George Bernard Shaw quoted: “Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he read made him mad” Oh am well on the way to being another Don Quixote (mind you, not Quixotic!)

Reading comprehension and sentence correction questions are an integral part of the GMAT exam and one way to master your reading skills is to read a lot: not only trade journals and magazines but classic and contemporary literature too, by which I mean the amazing world of books (fiction, adventure, philosophical, political, epics, poetry, classics, history, law etc)

Wondering what reading big, fat, ancient (and modern) tomes can do to your GMAT verbal score? Well, for starters, you come across new words and new usages for the words you are already familiar with. There are various new phrases, complex sentence structures and you get used to reading write and correct grammar. The direct result of the last part, that is getting used to perfect grammar sentences is that whenever you comes across a sentence with only slightest grammatical errors, your ears perk up in attention, a great instinct that comes in quite handy to solve sentence correction questions.

It is a great way for non-native English speakers to improve their English comprehension skills. As they read books from diverse genres, they become more aware of more and more words and grammatical structure. GMAT test takers have reported an increase of 50 to 100 points in their GMAT scores, based totally on the improvement in their verbal skills on account of reading classic and modern literary works. Read more…

GMAT forums on the internet are full of questions such as, “how do I improve my GMAT verbal score?”, “what to do to get 600+ score in GMAT verbal?” and “what are the ways to get high score in the reading comprehension and critical reading?”

We have already discussed basic strategies for solving the GMAT verbal section question types. One of the major preparation strategy emphasized upon was to read regularly and to read a lot. Reading newspapers, editorials, fiction and non-fiction books of reputed authors goes a long way in improving the vocabulary and comprehension skills of the students. Read more…

The questions in the GMAT critical reasoning section often ask you to apply your reasoning skills distinguish assumption from assertion and inference. Let us see what each of these terms mean in context of the passage given below: Read more…

Lately, we discussed a lot of strategies on GMAT time management, GMAT verbal ability and how companies are hiring more and more number of business graduates with high remuneration packages. However, in all this, let us not forget that the most important thing that will get the Perfect GMAT score is taking more and more GMAT practice tests. Therefore, here is a short test for testing your GMAT sentence improvement skills Read more…

You ought to know how to go about solving the critical reasoning questions in verbal ability that require you to draw assumptions and inferences on the basis of the information given in the questions passage. You are precisely required to do that only in the current practice exercise. Read more…

Tips to Score Well in GMAT Verbal Analysis

The verbal ability section in GMAT tests the candidates on 41 questions which include sentence correction, critical reasoning and reading comprehension. The candidates have to perform well at each of these sections in order to score highly in the verbal ability section. A good strategy complemented with a strong preparation is imperative in order to score well in the verbal section.

Classic set of errors

Those who are good in grammar usually perform well when it comes to spotting the common errors in grammar. Candidates in order to get some easy marks must ensure that their basic fundamentals of English grammar are strong and they are able to indentify most common errors. Practicing and attempting quite a few sets will also help them identify common patterns. Read more…

There are some simple things which can greatly enhance your scores in the GMAT sentence correction section. You can do well through hard work and diligence in grammar. But you need to take care of the simpler things which often become the difference between an average score and a good score. Here are some tips that will help you maximize your scores in this section.

Don’t worry about reading out the first option

The first option is invariably the underlined part, which has to be selected when you feel that the sentence is correct as is and no further modifications are required. Don’t waste your precious seconds checking and double checking this option. Another tip on the same lines is that you shouldn’t try to hyper correct believing that a sentence has to be wrong. Sometimes, what you get could indeed be the right option.

The common list of problems

Most candidates, including those who are well prepared face maximum problems in concepts like the usage of adverbs, sentence fragments, subject predicate treatment, active and passive voice usage, verb tenses, misplaced modifiers and the difference in the usage of words like among and between or fewer and less. It is good to take a thorough look at these concepts to score even in the toughest of questions. Read more…

The Verbal analysis in GMAT is the third section which comprises of multiple choice questions that the candidate has to attempt in 75 minutes. The verbal analysis section in turn comprises of 3 sections which are different ways of testing the verbal ability of the candidate. ThPostsese 3 types of questions are reading comprehension, critical reasoning and sentence correction. About 14 to 15 questions are asked in the critical reasoning section. There are usually 4 passages in the reading comprehension section with about 12 to 14 questions asked about the passages. There is a sentence correction sections too.

For the sentence correction question, candidates usually have to see if the questions fall in a classic identifiable set of errors in sentences. In this regard candidates are advised to understand why a particular sentence is wrong instead of going for fluke guesses. Candidates are also advised to read questions first when attempting critical reasoning and reading comprehension problems. As a result they will be able to focus on the passages as well as the main data of the critical reasoning better, keeping the question in mind. Candidates will also benefit from grasping the fundamentals of grammar. Memorizing tips on grammar, creating notes and using flash cards is the ideal way of preparing for the sentence correction section. A simple example would be the usage of various figures of speech or the use of conjunctions and prepositions, which are very confusing. Read more…