solving questions.

I could start listing dozens of DS strategies (e.g., rephrasing the target question, mentally moving geometric figures,) and common mistakes (e.g., confusing the answer to sufficiency question with the answer to the target question), but it's easier to just direct you to our set of 16 (free) videos that cover everything you need to know to tackle DS questions: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-data-sufficiency

Cheers,
Brent

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Abhinay66,

Each CAT/mock 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. In addition, the process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically should not take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day. Going forward, you really should not take more than 1 FULL CAT per week - and considering the timeframe that you have described, taking 2 more CATs would be reasonable.

We last discussed your studies a little over 2 months ago. 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:

1) Over the last 2 months, how many hours did you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used over the course of ALL of your studies?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks?
4) What are your current application plans? 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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

I'm yet to attempt GMATPrep 3-6
How many mocks are recommended to given in next 14 days?

Consider saving at least 1 Official Mock just in case you decide to retake.

For Reading Comprehension, there are 3 quick RC tips on the GMAT Knight blog you may want to check out.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  Abhinay66 ,

I agree that you shouldn't take all your official practice tests in the next few days. In fact, I'd take only one or maybe two before the test if I were you.

Struggling with DS....Suggestions required!

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