How to answer really tricky RC main point questions from a 47V scorer (example included)
I was coaching a GMAT client the other day through some tricky RC questions, and he was getting stuck on main point questions. Unsurprisingly, he was also getting really stuck on understanding what the passage was saying at all. Here’s the advice I gave him: For all passages, the main point can be found in […]
What to know about combinations and permutations for GMAT quant
This is by far the most dreaded topic on the GMAT. Here’s what you need to know about it, excerpted from my guide to GMAT quant. How to recognize: Any time a question asks about the number of different ways or combinations something can be arranged, or if we’re trying to count the ways we […]
Using the word “which” vs “that” on GMAT Sentence Correction
This is a pretty common issue on GMAT Sentence Correction. As any GMAT taker can tell you, the GMAT loves using the word “that”. So when should you use it? Well, I’ve excerpted the below from my book on GMAT Sentence Correction so that you know. Now, the word “that” in general denotes a necessary […]
What to know about pronouns for GMAT Sentence Correction
Pronouns come up frequently as a grammatical issue on GMAT Sentence Correction. Here’s what you need to know about them, excepted from my book on GMAT Sentence Correction. Pronouns are words that stand in for nouns. “It”, “he”, “they” are all pronouns. “Its”, “his”, and “their” are also pronouns. Pronouns need a clear antecedent, which […]
What to know about verb tenses for GMAT Sentence Correction
Verb tenses matter in GMAT sentence correction for two reasons: meaning and grammar. Meaning-wise, it matters whether an action is occurring in the past, present, or future. Grammatically, parallelism sometimes requires that certain verbs be in certain tenses. In parallel phrases, it’s pretty easy to match up which verb tense should be which. However, it […]
The rules for parallelism on GMAT sentence correction
Most people think about parallelism on GMAT Sentence Correction the wrong way. They worry too much about how to apply parallelism, and not enough about when to apply parallelism. Parallelism only applies in 3 situations: lists, comparisons, and around conjunctions. Lists are straightforward. You want to make sure your reader knows the things are connected. […]
How to approach GMAT Reading Comprehension as a bad or slow reader
If you’re a slow or bad reader, you probably have a lot of trouble with Reading Comprehension. Most GMAT reading comprehension strategies tend to boil down to either “get better at reading” or “take notes while you read”. This is unhelpful at best, and actively harmful at worst. Notes take time and don’t actually help […]
Scoring 740 (Q49/V44) on the GMAT with one month of studying: Reddit debrief
Summary He tried the OG, Manhattan GMAT, Target Test Prep, and Powerscore. He found TTP for quant very helpful, and Powerscore for Critical Reasoning pretty helpful. He also thought the OG was essential. He studied full-time for one month, and pretty much scored consistently around 750. Original from In-person GMAT 740 (Q49/V44) debrief from an […]
Improving from a 570 to a 740 on the GMAT in 4 months: Reddit Success Story
Summary Tried Manhattan, didn’t like it. Tried Target Test Prep, liked it more, but realized that he needed to apply it to Official Guide questions to improve on his score. He highly recommends using an error log and taking regular practice tests, but not wasting the official GMATPrep ones (so using Manhattan CATs instead). Original […]
Increasing from a 540 to a 730 on the GMAT after several years of studying: Reddit success story
Summary Spent over two years and thousands of dollars studying for the test, finally scored a 730 (Q49, V41, IR8). Tried Kaplan course and Manhattan Prep books but didn’t find them useful. Found Target Test Prep much more useful, although difficult. Very happy to have scored well on the exam, but sad that she was […]