GMAT Strategy

If you wish to score well on your GMAT, you will need study and practice consistently, over the course of weeks and months. On average, GMAT aspirants require about three months to to fully understand the complex GMAT syllabus and the best way to tackle the exam questions. On course, these preparations will only bear fruit if you work in such a way as to maximize your efficiency. You must be sure to maintain a day to day schedule, so that you can make consistent progress. Here we have prepared a week long schedule that covers the best approach to GMAT preparation and will make it much easierto absorb the GMAT topics,manage you time well,and build your exam taking skills.

A Typical Week of GMAT Prep

As you can see, this schedule breaks your week into three blocks, Monday-Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The purpose behind this division is to separate your week into different modes of study, thus allowing yourself to approach each distinct aspect of your preparation at the most convenient and appropriate time while devoting sufficient time to each.

Monday - Friday: The bulk of your week will be devoted to concept-building, and practice. These two elements are the cornerstones of GMAT prep and will need the most time. This part of the week must be devoted to the basics, understanding the concepts through study and practice on smaller exercises. Over these five days, watch your GMAT concept videos, study your concept and reference books, and go through your practice exercises.

Saturday: In this schedule, we have reserved Saturdays for revision. On this day, you must go over all that you have learned between Monday and Friday and consolidate the information. Redo everything that you got wrong during the week and pay special attention to whatever areas you feel that you are weakest in. If you are utilizing the Experts' Global software for your GMAT preparation, this is the time for you to use the "Repeat Incorrect", and "Flag" features, and go through the notes you made on your "Stickies". Also be sure to revise your conceptual materials, as well.

Sunday: Sunday is a day for putting what you have learned to practice. Every week, use this day to take one full-length mock test and thoroughly analyze your performance through analytics. This type of regular practice will not only help you solidify your understanding of the GMAT concepts and build your strategy, but it will also help develop your familiarity with the GMAT and build the type of stamina needed to give a three-hour long test.

By following this basic pattern, you should be able to achieve swift improvement in your GMAT skills.

The GMAT is known to be exceptionally difficult, even by the standards of other international competitive examinations. While the GMAT syllabus is challenging, and the test format is grueling, it is entirely possible to master them. To do so, you will have to adopt certain best practices, and here we will be discussing the importance of a particularly important one – the weekly, full-length mock test.

Why Regular Testing is Important

Many GMAT aspirants choose to take a bottom heavy approach to their GMAT preparation, saving the testing phase for the very end. This is a rather poor way to go about your preparation. While it may seem logical to first understand the syllabus perfectly and build up one's answering skills before taking up the highest level of practice, the skills directly related to giving the full-length test must be built up with regular practice. If you feel anxious about giving a full-length test, put those thoughts out of your mind. One of the key reasons to adopt a weekly test taking approach is to build up your confidence. Now, let us cover the four core GMAT prep areas in which regular test taking will help you.

A - Stamina Building: Giving the GMAT requires four hours of performing at peak concentration, and to do so you will need a great deal of mental stamina. Just as with physical stamina, the best way to build mental stamina is through practice. Taking a full length, GMAT level test every week will help you acclimate to the rigors of GMAT testing.

B - Keeping in Touch with all GMAT Topics: During your preparations, you might find that as you work on one part of the syllabus, you loose touch with topics that you worked on earlier. Taking a full-length test every week will force you to keep on revising all the topics, ensuring that you do not lose progress.

C - Developing Test Taking Strategies: While there are any number of excellent test-taking strategies that we can suggest, every individual GMAT aspirant has his or her own needs and strengths, meaning that no one strategy can fit every one. Regularly taking a full-length GMAT mock test will help you come up with your own test-taking strategies, such as what order to attempt the sections in.

D - Developing Balance between Speed and Accuracy: Finally, regular test-taking will help you develop an approach that will let you maximize both your speed and accuracy.

If you have begun your GMAT preparations, or are even just planning to do so, you might have already come across one of the many bits of misinformation on the GMAT. It is very important to avoid these myths, as they might lead you astray and complicate your preparations. Here, we will cover six of the most common GMAT myths, so that you know what to look out for.

GMAT Myths

1 – The most impactful myth that you might have come across has to do with the overall importance of the GMAT. This myth states that the importance of the GMAT, in the admissions process, has been overblown and that it is entirely possible to secure an interview call, based entirely on the strength of your essays and overall profile. This belief is entirely inaccurate. The truth is that your GMAT score is one of the most important factors influencing how your profile will be judged by the application committee. Give the GMAT its due respect.

2 – You may have also been told by someone that the GMAT’s difficulty varies across geographies, and that you can improve your chances to secure a good score by taking the GMAT in a smaller country, where it will be easier. This notion is entirely baseless, as the difficulty of the GMAT is uniform, no matter where you take it.

3 – Similarly, some people insist that there is a heavy period in July, August, and September wherein the difficulty of the GMAT is higher, owing to the higher number of students who attempt the exam in those months. Thus, this myth reasons that one would be best served by taking the exam in February. This myth is also entirely baseless; the GMAT’s difficulty does not vary with the time of the year or the relative number of students taking it. Do not waste your time trying to gain an advantage through creative scheduling or travelling to a different geography. Pick the schedule and geography that is most convenient for you.

4 – On the GMAT, your answers to one third of the questions will not count towards your final scores, a these questions are dummy questions that have been included to measure their difficulty. Remember, despite the high percentage of dummy questions of the test, you must treat every question as if it was real. Contrary to what the rumors might say, it is quite impossible to distinguish the dummy questions from the genuine ones.

5 – Another pervasive myth, borne of the GMAT’s adaptive nature, is that the last few questions do not matter at all. This is an inaccurate view of GMAT scoring; if you are aiming for a high score, every single question matters.

6 – The last myth that we shall cover here is also one of the most important ones. Many GMAT aspirants choose not to retake the test and improve their scores because they believe that it is better to apply with a low score on your first attempt than a high score after multiple attempts. This is not the case, and if you feel that another GMAT attempt will allow you to significantly better your score, always make that attempt. For example, if you get 680 in three attempts and 710 in four attempts, the latter will give you a better chance.

Considering the challenging nature of the GMAT, it is only expected that you might feel trepidation as you gear up to finally take your exam. At this time, it will be critical for you to maintain a positive mindset that will allow you to work with maximum efficiency and keep up your full concentration. Here, we will discuss how to maintain this effective mindset.

Avoid Stress

Although it may seem counterintuitive, at this stage you must remember to not worry about the GMAT too much. The key to maintaining a healthy attitude towards the GMAT is to manage your stress levels. High stress levels will only serve to cloud your judgement. The best way to avoid excessive stress is to keep the GMAT in perspective. Your exam is not a matter of life and death, and there are far greater challenges in the world.

Treat the GMAT Like a Mock Test

A very good way to avoid stress is to think of the real GMAT as if it was just another mock test. If you have followed Experts’ Global’s recommendations, up to this point, you will have already given 15 full-length mock tests. The reason we suggest this approach is not only to allow our students the opportunity to solidify their learnings and develop their own test taking strategies but also to acclimatize them to the idea of giving the GMAT. So, maintaining the same mindset that you had on the mock tests will help you stay calm and collected.

Additionally, it would be best for you to stick to the strategies and approach that you utilized on your mocks, on the day of the exam. This includes the order, time, strategy, etc. Avoid trying anything fancy or new on the day of your exam. For example, the section order, checking the answers multiple times spending extra time on the first few questions, or even the Red Bull experiment. Try out these strategies in your home conditions first, and once you have found whatever combination works best for you apply it on the real GMAT. Remember, the GMAT is not the time to experiment, it is the time for tried and tested methods.

Experts’ Global’s GMAT prep strategy has long since stressed the importance of taking regular mock tests.We even offer 15 full, length mock tests. As mentioned elsewhere, we have made regular testing such an integral part of our prep strategy, so that the students can develop a good sense of what giving the real GMAT will be like. However, , sometimes, even the most well-prepared candidates arrive at the exam hall to find that the test seems strange and unfamiliar to them. There are a number of factors that can lead to this situation, and here we will cover how to move forward if the GMAT begins to feel alien.

Why the Test Might Feel Different

There are a number of ways that the test may feel different from what you are used to on the mocks. You may find the level of difficulty of the questions to be significantly higher or lower or it may feel as if the concepts you remember from your preparation are not applying. For some candidates, the questions may simply “feel” off. If you find yourself in this situation, do not worry; it is not uncommon. As the GMAT has a “No Repeats” policy, it is possible that you did multiple versions of the official guide, or you may have repeated some other material. The repetition of questions might have made the tests seem easier to you. Of course, as the real GMAT never repeats questions, you may find it to be more difficult.

How to Tackle the Situation

First of all, please understand that if your test seems more difficult than you thought it would be that is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, on the GMAT, getting more difficult questions is a likely indicator of doing well. If you just hang in there, you will find that the test is not really as strange as you thought and the concepts you learned will soon start applying. Another important thing to remember is that the GMAT penalizes incomplete tests more than a few wrong answers. Thus, you must make it a priority to answer every single question, even if you have to guess blindly in the last few seconds. Just stay calm and handle each question one at a time, and you will be fine.

When giving your GMAT, there are a number of practical considerations that you should keep in mind that will help you perform to the best of your abilities. One such consideration is making use of the optional breaks allotted to all GMAT candidates. Here, we will cover how to utilize these breaks to enhance your performance.

Making Use of the GMAT Breaks

As a GMAT candidate, you will be allowed two, separate eight-minute breaks, and we advise that you take them both. These breaks represent opportunities to refresh yourself, mentally and improve your focus. Thus, you should not spend these breaks analysing your performance. Rather, use the time to relax and reorient yourself. At this juncture, going over your performance would only be a hinderance, distracting you and bringing down your performance. Remember, on the GMAT it is always best to keep moving forward.

These breaks will also be instrumental in preventing fatigue from settling in, a common problem on tests as long as the GMAT. Bring some food and drink with you to replenish your energy; you will be provided with a personal locker that you will be able to store them in, alongside your other personal items. Try to bring something that can provide you with quick energy and will be easy to bring along, such as an energy bar of some sort. Of course, this is a matter of personal preference; bring whatever you think will energize you most effectively. At the same time, be sure not to overindulge. If you eat too much or too fast, you might upset your stomach and distract yourself even more.

As you try to relax, please remember not to let the serious atmosphere of the GMAT centre affect you. There will be stringent security measures that you will have to go through whenever you enter the exam room, such as fingerprint scanners, and the staff is likely to be unsmiling and very focused on their tasks. Do not concern yourself with these things and just focus on the test.

Finally, as should go without saying, be sure to return to the exam on time. The test will restart automatically, as soon as the eight minute’s are over and any time that you are not there will be considered lost. Should this be the case, it will only serve to increase your test anxiety.

Here, we will be covering what to do if you find yourself stuck on a GMAT question. Despite what you may believe, being too determined to solve a question can become a problem. Considering the immense time pressure of the GMAT, you must be strategic with how you allocate your attention. If a question is taking too long to solve, it might be best to move on.

When You are Stuck

While giving the GMAT, you must be aware of the sunk cost fallacy. Do not think that if you have spent two and a half minutes on a question, you absolutely must answer it or the time will have been wasted. This is a poor approach to take on the GMAT. As a rule, if you have taken a full two minutes on a question, it is time to mark an answer randomly and move on. Remember, easier questions are waiting for you and you can use them to make up for the question you had to guess. It is entirely possible to get the 99th percentile, even if you get up to 20% of the questions wrong, so prioritize finishing the test.

Useful Tips

If you have to resort to marking an answer at random, keep these tips in mind to maximize your chances of choosing right. If you are marking a DS question randomly, mark C, not E. Remember, "Question cannot be answered" is not the same thing as "I cannot answer the question". In the case of sentence correction questions, mark the shortest answer choice. Of course, you may have already eliminated that option, by the time you come to guessing. If so, go for the shortest among the remaining answer choices. Conversely, in RC and CR questions, go for the longest among the remaining answer choices. In PS questions, try to find an answer choice that is "0", as this option has been observed to have a slightly higher likelihood of being correct.

At this point, it must be stressed that these tips are not the main strategy points for answering GMAT questions; they are only for situations where you have exhausted the possibility of determining a definitive answer and must resort to guesswork. Do no make use of these tips, unless you absolutely have to.

The GMAT is an exam, on which success depends on a strong understanding of the fundamentals and a reliable test-taking strategy. However, in addition to the major strategy, it can be beneficial to keep a few tips ready that can increase your effectiveness. Let us go over some of these tips right now.

Useful Tips

As the GMAT’s scoring is adaptive, the questions can have a greater impact on your score. Thus, you must pay especially close attention to the first ten quant and verbal questions. Remember, if the test seems difficult at first, it is most likely a sign that you are doing well. When the test is too easy, it's a bigger problem; when you really need to sweat, it's often a good sign. Stay calm and take the test one question at a time.

On the same note, do not judge your work as you give the exam. Only focus on the question at hand, one at a time. Have faith that if you keep doing well, from wherever you are in the test, you can get a good score. Do not give up, never give up. As mentioned elsewhere, do not stick to any one question for too long. If a question is taking you more than two minutes to solve, mark it at random and move on. Remember, it is possible to score in the 99th percentile on the GMAT, even if you get approximately 20% of the questions incorrectly. Do not fall prey to the sunk cost fallacy.

If the test happens to feel different to you, do not worry, that is perfectly normal. If it seems that the software is throwing particularly difficult questions at you, it is probably because you are doing well. Just hang in there and soon you will find that all you have learned is applying and that nothing is alien.

Finally, make sure to attempt every single question. On the GMAT, the penalty for not completing a test is higher than for getting a few answers wrong. Thus, if you must, be prepared to mark the answers blindly, in the last few seconds. Mark the shortest answers in the SC questions and the longest in the RC questions, as they are just a bit more likely to be correct.

A very wise saying that you should keep in mind, as you sit down for your GMAT is, “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.” As a GMAT candidate, you must be absolutely meticulous in your preparations, and this includes planning for negative eventualities. Due to an off day or a stroke of bad luck, you might find yourself struggling to complete the GMAT in time; however, this does not necessarily mean that you cannot get a score. If you keep a level head and follow some simple guidelines, it is entirely possible to navigate a GMAT time crunch a secure a high score.

Tips

The core of the advice that we will be sharing here is that the GMAT penalizes leaving the test incomplete more than it does a few incorrect questions, as mentioned elsewhere on this page. Therefore, even if it requires a degree of blind guesswork, you must make sure to complete your entire exam. In such a situation, one very useful trick is to , pick the shortest answer choice on the SC questions and the longest one on the RC and CR questions. Statistically, these are just a bit more likely to be correct.

SOS

Unfortunately, sometimes the situation may be serious enough that you will have no chance of completing the entire test. In such cases, you must strategically choose which answers to skip, so as to minimize the damage. In the verbal section, you can skip one RC, to have more time for the questions that follow. In the quant section, you can skip around three lengthy to read questions. In the IR, it would be best for you to skip a multi-source reasoning question.

That having been said, please remember that these strategies are emergency strategies, only to be applied if you feel that you will not be able to complete the GMAT. Do not treat the answer choice length related tricks, as guidelines. More importantly, never skip a question unless you absolutely must. These are back-up, damage control strategies, only for the worst case scenario.

As mentioned several times on this page, it is important to not stick to any one question for too long, on the GMAT. In fact, you can only devote a maximum of two minutes to any given question, if you intend to complete the exam. To avoid the penalty of missing answers, you must mark the questions that you cannot complete, at random. Here, we will take a look at some methods you can use to improve your guesswork.

Logical Elimination

To improve your chances of getting the right answer, you must try to eliminate as many answer choices as possible, before you guess, as quickly as possible. Here are a few examples of logical shortcuts that you can use to eliminate answer choices swiftly.

Example 1 - If there is a question that is asking you about the area of any diagram with an arc in it, the correct answer choice is likely to include a pi symbol. Thus, any choices that do not can be eliminated.

Example 2 - Consider a problem-solving question that involves the numbers 12, 15, 10, and 8, and the answer choices include 7 and 13, those choices can be eliminated, as they are awkward. Given the numbers involved in this question, and especially if it involves multiplication and division, we can expect the answer to be a multiple or factor of one of the given numbers.

Example 3 - Choices with an extreme verbal tone can be eliminated in all verbal questions. The GMAT maintains a moderate, business communication tone and strives to avoid offending anyone from any cultural background. So, any answer choice that employs extreme language is likely to be incorrect.

Example 4 - Irrelevant answer choices in CR and RC questions can be eliminated. If the information presented in the answer choice has nothing to do with the passage or question asked, then it is definitely not the correct choice.

Example 5 - Extremely long answer choices in sentence correction questions, as unlikely to be correct and can be eliminated. The GMAT favors brevity.

Example 6 - When you are in a hurry, awkward-sounding answer choices can also be dismissed in the sentence correction questions.

Once you have eliminated all the incorrect options that you can, make an educated guess from among the remaining choices, and move on.

Additional Tips

When it comes to DS questions, it is very important to remember that “Question cannot be answered.” Is very different from “I cannot answer the Question.” Thus, be careful when you are thinking of answering E, it might actually by C. In SC questions, mark the shortest answer choice, these have a slightly higher chance of being correct. Similarly, in RC and CR questions, choose the longest answer choice. In PS questions, look for answer choices with a 0 in them.

Above all, do not treat these tips as actual test-taking strategies. The use of these strategies is to drive an extra point of luck in your favour while making guesses. Ideally, you should not have to use them at all. Only a solid understanding of GMAT fundamentals will help you achieve a good score.

Here, we will provide a recap of all the aspects of GMAT strategy that we have covered, on this page. This recap will also include a final list of preparation and test-takin tips.

Agenda

In this section, we shall cover the final preparation tips that you should employ, ten days before the GMAT, two days before the GMAT, two hours before the GMAT, during the GMAT, and at the end of the GMAT.

Ten Days Before the GMAT

About ten days before the date of your GMAT, you should take up another full-length, official mock test. The purpose behind this step is to understand your level of preparedness. Once you have given the test, reflect on your score and performance, honestly, and try to determine whether you are ready for the GMAT. If you are not, it would be advisable to reschedule your GMAT.

Hopefully, your final mock test will confirm that you are ready to proceed with your GMAT, as planned. Once you are certain that you can give your exam on the planned date, start watching your routine and regulating your sleep cycle. Make sure that you always remain active, during the time of day that you have scheduled your exam for. For example, if you have scheduled your exam for the 9-4 slot, start getting up early and being mentally agile during that time of the day.

During your preparations, over these last ten days, stick to the official questions. Work on the official guides, verbal/math reviews, question pack, and GMATPrep exam pack. If possible, also take the opportunity to build up the stamina needed for the four hour exam. Try to study in periods of four hours to get habituated to such long sessions.

Two Days Before the GMAT

Two days before the GMAT, you should start winding down your preparations. You have prepared well, and the work of the last two days will not affect your score much. Stressing out over the exam could have aa negative impact on your performance, however. As you make your final preparations, avoid stress and stay calm. Revise your short notes, take another official test, and decide what score you are going to accept/cancel on the GMAT.

On the last day, before your GMAT, just focus on relaxing. You should take it easy, to make sure that you are at full energy for your exam. Of course, some people might feel even more stressed out by the idea of not studying. If this applies to you, go ahead and study. However, you must be sure to avoid tiring yourself out. Spend this day unwinding by doing whatever relaxes you, such as watching a movie or getting out in the fresh air. You might also want to use this time to take a trip to the GMAT center, if you have not been there yet, so that you understand exactly how long it will take to get there. Finally, be sure to get a good night’s sleep; aim to get a full ten hours.

Two Hours Before the GMAT

Before leaving to take your GMAT, make sure that you are carrying two forms of valid id. In many areas, you will need to present your passport. For example, in India, passports are the only form of identification that is accepted at GMAT centers. Although it is not mandatory, you might want to carry a printout of the appointment confirmation email, as well. To avoid any physical discomfort that might distract you from the GMAT, dress in something light and comfortable and avoid tight, restricting, or overly warm clothes. Additionally, carry a drink and a light snack to consume during your breaks. You will be assigned a locker there, to store your personal effects.

You might also want to report to the GMAT center half an hour early, to be safe. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you will be considered a no-show. Of course, do not arrive too early, as waiting around may cause you to become more anxious. If you do arrive early, check with the administrator if it would be possible to begin the test a few minutes, ahead of time. Please bear in mind that while you might find the atmosphere of the test center to be serious and oppressive, you should nor get stressed by it. You will be under camera surveillance and will have to undergo a fingerprint scan every time you enter or exit the testing area. Additionally, you may come across other students who appear sad or distressed. Don't let any of that bother you, and just focus on your performance. Furthermore, ignore the non-smiling faces of the staff; they are doing their jobs, you just focus on yours.

Just Before the Test

Make sure to use the facilities, right before the exam begins, to minimize the need for breaks. Stay hydrated during the test, but do not consume excess liquid. Have the names of five schools ready, where you wish to forward your score. Include the names of your back-up and practical schools, for now. If you get a good score, then forward it to your dream schools. As you enter the test-taking area, think about your parents, your inspirations, or whatever else motivates you.

Mindset

Beginning the GMAT with the right mindset is key to performing well. The most important factor is to avoid stress and maintain a healthy perspective. Remember, no one will die if you do not score well. In fact, it would be best if you approached the GMAT, as just another mock test. Assuming that you have rigorously been taking the practice tests, doing so should put you in an appropriately serious mindset.

Also, do not try anything new or fancy on the GMAT, itself. Use the same section order that has worked for you on the mocks and avoid checking your answers several times, spending extra time on the first few questions, etc. If you have to try Red Bull, try it during your mocks, and see if it works for you: do not try it during the real GMAT.

During the Test

As you begin your GMAT, pat close attention to the first ~10 questions of the quant and verbal sections. Later, if you start finding the questions to be a bit difficult, do not worry. If the GMAT is making you sweat, it just means that you are doing well and the software is throwing the difficult questions at you. In fact, it is a greater cause for concern, if the test feels too easy. Simply take the questions one at a time, and do not get intimidated. Have faith that if you do well on the questions from here on out, wherever you are in the test, you will do well.

Perhaps the most important tip that we have to share with you is to not spend too much time on any one question. If a question takes you more than two minutes, mark an answer at random and move on. Remember, you can score in the 99th percentile on the GMAT, even if you get ~20% of the questions incorrectly. The penalty for leaving the GMAT incomplete is much higher than the penalty for getting a few questions wrong. Thus, you must make sure to answer every question, even if you have to mark a few at random.

Finally, we would also like to address the situation, wherein the GMAT feels different to what you were expecting. It is perfectly natural for a candidate to feel that the GMAT is different, somehow. You might find that the concepts do not seem to apply, the difficulty level is different, or the questions just "feel" different. Many students feel this way because while taking the GMAT mock tests they encounter some repeat questions, and this causes the real GMAT, which never has repeat questions, to seem unfamiliar. You might also find the test strange, due to simple exam pressure or because you are doing well, causing the system to ask you more difficult questions. Just hang in there and soon you will realize that all that you have learned is applying and the test is not alien.

Utilizing the Breaks

During your GMAT, you will be allowed two, eight-minute breaks. We suggest that you use both of them but not to analyze your performance. Rather, take that time to relax and prepare yourself for the next leg of your GMAT. Have the food and drink that you bought but do not overeat. As you return to your seat, you will have to go scan yourself in with the fingerprint scanners, again. Do not let this stress you out, and crucially, be back on time. The test will re-start after the stipulated time and if you do not get back by then, you will lose time and that may just stress you out further.

End of the Test

As you prepare to take a look at your score, take a moment to think about your loved ones. With any luck, you will have gotten a good score. If the score is acceptable to you, take an unofficial printout of the result and celebrate with a nice meal.

Please keep in mind that securing a good GMAT score is only the first step of your journey. So, take a minute to pat yourself on the back for the effort that you have put in and start thinking about your applications. Remember, it is never too early to start application work.

All the Best!

In this section, we will go over Experts’ Global’s Read Vertically Compare Horizontally approach for GMAT sentence correction. We will be doing so, through the live example that you can see below. Please go through this example and the associated explanation to understand this method, fully.

A Labor Department study states that the numbers of women employed outside the home grew by more than a thirty-five percent increase in the past decade and accounted for more than sixty-two percent of the total growth in the civilian workforce.

A - numbers of women employed outside the home grew by more than a thirty-five percent increase
B - numbers of women employed outside the home grew more than thirty-five percent
C - numbers of women employed outside the home were raised by more than thirty-five percent
D - number of women employed outside the home increased by more than thirty-five percent
E - number of women employed outside the home was raised by more than a thirty-five percent increase

All GMAT sentence correction questions take the following format - a mother sentence with an underlined portion, followed by the five answer choices. Your first step, in solving these questions, should be to read the mother sentence. That having been said, do not read the entire thing at once; once you reach the underlined portion, come down to the answer choices. Read the first answer choice, which will always be the underlined portion of the mother sentence, and the following four, in order. It is during your reading of the answer choices that you must work to differentiate between them. As you read the answer choices horizontally, keep comparing them vertically and make note of any differences; they might be an opportunity to eliminate some answer choices.

We will now demonstrate the application of this strategy, by using it to solve the featured sample question. For our first step, we will read the mother sentence up to the phrase "states that the" and then begin reading the answer choices. As we go through the five options, it becomes clear that there is a three-two split in the answer choices; two of the answer choices begin with the singular "number", and three begin with the plural "numbers". Please note that three-two splits in answer choices can be quite useful. By identifying the point of difference between the two sets of options, you can eliminate up to three answer choices, quite quickly. Here, we find that the phrase “numbers of women” has been improperly applied. Therefore, we can comfortably eliminate Options A, B, and C, leaving only Options D and E as potential answers. Now, we will read the remaining options horizontally and compare them vertically to find differences that will help us eliminate one of them.Through this method, we can see that Option E has multiple errors. The usage of “was raised” with “increased” is redundant. Moreover, the use of “was raised” changes the core meaning of the sentence, an immediate disqualifier in GMAT sentence correction. Thus, having eliminated four options, we can safely say that the best answer choice is Option D. Remember, the best approach for effectively solving a sentence correction question is the process of elimination.

A Step-Wise Recap

1. Start reading the sentence.
2. When you reach the underlined part, come down to the answer choices.
3. Compare the answer choices vertically, as you read them horizontally.
4. Use the 'grid' below to eliminate four choices. Remember, on the GMAT, it is not about the 'correct' answer choice; it is about the 'best' of the given answer choice.

5. Before confirming your answer choice, read the complete sentence once to ensure that your chosen answer choice is leading to a complete sentence.

The GMAT is a very lengthy and time-intensive examination. Thus, many candidates find the reading comprehension portion to be especially intimidating, as it requires reading and understanding a lengthy passage. In this section, we will be covering a particular approach to reading comprehension questions, called the mind map approach, that will allow you to tackle reading comprehension questions, quickly and efficiently.

Mind Map Strategy for RCs

Now, we will take the mind map strategy, one step at a time, to understand how to apply it. Please make sue to pay close attention, as understanding this strategy will enable you to tackle reading comprehension questions, much more effectively.

1. Begin by skimming through the paragraph. Go through it, quickly, without worrying too much about taking in the details. Once you are done, take your eyes away from the screen.


2. Try to answer what the purpose of the paragraph is, without rereading it. Your summation should be as concise as possible, as the purpose is always very, very brief. So, avoid paraphrasing the details.


3. For step three, repeat the preceding two steps, skimming the paragraph and asking what the purpose is, after taking your eyes away, for the next paragraph. However, you must then add another task, linking the purposes of the two paragraphs.


4. Now, repeat step three for all remaining paragraphs. Skim the paragraph, take your eyes off the screen, ask yourself what the purpose of the paragraph is and link it to the purpose of the previous paragraph.

In this manner, you will be able to link the purposes of every paragraph in the passage, forming a map.

For some questions, the mind map will be enough to determine the answer; for others, you may need to take another look at the passage. Structure-based questions, such as "What is the tone of the passage?" or "What is the structure of the passage?" will not require you to refer to the passage, while fact-based and inference-based questions will. However, even in the latter cases, the mind map strategy can still prove useful. Even when you need to refer to the passage, you must only refer to the relevant parts, and the mind map will help you pick them out.

Critical reasoning is a part of the GMAT where one must take a great deal of care. If you fail to approach the critical reasoning questions in a systematic manner, you will find that not only have you gotten an incorrect answer, you have wasted a great deal of time. Here, we will cover one such systematic approach that you can apply on your GMAT, the missing link approach.

The Missing Link Approach

As mentioned above, we here at Experts’ Global refer to this approach as the missing link approach. This approach is highly organized and to understand it, you must first the nature of the GMAT critical reasoning passages. Each passage includes will include a "premise" and a "conclusion"; however, the “conclusion” will not logically follow the “premise”. To solve the question, you must identify the missing link, gap between the "premise" and "conclusion".

At this point, we must stress that filling the missing link is not important to solving the question; you only need to identify it, so that you can determine the correct answer choice. Please go through the step-by-step guide, provided below, to understand this approach.

1. Read the question, before reading the passage. Doing so will allow you to understand exactly what type of question it is, strengthening, weakening, etc., and approach the passage, accordingly.

2. Read the passage very carefully and make a mind-map rather than taking note, to save time.

3. Identify the missing link by seeing where the gap in the passage's reasoning is. The missing link is whatever information is needed to connect the premise of the passage to its conclusion that is not provided.

4. Have an idea of what you are going to search for in the answer choices. This step is quite important.

5. Finally, use the "grid" to eliminate four answer choices. Remember, it is not about finding the one correct answer choice; it's about finding the best among the five answer choices. When you eliminate four answer choices, the one that is left is the correct answer choice.