Help needed in verbal

[StaceyKoprince]

You can't think about whether a question is rated easy, medium, or difficult - there's no way to tell! The only question is how YOU find the question. If it's hard for you, then react accordingly.

Next, you will only answer about 60% of the questions correctly in either Q or V (unless you are scoring VERY high). So, yes, you can bail on quite a number of questions and still get a good score! You can bail on 4 to 7 questions per section (in this context, "bail" means that you don't even try to eliminate some answers / make an educated guess). Most people can do this on 6 to 7 questions. Someone going for a 50-51 on quant should do this on 4* questions. (On verbal, if you're capable of scoring 43-45, chances are you won't completely bail on any questions, but you'll narrow down and guess on some.)

*I have had multiple students do this on quant and still score a 51, the top score on quant. You can do this - it's how the test works! Remember, this is not a school test and the goal is not to get everything right!

My plan is to work on concentration and keep 'the manager inside' awake all the time and become ruthless in cutting off after 1 or 1.5 min in case my manager says, "I still need time to understand". Yes, I can.

Yes you can! If, around the one minute mark, you still don't understand the question (Q or V), you don't have a plan to solve (Q), you don't understand the argument (CR), you haven't found the relevant text in the passage (RC), or you haven't already eliminated at least two answers (SC), you're done with that question!

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "there will be no timer in GMAT like one we have in GMAT PREP." Both the real GMAT and GMATPrep show an on-screen timer that counts down for the amount of time allotted for that section - the way they show time is identical. Did I misunderstand what you're saying there?

Take a look at this for methods re: tracking your time during the test:
http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... tch-paper/

[Binit]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "there will be no timer in GMAT like one we have in GMAT PREP."

GMAT Prep has got an additional timer showing time elapsed on the current question, isn't it? I think that won't be there on the real test.

[Binit]

Hi Stacey,
I got my question answered nicely by the article u suggested in the last post. I had a plan to 'set-up' the timing for verbal in a fashion:

Q No. | Time Left
41| 75
36 | 66
31 | 57
26 | 48
21 | 39
16 | 30r
21 | 11
12 | 06
03 | 01

So, allotting 9 m for every 5 Qs. Is that okay? Of course, I don't have a special plan for the RC. I ll try your way next time and give you feedback.

One more query is that, I am still not able to manage time in tough CRs. Even understanding that the stimulus is tough enough to just guess and move on, I need quite a few time (1 to 1.5 min). After that naturally I am in time pressure and many a times end up spending 2+ min and wrong answer. That thing is almost not happening in SC and RC. Pls help.

~Binit.

[StaceyKoprince]

GMAT Prep has got an additional timer showing time elapsed on the current question, isn't it? I think that won't be there on the real test.

Oh, for the practice questions! Yes. I thought you were talking about the practice tests. The real test will look like the practice

tests

- only a timer counting down.

The timing table that you listed starts with question #41 and counts down but the real test will do the reverse: you'll start with question #1 and count up to 41.

Oh, or did you mean that's how many questions you still have to go? The test won't put that number on the screen, though, so that will be annoying to track. You want to use the form that they're giving you: counting up from #1 to #41 and counting down from 75 minutes.

Also, I'm not sure, but your table seems to show 1 minute for the last 3 questions?

Overall, it's annoying to develop a verbal tracking strategy for timing because the different question types have different average times, and you don't know in what order the questions will come. So,

if

a student can handle tracking by 10 questions, then I recommend that because it allows you to smooth out the timing differences across question types. (This is what is shown in that article I linked last time.)

However, some students will get the timing too far off track if they wait 10 questions, in which case they will have to use something closer to what you provided. This article shows another method that breaks the verbal section into 15 minute blocks (averaging about 8-9 questions per block):
http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... nt-part-2/

If you go all the way to 5 question blocks, then it's hard to manage. If one block of 5 consists of 3 RCs and 2 CRs, that's about 10 to 11 minutes (average), depending on the length and complexity of the passage. So you might then think you're a couple of minutes behind when you're really just fine.

One more query is that, I am still not able to manage time in tough CRs. Even understanding that the stimulus is tough enough to just guess and move on, I need quite a few time (1 to 1.5 min).

How long does it normally take you to understand the argument itself? At what point can you usually say to yourself, "Okay, that's the conclusion?" (or something similar)

If you can usually do that by the 1 minute mark, but the current question is at 1min and you still don't know that...then you know it's too hard and you should guess and move on.

After that naturally I am in time pressure and many a times end up spending 2+ min and wrong answer

No! Once you have decided that something is too hard and you want to guess, you should spend about 2 seconds selecting your favorite letter, clicking next, and clicking confirm. If you don't understand the argument by about 1 minute (halfway mark), do not take another 30+ seconds to decide what to guess. Just move on. (You are going to get it wrong. That's a given. But you might save 15 or 30 or 45 seconds. That's your new goal!)

[Binit]

Hi Stacey,

Hope u r doing great.
I am finally done with my GMAT1 and, needless to say, upset with a 620 (Q50, V24).
So, what went so wrong? I was constantly getting 670 in MGMAT CATs one week before GMAT and in both the GMAT Prep tests I got only 640 just before the test. So, I finally understood something is seriously wrong with my Verbal prep but I had no time left. Before the test (morning appointment), I couldn't sleep and finally managed 2 hours sleep early morning. As a result, IR felt like some nightmare (I got a 3.0), AWA was okay (managed 5.0), Quants was easy, not my credit (50), and in Verbal (24) I found I was struggling to keep myself sane. Frankly, I don't still believe I did so bad in Verbal, Qs were pretty straightforward.
Now, I have to think could I really improve in a re-take. What do u think? My time management was good in Quants 5 min left for last 2 Qs. But in verbal I had to guess a full RC (4 Qs).
There are debriefs where folks have risen from ashes and I have a gut-feeling too, but I really don't want to study again. I don't know, whether I can do any better in re-take.

Binit.

[LinhV456]

Hi Binit and Stancey,

@Stancey: This topic is really similar to my case. One of my weaknesses is also about Verbal..I have only one month left to take the GMAT, but I do not know how to improve in a short time..I took the MGMAT - CAT1 with full of AWA, IR.. and scored 25 on verbal.. I lost totally on RC (sadly, I guessed most of Qs on this section when the time ran out ..). So, is there any technique that I can use to beat it up..

@Binit: Could you please share with me your tactics to get a high score on Quantitative section..especially DS?

Thanks for you help!!
Linh

[Binit]

@Binit: Could you please share with me your tactics to get a high score on Quantitative section..especially DS?
Linh

Hey LinhV456,
Frankly speaking I am not the right person to suggest anything coz I didn't do any prep for quants (literally). I was once shocked to get 47 on a Mock, otherwise I always managed to get 49-50 on every occasion.
Let me reveal, the real test felt far easier than anything and its bcoz I had no sleep, or I might have done better.

Binit.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry that you had a disappointing test experience Binit. It sounds like you were experiencing some significant mental fatigue and stress. The fact that you mostly couldn't sleep the night before is obviously a significant symptom of stress.

This isn't all that surprising, given that you decided shortly before the test that something was wrong with your verbal prep but you didn't have time to fix it. That would really hurt your morale / confidence right before the test.

So think of this test as a dry run. You just needed to get in there, see what the whole experience was like, and give in to the nerves that first time. Now, you're going to take a bit of a break to rest your brain (you definitely sound burned out). Then, you're going to pick your studies back up again because you can do better.

Here's the bright side: First, you managed to keep the Q50 even with almost no sleep and serious stress / anxiety! That's amazing, and it's great to know that you can rely on this the next time. Ditto essay - you still got a 5! Second, you got a V24 on no sleep, while "struggling to keep yourself sane" (= massive mental fatigue), and with timing problems significant enough that you had to bail on an entire RC. If we can fix just the fatigue / stress / timing issues, you will get a better score next time. And that's without even getting better at the actual test content!

Take about 30 minutes to write down (or type) everything you remember about this test experience, start to finish. Not actual problems - things like, "I started to feel tired here" or "I was having to re-read things 2 or 3 times to take them in." I want positive things in there too, like "I saw this problem and recognized exactly what to do!"

Then, put that away and take a 1-week break. Do nothing GMAT-related. Seriously! You need to clear your brain out. During that timeframe, try this:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... mat-score/

Check back in with me in 1 week and tell me how you're feeling. Tell me whether you think you're ready to start again or whether you want to take another week off. Whenever you decide that you're ready again, summarize your written debrief notes for me (don't include details of specific problems - it's illegal to share that with others). Also, if you want to order the Enhanced Score Report for the real test, go ahead and do so and tell me what the stats say. (Not now - after your break!)
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... re-report/

We'll figure out a path forward at that point.

Linh, if you would like to discuss your own case with me, I encourage you to start your own post. (I can't keep track of two different students in the same thread - too many details to remember / too easy to mix up the two students!) Of course, feel free to ask Binit or any other students for advice, too.

[Binit]

Thanks so much, Stacey for ur reply, u really made me feel that I can do it. Feeling much better now.
I am writing the detailed debrief as u said. Being off of GMAT studies for almost 2 weeks I think I ll be up again within a couple of days. I loved the meditations u suggested and trying to make them a daily habit.
I ll write back to you soon.

Thanks again for all the support

Binit.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm glad. Enjoy your break and talk soon!

[Binit]

Hi Stacey,
I am back, after the break. Actually I started my studies couple of days back, but could not find enough time because of highly volatile stock markets.
The summary of my GMAT exp: (I tried but couldn't remember many question-specific details)

My test started ahead of the scheduled time as I reached the center very early. AWA was as usual, not very tough, but could note only 2 good points. Somehow, I managed to write a fairly big essay divided properly into sub-sections. No time for correction. (managed 5.0)
IR started with moderate problems, first 2 or 3 Qs I was keeping track of time per Q too, but probably from the 4th Q things started getting tougher. In a TA prob I did 2 part Qs rightly but cudn't find the 3rd one and spent little too much time. I was dreading the MSR, my weakest link and I could make nothing out of it and had to spend too much time. By this time the mental fatigue, from very less sleep started playing its role. I don't remember all the Qs but finished many of them half/full guessing, after spending a moderate time on each. (Poor 3.0 was inevitable).
Quants was cake walk except for Q. No. 2/3 which was tough but I solved confidently. I was checking time frequently not because of panic but because I was going little too fast. Because of fatigue I was finding some very easy Qs time consuming but I was all attentive and last 10-15 Qs I was left with ample time maybe 35-40 minutes. Finally 3 Qs left and nearly 10 min in hand. Now, I sighed and started doing all the steps very carefully. Last but one Q was the toughest I guess, I had to spend long time to be sure and I saw 1.33 on the timer for the last one, which I cracked. (Q50 was satisfactory, but 51 wouldn't surprise me).
Verbal section started with an average SC I did it in nearly 1.45 min. Next CR, CR, CR, CR - one was very big and consumed lot of my time. I noticed I was nearly 2 min negatively positioned when 1st RC came into picture. This was an easy RC with 3 Qs and I tried to save some time, maybe I did too but just after that a tough CR and series of CRs and again I was in negative time position. I thought to bail out on some Qs but was waiting for a tough RC probably. Second RC was easy too and I solved it fast enough. Series of SC Qs, seemed average Qs but I knew they were totally different than whatever I practiced in my prep. So, I wasn't actually 100% sure what I was doing. I kept telling myself 'go by rule, stick to the basics' - that was my mantra for tough SC. Finally a super tough looking RC came and I knew I had to bail out. I did it with 1 or 2 Q little bit educated guess. I felt little bit relaxed and started the last few Qs with some confidence gained. But CRs and SCs started becoming very cryptic, maybe my mental fatigue was the reason. Last RC was small and easy looking, I read it very fast and fully grasped. But Qs were tricky, so I preferred spending some time, because I wasn't finally happy with my CRs and SCs. I think after that there were 2/3 Qs left - all tough ones. For last 1CR and 1SC I had nearly 2.5 min and CR took most of the time. Last SC I did very fast, I remember something flashed in my mind and I answered and submitted hurriedly just before the timer crashes.

That was my experience summary. Sorry for such a long post, but I couldn't help especially in verbal I had to add some nuances to give u a hint of what I was up to. I think I have to start an improvement mission ASAP, as I have less than two months (I ll try to finish up before Oct end).
Waiting for ur reply and thanks a lot for all ur support.

Binit.

[StaceyKoprince]

Okay, so you got a 5.0 on the essay even though you only thought of 2 main flaws and you didn't have time to go back and proof it. I think we can safely assume that you're fine on the essay. All you need to do there is do the essay on practice tests so that you're practicing the full mental stamina aspect.

I was dreading the MSR, my weakest link and I could make nothing out of it and had to spend too much time.

Next time, guess quickly and spend that time elsewhere. You can easily guess randomly on 3 IR questions (up to 4, really) and still get a good-enough score (including getting some wrong that you did try to answer).

In a TA prob I did 2 part Qs rightly but cudn't find the 3rd one and spent little too much time

For the multi-part questions, I do recommend reading through all of the parts before starting to solve the first one. If you realize up front that you don't know how to address one part, then this one turns into a "guess randomly and move on" problem.

Next CR, CR, CR, CR - one was very big and consumed lot of my time.

Do you know what I'm going to say about that?

Skip! Most of the time, we really can tell within about 30 seconds that something is awful. Skip it. (well, guess - obviously, you can't skip.)

This was an easy RC with 3 Qs and I tried to save some time

What am I going to say here?

I'm asking you this because I want you to start being able to analyze this for yourself. So think about that before you keep reading.

Never try to save time on stuff you think is easy. That doesn't mean you need to use the full average time. But don't rush yourself; do whatever is normal for you. When you rush, all you do is give yourself a chance to make a careless mistake. If you'd cut yourself off on that hard CR from earlier, you wouldn't have felt the need to rush here.

Before I keep going, think about what you would tell me if I said, "Okay, Binit. What went wrong on verbal? What do you need to fix for next time?"

Starting with IR. You blew a lot of mental energy on a section and only ended up getting a 3 anyway. Next time, you're going to aim for a 5 and you're going to do a better job of knowing when to bail.

Quant. You're going to go for 50 again. You're going to make sure that you are NOT solving anything that's going to drain you for verbal. You don't need a 51; you've got to get verbal up.

Verbal. Better decision-making! (Sensing a theme? You drove yourself into the ground, mentally. Next time, you are going to start verbal with more mental energy (because of the changes you're going to make on IR and quant), plus you are going to let go on more questions / not wait so long into the section for the very hardest RC. You can guess randomly on 6-7 questions AND get a bunch more wrong and still get a good score.

Re-write your verbal debrief but, this time, frame it as what you want to do differently next time. (Use my comments above as a guide.) Then tell me what you think you need to do in practice to get your brain to the point that it's implementing the right decision-making mindset.

[Binit]

Hi Stacey,
First, my apologies for replying so late. I was not doing well last 20-25 days and during that time I basically revised all the basic concepts in SC, CR and RC thoroughly. So, I am ready now to take the plunge into final prep towards my retake.

What I need to change in my verbal?

First and foremost, the stress level. This time, I must be tackling verbal section in much more calm and composed state of mind. For this, 'conserve the energy' should be my mantra in IR and Quants.

Second, comprehension. I usually take longer to understand any verbal Q, because I have faults in my reading style. I started working on it: I started solving tough RCs applying key reading strategies (taking notes, summarizing paras etc.) and I am solving many tough Qs accurately, though taking more than 8 min for 3Q RC and 10 min for 4 Q RC. Your comments are really needed here, pls comment.

Third, I think bailing out Qs when required. This I have to internalize in the mock CATs.

Fourth, to go deeper in analyzing SC. I think I did bad on SC unexpectedly. During the test I wasn't actually able to spot the real error in many SCs, I think, and it was a totally new thing (never happened in mocks before).

I will follow your suggestions in AWA, IR and Quants and I really want to thank you for giving such a detailed analyses of the same.
Waiting for your comment. Thanks you so much.

Binit.

[StaceyKoprince]

First and foremost, the stress level. This time, I must be tackling verbal section in much more calm and composed state of mind. For this, 'conserve the energy' should be my mantra in IR and Quants.

How are you going to accomplish this? You can't just tell yourself "be calm and composed."

I have a couple of ideas, but I want to hear what you think, too.
Idea #1: meditate.
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... mat-score/

Idea #2: solidify in your brain / consciousness the idea that a good business person knows when to say, "No!"
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -the-gmat/

Second, comprehension. I usually take longer to understand any verbal Q, because I have faults in my reading style. I started working on it: I started solving tough RCs applying key reading strategies (taking notes, summarizing paras etc.) and I am solving many tough Qs accurately, though taking more than 8 min for 3Q RC and 10 min for 4 Q RC.

Know when to say no. Figure out which ones tend to be the ones that take you the longest and are also the least likely to pay off (relative to others) and cut those questions off quickly. (And not just on RC! This is true everywhere.)

Third, I think bailing out Qs when required. This I have to internalize in the mock CATs.

Exactly.

Fourth, to go deeper in analyzing SC. I think I did bad on SC unexpectedly. During the test I wasn't actually able to spot the real error in many SCs, I think, and it was a totally new thing (never happened in mocks before).

This is a common side effect of stress or mental fatigue (or both): to have something suddenly get bad / to feel like you can't do what you normally do. So if you can fix the overall mindset and know how to make better decisions throughout the section, this should get better.

What do you think?

[Binit]

Hi Stacey,

Idea #1: meditate.

Thanks for reminding me. I started these meditations a month back per ur suggestion but didn't continue. Actually, I am into meditation for past few years, and meditation taught me that things (good or evil) are as ephemeral as a movie. No doubt that's a very important learning in life but that doesn't give a drive to prep for GMAT Though, some guided meditation especially designed for the purpose of exam prep can help tremendously. Today I found a site that provides free meditation music for a number of purposes -> http://www.fragrantheart.com/cms/free-audio-meditations

Further, I need to focus on another very important thing: Know when to say 'no'. I'll keep u posted about my performance in a mock this weekend. I am using the 'time format' u suggested me earlier and that's helping me a lot. Thanks

I'm wrapping up now and shall write again shortly. Thanks.

Binit.