Last visit was: 09 Sep 2026, 16:41 It is currently 09 Sep 2026, 16:41
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
shristi20
User avatar
Joined: 19 Jan 2019
Last visit: 23 Jun 2020
Posts: 20
Own Kudos:
3
Given Kudos: 25
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41
GPA: 4
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41
Posts: 20
Kudos: 3
Verbal score optimization 23 Aug 2019, 05:02
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
is it better to leave last 5 questions in verbal or guess + mark them? would my score be higher if those questions were wrong as compared to leaving them unattempted?
any idea about how penalty works?

Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Verbal Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block below for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
User avatar
MartyTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 24 Nov 2014
Last visit: 11 Aug 2023
Posts: 3,471
Own Kudos:
5,701
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1,430
Status:Chief Curriculum and Content Architect
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Posts: 3,471
Kudos: 5,701
 [1]
Verbal score optimization 23 Aug 2019, 05:21
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi.

You are better off guessing and answering the last five than just skipping them.

Unlike some other tests, the GMAT considers a question left unanswered worse than an incorrectly answered question. Also, in guessing, you may answer some correctly.
User avatar
Abhi077
User avatar
SC Moderator
Joined: 25 Sep 2018
Last visit: 18 Apr 2025
Posts: 1,084
Own Kudos:
2,447
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1,665
Location: United States (CA)
Concentration: Finance, Strategy
Schools: Rotman '21 Jindal '21 Stern '21
GPA: 3.97
WE:Investment Banking (Finance: Investment Banking)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: Rotman '21 Jindal '21 Stern '21
Posts: 1,084
Kudos: 2,447
 [1]
Verbal score optimization 23 Aug 2019, 05:28
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
shristi20
is it better to leave last 5 questions in verbal or guess + mark them? would my score be higher if those questions were wrong as compared to leaving them unattempted?
any idea about how penalty works?
Show more
Leaving the questions un-attempted involves a much higher penalty than you would have received if you'd answer then wrong.
You might want to refer to this for a better understanding https://gmatclub.com/forum/new-format-g ... 69682.html
User avatar
such8
User avatar
Joined: 05 Jul 2019
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 71
Own Kudos:
39
Given Kudos: 15
Location: India
Concentration: Strategy, Healthcare
Schools: HEC '22 NUS '22 (D) Marshall '22 (D) ISB '21 (D)
Schools: HEC '22 NUS '22 (D) Marshall '22 (D) ISB '21 (D)
Posts: 71
Kudos: 39
Verbal score optimization 23 Aug 2019, 08:29
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
shristi20
is it better to leave last 5 questions in verbal or guess + mark them? would my score be higher if those questions were wrong as compared to leaving them unattempted?
any idea about how penalty works?
Show more

Definitely, guessing them! There is 1 in 5 chance you may get it right... suppose you still get every single one of them wrong - even then, this is better than leaving it unattended.

Analogy - you have 5 footballs
1.) you need to goal with a blindfold - is there a chance (doesn't matter how tiny) of you scoring? Absolutely yes!
2.) you don't shoot any of those 5 balls - is there a chance (doesn't matter how tiny) of you scoring? Absolutely NO!

There you have it :)
User avatar
ccooley
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 04 Dec 2015
Last visit: 06 Jun 2020
Posts: 931
Own Kudos:
1,666
Given Kudos: 115
GMAT 1: 790 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 790 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
Posts: 931
Kudos: 1,666
Verbal score optimization 27 Aug 2019, 12:38
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
shristi20
is it better to leave last 5 questions in verbal or guess + mark them? would my score be higher if those questions were wrong as compared to leaving them unattempted?
any idea about how penalty works?
Show more

This short article was published by the GMAC and is based on research into actual test-taker data.

https://www.mba.com/articles-and-announ ... d-guessing

What they say is, if you have five or fewer questions left in Verbal, statistically, it doesn't make much of a difference whether you guess on them or leave them unanswered. More than about five, you should guess. And personally, I'd lean towards guessing, but I'm an optimist - there's always a chance I might get multiple right answers, maybe by quickly skimming the answer choices to eliminate ones that look unlikely to be right.

Note that this isn't the case in Quant: on Quant, you should always guess instead of leaving questions blank.

Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Verbal Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
Moderators:
AbhishekP220108
Verbal Forum Moderator
704 posts
BhardwajS
Verbal Forum Moderator
48 posts