GMAT Critical Reasoning Problems: Arguments That Tell You Why
There are really only a dozen different Critical Reasoning problems in the Official Guide to the GMAT. The test writers recycle the same basic argument structures over and over, and they use the same right answers over and over, too. Even though the topics change — an argument might be about school funding the first time you see it, and industrial efficiency the next — you can sometimes recognize the underlying structure, outsmart the test, and earn some well-deserved points on the Verbal section. Read more
GMAT Story Problems: Draw It Out
Whenever I see a story problem, I immediately make myself think, “How would I solve this in the real world?” I don’t want to get sucked into doing a bunch of annoying textbook math. In the real world, we lay things out on paper very differently than when we’re in “I’m taking a math test” mode.
Want to see what I mean? Try this GMATPrep® problem from the free exams and then we’ll talk! Read more
Here’s Why You Should Interleave Your GMAT Studies (and What that Means)
Recently, I wrote a post about how to get the most out of Official Guide (OG) problems during your studies. In that article, I discussed how to interleave your GMAT studies and I’ve got more to say on this strategy that’s of crucial importance to your studies.
What is Interleaving?
In a nutshell, interleaving is a way of mixing up your studies. For example, let’s say that you’re about to start studying the Fractions chapter of our Fractions, Decimals, & Percents (FDP) Strategy Guide. It’s only 8 pages long, so you should just read the whole thing straight through, right? (Note: if you actually have this guide, pull it out right now and follow along below.) Read more
Avoiding Calculations on GMAT Data Sufficiency
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The beautiful thing about GMAT Data Sufficiency is that we’re allowed not to do all of the calculations that a Problem Solving problem might require. Still, leave it to the GMAT to try to suck you into doing more than you need to do in order to get to the answer.
Normally, I just toss you into a problem and then we discuss, but today I’m going to warn you: the GMATPrep® problem that I’m about to give you is going to do its best to make you waste time. As you try this problem, ask yourself, “Do I really need to do that calculation? Is there an easier way?”
Try this problem from the GMATPrep free exams. Read more