GMAT Q&As from the ZekeLee: 3#Tests for Verbal?

zekelee

Q:
Hello,

I noticed while taking my practice exams that I usually make some noise, such as
1. sighing (loudly?) at times
2. mumbling to myself while doing some questions
3. going "hmmmm"
4. Maybe outright say some words to help me focus like "okay so..." (not too loud but the person next to me might hear)

Is this an issue? Will the proctor tap on my back and tell me to shut up/be quiet/tell me to leave?

Thanks in advance lol

A:
You might raise some suspicion from the proctor - but should be OK.

For the person who sits next to you --- they can potentially wear ear muffs provided by the testing center to block out the noise.

To be safe, you might want to tell the proctor ahead of time - and they can position you in the corner of the room away from other test takers.       

zekelee

Q:
Hi all,
Based on your experience, what is the average level of problems of IR on GMAT. I struggle to get the hard ones right but can manage the Easy and Medium ones (from the OG material + Extra pack purchased).
I am afraid that if IR comprises only of hard that it would be difficult. I also read that IR is not adaptive. How to cope with all difficult IR problems in a row.
Please help.

Thanks!

A:
That's correct that IR is not adaptive. IR questions are generally difficult -- even more so because you have to go all parts of that question in order to get credit. However, the scoring is such that you can get a few questions wrong and still get a "perfect" score of 8/8. So when you are presented with lots of difficult IR problems in a row -- focus more on time management. If you are almost absolutely sure that you you will be guessing on all 2 or 3 parts of a question -- then just cut your loss in terms of timing and move onto the next.

Of course, during practice, you want to build your confidence to a point that that does not happen. But if that's what you are presented with during the exam -- then the important thing is to move on and don't let it affect your psychology for the remaining portions of the test.

For more of our insights into the IR test, please see: http://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/gmat-integrated-reasoning

zekelee

Q:
I am absolutely miserable at these kinds of problems!

I'd like some good thorough overviews of these kinds of problems, starting w/ the basics and moving to the more complex, with step-by-step instructions. There are thorough posts about these problems on this forum but they are not all explained well and seeing equations rendered in lines of text isn't a great visual guide. I use the MGMAT books and I really like the table format they present for solving some of these, but I need help in how to express time/distance/speed differentials and a good guide on how to solve for certain variables.

A:
Here are 2 rate questions:

http://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/gmat-problem-solving-questions/gmat-prep/Taxi%20and%20Bus/question/2287

http://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/gmat-problem-solving-questions/gmat-prep/Racing%20Cars/question/2288

zekelee

Q:
Hi GMATCLUB members,

Its been few weeks that I have started working on GMAT and here is where I need help.

I started with Veritas full prep course (12 books arranged by numbers)

I have focused on QUANT first. I have so far attempted Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry.

Issue : I can easily understand the rules but can't make the connection in the problems. This is especially true in Geometry. My basics are very clear but still have hard time to solve the geometry problems. How do I train myself to conquer the quant portion. I haven't attempted Verbal yet. So more to come on that.

Thanks for the help.

A:
You need practice applying the concepts to actual test questions. Almost everybody pretty much knows the fundamental basics -- it's the testing approach that makes all the difference.

Get some practice by looking for the questions labeled "geometry" or "coordinates" - and take a stab at it:
http://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/gmat-problem-solving-questions

zekelee

Q:
Hi,

I've taken the gmat twice already and scored 650 (q39 v41) and 660 (q40 v41) respectively. I'm taking it for the third time next week and I've been doing quite a few official practice papers, with the following quant scores in this order:
44
44
47 (woohoo)
42 (today)

I've also done three MGMAT quant mocks, scoring 44 in all of them.

I know test day performance comes down to a variety of factors but I'm quite worried about the 42 I got today. If I get 42 in the real exam text week, and maintain my verbal at 41, I'll probably score 670 or so, whereas I am aiming for 700 (so ideally I need q45 minimum)

Is this score inconsistency during practice tests normal?

Thanks

A:
Focus less on the scoring in practice -- more important to learn from any mistakes you make--especially any "stupid" mistakes you may have made. Being extra careful on the actual test can make a difference. You can also take another practice test here:http://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/practice-test- again focus on learning from mistakes.       

zekelee

Q:
Dear all,
I am 31 and working. I have taken holidays to prepare for GMAT. I have been preparing for GMAT since last 2 weeks. Prior to this, I have spent 1 weeks and multiple hours in the train travel reviewing Verbal problems.
I have one more week left for my GMAT exams. So far the practice results have been:

16/09: 640 in OG prep material
23/09: 580(37,33) on MGMAT (shocker!)
25/09: 620(39,35) on MGMAT (Ran out of time, didnt read 5 quant questions, just blindly guessed)

and today 28/09, I scored 680 (Q44, V38)on GMAT. (last 1 question in quant and last 1 in verbal blindly guessed as i was running out of time)

I am an engineer and have a good background in maths. However, I find the Quant problems of MGMAT difficult for the 2min time frame.
Plus, i have decided i shall try only 9 IR problems (leaving 3 two-part question which from practice i find as time drains). I find it impossible to complete all 12 in given time.

I have one more week to go and would love to break the 700 barrier. Can you please suggest what should be the best strategy to achieve this goal.
Thank you very much!

Regards,
Tans.

A:
Focus on reviewing your mistakes during this last week. Any mistake that you do make - make sure the next morning, you review that mistake or attempt that question again to reinforce your mind.

Lastly, do not underestimate the psychological elements of the exam: http://www.gmatpill.com/about/studying-effective-quick-painless/gmat-psychology-timing-strategies/

zekelee

Q:
I took the exam long back and I saved an e-mail for my own reference. I am just copy pasting it so that some of you reading this may get some benefit out of it.

Don't take the test in the evenings and afternoons. Choose Mornings only !!
Manage time. IR section was incomplete
First question in Quant dont waste time. Try to give time for all questions. Dont waste time in the beginning and in the end rush through all the questions.

Completely NEGLECTED Verbal section.

Did well in the AWA section. Template was followed. Started writing down the template before commencement of actual test. Ample time to review and correct the spellings of the essay. Submitted on time.

IR section.

First question was a mind blocker ! NEVER waste time on the first question itself. Takes a toll on the entire section. V.V.V Important takeaway from this test !!!

1.Sets based question. Different cholesterol levels in a population.
How many of type _______ suffered atleast ________ of the other two types of cholesterol types.

2. Multi source reasoning - Researcher makes hypothesis that No. of articles in journals ..... No of inventors and citations received.......
Calculate total no. of citations...
Calculate no. of citations for most cited author in all journals....

3. Multi Source Reasoning - No of UG, PG Master, Phd students accessing internet and scientific articles in a library. Tables, around 10 line graphs provided.

Has the No. of articles accessed increased?
Has the No of student population increased?
Has the proportion of Master students accessing articles increased ?

Did NOT COMPLETE this section. 1.5 questions were left as time elapsed !!!!

4. Person has to buy table, chair, stand of types RED,Blue, Green. The shop doesn't have RED table and chair and the person doesn't like Green table and Blue chair.......

Choose what combination he must have - .....
Choose what combination he cannot have - ....

Other questions on table sorting type....

Did not complete this question. was tensed due to lack of time and forced to flook at the end. This led to effort and time both being wasted as I was not able to attempt questions completely. Ended up not answering a question and a half.

Quant

During 8 min break was disappointed and was trying to motivate myself. I urged myself to be positive and came in. I was not very happy and got lost in the first question.

First question - was a simple ratios based. 1.2x = 2.3y and 3.4y=5z then x:y ?? was phrased in words. Was lost in this question trying to place constant 'k' and do some non sense. After a while it struck and I solved it and went on. (But I think I took 5 mins plus!!) ( First question man, had to solve it  , but didn't notice time)

Was answering questions well in the beginning but was eating up time as I had to do well some how. This was fatal and when twenty questions were left I think I had some 27 mins left   
This again created panic and I kept in mind whatever it is I have to complete this section and thus was forced to flook. Read the question started doing it -- got panicked -- flooked it and moved on. Same thing was happening for the last 10-15 questions. Unnecessarily wasting effort and time as well.

Last question was based on average time. Simple question. total distance given , first half 45 mph in 4 hrs next half 60 mph in 3 hrs what is average speed. For this question as well took some time. I think I got a calculation wrong somewhere.
Another easy question two rectangles same area length of First one five less than second and width 3 more than second and area of one of the rectangles given 64 sq m. Had to find dimensions of first rectangle. I donno why I spent a lot of time on this question. I put down the math and tried to solve. Was just not getting it   
Thought it was easy and I guess spent lot of time and at end flooked it. This is another case of wastage of effort as well as lot of time. ( This was not one of the last questions !!)

Verbal
During the second break I knew that I totally screwed the exam !
Tried to pull myself up but the first SC question was again making me uncomfortable. ( Not sure if it was really a hard question or just the situation made me think so)
Now was in total disgust and completely disinterested. I couldn't concentrate and SC, CR and RC all seemed to be tough and for every question of RC and CR I was stuck between 2 options (For almost all of the RC and CR questions)

RC: (This is an excerpt from one of the questions)
1) Comets, Sun being born in a supernova explosion. Scientists trying to track Sun's siblings.....


Got a score less than what I obtained on my very first mock test with zero learning! This is what you can truly call a "A colossal disaster" !!
Don't end up like this at any cost! Be wise and learn from my mistakes! All the best.

A:
It looks as if a lot of the IR questions tripped you up psychologically. Here are some practice questions that can help prepare you better in the future:http://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/gmat-integrated-reasoning

Remember the key with IR is to do good enough - but not let it affect your psychology for the remainder of the test. Verbal and quant are still the most important sections.

See if this CR video helps you: http://www.gmatpill.com/criticalreasoning/practicepill/cr_platform_1112_Buying_Real_Estate.mp4

zekelee

Q:
Hi,

I would like to ask for feedback on my dilemma. I got a 700 on my GMAT (Q49 V37), a true shame since I was performing over 42V on my Prep Tests.

I am Latin American, from Argentina, and have always worked in small companies (a personal career choice), and haven't got impressive extracurriculars (I work in an organization that grants scholarship to children who can't afford to maintain themselves and go to school) as I read on the Forum.

Should I retake the test? I am late to apply to many B-Schools and, if my grades are good enough, I would prefer to focus on my application process.

Thank you very much!

A:
This is a close call. We would lean slightly towards not retaking. You've reached the target range for top schools and while it is possible for you to do better, you also run the risk of scoring the same or lower -- which wouldn't look so good. Focus on developing your application story and work with what you have.

At 700, we would only recommend a retake if your imbalance is extreme -- but that's not the case in your situation.       

zekelee

Q:
I would like to apologize in advance because I am sure someone asked this question before.

I am planning on taking the GMAT February 2015. I have been looking online all day today for GMAT Books for self prep. There are so many books available and I have no clue which one will be the best.
Can you please recommend which books are the best for preparing for the GMAT.

Thank you for your time.

Zainab

A:
While books can be great, we would encourage you explore the option of studying online. After all, the actual test is in front of a computer and if you are used to studying from a book, you may be in for a slight adjustment/surprise on test day.

To get more familiar with the test, we recommend taking online practice tests such as the one we provide -- and also just casual studying through question banks including our Practice Pill Platform: www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/

Use the online resources in conjunction with your books -- OG + GMATPrep -- and you should be good to go.

zekelee

Q:
I consider myself a decent speaker of English....but today I JUST discovered that one apparently should say

"forbid to" and not "forbid from". I have been saying this wrong MY WHOLE LIFE.

#Mindblown

Funny thing, I eliminated every answer that had "forbid to" automatically.
upon further googling (I really was that taken aback). It seem you can either say

Forbid + infinitive
or

Forbid +verb-ing


Is this correct?

is.

forbid to enter and forbid from entering are both correct? Some smarter person help me out!

A:
The way we look at this idiom -- one is not categorically correct and the other categorically wrong. GMAT folks prefer the simpler Forbid you TO do something.

If we saw "forbid X from doing something" -- in one of the answer choices --- and the other "forbid X to do something" did not exist -- we would not necessarily eliminate the "forbid X from doing something" version.

We have an entire research report on this very concept. Here are our findings:

http://www.gmatpill.com/ebook/todo-vs-doing.pdf