Gmat prep vs. MGMAT practice tests- SC

[mdoganay]

Hi, I have a question about the sentence correction parts of these two practice tests. Last week, I completed 5 different exams ( 3 MGMAT and 2 GMAT prep) here are my results;

MGMAT 1 : 48 Q , 35 V ( 680)
MGMAT 2 : 48 Q , 35 V ( 680)
MGMAT 3 : 49 Q, 37 V (700)
GMAT prep 1: 49Q , 26 V (620)
Gmat prep 2: 50Q , 23V ( 610)

As you can see, my question is about the verbal part. I am a non- native student and I know that I Have some limitations for reading comprehension and even for critical reasoning. Moreover, I am pretty sure that my reading comprehension and critical reasoning performances are similar for all 5 tests.
Since I know my capacity for RC and CR , I focused on SC in last month and I thought that I accomplished to improve it. For MGMAT tests, my SC results are very good and I only failed in some of the 700-800 questions. I got 35 , 35 and 37 just because of my SC performances. On the other hand, I know that my SC performance in gmat prep is not bright and it is the only reason of 23 and 26 verbal scores.
My question is, is there anyone else who experienced the same kind of failure specifically in SC parts. What is the difference between MGMAT and GMAT prep about sentence correction and what am I supposed to focus more to improve my SC results in GMAT Prep? I hope somebody can help me because I started to feel desperate about this.

[StaceyKoprince]

Last week, I completed 5 different exams ( 3 MGMAT and 2 GMAT prep)

Oh, no, stop doing this! Never take an exam more often than once a week. CAT exams are really good for (a) figuring out where you're scoring right now, (b) practicing stamina, and (c) analyzing your strengths and weaknesses. The actual act of just taking the exam is NOT so useful for improving. It's what you do with the test results / between tests that helps you to improve.

Plus, there aren't that many great practice CATs out there, so you don't want to waste them!

Did you take the tests in that order? Part of your problem might simply have been fatigue - it's very common to see test scores go down when you take a bunch of tests right in a row like that, especially in your weaker area.

Alternatively, did anything else differ in how you took those tests? Sometimes, for example, people will skip the essays, which can result in an artificial score increase because you aren't as mentally fatigued by the end of the test (and verbal, of course, is the last section).

Did you ever take two on the same day? Did you have any major timing problems on any of the tests, or other lapses that caused a lot of errors in a row or in a clump? (eg, 6 of 8 wrong) Etc.

Although the GMAT folks announced some SC changes last fall, GMATPrep itself hasn't been updated in a couple of years, so there shouldn't be major differences in that software yet. (The next GMATPrep update - a significant new release, actually - is scheduled for next month.)

Go back through the specific questions and ask yourself WHY you missed each one. Did you not recognize what rule was being tested in the first place? Did you have an idea but weren't sure what the right rule was? Did you not pay attention to meaning and chose something that seemed grammatically okay but you now realize has a meaning problem? (You can look up explanations on our forums.) Did you fall into traps - you thought an answer sounded wrong, but it turned out to be right, or vice versa? Figure those things out and come back here to tell us.

Chances are that if more of the errors were things that you would now consider careless mistakes ("I can't believe I missed that!"), then you probably had some combination of mental fatigue / stamina and timing issues going on. If the errors were more due to actual content (didn't know a rule, didn't realize that meaning was being tested or didn't recognize that an answer messed up the meaning), then there's some work to be done on the content side.

[StaceyKoprince]

p.s. If you are having meaning issues (a lot of people don't study this, and it's becoming more important), see these:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... orrection/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... on-part-2/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... h-meaning/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... problem-2/

You can also browse our blog over the last 6 months for more.

[rajivgrover008]

Hi
I have a query regarding changes in SC patterns in terms of more focus on Meaning.This particular change is already in place or this change is going to be reflected along with the changes in AWA section i.e from 5th June 2012?

I have booked 1st MAy 2012 as my GMAT test date.So i just wanted to know can i expect a high proportion of meaning question in SC??

[StaceyKoprince]

Already in place - they said they've been doing this for at least a couple of years now. In terms of the actual proportion though, I don't know - they didn't say how many would test meaning. They just said that there is "more" emphasis on this topic than in the past. So definitely study it, along with everything else!