Time for A new habit - GMAT Reading tips

 Time for A new habit

“Do you read?”. I ask in my first meeting with a GMAT aspirant.

Mostly predictable responses: college text books, tech info and social media ( messages, forwards, news headlines…) much of these latter, on the mobile phone.

Well, these are sources of information ( not to forget a large chunk of misinformation too)that everyone is exposed to.

As a test prep professional, when I asked the question, I was referring to deeper reading of  longer essays: Essays from various domains of knowledge.

That, anyways, is a rare habit.

But one that has to change now, if you intent to crack the GRE or GMAT verbal section.

Sources:

Business

1. https://www.ft.com/

2. https://www.economist.com/

3. https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek

Science - Social & Biological

1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/

Literary reviews

1. https://www.nytimes.com/section/books/review

2. https://www.theatlantic.com/world/

3. https://www.newyorker.com/

An essential reading comprehension skill to ace the GMAT reading comprehension section

 Distinguish between matter and Author's opinion.

Observe the passage below..

Passage:

 Dopamine is a hormone that sends  out that tingling feeling of anticipation, say like the night before a party at which you'll be honored age to with an award. Or the rush after a fantastic exam result. A substance released at the end of a nerve fibre, effecting the transfer of an impulse from one nerve to another, dopamine is, in essence, our morning's get-up-and-go neuro-chemical. "We used to believe it's all about  pleasure and reward; this is an old story. Now we say that dopamine amps up desire”.Dopamine is the brain signaling you to indulge in an activity; it is the anticipation of the activity from which you derive pleasure.

 Like all good things, too much or too little is a problem Too much has been found in the brains of those who live with Tourette syndrome; too little in those with Parkinson's disease. But what's really worrying, researchers is the way it's being increasingly pumped out in the brain through our daily behaviour.

This passage has factual matter.. interlaced with opinions.. You need to read critically and differentiate the two. Lets work on this skill 

Authors opinions are marked in yellow.

Dopamine is a hormone that sends sends out that tingling feeling of anticipation, say like the night before a party at which you'll be honored age to with an award. Or the rush after a fantastic exam result. A substance released at the end of a nerve fibre, effecting the transfer of an impulse from one nerve to another, dopamine is, in essence, our morning's get-up-and-go neuro-chemical. "We used to believe it's all about  pleasure and reward; this is an old story. Now we say that dopamine amps up desire.” 

 

Dopamine is the brain signaling you to indulge in an activity; it is the anticipation of the activity from which you derive pleasure

 

 Like all good things, too much or too little is a problem. Too much has been found in the brains of those who live with Tourette syndrome; too little in those with Parkinson's disease. But what's really worrying, researchers is the way it's being increasingly pumped out in the brain through our daily behaviour.

The rest of the matter is factual.

As you read, through a passage anticipate :

•  which statement is matter..
  
•  which is opinion..

You can get questions on both- matter and opinion..

 

Schedule a counselling session with our verbal tutor to get a customized plan

My contact link is here:

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

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

GMAT reading comprehension - Supplementary reading

 GMAT 750. the power of TLS

Times Literary Supplement(TLS) is arguably the best source for higher order, abstract passages.

If you have exhausted OG passages, read TLS online

Search for archives

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/

Even abstracts of essays will help

What to read?

- essays on North American history

-political essays

-literary reviews and criticism

-articles on art, philosophy

- write ups on Environment

-Research synopses….

No doubt, you need to invest time. But your test readiness is near perfect.

Try a practice reading comprehension exercise

Click here

5 points to keep in mind - GMAT critical reasoning

 

The CR puzzle

1. Critical reasoning has not been part of your school or college syllabus
2. 1/3rd of the verbal questions are CR
3. Official guide chapter on CR is tough to understand
4. Using ‘common sense’ and guess yield limited success
5. No one dedicated source book for GMAT/GRE cr    

Schedule a counselling session with our verbal tutor to get a customized plan

My contact link is here:
LinkedIn profile   https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgeanand/

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

Click here to do a critical reasoning drill

5 tips to keep in mind - GMAT reading comprehension

Do not take chances with reading comprehension

• Thorough preparation must
• Read all types of passages- science, art, literature
• Its critical reading not just understanding
• Ensure you know all types of question types asked
• Learn strategies for higher weightage inference questions

Schedule a counselling session with our verbal tutor to get a customized plan

My contact link is here:
LinkedIn profile   https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgeanand/

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

What math skills are tested on the GMAT?

 

What math skills are tested on the GMAT?

The quantitative section of the GMAT is predictable. If you grasp the fundamentals, you
will be able to ace the GMAT math section.

What are the fundamentals skills, you should focus on…

 

#GMAT MATH SKILL 1: ARITHMETIC

The GMAT tests your ability to do the following:

• Work with fractions, decimals and ratios
• Understand properties and concepts of real numbers
• Work with multiples and factors
• Understand and apply concepts of percentages in sums dealing with profit loss discount, simple and compound interest
• Calculate indices, exponent and surds
• Know and apply counting methods (permutation and combination)
• Understand probability and apply this concept in word problems
• Work on sets (Venn diagrams)
• Understand descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode and standard deviation)

        

#GMAT MATH SKILL 2: ALGEBRA

The GMAT tests your ability to do the following:

Solve and manipulate

• Equations
• Inequalities
• Algebraic expressions (isolate variable and solve for a variable)
• Functions

#GMAT MATH SKILL 3: GEOMETRY

The GMAT tests your ability to do the following:

Understand the properties of

•  Lines, triangles, quadrilaterals and circles
• Solids (cuboid, cylinders, spheres.)

Use the concepts of

• Coordinate geometry
• Trigonometry

 #GMAT MATH SKILL 4: RATIOS and PROPORTION

The GMAT tests your ability to do the following:

• Work with ratios and measurement problems

Apply the concept of ratios in

• Time and work problems
• Time speed and distance problems
• Mixtures and solutions

Once you get the grasp of the fundamentals, then you need to apply them in problems.

Time management is also an important parameter during problem solving.  You need to arrive at an answer in less than 2 minutes.

Need help in math,, Feel free to contact me

My contact link is here:

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

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

How to boost your GMAT verbal score from 28 to 35+.. Part 1/3

 

Today , We will focus on the sentence correction section..

To boost your score from VA 28 to 35+ 

Master “ effective expressions” in addition to standard rules of grammar.

What are effective expressions? 

Sentences 

• With no unwanted repetitions 
• With no confusing pronouns 
• With no awkward arrangement of words 
• With clarity 
• With contextually appropriate words 
• With meaning conformity 
• Less wordy

Schedule a counselling session with our verbal tutor to get a customized plan

My contact link is here:

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

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

Note*

It is unlikely that a less than 30 raw score in the verbal section contain the range of concepts listed above. Be prepared for tougher questions than those you found in your earlier attempt. For guidance in any or all of the test areas presented above, 

Contact us

Online / offline interactive classes available at semantics:

ranging from 6 hrs to 30 hrs for select areas or for full verbal course.

Watch this space for the next post 

How to boost your GMAT verbal score from 28 to 35+.. Part 2/3

Today , We will focus on the Reading comprehension section.

Read part 1 on sentence correction section here 

To boost your score from VA 28 to 35+ 

Upgrade your critical reading skills

• Work out more abstract passages: art, literature, history
• Read high-end essays.eg. From Times Literary Supplement archives

Read the 10 must not do's here

http://letsgmat.blogspot.com/2021/02/10-must-not-dos-for-gmat-reading.html

Schedule a counselling session with our verbal tutor to get a customized plan

My contact link is here:

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

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

Note*

It is unlikely that a less than 30 raw score in the verbal section contain the range of concepts listed above. Be prepared for tougher questions than those you found in your earlier attempt. For guidance in any or all of the test areas presented above, 

Contact us

Online / offline interactive classes available at semantics:

ranging from 6 hrs to 30 hrs for select areas or for full verbal course.

Watch this space for the next post 

GMAT math thinking skills 11

GMAT tests your logical skills as well as your knowledge of math concepts. To score high, you need to remember various formulas, theorems. Also you need to master critical problem-solving skills.

Today I am going to  take you through one problem -solving skill – Diagramming

 Students with a non-math background usually.. do this

1. Read the complete math problem
2. Write equations.

Solving equations is time consuming.  You can make mistakes too..if your are not careful.

 

Students who are fairly proficient in quantitative reasoning..do this

1. Break the problem into parts. (they don't read the whole question in one assay)
2. Analyze each part, and represent that part visually

Rarely do they write equations. 

Then  they do mental calculations

This approach saves time...

Lets take this math problem

Observe the problem solving process…

If the average number of 8 terms is given to be 40 and the average of first 6 terms is given to be 35. What is the average of the remaining 2 terms?

Method 1:Conventional approach

Average = sum of numbers/ number of items

Average of 8 terms = 40

So let the 8 terms be a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h

(a+b+c+d+e+f+g+h)/8 = 40

(a+b+c+d+e+f+g+h) = 40*8 = 320…..equation (i)

(a+b+c+d+e+f)/6 = 35

(a+b+c+d+e+f) =  35*6 = 210…..equation (ii)

Subtract both equations to get g+h

g+h= 320-210= 110

Average = 110/2 = 55

 

Method 2: Visualization 

Let's visually represent the sum

Let's take 8 terms as 8 dashes.

The sum of the 8 terms = 8 x 40=320.  The sum of the first six terms is 6 x 35=210.

Subtract both sums to get the sum of the remaining terms = 320 - 210= 110

Hence average =110/2=55

The second method takes less time too.

So even if you have non math background, you can ace the math section by writing less equations and drawing more diagrams.

Feel free to contact me if you want to ace the math section by using simple strategies like this. 

My contact link is here:

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

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

Let's try another sum

Solution is here

 http://letsgmat.blogspot.com/2021/07/gmat-math-thinking-skills-10.html

How can I raise my GMAT verbal score from V 30 to V 37 in 1 month ?

 

This is the score card of a student who took the 1 month score booster verbal program.

His math was strong. He wanted to maximize his verbal score.

We started off with a test. 

We identified his weak areas.

His weak areas were sentence correction and critical reasoning.

His reading comprehension skills were fair . He felt that if he had more time, he could have got all correct.

So we devised a strategy, were we could solve sentence correction questions fast and use that extra time to tackle reading comprehension questions. .

Sentence correction 

There are 25 errors tested in the GMAT. So we put him through drills. We

• honed his identification skills 
• exposed him to basic and advanced concepts 
• showed him time-saving tactics.

Watch this video to learn how to start your sentence correction prep.

  

Critical reasoning 

There are 15 questions types. We taught him logic and gave him an approach to solve each question type.

We gave him drills, with which he was able to deconstruct the argument 

Here is a small drill 

https://semanticslearning.com/blog/gmat-blog/gmat-gre-critical-reasoning-exercise-1/

After mastering the concepts, he did 5 mock tests. He was consistently scoring V 35+.

He scored V 37 eventually.

The sessions were one-on-one. We feel a focused intervention, like this, will help you hone your skills..

If you need help in GMAT prep

 My contact link is here:

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

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

Happy learning

Why you need a GMAT coach

This article is from Seth's blog

A coaching paradox

At the top tier of just about any sort of endeavor, you’ll find that the performers have coaches.

Pianists, orators and athletes all have coaches. In fact, it would be weird if we heard of someone on stage or on the field who didn’t have one.

And yet, in the world of business, they’re seen as the exception.

Part of the reason is that work feels like an extension of something we’ve been doing our whole lives. Figure skating isn’t like school, but showing up at work seems to be. “I’ve got this,” is a badge of honor.

And part of the reason is that a few coaches have made claims that stretch belief, and we’re not actually sure what they do. It doesn’t help that there’s no easy way to identify what sort of coach we need or what we’re going to get…

It turns out that the people with the potential to benefit the most from a coach are often the most hesitant precisely because of what coaching involves.

Talking about our challenges. Setting goals. Acknowledging that we can get better. Eagerly seeking responsibility…

And yet we avert our eyes and hesitate. It might be because having a coach might be interpreted as a sign of weakness. And what if we acknowledge our challenges but fail to overcome them? It could be that we don’t want to cause change to happen, or that we’re worried that we will.

One company I admire believes in coaches so much that they’ve put several on staff, ensuring that their leadership all benefit from one. But mostly, it’s something we have to pay for ourselves.

And so, paying for a coach, for something that’s hard to measure, which might be socially awkward, to get better at something that feels normal—combine that with a hesitancy to ask for help—it’s a wonder anyone has a coach.

The paradox is that the very things that hold us back are the reasons we need a coach in the first place.

If you need help in GMAT.. Feel free to ping me.

My contact link is here:

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

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

Ten ‘feel good’ factors about GMAT

 

Ten ‘feel good’ factors about GMAT 

• You can retake the exam to improve your score 
• There are hardly any surprise elements in the exam
• A great score in the GMAT can cancel out ‘not- so -great’ undergrad grades
• GMAT scores can land you merit scholarship 
• GMAT scores are valid for five years
• Many Indian business schools use GMAT scores for admission
• You don’t have to master ENTIRE Grammar.only select concepts
• Critical reasoning preparation helps in both reading comprehension and analytical writing
• Now you can choose the order in which you want to attempt the sections
• Both math and verbal learning comes handy in IR

for self-paced, individualized preparatory packages..mail/ call/ message me

My contact link is here:

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

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

GMAT math thinking skills 10

 GMAT tests your logical skills as well as your knowledge of math concepts.  To score high, you need to remember various formulas, theorems. Also you need to master critical problem-solving skills.

Today I am going to  take you through one problem -solving skill –

Counting skills

Take this problem .

This sum requires higher order thinking

There are two ways to solve this question

 

Method 1:Using pattern recognition

 Lets say,  you didn’t know the concept of counting and permutation and combination

First focus on the 8x8 grid...

Take the smallest unit of chessboard. It’s a 2x2 grid

How many rectangles can you count?

All the squares are rectangles too.

First count squares  there are 5

How many rectangles can you count? There are 4.

In total there are 9 . 

If you observe........ 9  = 1+8

these numbers follow the cube series

 

Now take a  3x3 grid

How many rectangles can you count?

First count squares  there are 14

How many rectangles can you count? There are 22

In total there are 36 . 

If you observe ..........36  = 1+8+27

these numbers follow the cube series

 

Always remember 

the number of rectangles in a grid follow the cubic series 1³ 2³ …3³…

So in a chess board.. the number of rectangles is the  sum of the cubes from 1³ to 8³

 Hence 1³ +2³ + 3³+4³ +5³ +6³ +7³ +8³ =1296

  

 

 

Method 2:Using principles of counting

The chess board has 8 rows and 8 columns. a 8x8 grid.

All squares are rectangles. So you need to count the squares also.

 

Okay.. First look at the gird..

Can you observe the number of horizontal lines? There are 9 lines

Similarly

Can you observe the number of vertical lines? There are 9 lines

 

If you observe… to draw a rectangle. You need to select two horizontal lines and two vertical lines.

The point of intersection of these lines form a rectangle.

So how do we choose two lines out of 9. 

Use combination.

To select 2 horizontal lines = ⁹C₂

To select 2 vertical lines = ⁹C₂

Now as per the rules of counting…you need to multiply

⁹C₂ x ⁹C₂ = ((9x8)/ (1x2) ) x ((9x8)/ (1x2) ) = 1296

There are 1296 rectangles in a chessboard.

 

To know more about Math problem solving skills.. Feel free to contact me

 My contact link is here:

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

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

Lets try another sum

Solution is here

http://letsgmat.blogspot.com/2020/11/gmat-math-thinking-skills-7.html

 

GMAT retake on your mind?

 

What should you do:

Though each test taker has a different set of reasons for not performing up to her true potential, our experience with students over the years help us arrive at certain broad frameworks.

If your aim is an admit at a top B.School, it makes no sense to score a Quant 49 and Verbal 21, nor is there a balance in a 35 verbal and 41 Quant.

The 50 -60 points difference can be filled by reworking your prep and test taking strategy.

Majority of those who score lower than their potential attributes it to the verbal section.

Thus,

In the replan, spent more time on the verbal than on the math.

In math, ensure you work on questions with apparently simple concepts but complex reasoning, especially data sufficiency.

Do a thorough study of those areas in verbal that troubled you in the exam

• Reading more passages on art, history, culture
• Revising sentence errors more in terms of ambiguity, wordiness, diction
• Gathering strategies for strengthen, weaken boldface arguments
• Evaluating, periodically, your progress by taking tests( FULL TESTS)

Be confident. Your score can go only in one direction, UPWARDS

 

To schedule a counselling session.

Click here.: https://semanticslearning.com/

My contact details are here:

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

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

 

 

GMAT critical reasoning - strengthen the argument - practice question

 Try this question

Strategy: 

• Identify conclusion - and the cause and the effect.
• Look for other reasons. that support the conclusion..

To ace the verbal section.. You need to do drills like this...

https://semanticslearning.com/blog/gmat-blog/gmat-gre-critical-reasoning-exercise-1/

If you need help in the GMAT, feel free to ping me.