Need help - Need to improve verbal

[sagittarius.smrth1988]

Hi,

I am facing problems with verbal. I feel like i have hit a roadblock. I have given all 6 MGMAT with scores between 710 - 740, with quant ranging between 49-51 and verbal around 35-40. I wrote GMAT prep, and my scores were 710 (q - 50, v-35) and 740 (q - 51, v - 40). I wrote the last 4 MGMATs and both GMAT preps with official conditions, that is, with essay and IR section (IR score between 4-6) and with no pause except for the 8 min break. I don't really have an issue with timing, and i am around +/- 3 min mark during the test and usually finish up with 3-5 mins left.
For verbal, i studied OG, then SC Manhattan sentence correction and CR bible. Apart from them, i also went through SC grail.
The issue that i am facing is that i am not able to improve my verbal score. I am usually around the 35-40 mark, and get almost the same number of questions incorrect in all sections, around 3-4 questions wrong in each CR, RC and SC.
Before my last MGMAT and GMAT prep, i revised my weaker sections in verbal (sections with 50-75 % accuracy in MGMAT), but i got the same result.
I am planning to write GMAT in about 20-25 days, and usually get in around 2-3 hours of study a day. Would going back and doing OG with deeper analysis of each question help?
I am new to the blog, so please excuse if any of the guidelines are not followed in the question.

EDIT - I am really confused about the GMAT dates, according to my study plan i should be giving it in 20 days, but looking at the blocker in verbal should i postpone my date? Should i first book the date and then work on these problems, or should i first resolve these blockers and then book the date? Apart from verbal, i don't think i would need to spend heavy time on other sections except for regular practice to be in touch.

Thanks in advance.

[StaceyKoprince]

Why do you need a stronger verbal score? Your overall test scores are in the 700s. That's good enough for any school!

I'm more concerned that you say your verbal fluctuates from 35 to 40. 35 is the 75th percentile. 40 is the 90th percentile (which is actually one percentile point higher than Q50). Your goal should be to figure out what's causing that fluctuation so that you're scoring closer to 40 than 35. But you don't need to score even better than 40 - that's already an amazing score.

Use the below to analyze your most recent V35 and V40 MGMAT CAT(s). Try to figure out what the *difference* was in these 2 scores:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Also take a look at your trajectory throughout the section (did you have a string of questions wrong anywhere? more careless mistakes on questions that you did know how to do? any timing issues, either too fast or too slow?). Any of those things can pull your score down by the end of the section.

Also, how was your mental stamina? Did you do full official tests, including essay and IR? Did you have a higher performance on tests where you skipped the essay and/or IR, or gave yourself longer breaks than allowed, or anything like that?

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis and what you think you should do based on that analysis. We'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

Re: test dates, as a general rule, I advise people (if they can) to wait until they have the desired practice scores to book a date. (Some people run up against deadlines, obviously, and are forced to take the test by a certain date. Others benefit from scheduling a date because it helps to keep them from procrastinating. That's okay - you just want to be flexible enough to give yourself more time if you need it.)

So, because you're not happy with your score yet, that would mean waiting... but I still want to know your answer to my first question (why do you need a higher score?). :)

[sagittarius.smrth1988]

Hi Stacey,

Thanks for your response.
I did actually read through a couple of similar questions on the forum, and tried doing an analysis.
For CR, the average response time for right answers was 1:38 and for wrong answers it was 1:48. I observed i was least accurate in weaken the argument (75%, wrong answers averaging 1:07). One mistake that i repeated in CR was being a bit over confident and not reading through all the choices one by one. I tried going through OG, following the steps mentioned in this blog,
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm
For SC, time for correct answers : 1:13, and time for wrong answers : 1:34. I feel i get struck between the 2 best choices, also i usually try to analyse more than one options at the same time, which i feel is a lot more confusing than eliminating the answers one by one. I am currently trying this approach.
I feel RC is definitely the weakest section for me in verbal, for 700-800 level questions, the average time for right answers was about 2:36 and for wrong answers it was 3:26. I went through this blog,
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... p-passage/
and i realised that i have been attempting RC the wrong way, although i always try to look for the main point and topic of the passage and the purpose of each paragraph, i never take notes. Also, i felt since the answer has to be in this passage, if i read it again and again, i am bound to find the answer. Thus i have to do a lot of back and forth while attempting the questions. I will practice taking notes once i am done with SC.
Fluctuations in verbal,
MGMAT 1 - v35
MGMAT 2 - v37
GMAT Prep 1 - v 35
MGMAT 3 - v 38
MGMAT 4 - v 39
MGMAT 5 - v 40
MGMAT 6 - v 39
GMAT Prep 2 - v 40
As mentioned earlier, I gave only the first 2 tests without essay and IR sections. I gave the 3rd MGMAT without any breaks.
Wanting a higher score :- I am actually more concerned about not being able to improve the verbal scores even after putting in the effort. It was kind of frustrating not knowing what i was doing wrong. Also, i am afraid that an unlucky day can easily take away 20-30 points so i guess i would feel a lot better with a higher score in practice test.
I am trying to work on the above mentioned points. Please comment if you feel i am taking the wrong approach or if there is anything else that should be added.

[StaceyKoprince]

Okay, good analysis. Here are more RC resources:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... rehension/

There are several links in there to how to read passages, how to take notes, etc - go through all of those.

You're really good at CR - accurate and fast. It sounds like you might also be missing some of those due to careless mistakes (not considering each answer choice carefully). Cut yourself off faster on your weakest area (RC) and make sure you give yourself the needed time on CR (within reason, as always). Don't go fast on your strength and risk careless mistakes!!

For SC (and all of verbal actually), try doing this analysis to learn how to pick between those last 2 tempting answers:

1) why was the wrong answer so tempting? why did it look like it might be right? (be as explicit as possible; also, now you know this is not a good reason to pick an answer)
2) why was it actually wrong? what specific words indicate that it is wrong and how did I overlook those clues the first time?
3) why did the right answer seem wrong? what made it so tempting to cross off the right answer? why were those things actually okay; what was my error in thinking that they were wrong? (also, now you know that this is not a good reason to eliminate an answer)
4) why was it actually right?

Okay, your verbal score has mostly been going up - I'll just point out that for verbal, you're at a high level (39/40). The higher you are, the harder it gets to go even higher. I do understand the desire to give yourself some buffer space just in case things get a little rough on test day. :)

One way to get higher than 90th is to be able to answer the questions I put above. At that level, you have to know what kinds of traps they're setting for you on the most tempting wrong answers vs. the right answers. My guess is that you need to be doing that for CR and SC, and you need to shore up RC in general so that it's not as much of a weakness as it is right now (though it will still probably continue to be the weakest of the 3 areas).

Have you seen this for SC?
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... orrection/

[sagittarius.smrth1988]

Hi Stacey,

Thanks for the detailed response. I have started the doing the analysis for SC questions and have been trying not to rush through the CR questions. I practiced both the points while doing OG again, and i did feel a difference in accuracy (>90% in both). For RC, i have started taking down notes. I am trying the same techniques on some tougher questions now.
I read the blogs that you have mentioned, thanks!!!
I just have a small question, and i am not sure if i should start another thread for it, but if you could point out to some blogs that mention last 20 days preparation techniques, that would be really helpful. I have read this one,
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... an-part-1/

Thanks

[StaceyKoprince]

Glad the material is helping.

I only have the two articles on the last 2 weeks of prep (did you read the second half? It's linked in the 2nd paragraph of the article you linked). I don't have anything else for you, because... well, because really there isn't anything else. :)

Up until roughly two weeks before the real test, your goal is to try to get better / improve your weaknesses. Then, about two weeks before, you switch to a comprehensive review. So everything before then is still trying to tackle your weaknesses, as you've been doing all along. And then those two articles explain what to do for the comprehensive review and gameplanning during the last 2 weeks.

Of course, if you have any questions about those articles, let me know!