For many people, Critical Reasoning are among the toughest verbal questions on the GMAT.

The Critical Reasoning arguments on the GMAT can get pretty convoluted! We are presented with a series of statements and assumptions, followed by some conclusion. Then, we are asked to either strengthen the argument, weaken the argument, or consider any unstated assumptions that may underpin the argument. To break down an intricate argument and five equally complicated answer choices in two minutes is an understandably daunting task. How do we work quickly and efficiently without getting bogged down by details?

We have all encountered factor trees at some point during grade school. When I first encountered them as a kid, the whole exercise seemed unnecessary and silly. I thought to myself, “Great. I can list all the prime factors of 48. But, to what end?” It was not until much later that I realized the utility of prime factorizations. On an exam like the GMAT, where we are expected to do some pretty big calculations without a calculator, finding a prime factorization can be clutch.

Focus on one aspect of the sentence to narrow down your options.

Face it. GMAT Sentence Corrections can be a little overwhelming! And, if you are like most people, you might approach a sentence correction by carefully reading through all five responses and picking the answer that “sounds best.” You may even answer many questions correctly using this approach. However, reading through all five answers can be time-consuming. One way to speed up this process is to focus on a single error and to immediately cross off all answer choices with this error. This is a great way to apply process of elimination on the GMAT Sentence Corrections. In this post, we will focus on one of these error types: subject-verb errors.

For many people studying for the GMAT, Work/Rate/Time problems prove to be a particularly sore spot on the Quantitative Reasoning section. In this lesson, we will learn an efficient and effective way to tackle these problem types algebraically.

Trusting your ear can get you far, but knowing some key grammar rules gets you even farther!

Pure Algebra is not the most efficient way to solve every problem!

Focus on weaknesses, but capitalize on strengths

The GMAT has no shortage of intimidating problem types. For many test takers, Data Sufficiency and Critical Reasoning alone are enough to induce heart palpitations. Understandably, many students focus on these very intricate, complicated question types - and rightfully so! It is no easy feat to break down a complicated argument or to determine precisely how much information is required to solve a complicated math problem.