Hi All!
This is a topic I've researched and read a lot about. I was never able to do it. Well this statement holds good no more!
One good set of articles which answers this question well is available here:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... em-part-1/Some of the best advice you easily get for acing SC, probably the only area in the GMAT in which one can boost his/her score the most, include:
a) Familiarize yourself with the rules and idioms cold or read a lot of flashcards (My work - a very good read:
ultimately-comprehensive-gmat-sentence-correction-flash-cards-notes-185033.html#p1416768)
b) Practice^practice
c) Skim options and don't read them and form patterns (MUST READ:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-sente ... trategies/)
d) Process Pyramid for Sentence Correction (MUST READ:
https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/2014/07 ... -the-gmat/)
e) Have an
error log and understand why you chose the wrong answer and why you eliminated the correct answer (MUST READ:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/arti ... or-log.cfm)
f) Guess the topics or sub topics which are being tested but don't guess the correct answer choice
g) Once you identify one mistake cross it out in your pad and cross out every other option which has the same mistake
h) Read the sentence finally once with the correct chice.
i) Last but the most important, Manhattan SC - once or twice and
OG - once or twice
Wow! This is hell of a lot of advice and I believe some of the best advice which
has to be followed by each test taker. Though I've read these strategies several times, I somehow was not able to ace/boost my SC score/efficiency/accuracy on a
sustainable basis! Yes at times my score and efficiency was up and at times pretty bad. My verbal scores fluctuated a lot and I'm sure many of you would have felt this! Well I think one reason is because I did not fully understand most of these advices (great ones).
Somehow I only understood what to do in SC, but not how to do.
Today I realized the how to and am glad to share it with you. This worked for me and can work for you as well. If you think there is some other great advice on how to ace SC (what to do as well), please do share! So it all boils to this para.
How to ace SC? Very simple. (I assume you already have the basic knowledge of grammar and idioms and GMAT SC question types)
a) First time when you are following this strategy, take Manhattan SC. The book gives question numbers from the
OG topic wise (pronouns, modifiers, tenses, x, y, z). Solve all the questions topic wise. Solve them in the method I am going to discuss. (Yeah hold on a little more tighter
)
b) Once you are done with this. Take any random verbal test or take any random SC questions and solve them using the method I am going to discuss. You'll rock!
AND THE METHOD IS: I'm not claiming any onus for discovering this method. It is just that all these great pieces of advice hit me together at once!
PFA a computer version of my notes while I was following this strategy. For questions which are too easy I did not use this strategy.1) Skim through the question carefully, looking for errors.
2) WRITE DOWN the type of GMAT error being tested.
If you are unable to do it, you might want to skim through the answer choices and identify patterns in the splits and then read the question again for clues on the error being tested.3) Look out for patterns in each answer choice.
4) On the A B C D E you've written on your pad, circle splits of one type, put a triangle around splits of another type or square them or tick them and WRITE DOWN what error is there in each answer choice as a key. The best way to do it is to have more than one sign on some options as some options will carry more than 1 error. Put multiple signs while practicing but while taking a test, one sign is good enough to eliminate an option.
5) You'll be left with an option which would be your answer. Read your answer choice
by reading the entire sentence along with your answer choice (not just the text before the non underlined portion and the underlined portion - read till the full stop; at times you'll find clues from pro noun or subject-verb agreement which might make you change your answer choice ).
6) Review your result. Looking at the solution, understand why you chose the wrong answer and why you eliminated the correct answer. You won't forget the reason why you chose a particular choice or didn't choose another because YOU WROTE THEM DOWN.
7) Understand the root cause of your error and take necessary action (use your wisdom for this)
8) This strategy doesn't need much practice. But should you need practice, practice
OG questions and refer to these videos of
Magoosh (MUST WATCH -this is a gold mine-
https://gmat.magoosh.com/forum/books/13- ... at-13th-ed) Don't watch a video after every question. Do them in batches of 10 at least.
You'll be wasting your time watching these videos if you are not comparing how mikemcgarry identifies patterns and groups options and how you did them. The sole purpose of you watching these videos must be to understand why you missed putting a sign against an option.9) With a little practice, this strategy and methodology can be aced as well and you might want to stop WRITING DOWN as you can do it mentally.
10) Give this post a kudos and book mark it for future reference and kill the GMAT.
11) Share your views and thoughts too:-D
All the best!
Kindly ignore any typos or grammar mistakes. Am not spending much time on reviewing this note as my test is fast approaching. Wanted to share this on a priority for your benefit!