Collect more points by focusing on more “difficult” GMAT questions.
Many test takers focus on improving their math skills, which is completely logical. You have done plenty of reading and writing since high school, but your high school math skills are probably rusty. And for many people, math is easier (and more entertaining) to practice than reading arguments, passages, and sentences.
Snag those Verbal Reasoning points
What novice test takers often don’t realize is that Verbal Reasoning is an easier place to earn points. This is because, ironically, the Verbal Reasoning section is harder than the Quantitative Reasoning section.
As of 2015, the mean Verbal score is 26.8; the mean for Quantitative is 38.9. A score of 35 is roughly 30th percentile for Quant but 80th percentile for Verbal. What this means, basically, is that answering a few more questions correctly in Verbal yields more points than doing the same in Quant.
Reading Comprehension as a secret weapon
As I’ve discussed in earlier posts, GMAT Reading Comprehension is all about reading for structure. This is something that the majority of test takers do not know, so simply knowing how to read a GMAT passage gives you an edge over the competition. Something else most test takers fail to do is practice Reading Comprehension—meaning more people get those questions wrong. As a result, a question that seems easy if you know how to read the passage strategically may actually be a high difficulty question, and higher difficulty = more points on test day.
So be sure to spend some time practicing Reading Comprehension, then get ready to see your score start moving in the right direction.
Unlock Sentence Correction points
Another place to increase your score is learning the Kaplan Method for Sentence Correction. Kaplan students learn the most common error types and have a systematic approach for finding the answer efficiently. This includes identifying the role of the first underlined word. If the first underlined word is a verb, take a moment to identify its subject. One of the most common GMAT Sentence Correction errors is subject-verb agreement, so spotting the verb and checking that the subject agrees in number is a quick, easy first step.
Much like Reading Comprehension passages, Sentence Correction questions are straightforward if you know how to read them.
Don’t neglect your Quant score
Although it is recommended that you focus more on Verbal than you perhaps had planned to, this does not mean you should stop practicing Quant. Your score is a composite of both GMAT sections, and an awesome Verbal Reasoning score will only go so far if your Quantitative Reasoning score is really low. But a high Verbal score and a mid-range Quant score will produce a higher Composite (200-800) score than mid-range scores on both.
My own students who have read this far may be surprised by this post; I discourage them from thinking about their score. “Master the strategies and the score will follow” is one of my mantras. However, when deciding how to focus your prep efforts, I have to pipe up and cheer for Verbal Reasoning, as it will definitely pay off in points.
Looking for Verbal Reasoning practice? Sign up to take a free online GMAT practice test today.
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