Scratch Paper on GMAT

by **msj** Fri May 23, 2008 8:58 pm

I tend to use a lot of scratch paper during the Quant section my practice CATS and was wondering how much is actually given to GMAT takers these days. The last thing I want to do is raise my hand and wait for someone to bring me more paper. I've heard varying numbers. The most common I've heard is four pages, front and back (eight sides total) for each of the three sections. This should be more than enough, but is this really the amount provided per section?

by **ADBing331** Mon May 26, 2008 9:00 am

There is no paper or pens allowed on testing day. You will have a booklet with laminated paper and a dry erase marker. Check out this link for more details: http://www.manhattangmat.com/storeitems ... 31&catid=8

by **StaceyKoprince** Mon May 26, 2008 11:07 am

Thanks, ADBing331. The laminated notepad you'll get will be 5 legal-sized sheets (so it's larger than regular sheets of paper). The front face of the first sheet will be covered with instructions, so you'll have 9 faces on which to work.

9 faces of legal-sized paper should be adequate for one section of the test for anyone (and that sounds like it will be enough for you from what you wrote above). For others reading this: for math, that means you'll have to be able to do about 4 problems per face. If you can't confine yourself to that on average, I'd suggest that you take a look at your scratch paper habits - you may not be organizing your work optimally and that could really cost you on test day. (In fact, it's a good idea for everyone to take a look at how we use our scratch paper. I know I tend to write sort of all over the place unless I'm really careful to be orderly and organized, and sometimes I make mistakes simply b/c I'm not being "linear" enough in my work.)

by **Guest** Mon May 26, 2008 1:52 pm

So from what you guys are saying, it seems like they give a booklet, or do they give out loose sheets?

by **StaceyKoprince** Thu May 29, 2008 12:05 am

It's a booklet, spiral bound at the top (so it's equally easy to use for lefties).

by **strongbow** Thu May 29, 2008 10:46 am

if we run out this sheet/book will we be provided with another one on request?

by **GMAT Fever** Thu May 29, 2008 7:30 pm

skoprince Wrote:It's a booklet, spiral bound at the top (so it's equally easy to use for lefties).

Stacy so how do you propose writing timing benchmarks or a progress grid if it is spiral bound? Wouldnt it be a hassle to write it on the first page and once you have filled up that page, you would have to keep flipping back to it depending on where you are in the booklet to gauge progress?

Do you have any alternative suggestions? Thanks!

by **rfernandez** Fri May 30, 2008 5:26 am

Personally, I do not use a progress grid to keep track of my time. If you've been practicing under time constraints throughout, you should have a good feel for what 2 minutes is for the quant questions. This allows me to "check in" on my timing at the end of every 5 questions. So at the start of question 6, I should be about 10 minutes into the exam, at the start of question 11, I should be about 20 minutes into the exam, etc. If I'm falling behind, I tell myself to speed up on the next set of 5 questions so that I can get back on track.

For verbal, I check at the end of every 8 questions. I should be spending about 15 minutes per 8-question chunk.

Also, to clarify a point from an earlier post: you're given a wet-erase marker, not a dry-erase one. It makes a big difference, since you can't just wipe something off with your hand if you want to erase it. I guess you could use saliva, but that's gross. You're better off practicing with a laminated, quad-ruled legal pad (available at our website) with the same wet-erase marker (also available at our website).

Rey