GMAT sentence correction : How do you start your prep

Grammar, most think, is boring

But can anything be boring if it leads to your biggest dream? No, right?  So take a liking for grammar, usage, Standard English, correct English …whatever you call it.

Literate writing is grammatical. To express clearly and effectively- both oral and written- a functional knowledge of the rules and rudiments of English is necessary. You should be able to analyse a sentence, locate errors and modify the sentence. These skills are crucial to language testing in aptitude tests. How and where to use those rules-syntactical and semantic aspects- corresponding to word arrangement and intended meaning respectively-determine your success in grammar based questions.

Grammar-based questions of top exams such as GMAT, present many challenges- long and complex sentences, multiple errors, subtle differences.

Thorough preparation is the key. Thanks to media, we’ve internalized a lot of nonstandard jargon, which we assume are appropriate even in the academic context. Much of those usages are incorrect in a test scenario. Hence you have to both learn and unlearn grammar.

How do you start

If you sit down to learn grammar, there is a mindboggling collection of grammar books on the shelves that examine every nuance from a linguistic point of view. You do not need all these. You just need an aptitude-focused course, that exhaustively catalogues and illustrates those usage points that are relevant to graduate level entrance tests.

Stage 1: Identify

work with simple exercises in a workbook form covering all parts of speech. This helps to review sentence structures long forgotten.

Study illustrative sentences for those usages- nouns, pronouns, subject, verb, modifiers, conjunctions, prepositions… how they agree with other parts of the sentence.

Stage 2: Analyse

 now you must move on to syntax- various word arrangements in the sentence, the dos and don’ts of sentence construction, sentence variety, effectiveness  expressions

Stage 3: Plan

 work with test related concepts, the format of commonly asked  questions, strategies for answering those question types and speed techniques.

Stage 4: Implement

Practice with good quality questions, take timed  full verbal tests, review areas of weakness.

Watch this sentence correction video tutorial.  You can do this simple exercise to understand one basic building block - subject and verb

Lets have a chat if  you are stuck in the GMAT sentence correction .. 

Further

If you want to ace the GMAT math or verbal... 

Feel free to get in touch with me

My contact link is here:

LinkedIn profile : https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgeanand/

Facebook learning group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/semanticsGMAT/

GMAT sentence correction : How do I maximize my score

 

Can you maximize your score in the sentence correction section in less than 30 days..

Yes, it is possible ….

You can follow a 3-stage approach. You need to

• Understand the often-tested errors in the GMAT............(Concept Stage 1)
• Learn  to identify errors, using various techniques  .......(Application Stage 2)
• Learn to use logic and to arrive at a correct answer in less than 60 seconds.(Mastery Stage 3)

Before I discuss few strategies, let us understand the skills tested by GMAT in the sentence correction section.

SC type of question tests your ability to recognize the correctness and effectiveness of expression in standard written English. In choosing your answer, follow the requirements of standard written English; that is, pay attention to grammar, choice of words, and sentence construction. Choose the answer that produces the most effective sentence;

Sentence correction questions present a sentence, part or all of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence, you will find five ways of paraphrasing the underlined passage. The first answer choice repeats the original underlined passage; the other four are different. If you think the original phrasing is best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose one of the others. this answer should be clear and exact, without awkwardness, ambiguity, redundancy or grammatical error. 

An example:

 People who inherit the sickle cell anaemia gene from only one parent seem to be resistant to malaria, an evolutionary advantage that may explain why a genetic condition so debilitating to many individuals has survived in the human population.

A. seem to be resistant to malaria,

B. seemingly are resistant to malaria,

C. seem to be resistant to malaria and have

D. seemingly are resistant to malaria and to have

E. are, it seems, resistant to malaria, and they have

 

Sentence correction questions test three broad aspects of language proficiency:

Correct expression

A correct sentence is grammatically and structurally sound. It conforms to all the rules of standard written English, including noun-verbal agreement, noun-pronoun agreement, pronoun consistency, pronoun case and verb tense sequence. A correct sentence will not have dangling, misplaced or improperly formed modifiers; unidiomatic expressions or faults in parallel constructions

 Effective expression

An effective sentence expresses an idea or relationship clearly and concisely as well as grammatically. This does not mean that the choice with the fewest and simplest words is necessarily the best answer. It means that there are no superfluous words or needlessly complicated expressions in the best choice.

 Proper diction

An effective sentence also uses proper diction.(Dictionary refers to the standard dictionary meaning of words and the appropriateness of words in context). In evaluating the diction of a sentence, you must be able to recognize whether the words are well chosen, accurate and suitable for the context

 Note*

You will see results faster in sentence correction than critical reasoning or reading comprehension section. Because there are only 25 errors tested in this exam. 

Some of the 25 errors tested are:

•         Subject verb agreement
•         Pronoun error
•         Misplaced modifier
•         Wordiness
•         Lack of clear subject
•         Meaning conformity…

After knowing concepts, you need to focus on the application and mastery stages

There are various strategies, you need to know……….

 For example

 strategy 1 Identify clue words 

When you see these clue words……….. Use the error tool respectively.

More/less/greater … than………comparison error tool

And/but……………..Parallelism error tool

Unlike/like…………….contrast error tool

There are lots of clue words like this

I will be discussing each error tool in-depth in my classes.

strategy 2 Differentiate Verb & noun

Observe these sentences

1. The cost of drought to the country is in billions

2. Drought costs the country in billions

 

Sentences 1 and 2 are grammatically correct.

But you must choose option 2. Why?

Can you identify the subtle difference?

In statement 1: Cost is a noun

In statement 2: Cost is a verb

Tip: When you attempt the GMAT, give more preference to verbs than nouns.

 So you have to choose statement 2 and not 1

There are lots of things to learn when you prepare for the GMAT ....

Happy learning.

If you want help in GMAT math or verbal.. Feel free to get in touch with me

My contact link is here:

LinkedIn profile : https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgeanand/

Facebook learning group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/semanticsGMAT/

5 Tips to crack the sentence correction section of the GMAT.

Here are some of the GMAT sentence corrections tips i compiled.  I have added examples for each tip.

1.Check pronouns:their,his,her…..

Wrong sentence: The instructor asked everyone of the trainees to remain in their respective seat.
Correct sentence: The instructor asked everyone of the trainees to remain in his respective seat.

2. Check for pronoun omission:

Wrong sentence: In Japan elderly people are treated with far greater respect than most Western countries.

Elderly people in japan vs western countries?????

Correct sentence: In Japan elderly people are treated with far greater respect than those in most Western countries.

3. Check subject verb

Wrong sentence: A slowdown becomes useful only when the opportunity to both reorient as well as innovate are used for further growth.
Slowdown …………………………..are???

Correct sentence: A slowdown becomes useful only when the opportunity to both reorient as well as innovate is used for further growth.

4. Watch for incomplete comparisons

Wrong sentences: California’s child-support payments are as high or higher than other states.
As high…..as…..

Correct sentences: California’s child-support payments are as high as or higher than other states.

5.Watch for descriptions in the beginning

Wrong sentences: Disturbed by the media’s relentless criticism, it was decided by Gupta to resign as the chairman of TERI.
What does it refer to…….medias criticism or the disturbances

Correct sentences: Disturbed by the media’s relentless criticism, Gupta decided to resign as the chairman of TERI.


Struggling with sentence correction.. watch this video tutorial


These are some of the three dozen tips..

Click here for another sentence question with in-depth analysis
http://letsgmat.blogspot.com/2020/06/gmat-sentence-correction-question_28.html

GMAT sentence correction rules

Rule: Tense consistency

Illustration:

She invited me to the party and asks me to dance.

observe the word "and"

There are two segments in this sentence.

She invited me to the party and asks me to dance.

Note the tense for each segment

“She invited me to the party” is in past tense

“asks me to dance.” is in present tense

The tense has to be consistent throughout the sentence

Correct sentence:

She invited me to the party and asked me to dance.

GMAT sentence correction error types

To ace the verbal section in the GMAT, you need to master these 25 sentence correction concepts. These concepts are tested every time in the GMAT. Some sentences will have two or more error types.

To know more about GMAT preparation, attend a counselling session. Email me at urmentor@semanticslearning.com.

5 Tips to crack the sentence correction section of the GMAT.

Here are some of the GMAT sentence corrections tips I compiled.  I have added examples for each tip.

1.Check pronouns:their,his,her…..

Wrong sentence: The instructor asked everyone of the trainees to remain in their respective seat.
Correct sentence: The instructor asked everyone of the trainees to remain in his respective seat.

2. Check for pronoun omission:

Wrong sentence: In Japan elderly people are treated with far greater respect than most Western countries.
Elderly people in japan vs western countries?????

Correct sentence: In Japan elderly people are treated with far greater respect than those in most Western countries.

3. Check subject verb

Wrong sentence: A slowdown becomes useful only when the opportunity to both reorient as well as innovate are used for further growth.
Slowdown …………………………..are???

Correct sentence: A slowdown becomes useful only when the opportunity to both reorient as well as innovate is used for further growth.

4. Watch for incomplete comparisions

Wrong sentences: California’s child-support payments are as high or higher than other states.
As high…..as…..

Correct sentences: California’s child-support payments are as high as or higher than other states.

5.Watch for descriptions in the beginning

Wrong sentences: Disturbed by the media’s relentless criticism, it was decided by Gupta to resign as the chairman of TERI.
What does it refer to…….medias criticism or the disturbances

Correct sentences: Disturbed by the media’s relentless criticism, Gupta designed to resign as the chairman of TERI.

These are some of the three dozen tips..read this space for more… email us your feedback urmentor@semanticslearning.com or visit www.semanticslearning.com

Grammar

GMAT sentence correction: Think beyond grammar

Fine, you know the GMAT SC jargon – tense error, pronoun error, subject verb disagreement. Good. Useful. But you must think beyond grammar to do justice to the range SC questions.

One of such errors is ambiguity. That is something is not clear. To make clear the meaning conveyed. So keep track of meaning  also while checking a sentence for errors.
Illustration  - real GMAT questions

1. Incorrect: In mammals, a lifetime’s supply of egg cells is produced during fetal development and remain dormant until maturity.

Here remain dormant is ambiguously used; one may ask what remain egg cells or development? In such cases, we need to repeat the word, cells, since these remain dormant until maturity.  The verb is agrees with the singular sub lifetime’s supply.

Correct … is produced during fetal development and the cells remain dormant until maturity.

2. In 1869, anxious to balance its population of 8,000 men and 2,000 women, the Wyoming legislature extended voting rights to women in Wyoming.

A. its population of 8,000 men and 2,000 women, the Wyoming legislature
B. their population of 8,000 men and 2,000 women, the Wyoming’s legislature
C. the state’s population of 8,000 men and 2,000 women, the Wyoming legislature
D. a state population of 8,000 men and 2,000 women, the legislature in Wyoming
E. its population of 8,000 men with 2,000 women, the Wyoming’s legislature

So since you know that singular pronouns agree with singular nouns, its agrees with Wyoming legislature. But grammar alone wont rescue us here.

Look at the meaning, can Wyoming legislature have population?  No the population belongs to the state, C is clear and exact. D, would mean any state’s population, not necessarily Wyoming’s.

Moral of the story
Attention to detail…is very important..keep looking out for similar errors; match grammar with meaning.

GMAT sentence correction video- tackling complex error types

GMAT verbal tips in a capsule ( sentence correction )-5

The pronoun should match the nouns, but that’s not sufficient.

Wrong: In1869, anxious to balance its population, the Wyoming legislature extended voting rights to women.
The pronoun ‘its’ agrees with the singular ‘Wyoming legislature’, but can legislature have a population.

Correct: In1869, anxious to balance the state’s population, the Wyoming legislature extended voting rights to women.

Attention to detail is what you should develop.
And do not forget to check the meaning of sentence.

GMAT verbal rules in a capsule ( sentence correction )-3

In GMAT SC do not consider wanted repletion redundant. Wrong : From a very close relationship with one of its parents, which lasts thirteen to fifteen years, a young chimpanzee learns social behaviour. Right: From a very close relationship with one of its parents, a relationship that lasts thirteen to fifteen years, a young chimpanzee learns social behaviour. ‘which’ ambiguously can refer to parents. Wordiness is better than ambiguity. Bookmark this on Delicious

using GMAT official guide to study GMAT sentence correction

Is GMAT sentence correction an engima?

No its not..
If you have the official guide. You can improve your performance by 80%.
Watch this video to find out how...

Bookmark this on Delicious

GMAT sentence correction tips

GMAT sentence correction tip

check each sentence for semantics( meaning conveyed) and syntax( the grammatical structure and conformity).
syntax is altered to convey the meaning aptly, not the other way around.

in addition to these two, terseness is important- being economical with words
caution: if being terse, ie reducing words, lead to ambiguity, length is welcome.
here are two eg.

eg. 1.
ambiguous: Piaget noted that in children a repertoire of skills is acquired during preschool period and need further
strengthening through organized learning experienced at school.

what needs strengthening is ambiguous, so we need to repeat some words

Piaget noted that in children a repertoire of skills is acquired during preschool period and these skills need further
strengthening through organized learning experienced at school.


eg 2- a wordy sentence
The houses were mostly well built in construction, but the interior furnishing within the house left much
to be desired.
economical
the houses were mostly well- built, but the interiors left much to be desired.

5 Tips to crack the sentence correction section of the GMAT.

Here are some of the GMAT sentence corrections tips i compiled.  I have added examples for each tip.

1.Check pronouns:their,his,her…..
Wrong sentence: The instructor asked everyone of the trainees to remain in their respective seat.
Correct sentence: The instructor asked everyone of the trainees to remain in his respective seat.

2. Check for pronoun omission:
Wrong sentence: In Japan elderly people are treated with far greater respect than most Western countries.
Elderly people in japan vs western countries?????

Correct sentence: In Japan elderly people are treated with far greater respect than those in most Western countries.


3. Check subject verb
Wrong sentence: A slowdown becomes useful only when the opportunity to both reorient as well as innovate are used for further growth.
Slowdown …………………………..are???

Correct sentence: A slowdown becomes useful only when the opportunity to both reorient as well as innovate is used for further growth.

4. Watch for incomplete comparisions
Wrong sentences: California’s child-support payments are as high or higher than other states.
As high…..as…..

Correct sentences: California’s child-support payments are as high as or higher than other states.

5.Watch for descriptions in the beginning
Wrong sentences: Disturbed by the media’s relentless criticism, it was decided by Gupta to resign as the chairman of TERI.
What does it refer to…….medias criticism or the disturbances

Correct sentences: Disturbed by the media’s relentless criticism, Gupta designed to resign as the chairman of TERI.

These are some of the three dozen tips..read this space for more… email us your feedback urmentor@semanticslearning.com or visit www.gmatsuperia.com









Bookmark this on Delicious

GMAT sentence correction- the analytical way.

Doubts are best clarified in class

Preparing for GMAT is no child’s play. And definitely not the verbal section of the GMAT. Iam sure many of you there agree with me.

The intricacies of sentence corrections are better understood when you are made to think with the sentence(for godsake its not just math that involves thinking)

Your problems with sentence correction will be over the day you start thinking with grammar. Cos there is no grammar separate form meaning and no meaning separate from accepted knowledge- philosophical or scientific.
When you with a verbal expert, you are made to think with the sentence.

Here’s an example
The set of propositions which was discussed by the panel have been published in the society journal.
A. which was discussed by the panel have been
B. which were discussed by the panel have
C. that was discussed by the panel was
D. which were discussed by the panel has
E. discussed by the panel has been
The set ( of propositions that were/are discussed by the panel) was/ has been published in the society.
Bracket out all word groups- the prepositional phrase- has been bracketed out. The set was/has been—both are right, since no specific time referenece.
The point here is that relative pronoun which/that refers to propositions and not ‘the set’. Hence are/were/ have been must refer to propositions and not ‘the set’
Hence we narrow down to E. drop the ‘ which are’/ that are…wordiness.

The sentence correction tip you gave me is good.
No need, the sentence correction tip that you gave me is good.

Bookmark this on Delicious

GMAT prep notes for sentence correction

the more the merrier

1. Relative clauses: clauses beginning with who, whose, whom, that, which, whosoever, whomever, whichever, nevertheless – check their use in the question.
Antecedents (the nouns substituted by the pronouns) which, who, he, they, it etc should be clearly matched with their pronouns.
Scientists have observed large quantities of fossil fuel in the Cauvery basin, which are consistent with the growth of mining activities in the area. (which is ambiguously placed)
Scientists have observed large quantities of fossil fuel in the Cauvery basin, an observation consistent with the growth of mining activities in the area.

Wordy: Everybody likes apple pie, which for years has been a favorite American dessert.

Concise: Everybody likes apple pie, for years a favorite American dessert.
In most instances, a relative pronoun is unwanted.

Verb Tense
Incorrect: In the last ten years, dropout rate among minority primary school students fell drastically, while the number of minority students more than doubled.
Correct: In the last ten years, dropout rate among minority primary school students has fallen drastically, while the number of minority students has more than doubled.

Logical Equivalents
1. The study noted that, up to the present, interferon has been more impressive in preventing viral infections as to treat it.
2. The study noted that, up to the present, interferon has been more impressive in preventing viral infections than in treating them.


Bookmark this on Delicious

GMAT sentence correction

The GMAT verbal section is the toughest section in the test. For this the section that appears after two long sections of writing and math. It induces undue strain on the test taker. Besides this section is concept intensive unlike any other aptitude test.

Besides, each question type is long sentence or paragraph based requiring extensive reading of verbal information.

The sentence correction questions (14/15) of them tests correctness and effectiveness of expression. You have to choose the option that conforms to standard written English; you have to pay attention to grammar, syntactical constructions, diction, clarity and semantic conformity.
Listed below are those concepts that you should learn for excellence in the sentence correction question.

COMMON ERRORS TESTED IN GMAT SENTENCE CORRECTION

1. Subject Verb disagreement
2. Parallel structure
3. Idiomatic constructions
4. Misplaced Modifier
5. Tense consistency
6. Countable, non-countable nouns
7. Pronoun-noun agreement
These are just 7 of the 25 errors tested in GMAT.

Read more about the errors at

http://www.semanticslearning.com/gmat-usage.asp

Examples
Misplaced Modifier: example

“Annoyed by the corporation’s apathetic attitude, it was decided by the residents to install an incinerator for garbage disposal.”

Here “Annoyed by the corporation’s apathetic attitude”, should modify the residents, hence the correct construction is
“Annoyed by the corporation’s apathetic attitude, the residents decided to install an incinerator for garbage disposal.”

Ambiguous use of which/it: example

“The intake of analgesics causes irritation in the stomach which can be avoided if it is taken in capsule form”


Here which and it are unclear are ambiguous. Which can wrongly refer to stomach, analgesics or irritation.
The unambiguous construction is
“The irritation caused in the stomach by the intake of analgesics can be avoided if the analgesic is taken in capsule form.”



Bookmark this on Delicious

GMAT sentence correction

Grammar, most think, is boring
But can anything be boring if it leads to your biggest dream? No, right?  So take a liking for grammar, usage, Standard English, correct English …whatever you call it.
Literate writing is grammatical. To express clearly and effectively- both oral and written- a functional knowledge of the rules and rudiments of English is necessary. You should be able to analyse a sentence, locate errors and modify the sentence. These skills are crucial to language testing in aptitude tests. How and where to use those rules-syntactical and semantic aspects- corresponding to word arrangement and intended meaning respectively-determine your success in grammar based questions.
Grammar-based questions of top exams such as CAT and XAT, present many challenges- long and complex sentences, multiple errors, subtle differences.
Thorough preparation is the key. Thanks to media, we’ve internalized a lot of nonstandard jargon, which we assume are appropriate even in the academic context. Much of those usages are incorrect in a test scenario. Hence you have to both learn and unlearn grammar.
How do you start
If you sit down to learn grammar, there is a mindboggling collection of grammar books on the shelves that examine every nuance from a linguistic point of view. You do not need all these. You just need an aptitude-focused course that exhaustively catalogues and illustrates those usage points that are relevant to graduate level entrance tests.
Stage 1: work with simple exercises in a workbook form covering all parts of speech. This helps to review sentence structures long forgotten.
Study illustrative sentences for those usages- nouns, pronouns, subject, verb, modifiers, conjunctions, prepositions… how they agree with other parts of the sentence.
Stage 2: now you must move on to syntax- various word arrangements in the sentence, the dos and don’ts of sentence construction, sentence variety, effectiveness expressions
Stage 3: work with test related concepts, the format of commonly asked questions, strategies for answering those question types and speed techniques.
Stage 4: Practice with good quality questions, take timed full verbal tests, review areas of weakness.