Posts filed under 'Test Tips'
The official GMAT website tells us what is being tested or measured in the reading comprehension passages:
“Understanding words and statements in reading passages: Questions of this type test your understanding of and ability to comprehend terms used in the passage and your understanding of the English language.
Understanding the logical relationships between significant points and concepts in the reading passages: Questions of this type ask you to determine the strong and weak points of an argument or to evaluate the importance of arguments and ideas in a passage.
Drawing inferences from facts and statements in the reading passages: Questions of this type ask you to consider factual statements or information and, on the basis of that information, reach a general conclusion.
Understanding and following the development of quantitative concepts as they are presented in verbal material: Questions of this type involve the interpretation of numerical data or the use of simple arithmetic to reach conclusions about material in a passage.”
The reading comprehension questions fall into one of several categories. If you can identify the type of question being asked you will be better prepared to answer it.
Factual Questions. These tend to be the easiest questions to answer but also the most time consuming. The correct answer will paraphrase something specific in the passage, not something implied by it. As with all question on this challenging test, the writers include curveballs to throw you off base.
Main Idea Questions. These questions will address the passage’s overall theme. The writers will try to fool you by offering answer choices with information discussed in the passage, but it may not necessarily reflect the central theme. Answers that emphasize a lot of factual information can be eliminated, as they are probably too narrow in scope. You can often find the answer to the main idea either in the first or last paragraph of the passage.
Tone Questions. These questions ask you about the author’s opinion. When you read the passage initially try to gauge the writer’s opinion. When this question pops up, hopefully you can answer it without referring back to the passage, by recalling the overall feel of the passage. As a rule, the tone is more likely to be positive or neutral as opposed to negative. (Science passages are often neutral.) This question may appear as “The author’s attitude can best be described as…” or “The writer’s tone can be described as…”
Inference Questions. We discussed these in an earlier post. These questions do not test your knowledge of an explicitly stated fact, but rather your ability to draw conclusions from such information. Inference questions may ask you the author’s opinion. You can often identify such questions with words like hint, imply, suggest.
Word in Context Questions. These ask you to determine the meaning of a word in the context of the passage. I suggest reading one sentence before the word and one sentence after it. See if you can determine your own synonym before looking at the answer choices.
A good tip to remember in deciphering reading comprehension questions is to pay close attention to the scope of the question. If you are being asked something specific, your answer should be specific. And vice versa, as with main idea questions, if asked a general question, the answer should be broad and not focus on specific details.
April 14th, 2008
The data sufficiency is really unlike any other type of math question. You don’t actually answer the math question, rather you must determine if you have enough information to answer the question. These style questions do not require any skills beyond those needed for the other math on the GMAT. Given the unique nature of this type of question, you should practice them and familiarize yourself with the directions. We discussed them in this previous post. The main purpose of these questions is to lure you into making an unwarranted assumption.
The first thing you should do when you see a data sufficiency question is list the answer choices as follows. (We’ll get to why this is important in second):
AD
BCE
Additionally, the initial information given can often be presented in a convoluted manner. If you can translate this into something more easily decipherable, you will help yourself. For example, if one of the conditions is X is a factor of Y, you can rewrite this as “Y/X is an integer”. 3x=9y can be simplified to x=3y.
If you see a question like this, you should manipulate it as best you can into a simple algebraic expression.
Is x divisible by 2? Can be expressed as: Is x even?
Is X greater than 0? Can be rephrased as: Is x positive?
Once you have simplified the initial information, look at statement 1. Can you determine the answer to the question? Remember, you do not need to solve the problem just evaluate if you have enough information to calculate an answer.
If Statement 1 is sufficient, cross off BCE as there is no way any of those choices could be the correct answer. If you find that you need more information after evaluating the first statement, cross off AD as neither of those answers can be correct.
Once you have eliminated several answer choices, look at statement 2 independently. Using only the information in statement 2, determine if there is enough information to answer the question. Based on your answer, you should be able to cross off more answer choices.
If neither statement provided sufficient data independently, try to solve the problem using the information in both statements. You can then determine if your answer is C (combined, the two statements provide enough information) or E (not enough information).
If you are being asked to solve for a variable, remember you must have as many expressions or algebraic sentences as you do variables. To solve for X, you only need one statement with the one variable X in it. If you have two variables, you need two independent statements to determine the values of each variable. Three variables would require three statements, and so on. Be careful, though, because the test writers like to trick people into thinking they have two distinct algebraic statements when they really don’t. We’ll cover this trap in a later post, so stay tuned.
Remember – practice, practice, practice – and it will get easier!
April 10th, 2008
You will begin the GMAT with the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). It’s composed of two thirty-minute essays; one asking you to analyze an issue and another to analyze an argument.
The essays are similar in that they both test your ability as a writer. The graders want to see you write clearly and articulately under the given time restrictions. You should aim to create a coherent piece, supporting ideas with relevant evidence while obeying grammar rules. Since you will not have the luxury of using Microsoft Word, you must proofread and spell check your work. However, if you need to shuffle paragraphs around, you can save time by using the cut and paste feature.
The first essay asks for your point of view on an issue. To support your argument, use examples from your life, current events, history, books (or pretty much whatever comes to mind and is relevant). Given your time restraints, you don’t really have time to waffle. Decide on a position and support it.
The second argument essay differs from the first in that you will be asked to critique an argument by assessing its claims. Rather than weighing in with your personal opinion, you should analyze the logical soundness and reasoning of the argument and , highlight the flaws. The GMAC advises you to consider the following as you write:
- What questionable assumptions underlie the thinking behind the argument?
- What alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion?
- What sort of evidence could help strengthen or refute the argument?
Because of your limited time, you should be ready to write quickly, but still have direction. We recommend spending a few minutes generating examples or bullet points for the essay, before you start writing.
What about length of the essay? We advise writing as much as you can, as coherently as you can. As this New York Times article “SAT Essay Test Rewards Length and Ignores Errors” discusses, there’s evidence that the longer an essay is the higher it is scored. Through a scientific experiment, an MIT professor found a strong correlation between the length of an essay and its score for the SATs, something the College Board refutes. No word yet if he plans to research a similar correlation for the GMAT. Writing a long essay does not give you carte blanche to neglect grammar and your coherent argument.
The essays are scored using a number system of 1 thru 6 and are not factored into your overall score. Even though some schools admit to barely glancing at the score, this does not mean you should completely neglect the essay.
And for our “duh” comments:
- Do not write something not related to the topics.
- Once you complete an essay and click the submit button, you cannot return to it.
- Practicing does make it easier and more familiar.
March 31st, 2008
Units Digit Problems
Although a lot of the math on the GMAT has useful applications in b-school and beyond, sometimes the GMAT tests your knowledge of obscure number facts that will be of little use to you – ever.
One such enjoyable topic is the topic of units digit patterns. These questions test your understanding of the behavior of the units digit of a number when raised to a certain power.
Quick: What is the units digit of 4,67432?
Yes, that’s what we’re talking about. The GMAT thinks you should know it.
The good news is, it’s not so hard. There are exponent patterns with each of the digits from 0 – 9, and knowing them will get you through these questions in a snap. Did you know, for example, that any number ending in 4 will always end in 4 if raised to an odd power? It will always end in 6 if raised to an even power. So the answer to our question above is 6, because 32 is even.
Why? Look what happens to just the units digit of powers of four:
41 = 4
42 = 16: When you multiply by 4, the first calculation is 6×4=24, so the units digit is 4
43 = 64: When you multiply by 4, the first calculation is 4×4=16, so the units digit is 6
44 = 256: Again, 6×4 is the first calculation, leaving a 4 in the next power
45 = 1024
When it comes to 4, then, the units digit simply alternates 4, 6, 4, 6, 4, 6.
Let’s try it with all the digits. You will see that not only does each digit have its own pattern, but that at the 5th power, every digit starts over again! This is a quirky property of numbers, but one the GMAT LOVES. See if you can create the table below. If you can, you’ve mastered this topic.
Think you got it? Check back on Tuesday, we’ll put this concept to the test in our next IL700 Challenge Question, so stay tuned!
March 3rd, 2008
Of the many types of math questions that you may encounter on the GMAT, interest rates are one. There are two types of interest rate questions, and it is important to note the difference.
The first one is simple interest, meaning that you do not earn interest on the interest. Let’s say you have $100 dollars in a CD and you are earning 5% every month. (Clearly, this is a hypothetical situation.) In a non-compounding situation, you would receive a check for $5 every month.
If your interest was compounded (the second type of question), your $5 interest payment would be added to the balance. The next month, you would earn 5% on $105, or $5.25. The following month, you would earn interest on $110.25, and so on.
So how do you solve these problems? The formula for simple interest is, not surprisingly, easier:
Interest = interest rate * principle * time
Principle is the amount of money you start with. Think of the time variable as the number of times that the interest is paid out. And, remember that interest rate must be in decimals. So if interest is paid monthly and the question asks for the interest gain over two years, t=24. If the interest is paid annually, t=2. Now, this formula yields the answer for how much interest is earned, not the total amount money in the bank. To figure that out when simple interest is at play, simply add the interest earned to the principle.
Compounded interest is more complicated. To calculate the amount in the bank, we can use the following formula:
Future Amount = Principle * (1 + interest rate)number of payment periods
Of course, you may be asking yourself how you’re supposed to calculate such large exponents. If you had a problem that said there was $1,000 principle, and a 6% annual compounded interest rate paid over 15 years, it would take you forever to calculate that out by hand (no calculator, remember?)! Never fear – the GMAT will never ask you to do that. In fact, if you encounter a problem like this, expect the answers to be given in terms of the formula:
A) 1000(.06)
B) 1000(.06)15
C) 1000(1.06)
D) 1000(1.06)15
E) $15,000
The answer here would be D, and you’d have it by just understanding the concept and a bit about the formula.
To be sure, compound interest problems are much more prevalent on the GMAT. No surprise, since the world of business uses compound interest every single day. In fact, learning compound interest won’t just help you on the GMAT, but you’ll rock your finance class as well!
To get up to speed quickly, spend some of your study time calculating the simple and compounded interest with the same set of numbers. You will see the discrepancy between the two and get a better understanding of this important topic.
February 11th, 2008
Three hours is a long time to sit and stay focused on a standardized test. It’s mentally exhausting and physically draining. That’s why it’s important to be in good shape before taking the GMAT.
When preparing for the test, try to study in as many long stretches of time as you can. Once you’ve blocked out a chunk of time for studying, limit your distractions. It’s not the easiest thing to do and it certainly is not fun, but it builds your endurance for when you take the actual test.
In addition to trying to squeeze a four hour study session into your busy agenda, try to take as many full-length practice tests as possible, in as realistic a setting as possible (i.e.: sitting at a desk in the library versus laying on your bed). By emulating the real test experience, your brain and body will be better prepared for the intensity of the actual exam.
Another advantage to taking lots and lots of practice tests is that you can really hone in on your strengths and weaknesses. Thus, your future study sessions can focus on areas where you need the most improvement, instead of wasting time in areas that you have already become adept. Since you will be taking the test on the computer, try to take as many computer-based practice tests as possible. It’s a different experience than taking a paper test.
Taking the GMAT is no party. If you do it right the first time and put in the long arduous hours of studying you won’t have to take it again. Besides, all of this intense studying is good preparation for the demanding first year of B-school.
January 24th, 2008
If you plan to take the GMAT, chances are it will be done on the computer. (The GMAT offers a paper exam in areas of the world where the computer-based testing is not an option).
When you begin the CAT (computer adaptive test), you are capable of earning anywhere from a 200 to an 800. If you answer a question correctly, you are rewarded with a harder question and the floor of your lowest possible score rises (you will no longer be eligible for a 200). Should you answer the question incorrectly, the ceiling of 800 falls and you are then given an easier question.
ETS who administers the GMAT says:
With adaptive testing, an examinee is administered a set of questions with a difficulty level that is specifically designed to match the examinee’s ability level. The mathematical process for calculating a score in this situation incorporates the statistical properties of the questions, the examinee’s performance on the questions, and the number of questions that are answered.
Of course you cannot leave any questions blank so the last part of the statement refers simply to the number of questions you are able to answer.
With each question, the floor rises or the ceiling falls. By the time you get to the last question on the test, the window for your potential score has narrowed. As such, the last question has significantly less impact on your overall score than the first question, even if they are of the same level of difficulty. Therefore, you should spend more time on the first set of questions in any given section than on the last set. I like to divide the sections into thirds, spending the most time on the first third, second most time on the middle third of the section and the least amount of time on the final third.
January 21st, 2008
There’s nothing like working with an inequality to confuse you on the GMAT.
You can often treat the inequality as an equal sign. Whatever you do to one side of the expression you can do to the other.
HOWEVER, and this is a big HOWEVER, if you need to multiply or divide by a negative number (or variable) you must reverse the inequality sign.
Let’s see why:
-5x>25
we can divide by 5 on both sides
-x>5
some possible values for x include: -5.5, -6, -7.
Essentially anything smaller than –5
Now, let’s go back to the original statement:
-5x>25
Now, let’s divide by –5 on both sides.
If we do not change the sign we’re left with
x>-5, which is incorrect.
From the examples above, we see that X has to be less than –5 and as such, we have to switch the inequality sign. When adding and subtracting negative numbers, there is no need to worry about switching the inequality sign.
If you forget the specifics of this rule, look at an easy statement such as the one above to see how multiplying and dividing with a negative number effects the inequality sign.
January 17th, 2008
One of the ways the test writers will try to confuse you in the verbal section is by asking you to infer something from a passage.
Its important to note that the GMAT’s definition of infer and your definition may differ. I always considered an inference to be something that I can deduce to be true but not say with absolute certainty. The test writers of the GMAT that the word infer to mean something is 100% without a doubt true.
For example, if you were to read the following:
A man sat down on the couch, patted a dog and said, “I love my pooch.”
What can you infer?
There is a couch.
There is a man in the room.
There is a dog in the room.
The man has at least one hand.
You CANNOT infer the following:
It is that man’s dog.
That man has a dog.
The dog is sitting on the couch.
The couch is in a room.
The man speaks English.
The man understands English.
The man has taken the GMAT.
You get my point.
When you are asked what you can infer from a passage, the information must be explicitly stated.
You have been warned!
January 14th, 2008
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of writing information down in the math section of the GMAT.
It used to be that you would be given six pages of blank paper that you had to return by the end of the exam. If you needed more paper, you could always raise your hand and ask for more. This turned out to be too…easy, confusing, tiresome…I don’t know; pick your own adjective. Regardless, the test makers opted to remove this feature.
Instead, test takers are now given a dry erase board with six bound dry erase “pages” the size of legal paper, a marker and an eraser. Some students have noted that any number of these items can be poor quality. As if the test was not hard enough, now you have to struggle with materials.
Since you are warned of this ahead of time, there are a few things you can do to cope with this new tool. Some students have successfully asked for extra boards and have received them. This will save you time erasing and hopefully prevent you from using a streaky board. Ideally, you should buy a dry erase board to become familiar with the process of using it, watching it smudge and monitoring how it eats into your test taking time. Anything you can do to replicate the actual test taking experience will help you.
By actually doing the math out, you reduce your chances of making a mistake. Writing is most essential when faced with a problem that does not make sense. Simply by charting what you know – whether it is creating a chart graph or marking up a diagram, the answer or pattern may appear.
You can use shorthand to abbreviate names. For example, if you are solving a rate problem with characters named Julie and Richard, don’t write out their names. “J” and “R” will suffice.
Because nobody is checking the board, you only have to write neat enough for you to clearly read each number. I have had several students make careless errors by not being able to properly decipher their own handwriting.
If you can avoid using an entire page for each question, you may save time by not erasing. However, be sure to block off or “X” out your work once you go on to the next question.
January 11th, 2008
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