running out of verbal practice problems

[steph]

Hello, I have my GMAT coming up next month and I am running out of verbal questions to do :-(
I've done all the problems in the MGMAT red books, 11th Ed OG and VR book.
I am still scoring 60% in verbal so I would like to practice more.

Any advice on extra source of verbal (esp. sentence correction) probs?

Thanks so much in advance!

[RonPurewal]

this problem of "running out of questions" is rather common, especially among forum users.
the first response, rather than throwing more problems at you, is to check to make sure that you've done all the existing problems in enough depth.

can you do the following on EVERY problem:
* explain specifically why the correct answer is correct?
* explain, in general terms (i.e., referring to things like "parallelism" and "modifiers" rather than to the specific words in the problem), ALL of the reasons why each INCORRECT answer is INCORRECT? (for most SC problems, most of the incorrect answers will be incorrect for more than one reason.)
* classify the problem according to error type?
* (for CR problems) make up your own argument that uses the same logic as the argument in the problem?

if you can't, or haven't tried to, do ALL of these things for EVERY problem, then you should stick with the official guides until you have done so.
unlike quant - in which there are a clear "right" and a clear "wrong" on every issue - verbal is an area in which idiosyncratic preferences rule the day, especially when it comes to things like diction and idioms. therefore, you should be leery of using outside materials for verbal (much more than for quant), because even slight divergences from the gmat's standards for diction, usage, etc. can lead you down the wrong path.

if you have really "finished" the official guides - i.e., you can do every single one of the above things for every problem - then post back and we'll offer you some additional suggestions.

happy hunting.

[steph]

thanks so much ron! off i go :-)

[StaceyKoprince]

Great advice, Ron. Just want to add: if you can really do all those things successfully for every problem, you don't need anything more than OG, GMATPrep and maybe GMAT Focus. You'll have learned what you need to learn for the test.

This is why we always preach quality of study over quantity of study. :)

[Guest]

Great advice, Ron. Just want to add: if you can really do all those things successfully for every problem, you don't need anything more than OG, GMATPrep and maybe GMAT Focus. You'll have learned what you need to learn for the test.

This is why we always preach quality of study over quantity of study. :)

Yes definitely quality over quantity :-)! Thanks so much. GMATPrep is the CD rom that you get from the official GMAT right? What's GMAT Focus?

[StaceyKoprince]

GMAT Focus is available online (www.gmatfocus.com).