大龄备战GMAT日记

lingling111111

先交代一下我的情况，加拿大移民, 文科生，在多大和OCAD分别拿下了两个Master degrees, GPA 应该在3.5左右 A-. 英语不算好，凑合，准备申请marketing and comsumer behavior Ph.D,需要GMAT 680以上吧。 但是因为是文科生，高中毕业也有20年了，数学一直都不好，所以信心不足。上周报名了7月2日的GMAT考试，想开个帖子记录一下。

#Day 1

I read a lot of articles about how to prepare for the GMAT math which is the part I worried about most. I found a guy who had a similar background as me and got some great ideas.

Here was his suggestion

复习计划 & 复习资料

初期（了解基本考点 + 刷 OG 打基础）：

• 了解 GMAT 数学的基本考点，可以看网课或者 CD 上有的数学入门资料。（我当时花了 2-3 天看完了视频，还做了很多笔记，现在感觉没有什么必要，知识点是可以后期的练习加深印象的。数学基础好的同学可以直接开始做题）
• 开始刷 OG.总册或分册都可以，我刷的是 OG 2019 总册（PS 共 230 题，DS 共 174 题），花了 10 天左右。
  
  

中期（不做简单题，只做难题）：

OG Advanced.这部分的题目会比较难，而且很多题 2 分钟不一定能做得出来，所以我每天只做 20-25 题，共花了一周。

后期（考试前一周，以模考和复习错题为主，调整心态）：

• Veritas 模考。Veritas 是一个和曼哈顿对标的机构，之前看到论坛里有人推荐说模考很准，我就买了。数学部分会难一点，但是题目都很新，适合用来锻炼自己实战时遇到难题的心态，而且 Veritas 给的分也挺高的（我错一半都有 48）
• 复习错题和知识点。我考前一天还翻出了 KNEWTON 的 Knotes，只有两页，涵盖了大部分的 GMAT 数学单词和公式。注：我做过一套曼哈顿的数学模考，感觉每一题都是 extremely high 的难度，完全没有参考性还很打击自信心。
  
  

如何精刷数学题？

• 每天 30-40 题，做的时候在自己不确定和做的很慢的题目上画个圈圈
• 校对答案，把做错的题、蒙对的题都记录在 Excel 上
• 先纠正错的题目，看解析，理解后后把正确的思路和做题方法记录在 OneNote 上，并标注出【解题的关键点】/【遗漏的知识点】/【考点/方法论总结】等信息
• 纠正不确定 + 做的很慢的题目，和解析对照：如果思路对的话就过了；如果发现思路不对或者有别的更快的解法，我也会记在 OneNote 上
• 把一系列的题刷完以后，我就会根据 Excel 上的记录再做一遍那些我错 + 思路不对的题
  
  

复盘复习计划，我为什么能拿到 50?

• 每天保持一定题量的练习（平均每天 30 题），保持做题的手感。
• 横向总结和纵向总结相结合：整理当天的错题，每一题都会标注“我遗漏的知识点”or“为什么错了？”遇到考点相似、总是做错的题目，会把他们归类到一起，总结方法论和需要注意的点。
  
  

My verbal is not strong either, but I have more confidence since I had two Canadian master's degrees. Reading could be improved drmatically if i could practice more.

Here is the page I should follow and check the updates regularly.  <a href="https://forum.chasedream.com/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=25&filter=typeid&typeid=169" target="_blank"><a href="https://forum.chasedream.com/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=25&filter=typeid&typeid=169</a" target="_blank">https://forum.chasedream.com/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=25&filter=typeid&typeid=169</a></a>

Reading Comprehensive

https://cleveracademy.vn/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/07-Reading-Comprehension.pdf

Critical Reasoning

<a  target="_blank"><a  target="_blank">https://www.academia.edu/10225602/06_Manhattan_GMAT_Critical_Reasoning</a></a>

Day #2

今天早上开始看Manhattan SC，英文原本，对来并不难，而且容易理解，打算一天结束 笔记如下：

Chapter 1. Subject-verb agreement

• Subject and verb must agree in number
• Eliminate the middlemen, and skip the warmup
  
  

• Prepositional Phrases
• Subordinate clauses
• Other modifiers (ed, en）
• Additive phrase (along with, in addition to , as well as, accompanied by, together  with, including）
• Either or, neither.. Nor, (nearest )
• Collective nouns ( singular, agency, armym audience, class, committee, crowd, orchestra, team)
• Indefinite Pronouns ( singular, anyone, anybody, no on, nobody, nothing, everyone)
• Quantity of words and phrases （ the number of takes a singular, but a number of takes plural)
• Subject phrases and clauses always singular
  
  

3. when in doubt, think singular

Chapter 2. Parallelism

Parallel elements （nouns, adjectives, verbs, infinitives to be, participles doing, prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses）

Chapter 3. Pronouns

The deadly Five: it, its, they, them,their

Modifier

• Put commas between non-essential modfidiers and their nouns
• Put no commas between essential modifiers and their noun.
• Use which (and commas）if the modifier is non-essential
• Use that （and no commas) if the modifier is essential.
• Use which only to refer to the noun immediately preceding it - naver to refer to an entire clause
  
  

Wrong：

Crime has recently decreased in our neighborhood, which has led to a rise in property value.

Right:

The recent decrease in crime in our neighborhood has led to a rise in propert value.

Crime has recently decreased in our neighborhood, leading to a rise in property value.

Chapter 4. Verb Tense, Mood & voice

Simple tenses (simple present, past, future, native-English speaker well-attuned)

Express eternal states or frequent events.

Progressive Tenses (Present progressive, Past progressive, future progressive)

Don’t use perfect tense unless it’s necessary

Right

Joe learned about an epoch in which dinosaurs walked the earth.

Tense Sequence

Right

The scientist announced that the supercollider was ready, that it had not cost too much, and that it would provide new insights into the working of the universe.

Chapter. 6  Modifiers

Chapter. 7  The subjunctive mood ( indicative mood or commands with the imperative mood)

• Unlikely or unreal conditions
• Proposals, desires, and requests formed with certain verbs and the word.
  
  

Hypothetical subjunctive

If…then constructions

• General rule with no uncertainty If present, then present
• General rule with some uncertainty if present, then can or may
• Particular case (in the future) with no uncertainty if present, then future
• Unlikely case ( in the future) if hypothetical subjunctive, then conditional (would)
  
  

Eg. if Sophie ate pizza tomorrow, then she would become ill.

• Case that never happened (in the past) if past perfect, then conditional perfect
  
  

Eg. If Sophie had eaten pizza yesterday, then she would have become ill.

Command subjunctive (usually use with bossy verbs, such as require or propose. Bossy verbs tell people to do things.

Bossy verb + that+subject+commend subjunctive

Right:

we propose that the school board disband.

Wrong

We propose the school board disband. (That is not optional)

We propose that the school board disbands.

We propose that the school board is to disband.

We propose that the school boards will disband

We propose that the school board should disband.

Some of the most common bossy verbs, such as want, can’t use the command subjunctive, but rather an infinitive ( to + the bare form)

Right: The vice-president wants her to go to the retreat

Wrong: The vice-president wants that she go to the retreat.

Common verbs that take only the command subjunctive when indicating desire:

Demand, dictate, insist, mandate, propose, recommend, request, stipulate, suggest.

Verbs that take only the infinitive

Advise, allow, forbid, persuade, want

Verbs that take either the command subjunctive or the infinitive

Ask, beg, intend, order, prefer, urge, require (special, to be or that subject be correct)

Prohibit, The agency prohibited Gary from working on weekends.

Command subjunctive can also be used with nouns derived from bossy verbs, such as a demand or a request.

Eg.

Right: His demand that he be paid full severance was not met.

           It’s essential that Gary be ready before noon.

Other adjectives conveying urgency include advisable, crucial, desirable, fitting, imperative, important, mandatory, necessary, preferable, urgent, and vital.

Avoid the use of the command subjunctive after whether.

Right: I like ice cream, whether it is chocolate, vanilla, or any other flavor.

Active and passive voice

Chapter 8 Comparisons

Signals:

like, unlike, more than, less than, faster than, different from, in contrast to /with

As, as…as, as much as, as little as, as fast as, the same as,

Like vs as ( like + noun, pronouns, or noun phrases; as + clause )

Don’t throw out an answer choice simply because of an unnecessary helping verb in the second term of a comparison

Chapter 9 Idioms

Chapter 10 Odds & ends

• Coordinating conjunctions: For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
• Subordinators: although, because, before, after, since, when, if, unless, that, though, while
  
  

Comma(,) There is not correct answer because of , in GMAT

Semicolon(;) connects two closely related statements.

Wrong: Andres and Lisa are inseparable; doing everything together.

Colon(

Dash(-)

Quantity

Rule #1 words used for countable things vs. words used for uncountable things

Rule #2 words used to relate two things vs.words used to relate three or more things

Rule #3 The number or number of versus a number or the number of

Rule #4 Increase and decrease vs. greater and less

Chapter 11

Rule #1 V-A-N = Verbs > Adjective(adverb)> Noun (an active verb is usually stronger than more concise than an adjective or an action noun.

Rule #2 Prefer a That-clause (with verbs) to a series of phrases( with nouns)

Rule #3 Prefer a verb to an adjective

The fields I most enjoy study are those of physics and chemistry. Vs The fields I most enjoy studying are physics and chemistry. (Better)

Rule #4 Keep that after a reporting verb (indicate, claim, contend, or report， announce, assert, believe, confess, demonstrate, doubt, expect, hold, know, mention, observe, proclaim, reason, recognize, repeat, state, think and warn, or be passive verb)

Eg. The study indicated that

Parallelism: Concrete Nouns and Action Nouns

Concrete noun: things, people, places, and even time period or certain events

Action noun: eruption, pollution, nomination

Avoid making concrete nouns and action nouns parallel

Simple gerund phrases are never parallel to complex gerund phrases

Wrong:1.  I enjoyed drinking the water and the wine tasting.  

2. The rebels demanded the withdrawal of government forces from disputed regions, significant reductions in overall troop levels, raising the rebel flag on holidays, and a general pardon.

Working verbs, only working verbs are parallel to other working verbs

Infinitives ( to form)

Adjectives, past participles, and present participles( used as adjectives)

A mastodon carcass, which has been thawed only once and which is still fresh, is on display.

Common parallelism Categories

Nouns

Chapter 12 Pronouns & Modifiers

There - in that place

Wrong: At current prices, Antarctic oil(Oil in Antarctica)  may be worth drilling for, if wells can be dug there and environmental concerns addressed.

Itself, themselves, one another, each other

The reflexive pronouns itself and themselves are used as objects to refer directly back to the subject:

The reciprocal Pronouns one other and each other are used to indicate interaction between parties. Thes pronouns are not interchangeable with themselves.

Such and other/another often combine with a general noun to indicate an antecedent. Such means like the antecedent.

Do so versus Do it

Do so can refer to an entire action, including a verb, its objects, and its modifiers.

In the phrase do it, the pronoun it must refer to an actual noun antecedent. (the same )

Placeholder it ( Do not look for a nou antecedent for a placeholder It)

Eg. It (placeholder it)  is futile to resist temptation.

2. Postpone That-Clause subjects

It gave us encouragement that we scored at all.

3. Postpone infinitive or That-Cluase Objects

Right:  

• She made it possbile for us to attend the movie
• She made possible our attendance at the movie
• She made our attendance at the movie possible.
  
  

Avoiding pronouns altogether

It is often smoother (GMAT like) to use a generic synonym for the antecedent that to repeat the noun exactly. Such a synonym stands in for the antecedent tand functions just lke a pronoun, but with none of the drawbacks. The synonym is often more general than the antecedent, which refers to an example of the generic synonym.

Eg.

• New nano-papers incorporate fibers that give these materials strength.
• After the land-use agreement surfaced, the commission decided to subject any such contract to debate in the future.
• After roasting the deer, the hunter extinguished the fire and then searched for a tree to hang the meet from.
  
  

Nuances of Pronoun Reference

• Number The antecedent must agree in number ( singular, plural) with the pronoun.
• Gender The antecedent must agree in gender ( masculine, feminine, neuter) with the pronoun.
• Repeats Repeated pronouns are presumed to have the same antecedent. That is, every it and its in the sentence must refer to the same singular noun; every they, them, and their must refer to the same plural noun.
• Proximity The pronoun should refer to the closest eligible antecedent. Note that there is such an idea as too close. In the sentence In the station house, it is consider taboo, the IT cannot refer to station house. The antecedent normally occurs earlier in the sentence.
• Case The pronoun and the antecedent should agree in the case if they are parallel structures. In particular, a subject pronoun in one clause often refers to a noun in subject position in another parallel clause. In general, subject nouns make strong antecedents, even for somewhat distant pronouns.
  
  

Modifiers: EXCEPTION TO THE TOUCH RULE

• A “mission-critical” modifier falls between. This modifier is often an of-phrase that defines the noun. The less important modifier refers to the noun plus the first modifier.
  
  

Eg. (1).  He had a way of dodging opponents that impressed the scouts.

       (2) . His way of dodging opponents impressed the scouts.

       (3) An ice sheet covers 80 percent of the surface of Greenland, an area roughly the size of Alaska.

• A very short predicate falls between, shifting a very long modifier back
  
  

Eg. (1) A new  CEO has been hired who will transform the company by decentralizing authority to various division heads while increasing their accountability through the use of public scorecards.

• A short non-essential phrase intervenes and is set off by commas.
  
  

Eg. Our system of presidential elections favors states, such as DELAWARE, that by population are over-represented in the Electoral College.

• The modifier is part of a series of parallel modifiers, one of which touches the noun.
  
  

Eg. In heraldry, the term “ tincture” refers to a color emblazoned on a coat of arms and labeled with a special Frech word.

Possessive Nuances

Y of X‘s is considered redundant by the GMAT

The orca, a relative of the blue whale’s, is found throughout the globe.

In roughly 80%-90% of publicly released problems that contain the plural possessive in the underlined portion, the GMAT avoids the plural possessive answer choice  or choices for a variety of reasons:

• You cannot easily modify the noun that is in the possessive.
• With a possessive, you cannot express a relationship other than of
• The plural possessive can be easily misread, especially within a prepositional phrase. For one thing, it sounds the same as the singular possessive, and you can easily miss the add-on apostrophe after final-s.
  
  

Eg. Certain parasites in humans vs Certain human’s parasites.

Subgroup Modifiers

Eg. (1). This model explains all known subatomic particles, some of which were only recently discovered.

(2). This model explains all known subatomic particles, some of them only recently discovered.

(3) This model explains all known subatomic particles, some only recently discovered.

More on relative clauses vs. Participles

In many cases, a relative clause headed by a relative pronoun and a present participle modifier are practically interchangeable.

Eg. The man who is cleaning the steps is my uncle. Vs The man cleaning the steps is my uncle.

I saw a man cleaning the steps. ( cleaning takes place in the past)

I see a man cleaning the steps. ( cleaning takes place in the present)

I will see a man cleaning the steps. (cleaning take place in the future)

Wrong： I see the man cleaning the steps yesterday.

Absolute Phrases,  are composed of a noun plus a noun modifier. These phrases do not have to modify what they touch; rather, they modify the main clause in some way.

Owen walked out of the store, his head held high.

Owen walked out of the store with his head held high.

His head held high, Owen walked out of the store.

Wrong:

Scientists have found high levels of iridium in certain geological formations around the world, which suggested the cataclysmic impact of a meteor million of years ago.

Scientists have found high levels of iridium in certain geological formations around the world, and this suggests the cataclysmic impact of a meteor million of years ago

Right:

Scientists have found high levels of iridium in certain geological formations around the world, suggesting the cataclysmic impact of a meteor million of years ago.

Chapter 13 Verbs & Comparison: Extra

Helping verbs

Primary helping verbs ( Be, Do, and Have)

Eg.

This plan ensures that action must be taken.

This plan ensures that action will be taken

Our division spent significant funds on having to build facilities.

Our division had to spend significant funds on building facilities.

We are to receive an invitation

We will receive an invitation.

Verbals: an overview

• Infinitives: to be, to do
• Gerunds: watching, throwing, seeing
• Participles:
  
  

Present participles: watching

Past participles： watched

Comparison

We have even more efficient engines than before

We have even more engines that are efficient than before.

We have engines even more efficient than before.

今天算是把SC看完了，考点就这么几个主要的。明天可以开始看看OG上的例题。

无问东西

期待上700分

lingling111111

如果有需要咨询，怎么申请加拿大的master,可以给我留言，我也算经验丰富了，全部都是自己DIY，成功率100%。一个是多大ischool，信息系统管理。另外一个是OCAD， 艺术类的，digital futures & strategic foresight innovation.

lingling111111

#Day 3
今天做了开始做OG，
Verbal 20道 SC 75%，30道 CR 67%， 20道RC 75%
Quant 30到 PS， 非常简单的题。
感觉SC+CR正确率是比较高的，阅读明显弱一点，但是好多不认识，还是基础不好
数学PS比较简单，基本上没有难度

lingling111111

Day#4
今天计划 word list 背了7/8/9，大部分还是认识的，有一些不认识的继续加强，任何考试的基础都是词汇

lingling111111

改写
That sex ratio will be favored which maximizes the number of descendants an individual will have and hence the number of gene copies transmitted.

That sex ration which maximizes the number of descendants an individual will have and hence the number of gene copies transmitted will be favored.

Hard’s weakness derived from his apparent inability to control the comings and goings of these divergent impulses and from his unwillingness to cultivate and sustain the energetic and risky ones.

Virginia woolf’s provocative statement about her intentions in writing Mrs. Dallowary has regularly been ignored by the critics, since it highlights an aspect of her literary interests very different from the traditional picture of the poetic novelist concerned with examining states of reverie and vision and with following the intricate pathways of individual consciousness.

As she put it in The Common Reader, “ it is safe to say that not a single law has been framed or one stone set upon another because of anything Chaucer said or wrote; and yet, as we read him, we are absorbing morality at every pore.

With the conclusion of a burst of activity, the lactic acid level is high in the body fluids, leaving the large animal vulnerable to attack until the acid is reconverted, via oxidative metabolism, by the liver into glucose, which is then sent back to the muscles for glycogen resynthesis.

With the conclusion of a burst of activity, the high level of lactic acid in the body fluids left  the large animal vulnerable to attack until the acid is reconverted via oxidative metabolism by the liver into glucose, which is then sent back to the muscles for glycogen resynthesis.

Although Gutman admits that forced separation by sale was frequent, he shows that the slaves’ preference, revealed most clearly on plantations where sale was infrequent, was very much for stable monogamy.

Gutman argues convincingly that the stability of the balck family encouraged the transmission of - and so was crucial in sustaining- the Black heritage of folkore, music, and religious expression from one generation to another, a heritage that slaves were continually fashioning out of their African and American expression.

This preference for exogamy, Gutman suggests, may have derived from West African rules governing marriage, which, though they differed from one tribal group to another, all involved some kind of prohibition against unions with close kin.

Gutman suggests this preference for exogamy which all involved some kind of prohibition against unions with close kin, though they differed from one tribal group to another, may have derived from West African rules governing marriage
His thesis works relatively well when applied to discrimination against Blacks in the United States, but his definiton of racial prejudice as “ racially-based negative prejudgments against a group generally accepted as a race in any given region of ethnic competition,” can be interpreted as also including hostility toward such ethnic groups as the chinese in Claifornia and the Jews in medieval Europe.


Such variations in size, shape, chemistry, conduction speed, excitation threshold, and the like as had been demonstrated in nerve cells remained negligible in significance for any possible correlation with the manifold dimensions of mental experience.

It was possible to demonstrate by other methods refined structural differences among neuron types; however, proof was lacking that the quality of the impulse or its condition was influenced by these differences, which seemed instead to influence the developmental patterning of the neural circuits.

Although qualitative variance among nerve energies was never rigidly disproved, the doctrine was generally abandoned in favor of opposing view, namely, that nerve impulses are essentially homogeneous in quality and are transmitted as “common currency” throughout the nervous system.

Other experiments revealed slight variations in the size, number, arrangement, and interconnection of the nerve cells, but as far as psychoneural correlations were concerned, the obvious similarities of these sensory fields to each other seemed much more remarkable than any of the minute differences.


Although some experiments show that, as an object becomes familiar, its internal representation becomes more holistic and the recognition process correspondingly more parallel, the weight of evidence seems to support the serial hypothesis, at least for objects that are not notably simple and familiar.

In large part as a consequence of the feminist movement, hostorians have focused a great deal of attention in recent years on determining more accurately the status of women in various periods.
If one begins by examining why ancients refer to Amazons, it becomes clear that ancient Greek descriptions of such societies were meant not so much to represent observed historical fact - real Amazonian societies- but rather to offer “ moral lessons” on the supposed outcome of women’s rule in their own society.

Thus, for instance, it may come as a shock to mathematicians to learn that the Schrodinger equation for the hydrogen atom is not a literally correct description of this atom, but only an approximation to a somewhat more correct equation taking account of spin, magnetic dipole, and relativistic effects; and that corrected equation is itself only an imperfect approximation to an infinite set of quantum field- theoretical equations.
The physicist rightly dreads （惧怕）precise argument, since an argument（ that is convincing only if it is precise） loses all its force（ if the assumptions on which it is based are slightly changed）, whereas an argument（ that is convincing though imprecise ）may well be stable under small perturbations of its underlying assumptions.

However, as they gained cohesion, the Bluestockings came to regard themselves as a women’s group and to possess a sense of female solidarity lacking in the salonnieres, (who remained isolated from one another by the primacy each held in her own salon).

As my own studies have advanced, I have been increasingly impressed with the functional similarities between insect and vertebrate (脊椎动物）societies and less so with the structural differences that seem, at first glance, to constitute such an immense gulf between them.

Although fiction assuredly springs from political circumstances, its authors react to those circumstances in ways other than ideological, and (talking about novels and stories primarily as instruments of ideology) circumvents(v.包围、规避） much of the fictional enterprise.

Is this a defect, or are the authors working out of, or trying to forge, a different kind of aesthetic.

In addition, the style of some Black novels, like Jean Toomer’s Cane, verges on(接近于） expressionism or surrealism; does this technique provide a counterpoint to the prevalent theme that portrays the fate (against which Black heroes are pitted), (a theme usually conveyed by more naturalistic modes of expression)?

Black Fiction surveys a wide variety of novels, bringing 倒装 (to our attention in the process） some fascinating and little-known works like James Weldon Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man.

Although these molecules allow radiation at visible wavelengths, where most of the energy of sunlight is concentrated, to pass through, they absorb some of the longer-wavelength, infrared emissions radiated from the Earth’s surface, radiation would otherwise be transmitted back into space

The role those anthropologists ascribe to evolution is not of dictating the details of human behavior but one of imposing constraints- ways of feeling, thinking, and acting that( “ come naturally” in archetypal situations in any culture.)

Which of the following most probably provides an appropriate analogy from human morphology for the details versus constraints distinction made in the passage in relation to human behavior.

A low number of algal cells in the presence of a high number of grazers（食草动物） suggested, ,but did not prove, that the grazers had removed most of the algae（藻类）.  

Perhaps the fact (that many of these first studies considered only algae of a size that could be collected in a net (net phytoplankton), a practice that over-looked the smaller phytoplankton ( nannoplankton) that we now know grazers are most likely to fed on, led to a de-emphasis of the role of grazers in subsequent research.

Studies by Hargrave and Geen estimated natural community grazing rate by measuring feeding rate of individual zooplankton species in the laboratory and then computing community grazing rates for field conditions using the known population density.

mlm800

加油~~

lingling111111

今天背了4个单元的单词，加上分别30 SC, CR 30，以及30个长难句

lingling111111

COMPARISONS


Comparisons are the most frequent topic on GMAT. The best part about comparison based problems is that they are very easy to spot.
Comparisons basically is the discussion of similarities or differences between two elements (people, places, things or ideas)

• Like, as, compared to, contrast, different from, unlike.
• Larger, slower, higher, colder, highest, slowest.
The law of comparison is that it must be logical and it must be ambiguity free.

Example 1
• The laws in Pakistan are more restrictive than India.
Laws in Pakistan ------ India (Incorrect)
• The laws in Pakistan are more restrictive than laws in India.
Laws in Pakistan ------ Laws in India (Correct)

Example 2
• Unlike India, China’s economy is primarily based on manufacturing.
India ------ China’s economy (Incorrect)
• Unlike India’s economy, China’s economy is primarily based on manufacturing.
India’s economy ------- China’s economy (Correct)

Example 3
• The population of India is more than Indonesia.
Population of India --------- Indonesia (Incorrect)
• The population of India is more than that of Indonesia.
• The population of India is more than the population of Indonesia.
Population of India --------- Population of Indonesia (Incorrect)

Example 4
• In addition to having more teeth than a piranha has, a barracuda’s teeth are larger than a Piranha does. ( Incorrect )
• In addition to having more teeth than a piranha has, a barracuda has teeth that are larger than a Piranha’s teeth. ( Correct )

Example 5
• Max dislikes broccoli more than his girlfriend. (Incorrect)
• Max dislikes broccoli more than his girlfriend dislikes broccoli. (Correct)
• Max dislikes broccoli more than his girlfriend does. (Correct)

Example 6
• The chemical engineering certification process in Peru is more time consuming than Brazil. (Incorrect)
• The chemical engineering certification process in Peru is more time consuming than that in Brazil. (Correct)


RULE#1: Replace Noun elements in comparison by :- that, those, it.

Replace Verb elements in comparison by :- do, does, so.
• Maple trees shed their autumn leaves earlier than oak trees. (Incorrect)
• Maple trees shed their autumn leaves earlier than oak trees do. (Correct)

Example 7
• Sanjay is smarter than any student in his class. (Incorrect)
• Sanjay is smarter than any other student in his class. (Correct)

Example 8
• Usain Bolt runs faster than anyone. (Incorrect)
• Usain Bolt runs faster than anyone else. (Correct)


RULE#2: LIKE Vs As Vs Such as


1. Use Like to compare NOUNS.
2. Like followed by a clause is wrong usage.
3. As is followed by a clause or a verb.

Examples
• Whitney sings like an angel. (Correct)
• Whitney sings like an angel does. (Incorrect – an angel does is a clause, not a phrase)
• Barry sings as a professional playback singer sings. (Correct)
• Barney collects stamps as his father does. (Correct)
• Carl curses like a lumberjack working in the woods. ( notice that no verb follows like; working in the woods is a participial phrase modifying the Noun lumberjack. This usage is correct).
• Barney loves his dogs (as/like) he loves his friends. ( Since the verb loves follows, like cannot be used. “As” is correct)
Always search for verb following like / as usage.
• He acted ( like/as ) a fool at the party that his girlfriend threw for him. ( Like is correct because relative clause that…..him modifies the Noun : Party. So no verb is being compared and hence no verb follows the phrase after like. “He acted like a fool…….” )
Like means similar to and such as is used to give examples. But still check the entire meaning of the sentence.
• I enjoy listening to bands such as COB, Megadeath, COF. (Correct)
• Barney enjoys visiting world capitols like Rome and Paris. (Correct)


IMPORTANT: JUST LIKE and SO AS TO are always wrong on GMAT.

So …X… as to (CORRECT).
GMAT mostly uses these five words for comparisons
• As (Correct)
• Like (Correct)
• Unlike (Correct)
• Just as …so (Correct) IS A COMMON WAY ON GMAT TO WRITE LONGER COMPARISON OF CLAUSES.
• So X as to (Correct)
• Just Like (INCORRECT)

Usage - Compared to/with for STATISTICS:
If you say "compared with/to" for statistics, you should cite BOTH statistics in the comparison.

The expression "compared to/with" does NOT imply any sort of direction to the comparison; i.e., it gives no hint as
to greater/less/like/unlike. Therefore, you need to give both of the relevant statistics, or else the statement won't
make any sense.

Example:
• "The unemployment rate in Esteria last month was 5.3%, compared to the rate in Burdistan."

INCORRECT! This makes no sense. We have absolutely no idea what is going on with the rate in Burdistan.

• "The unemployment rate in Esteria last month was 5.3%, compared to a rate of 7% in Burdistan."
CORRECT. Both statistics are cited.


COMPARISON OF QUANTITIES
Usage: Double / Twice / Twice as many / Two Times / Doubling
"Twice" CANNOT function as an object of the preposition such as "by".
"Twice" is an adverb.
Example:
• "... increased by more than twice ..." -- WRONG!


Relate Quantities by Multiplying

When I say “that car is nearly three times as old as you,” I’m making a comparison with numbers using multiplication. Make sure that when we use the word “times” to denote multiplication, we also use the “as…as” comparison structure:
• Incorrect: That car is nearly three times older than you.
• Correct: That car is nearly three times as old as you.
Reserve the “than” comparison for other forms; when using multiplication, stick with the “as…as” structure.
Alternatively, you can also denote multiplication when you leave out “as:”
• Correct: A gallon of milk now costs $6, three times the cost fifteen years ago.
Relate Quantities by Addition/Subtraction
For addition or subtraction, use more than/less than.
• Incorrect: Molly is five years as old as you.
• Correct: Molly is five years older than you.
Quantitative Comparisons without Numbers
When using the words more or less without numbers, you have many options to choose from. Notice that the words “more” and “less” can be used as many different parts of speech.
• Correct (as noun/pronoun): I owe you more than I’d like to. (Here, more stands in for money, or whatever it is that I owe).
• Correct (as adverb): I drive more than I’d like to. (Here, more modifies “drive;” that is, it tells me how I am driving, so “more” functions as an adverb).
• Correct (as adjective): I have more money now than I’ve ever had. (“More” describes money, so it functions as an adjective).


The words “high” and “low,” and “higher” and “lower,” by contrast, should only be used as adjectives.
• Correct: My expectations are much lower than they were five years ago.
• Incorrect: I owe you lower than I did last year. (use “less” instead)


More Vs. Greater

When something countable increases, we use “more”
• Holland has more tulips than does any other country in Western Europe.
Tulips are separate: you can count how many tulips you have.
When something uncountable increases, we also use also “more”
• The US State of Georgia has more land than does the state of Pennsylvania.

• It costs more to go to the ballgame than to go to the opera.
In #1 Land is an uncountable noun, and in #2, the implicit noun is “money”, which is also uncountable.
The question arises: when do we use “greater” rather than “more”?

We use “greater” when the noun in question is a number. We can count the number of tulips, but a tulip itself is not a number.

Some examples of nouns that are themselves numbers are: percent, interest rate, population, volume, distance, price, cost, and number.

• The area of Georgia is greater than that of Pennsylvania.
• The price of a trip to the ballgame is greater than the cost of a night at the opera.
• Call option premia are greater when interest rates are higher.
(Notice, for certain economic quantities, we will use “higher” for an increase.) In general, things take “more” but numbers take “greater.” The “increasing” case is the easier of the two cases.


Less Vs. Fewer

The confusion of “less” and “fewer” is very troubling. This is also tested frequently on GMAT.

When something uncountable decreases, we use “less”:
• Pennsylvania has less land than does Georgia.
• I have gotten less water in my basement since sealing the windows.

When something countable decreases, we use “fewer”:
• Female drivers tend to get fewer speeding tickets.
• My dorm had fewer international students.
• When fewer people are unemployed, the interest rates tend to rise.
• If you were rich, would you have fewer problems?
It’s quite possible that some of those, or even all of those, “sound” wrong. Many many people would make the mistake of using the word “less” in those sentences even though the word “fewer” is 100% correct. If you can count it, you need to use “fewer” instead of “less.” In other words, whenever you would use “how many?” instead of “how much?”, you need to use “fewer” instead of “less.”

When we compare numbers, and numbers decrease, we can simply go back to using “less.”
• The population of Mongolia is less than that of Los Angeles.
• The cost of a night at the opera is less than total cost of a day at the ballgame.
• The melting point of zinc is less than that of copper.( BTW, “melting point” is a temperature, so it is indeed a number.)