Critical Reasoning questions in GMAT are essentially questions from reading comprehension passages. The questions tend to follow passages, known as arguments, that are just one paragraph in length. Such questions primarily evaluate the critical thinking and analytical skills of the test taker, which is required not only for admission to most business schools but is also a prime requisite for any decision maker in a business.

Today’s blog aims to give you some simple techniques to help you understand and answer the GMAT Critical Reasoning questions, which comprise about one third of total questions on the verbal section of the GMAT.

Classification of Critical Reasoning Questions:    

To ace the GMAT’s critical reasoning section with ease, the best tip is to go on reverse. Read the question first, even though question follows the argument. Know what type of question you will have to answer, and then read the argument with the question in mind.  Depending on what is expected, Critical Reasoning questions are classified into:

1. Find the assumption.
2. Strengthen an argument.
3. Weaken an argument.
4. Identify contradicting argument/paradox.
5. Evaluate the logical flaw in an argument.
6. Draw inference/conclusion.

Tips to Approach Critical Reasoning Questions:

Detailed below is a list of tips to help you race the Critical Reasoning section of GMAT. Read more…

Proficiency in the Sentence Correction portion of the Verbal section involves learning about the rules of grammar, and then recognizing whether these rules are correctly followed in the sentences.

It would be very easy if you could read the choices and pick the one that sounds best, but the sentences are often very confusing, and most GMAT sentence correction questions test more than one grammar point.

Familiarize yourself with this section of the GMAT with the Fundamentals of Sentence Correction.

We have updated our practice tests on Sentence Correction section.  This test has been collated with series of questions that appeared in GMAT over the years. Take the free test to work your way through this section of GMAT.

You can find more  free online GMAT practice tests at our site

Effective writing is a vital part of business communication. In today’s blog, we are going to re-emphasize on the Sentence Correction component of the verbal section in GMAT. About 35% of the verbal section accounts for ‘Sentence Corrections’ and appear in random order in the verbal section. The language skills you learn while preparing for these sections will carry far beyond just the test day. Hence, give it equal importance as for your math preparation.

On GMAT sentence correction questions, you are given a sentence, part of which is underlined and supposed to be grammatically incorrect, with five choices to select for answer. Your selected answer should express the intended meaning of the original sentence as clearly and precisely as possible, while also being grammatically correct. In other words, you are given a sentence which is partially or completely underlined and your task would be to find out whether or not, the underlined part of the sentence needs a revision in order to make it grammatically correct.

Thumb rules to be followed while answering a sentence correction question are:

1. Be clear and precise in meaning: Grammatical correction by itself is not sufficient to find the right answer. You should also look for answers that are concise and not superfluous, and intend to give the same meaning as in the question. The GMAT Sentence Correction tests effective as well as correct expression, assessing your knowledge in standard business communication.

2. Follow Standard Written English: Take note to follow the norms of standard written English, which is very different from casual colloquial communication and also from formal scholarly writing.

Directions for these questions are given like this:

“The following questions consist of sentences that are either partly or entirely underlined. Below each sentence are five versions of the underlined portion of the sentence. Choice (A) is a copy of the original version. The four other answer choices change the underlined portion of the sentence. Read the sentence and the five choices carefully and select the best version.”

Read more…

Today’s blog intends to spend a few minutes with to you talk about ways to prepare for the computer-adaptive method of GMAT. Read on to see what we have to say…

What is Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) in GMAT parlance?

As the name suggests, GMAT being administered in a format to be taken on the computer is called the Computer Adaptive Test. It is adaptive in the sense that it “adapts” to the ability of the performer. It is a smart format which decides what question to put to you next, based on your attempt of the previous question. So it goes, Get the question right and the next question posed will be more challenging than the previous one. “Challenging” is a relative term here, depending on the ability of the test taker. A certain question might be too basic for a 700 + level test taker while it may be too advanced for the 600 level test takers.

What should influence your preparation to the Computer Adaptive GMAT?

There are three ways in which the test’s computer-adaptive nature should influence your GMAT preparation:

Average out your time depending on the difficulty level: As you are doing well, you will only be posed with harder questions. Thus with harder questions, your time spent to arrive at the solution gets longer. Average time spent per question should approximately be 2 minutes, but it is just ‘an average’. There are some questions you will be able to answer in 30 seconds, while there are others that will require at least 3 minutes. Ascertaining when to spend extra time on a question and when to give up is an essentially important decision to make for computer-adaptive tests. Do not unnecessarily ponder over the first few questions, trying to prove your ability.

Read more…

This is a cool infographic on evolution of online MBA.

Image Courtsey : http://onlinemba.unc.edu/

After adding GMAT practice tests and GRE practice tests, we are happy to announce free CAT online practice tests on CAT for million of students in India , who take up CAT every year.

CAT is an all-India test conducted by the Indian Institute of Management as an entrance exam for the management programes of its seven business school.

This was a paper and pen test and , went onine last year

Here are Online CAT practice test

There are around 15 free tests and they have questions of last 2 years as well as from 2002 to 2010 , divided into different sections.

The conveners of the Common Aptitude Test (standardized test for admission to various IIMs and other business schools in India) are trying hard to bring the test at par with GRE and GMAT, while keeping it simpler and less complicated for the candidates. In the year 2009, the paper based exam was converted into a Computer Based Test, much to the dismay of the students in India who found it challenging to give the test on-screen. Nevertheless, the test remains to be computer based and with adequate practice sessions, candidates are able to get familiar with the on-screen test environment. Read more…

For some testers, GMAT questions based on assumptions, inferences and conclusion are easily the bane of their existence, for the simple reason that all the five answer choices seem to be highly likely. You read the first choice and think, ‘ya, this could be the right answer’. Come down to the second choice and you are already confused as to which of the two choices is correct. Next three choices are hardly going to ease the dilemma, unless of course you are an expert at solving critical reasoning questions.

How do you become an expert? Simple! It is imperative that you know the tips and techniques for solving critical reasoning questions and practice a lot of these kinds of questions. It is believed that once you have mastered the required skill for solving CR questions, you will read every other text in a way as if you are looking for assumptions, conclusions and inferences.

To help you in your GMAT preparation, we have compiled an online practice test of 20 CR questions that vary in difficulty level, from medium to hard. The questions are set strictly according to the current GMAT pattern and is sure to prove a great resource for those who are about to take the GMAT test in the near future.

At the end of the test, you can check your score and also the right answers to the questions. We advise you to astutely analyze the questions and solutions, so that you get an idea as to where is it that you are going wrong while solving the test questions.

Take the GMAT Critical Reasoning Test now!

“Words have meaning and names have power”

This particular line I think summarize the importance of writing winning admission essays, if you want to make it to the any of the most renowned business schools in the world. While the GMAT scores and the undergraduate GPAs reflect your academic and intellectual aptitude, the college essays not only are an indicator of your verbal prowess but your leadership abilities. Even more than that, the essays prove to the admission committee members that the applicant portrayed by the words is indeed a blessing to the MBA program and will contribute handsomely to the pool of knowledge and experience.

However, that doesn’t mean you should stoop down to painting yourself in false light and concoct false tales to prove your mettle. Remember, words have meaning and it always pays to write honest and meaningful words. Read more…

This is a follow up to the last post in which we reported the survey analysis by the MBA.com that claims that MBA education in business schools can help one unravel his/her entrepreneurial instincts. There were substantial evidences behind that claim and we respect the view point too.  However, one cannot but put up the point: is business school education mandatory for entrepreneurial success?

The unanimous answer is obviously NO. The MBA degree does not assure success in one’s entrepreneurial ventures and not all MBA grads are treated with reverence in the Silicon Valley or at the Wall Street. In fact, the hottest companies and ventures in the market are owned by the college dropouts of yesteryears who had the nerve to think beyond the stereotypical. Yes, we are talking about Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Steve Jobs (Apple Inc, which was a garage startup) and Bill Gates (Microsoft Corp). Do you think an MBA degree would have made a difference to their businesses today? Read more…