I have studied for the GMAT in the past over a
period of several months and took the test only
to receive a disappointing score. I quit studying
for the GMAT for a year and now I am going to
take another stab at it again and hopefully do
better.
I have started out with Critical Reasoning and have
timed myself. I read in the section in the MGMAT book,
do the problems in the MGMAT and review them,
and then do the questions in the OG that pertain to
that section (Find the Assumption, Draw a Conclusion,
etc.) and review them. For me to read the passage
and do a sketch it takes me on average 2:10. If the
passage is short and I can easily understand it I can
do it in around 1:30. After I read through the question
and answers and then select an answer I am usually
around 3:23. After all this though there is no
guarantee that I will get the answer right.
My first question is should I even be diagramming it,
which seems to help me comprehend it better, even if it
takes so long? Me second question is should I
first try to work on getting the answer right or completing
the problem in under 2 minutes? Thank you.
GMAT Forum
2 postsPage 1 of 1
- JonathanSchneider
- ManhattanGMAT Staff
- Posts: 477
- Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 5:40 am
- Location: Durham, NC
Re: Speed & Quality - diagramming
Sorry to just be getting to this now, but I'll reply here for those who may be in a similar spot.
While diagramming is a bit difficult to learn at first, I am a firm believer that a good diagramming practice can SAVE you time on the test, while boosting your accuracy. To this day, I diagram on every single CR problem. You might want to practice how to diagram more effectively: aka use fewer words, but get a clearer sense of the real structure and logic of the argument. This requires practice, but diagramming can help you to focus that practice. Ask yourself in your review: how could I have diagrammed this more effectively? etc.
As to the question re: timing: I think it is important that you have a sense of your timing as you move through questions. You do not want to solely focus on accuracy until shortly before the exam and only then focus on timing. You need to think about timing from the outset. This does NOT mean that you have to cut yourself off at 2 minutes for every question in your practice, especially when you first start diagramming, but it DOES mean that you should always practice with a stopwatch, so at the very least you know how far over time you are, so that you can know where you need to speed up/adjust.
While diagramming is a bit difficult to learn at first, I am a firm believer that a good diagramming practice can SAVE you time on the test, while boosting your accuracy. To this day, I diagram on every single CR problem. You might want to practice how to diagram more effectively: aka use fewer words, but get a clearer sense of the real structure and logic of the argument. This requires practice, but diagramming can help you to focus that practice. Ask yourself in your review: how could I have diagrammed this more effectively? etc.
As to the question re: timing: I think it is important that you have a sense of your timing as you move through questions. You do not want to solely focus on accuracy until shortly before the exam and only then focus on timing. You need to think about timing from the outset. This does NOT mean that you have to cut yourself off at 2 minutes for every question in your practice, especially when you first start diagramming, but it DOES mean that you should always practice with a stopwatch, so at the very least you know how far over time you are, so that you can know where you need to speed up/adjust.
2 posts Page 1 of 1