This blog is dedicated to GMAT aspirants who want tips; strategies,practice questions,learning videos and study notes on how to tackle the Reading comprehension, Sentence correction,Problem solving, Data sufficiency, Essays and critical reasoning section of the GMAT.
If you are finding it difficult to study math, Don't worry.
GMAT tests you on mathematical reasoning, not mathematical ability..
Reasoning is an important skill, which you must develop..
1. 30 hrs online live classes
2. Ideal for students with a non-math background
3. Nominal fee... fee will be reduced if more join the batch. (Batch size max 10)
Objectives of the course:
1. Revision of basic math concepts
numbers
Algebra
percentages
ratios
Time and work
Geometry basics
Discrete probability
statistics
Mixtures
sets
2. Increase speed using math-accelerator series
I have worked with lots of students who have lost touch with math... so I will go slow and make sure that you understand the concepts.
Feel free to schedule a math counselling session. You can reach me - George - GMAT math tutor Check my linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgeanand
Duration: Your preparation can last for 5 months or 3 months or 1 month. Ideally you can be GMAT ready in 1.5 - 2 months . Lets have a chat to see if you can be ready in less time. My contact link is below
The Plan
I feel GMAT preparation can be broken into 3 phases.
Phase 1- concepts
Phase 2 - application
Phase 3- mastery.
I will go into each phase after explaining the thinking behind the plan The thinking
As a tutor, I primarily focus on efficiency. Maximum performance in shortest possible time
I would recommend a preparation time of 1.5 - 2 months. A structured study plan, designed keeping your strengths and weakness in mind, is paramount. This study plan will make or break your preparation.
If you need help in making a study plan, feel free to contact me. You can see my bio below. A little bit about me.
I am George, a GMAT tutor, since 2008. I coach students online as well as offline at my center in Chennai, India. You can
Read my thoughts on GMAT prep via my blog: let's GMAT
Now lets focus on the plan
This plan requires
1. GMAT Study material - study books /learning videos
2. GMAT Practice tests- Progressive test series -Test difficulty level increases systematically.
3. GMAT Computer adaptive tests Phase 1: Concepts Learning objective: Build concepts. Don’t worry on speed. Focus on accuracy
Here are few Activities in phase 1
Visit mba.com and understand the GMAT test structure, Take the Diagnostic test. See your comfort level. If you feel you are ready to dive into preparation get into prep mode or else ... get a tutor
Use your prep material to
Work on your math computation skills. Learn basic mathematical computation like multiplication squares/cubes/square roots. I recommend vedic math. Watch this tutorial to compute faster
Collect all the math formula relevant to the exam
Identify and collect all the grammar rules . This learning video can show you the first step in sentence correction preparation
Identify the different question types in the Critical reasoning section. Make a list of them. Collect a strategy for each question type. This learning video can guide you..
Collect idioms and study them – you need to study idioms with their usage. Watch this learning tutorial
·
Develop the skill of critical reading. GMAT reading comprehension passages tests your ability to infer information from the passage. Watch this learning tutorial
Points to note
Practice easy to medium level questions to build confidence.
Work on GMAT type passages always.
Improve your basic vocabulary
Check your progress at the end of this stage
your accuracy level should be 50% in each section
You should have completed atleast 50 GMAT reading comprehension passages
Phase 2: Application Learning objective:
Build speed. You need to solve a question in less than 2 minutes. Focus on speed
Here are few Activities in phase 2,
Do section tests topic wise
Write 10+ GMAT analytical writing essays. Get them evaluated by a subject matter expert
Focus on higher order thinking skills in math and verbal. For example Check this tutorial on probability, permutation combination
Check your progress
your accuracy level should be 75% in each section
You should have completed atleast 100 GMAT reading comprehension passages
Phase 3: Mastery
Learning objective: Test yourself and track your progress. Activities:
Practice GMAT Official guide questions x 3 times
Take 10+ mock computer adaptive tests
Revise your error logs…. many times
Complete 150 GMAT reading comprehension passage
If you reach your target score in 5 tests or more then go ahead an book your test slot.
Continue practicing till day of exam
I hope that you got the flow. Feel free to contact me if you have further doubts. Happy learning.
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.
2. Imagine yourself succeeding
Be optimistic about your preparation and success in the GMAT. Start your preparation early so that you do not take the test till you are ready.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5.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.
6. 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.
7.Meditate;
with your learning your own reflections and insights can throw up new ideas that work best for you.
8.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.
9.Invest intelligently
in buying good reading material: books, CDs, general reading material. And invest time wisely.
10. 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!!
What are the pain points you face while preparing for #GMAT.
I have been tutoring students for 10 years. since 2010. I have handled many, different, cases . One thing I realized is that each of you need a customized solution.. One size doesn't fit all... Lets work on a solution which maximizes your performance in the shortest possible time... Lets chat Call or whatsapp me 9884123808... Catch me on linkedin.. https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgeanand/
I made this permutation/combination basics video sometime back. If you are starting your #GMAT preparation, this tutorial will guide and show you the right way of "thinking" which is required to understand this chapter. This chapter in math is pretty hard to understand otherwise. So revisit the concept many,many times. Feel free to ping me if you have any queries or if you need tutoring ..
To speak to a math tutor, get in touch with us.
Semantics offers On-demand live GMAT classes. Fill this google form,
our counselor will get in touch with you.
Do you want to ace the sentence correction section of the GMAT?
Here is a good workout. Analyse the given passage. mark the following:
1. Subject and corresponding verb
2. Noun and its modifier
3. Noun and pronoun
4. Adjective and the noun its modifying
5.clauses- dependent/ relative
6. standard sentence structure
What else can you observe.
Famines that once plagued South Asia are now vanishingly rare, the population less susceptible to disease and starvation. But that progress may be reversed, experts worry, and funding for anti-poverty programmes may be cut as government struggle with stagnant growth rates or economic contractions as the world heads for recession.
Anxiety is a problem that attacks the body but anxiety germinates in the head.
Anxiety comes from telling ourselves a bad story.
You are bad at math/english.
You can't learn so fast
You are too old...
Change the story.. change your life
4 ways to change the story
1. Think positives
marginalize the negatives.. Amplify the success stories.
2. Be unbiased
Dont jump into conclusions. Be neutral. observe your feelings and let them pass.
3. Live in the present
Dont become a fortune teller and try predicting the future. take one step at a time.
4.Avoid being the victim
People overgenarlize where one negative event is a never-ending pattern of defeat.
This results in a distortedly darkened vision of life. Remove the blinkers and see life in totality.
Work on any of the above ..one at a time
take control of your life.
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.
Ask: “can I find the answer?” instead
of “what is the value of the unknown variable?”
Data sufficiency is a test of mathematical
reasoning. It tests your ability to
evaluate the adequacy of given data in answering a question in the mathematical
setting. This involves verifying the sufficiency of data to solve a problem,
distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant data, and establishing
relationship between variables.
Here’s how the directions for data sufficiency problems
appear in the exam
A given question is
followed by two statements. You are required to determine whether the statements
can be used to answer the question.
Mark (A) if statement
I alone is sufficient but statement II alone is not sufficient to answer the
question
Mark (B) if statement
II alone is sufficient but statement I alone is not sufficient to answer the question
Mark (C) if both
statements I and II together are sufficient to answer the question
Mark (D) if each
statement alone is sufficient to answer the question
Mark (E) if statement
I and II together are not sufficient to answer the question
Let’s take a problem
In the figure above, the points A,B,C,D and E lie on the a line. A is on both circles, B is the centre of the smaller circle, C is the centre of the larger circle, D is on the smaller circle and E is on the larger circle. What is the area of the region inside the larger circle and outside the smaller circle?
(I) AB=3 and BC=2
(2)CD=1 and DE=4
To find the area of a circle the radius of the circle is required. The area of the circle = (pi)*radius*radius.
AB = is the radius of the inner circle
AC = is the radius of the inner circle
The required area= (area of the outer circle)-(area of the inner circle)
Lets take statement (I)
AB= 3 and BC =2. The area of the outer circle can be computed as the radius of the outer circle is AC(AB+BC).The radius of the inner circle is AB. The difference in the two areas will give the numerical answer.
It is not necessary to calculate the exact numerical value. It is just enough to know that the answer can be determined with the data given. Time can be saved.
Statement(I) alone is sufficient.
Let’s take statement (II)
CD+DE=CE=CA which is the diameter of the bigger circle.
The diameter of the smaller circle is CA+CD. The radius of the smaller circle is half the diameter. Hence the radius and the diameter of the inner circle can be computed. As the radii of the bigger and inner circle are computed, the required area can be determined.
Statement (II) alone is sufficient.
Hence answer is D.
Questions such as “what is the value of ...?” , “determine the value of ...?“ can be attacked in this manner.
