Critical reasoning jargon and its meaning

10minute math speed test 26.11.2015 - permutation and combination

Do attempt this challenging speed test on permutation and combination.
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10 minute speed test math - 28.10.2015

Crack this challenging math speed test in less than 10 minutes...

"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."- Marilyn vos Savant

Answers will be posted in 2 days..

10 minute test with G 26.9.2015

An interesting 10 minute speed test- Try it out...... answers by Thursday....

10 min test with G 22.9.2015

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10 min test with G 15.9.2015 with solution

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Data sufficiency - factors

Data sufficiency

If N = 3^x x 5^y, where x and y are positive integers, and N has 12 positive factors, what is the value of N?

(1) 9 is NOT a factor of N

(2) 125 is a factor of N

The number of factors  is given by formula (x+1)(y+1) where x,y are the powers of the prime numbers after prime factorization.

12 = (x+1)(y+1)

The product of (6,2) (4,3) give 12.

Hence the pair combinations of x and y can be (5,1)(11,0),(3,2) { x =5 and y=1 or x=1 and y=5)

Hence N = 3^x x 5^y

As per statement 1. If 9 is not a factor of N. It means the values of x and y should be (1,5) 

sufficient.

As per statement 2. if 125 is a factor of N, it means the values of x and y can be any combination.

Hence A

GMAT sentence correction... The rule pertaining to none , all, most

All, most, none can be singular or plural depending on the countability of the nouns that follow.
They are singular when followed by non- countable nouns.
They are plural when followed by countable nouns.

Countable nouns
None of the invites have come.
None of the equipment has been shifted
None of our resources go to our consultants.
None of my friends have been eating food.

Non-Countable nouns
None of the money is spent

GMAT reading comprehension? Just do it

Keep your fears away
One fear most test takers feel is ‘ what if the passages are totally unfamiliar’. This is highly unlikely if you have spent a good amount of time reading quality passages and have taken good number of comprehension tests.

Imagine yourself succeeding
Be optimistic about your preparation and success in the GRE test.  Start your preparation early so that you do not take the test till you are ready.

For god’s sake do not procrastinate
The day you wake up to think, oh I have plenty of time left for prep, you are on the road to procrastination. You have semester work, events to participate in, personal issues; none of these should come in the way of your reaching your goal.

All strategies need not work for you
We all vary in our styles of learning. Some of us would require longer preparation time, others less. It’s more rewarding to compare our performance today with our own past performance than with that of others.

Do not expect overnight results
Efficient reading involves building an array of skills. It takes time. Perseverance is the key. Lot of hard work is required to excel, give up not.

Do research, learn those tiny tips from friends who are preparing for verbal tests, what worked for them, what did not, they are invaluable sources of test info.

Meditate; with your learning your own reflections and insights can throw up new ideas that work best for you.

Do not panic; 
instead make a panic plan. Put together a remedial plan with the help of a mentor- a senior or trainer; there is always a way out.

Invest intelligently in buying good reading material: 
books, CDs, general reading material. And invest time wisely.

Selfishness is a virtue 
If Ayn Rand did feel that way, so can you. Do not spare your reading time playing agony aunt/uncle for those hapless souls; nevertheless when you need reassurance ask and get! Howzzat.

Ten ways to score poorly in the GMAT

Ten ways to score poorly in GMAT! If you are rich enough for retakes, that is

1. I know math, so no need to go thru the same old arithmetic, algebra, geometry stuff

2.  Tones of free downloads on your pc..what is relevant, what is not, even God may not know..

3. Just official guide, what else, nothing official about it…

4. I will join for the costliest, longest duration course in town…let them get me the score, no need to  study at  home..

5. I wont do the essays while practicing, only math and verbal mock exams  will do

6. I speak and write good English, so verbal is going to be a cake walk, no less

7.  I need just one month for preparation, after all I had high grades in college.

8.  Do as many tests as possible, in fact 90 percent of my preparation time should be spent on tests. concepts? What concepts?

9. My friend said GMAT was easy for him, no tough qns ( hey, what was your friend’s score?)

10. Out of five tests  I  did, one test I scores above 650. So I will give the test as planned.  I believe in luck!

PS Good luck 

Data sufficiency understanding the directions

Data sufficiency is designed to measure your ability to

• Analyse a quantitative problem
•  Recognize which information is relevant
• Synthesize data
• Determine at which point there is sufficient information to solve a problem.

Data sufficiency questions contains a question statement, followed by two sub statements labeled (1) and (2). Do not waste valuable time  solving a problem.  Only determine the statements sufficient to solve a problem. Follow the flow chart presented below.

The order of preference while answering a question is

1. D
2. A/B
3. C
4. E

Scenario 1:

Check question statement and statement (1) first. If you get an answer, wait

Then

Check question statement and statement (2)alone. If you get an answer now mark D

Scenario 2:

Check question statement and statement (1) first. If you get an answer, wait

Then

Check question statement and statement (2)alone. If you do not get an answer now mark A

Scenario 3:

Check question statement and statement (1) first. If you do not get an answer

Then

Check question statement and statement (2)alone. If you do get an answer now mark B

Scenario 3:

Combine question statement ,statement (1) and statement (2).

 If you get an answer now mark C

Scenario 4:

Combine question statement ,statement (1) and statement (2).

 If you do not get an answer now mark E

Top one year MBA programs

You can opt for a 1 year MBA program instead of a 2 year MBA program.

Advantages:

• Fast paced
• Value for money
• Good for networking

Some of the top courses/colleges are:

North-western Univeristy,Kellogs School of Management        Illinois USA      http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/

INSEAD   France and Singapore     http://www.insead.edu/mba/index.cfm

IE Business School            Madrid,Spain   http://imba.ie.edu

University of Cambridge, Judge Business School        UK           http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/mba/index.html

University of Oxford, Said Business School     UK        http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/mba/         

Cornell University, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management          New YorkUSA         http://www.johnson.cornell.edu/Academic-Programs/Full-Time-MBA/Accelerated-MBA.aspx

ESADE     Spain     http://www.esade.edu/bs/mba/one_year_mba

Emory Univeristy,Goizueta Business School   Atlanta,USA        http://www.goizueta.emory.edu/degree/fulltimemba/index.asp

University of Florida, Warrington College of Business Administration       Florida,USA        http://www.floridamba.ufl.edu/

Babson College     Masachusetts,USA         http://www3.babson.edu/MBA/programs/oneyear/ 

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 reading comprehension - How to prepare Part 1

Comprehension: fix it

Every admission test includes a section on passage comprehension, in which a test taker is required to read, analyse and answer questions based on what is stated or implied in the passage. 

These questions are designed to test a wide range of abilities pre-requisite to academic study at a higher level. Those abilities include:

• understanding the meaning of individual words, phrases and sentences with in the passage
• understanding the meaning and purpose of paragraphs and larger bodies of text
• distinguishing between specific details and meaty points
• summarizing a paragraph or an entire passage
• drawing conclusions from the given data
• reasoning out extended information
• understanding the structure of writing and organization of arguments
• identifying the author’s assumptions and opinions
• synthesizing various points coherently
• identifying strengths and weaknesses of a position
• developing and considering alternative explanations
•  Gleaning the tone and tenor of the author

As this list implies, reading and understanding a piece of text requires far more than a passive understanding of the words and sentences it contains; it requires active engagement with the text, asking questions, formulating and evaluating hypotheses and reflecting on the relationship of the particular text to other texts and information. Passages are generally drawn from the life sciences, arts, humanities and everyday topics and are based on material found in books and periodicals, both academic and nonacademic.  Questions can cover any of the topics listed above, from the meaning of a particular word to assessing additional evidence that might support or weaken points made in the passage. Mostly  the questions are standard multiple-choice questions, in which you are required to select a single answer choice, and others ask you to select multiple answer choices........to be continued...in the next blog

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