How to improve your verbal score?

[samstha]

Hi,
I have been preparing for GMAT for over 6 weeks now, My Quant is around 44-49 range whereas my verbal is hopping around low to mid 20s. I am not a native English speaker, but still it baffles me that my verbal score is so low. My target GMAT score is above 650. So in order to achieve that I really really need help to improve my verbal score. I have been practicing CR and SC questions, but I can't focus on RC so ( mostly I have been skipping them in practice, I cannot concentrate/ focus reading long passages and answering them in a timely manner, i.e <2 mins).

My SC is between 40-65% accuracy, My CR is between 30-60% accuracy, and my RC is also 30-60% accuracy. In some of the CR question I have answered exactly the opposite. For SC, I tend to answer the question better after reviewing a specific chapter but after a week or so later I am back to square 1. Similarly, in CR if I am focusing on a specific question type for few days I tend to do better, but once I jump from one question type to another I am all over the place. The questions I can Identify well are weaken, assumption, inference but again my accuracy with weaken is 50%.

I do have to admit that I have given verbal much less time for preparation than Quant. ( 80% or more was focusing and practicing math, and the rest was Verbal), I went through the MGMAT CR book and midway through SC. I thought after reading the CR book I was golden, but these GMAT type verbal questions are really hard and very confusing.

I really need help to have a solid study plan for Verbal, starting from level one. I would like to schedule a GMAT for mid to late December.

Thanks,
Sam

[StaceyKoprince]

On the plus side, you've primarily focused on quant so far, and you've done quite well with your quant score - good work!

On the minus side, you just haven't spent enough time / effort on verbal yet. It's going to take a lot of hard work to lift your score.

Unless you have a specific deadline, I wouldn't pick a desired test date quite yet. It's hard to predict how long it will take to achieve a significant score improvement, particularly for non-native speakers. I have been learning French for several years now and I find that some things are easier and some things are very hard - I'm never sure which it will be until I start studying.

The first thing I notice is that you have mostly been skipping RC. You can't afford to skip RC on the real test, so you really are going to have to start learning how to handle these.

What resources do you have available to you? You mention the MGMAT SC and CR guides. Do you also have the RC guide? Or an RC book from someone else? We also have a Foundations of Verbal guide that I think is especially helpful for non-native speakers (I wish I had something like this for French!)

Here's a resource but you'll likely need more than this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... rehension/

Next, you mention that you'll learn something and then forget it. Partially, this is because you just haven't been spending adequate time on verbal. I also suspect, though, that you are trying to learn every last detail of everything. It's better to concentrate on the most common things and forget about the rest (for now).

For CR, concentrate on the 4 question types that you are most likely to see: Find the Assumption, Strengthen, Weaken, and Inference / Draw a Conclusion. (Note: some people call the Complete the Argument passage its own type of question, but it's not. Complete the Argument is just a way of writing the argument - but the question type still falls into one of the existing categories. These are usually Find the Assumption or Strengthen questions.)

Here is a resource:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... reasoning/

Make yourself a study cheat sheet. For each of those 4 main question types, you should be able to say:
For each separate type, write down:
(1) how you recognize it (some characteristics of the question stem)
(2) what kind of information you expect to find in the argument (premises? conclusion? should you brainstorm assumptions?)
(3) what the goal is for that type of question; characteristics of correct answers
(4) characteristics of trap answers / how they're going to try to trick you

You want to get to the point where I could say "How do Strengthen questions work?" and you could explain to me all 4 points above. (Don't expect to do this overnight! And don't just memorize it - you have to understand it at a level that you could explain to someone else.)

Now, you may get to a point that you feel totally comfortable with those 4 type and you want to learn more. At that point, then, you can start to add some of the minor question types.

Alternatively, you may get to the point where you do feel mostly comfortable with those 4 and you're fine with that - you don't want to go further. That's fine too, as long as your score is where you want it to be or you have the ability to improve something for one of the other question types (SC, RC).

The same holds in general for SC: concentrate on the major rules and grammar areas, but don't try to learn every last weird little nitpicky rule. Learn what makes sense to you and don't worry about the other stuff. When you get to the point that you feel comfortable with what you know, you can then decide to add more or to leave your level where it is.

This might help on SC:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... em-part-1/

[oanas86]

Dear All,

I face the exact same problem. non-native scoring the exact same thing.
Perhaps it comes from a lack of concentration - figures tend to keep me more on track, whereas I might start daydreaming during the Verbal section for a couple of seconds, loosing my focus.

It is incredibly frustrating to score okay on Quant and fail miserably on Verbal.

If I solve CR and RC separately I score higher, 65-75%, but during the test I get a low score on CR. SC I'm at 50% both separately and on test day and I started to become comfortable with it, I'm non-native after all and will not make it 100% right, but CR and RC are logic questions...

[StaceyKoprince]

The verbal section is also last, when you're getting mentally tired. We all feel like daydreaming at that point.

If you'd like to get some more targeted advice, take a look at the post that I put up for the other student. Answer those same questions (what materials are you using, etc). (Note: do this in a new thread, so that we can keep your case separate from the other student's.)

For CR, the part where I talk about a study cheat sheet, see this article:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2015/12/ ... stion-type