EMPOWERgmat Blog
Articles with "IR"
Are you tired of breezing through GMAT passages only to realize you missed crucial information, or literally remember absolutely nothing? Or feeling like you’re in a race against time to answer all the questions correctly? Business schools look to the GMAT to measure a candidate's abilities in reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. There's simply no way that a candidate can achieve a score worthy of the top business schools if a test taker pretends to be a speed reading super hero. It’s time to slow down, take […]
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Over the years, one of the most common concerns that I’ve heard from GMATers is about their pacing – specifically, the fact that they have to rush through a number of questions at the end of a section just to finish on time. “How do I fix my pacing problem?” they ask (and you might be asking it too!). First, you have to understand that a pacing problem doesn’t exist on its own – it’s the result of OTHER issues. In simple terms, something about how you handle the […]
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Many Test Takers tend to find the Quant section of the GMAT to be easier than the Verbal section. Quant is based on more ‘obvious’ rules and patterns and you can often pinpoint the correct answer without having to consider (and then eliminate) each of the other 4 incorrect answers first. By default, many GMATers work through Verbal questions with the idea that they should eliminate the four incorrect answers… and the answer that remains will be the correct one. While you should often be able to eliminate a […]
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In the prior post, we discussed proper reading pace for when you deal with GMAT RC passages (as a reminder, that pace should be about 150 words per minute). Unfortunately, simply knowing that fact won’t necessarily lead you to adjust your reading speed. So here are three practice prompts – taken from the OG12 – for you to practice on. Use a timer and make sure to note how long it took you to read each passage. The proper (goal) amount of reading time is listed beneath each prompt. […]
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Many GMATers make the mistake of thinking that ‘skimming’ is the proper way to deal with Reading Comp passages. By its nature, skimming is often a desperate way of trying to quickly deal with a (frequently lengthy) passage. Unfortunately, it sacrifices all manner of comprehension and note-taking for speed. That is a TERRIBLE trade-off – and often causes serious problems for Test Takers as they practice RC during their studies. By extension, those same Test Takers often fail to perform at a really high level on RC on Test Day, […]
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1) A motorist averaged 40 miles per hour on his way to work. He averaged 70 miles per hour on his way home along the same route. Which of the following is the closest to his average speed for the round trip? A. 40 B. 51 C. 55 D. 59 E. 59.5 The answers to this question are 'spaced out' in such a way that you don't need to do much math at all to get to the correct answer. This prompt is a fairly common 'design' for […]
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Each of the three questions listed here can be solved algebraically. However, if you pay attention to the five answer choices in each question, then you can cut down on the amount of work that is needed and potentially save some time. Remember that the goal on Test Day is to be correct AND be efficient, so while a shortcut that saves 5-10 seconds might not seem like much, if you could find that type of shortcut on every question, then you would cut 3-7 minutes of work-time in each […]
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In a couple of prior posts in this thread, we’ve discussed how to taking advantage of the answer choices (by TESTing THE ANSWERS or by thinking about what the answers choices 'mean') can be a really fast and easy way to get to the correct answer in certain Quant questions. Beyond using the answers and doing the straight-forward arithmetic though, you will sometimes be given a HUGE ‘hint’ from the GMAT question writers – the answer choices themselves will be designed in such a way that you can avoid doing […]
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The GMAT is a remarkably consistent and predictable Exam, so improving your performance isn’t just about ‘fixing’ the things that you are doing ‘wrong’ – it’s also in developing the proper skills to improve on work that you can already do. Consider the following question. For many “math thinkers”, the approach would be “system algebra” – write out the appropriate equations and then solve for whatever the question asks for. That approach will absolutely get you to the correct answer here – and I suggest that you try it. […]
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While each of these three prompts might look complex, you CAN get to the correct answer by defining the patterns involved. 1) How many positive integers, from 2 to 100, inclusive, are not divisible by odd integers greater than 1? In this prompt, we're asked to think about the numbers 2 to 100, inclusive. To start, there's NO way that the GMAT would ask us to truly think about each of these numbers individually, so there MUST be a pattern involved. Now to the specifics: which of […]
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For each of these three prompts, you should attempt to ‘play around’ with the question to define the pattern(s) involved – using the same approach showcased in the prior post. An explanation for how to approach each prompt in such a way will be provided tomorrow. 1) How many positive integers, from 2 to 100, inclusive, are not divisible by odd integers greater than 1? A. 5 B. 6 C. 8 D. 10 E. 50 2) There are 20 doors marked with numbers 1 to 20 […]
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Since the GMAT is a standardized Test, all of the questions that you’ll face are designed around one or more patterns. Sometimes the patterns are obvious – such as math formulas or grammar rules. Sometimes the patterns are more subtle - such as number properties or causality arguments. With the proper study materials and Study Plan, you can learn all of the necessary patterns and train to properly use them. However, sometimes the patterns are so rare that they’re not worth learning in advance and sometimes they are […]
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Whether you’re just beginning your studies or have been training for the GMAT for some time now, you likely have some idea of what your ‘goal score’ is. For many GMATers, the goal is 700+. That score is relatively rare territory though – only about 10% of Test Takers ever reach that level (and some of them actually hit that score repeatedly - in an attempt to score higher - so not as many Test Takers score 700+ each year as you might think). Obviously, the numbers become even more […]
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Integrated Reasoning (IR) is the newest section on the GMAT exam. Introduced in 2012, it aims to test your ability to analyze and interpret data. The questions include graphs, tables, charts, and passages. Ideally, you will show skill in synthesizing data from multiple sources and successfully draw conclusions from that data. So, what does it take to do well on this section of the GMAT? And what role should it take in your GMAT prep? Read on to learn more. A Focus on Data Ultimately, the Integrated Reasoning […]
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When it comes to studying for the GMAT, there are LOTS of different resources for you to choose from. As such, assembling the perfect combination of study materials can be a tricky task. What materials should you start with? What’s the ‘best’ way to learn the basics? How can you be efficient so that a 3-month study plan doesn’t balloon into a 6–month to 12-month study plan? Advice can come from so many different sources that you might not be sure whose advice to follow. Clouding the issue even further […]
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When it comes to defining an overall score goal, many GMATers will simply state “700 plus” (or the far-more vague “as high as I can get”). For those Test Takers who really want to score at a high level, you might hear them brazenly state “750 plus.” Of the many challenges that come with training to score at that level, there is a much larger ‘math problem’ with that type of score goal – historically speaking, only 1-2% of Test Takers can score at that level on the Official GMAT. […]
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As we’re nearing the end of June, many Business School applicants are just beginning their GMAT studies (or are deep into their current study plans). To celebrate the approaching middle-of-the-year and all of the study activity that will be taking place over the next several months, we’ve decided to reward our Blog readers with a special discount code that you won’t find anywhere else. For the next 7 days (up through July 4th), you can use the discount code… Summer30 … to receive 30% off your first […]
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On the Official GMAT, certain subjects and question types appear more frequently than others and are thus worth more to your overall score. For those Test Takers who are looking to maximize the value of their study time (and score at a high level), knowing which areas to focus on can make a huge difference in how they perform on Test Day. To that end, the EMPOWERgmat Course was built with a structure that gives Clients the most time to prepare for the most valuable concepts and Tactics. Stage […]
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Almost without fail, the first questions that most Test Takers will look at after taking a CAT are the questions that were answered incorrectly. Reviewing questions that were answered CORRECTLY is almost an afterthought (and oftentimes avoided) – THAT ‘missing’ review is a HUGE opportunity. Sometimes the biggest overall improvements can be made in areas in which you are ALREADY knowledgeable. First, there’s a distinct possibility that you answered some questions correctly by taking a lucky guess (either because you were stuck or low on time) – so reviewing […]
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Nearing the middle of July, many Test Takers are starting their GMAT prep (or are in the midst of it already) in anticipation of applying to Business School before the Round 1 deadlines occur in September/October. Many of those same Test Takers will face varying challenges during their studies and they won’t know how to go about overcoming those challenges. Worse still, many will be so unable, or unwilling, to do the necessary self-analysis that they will utter the least useful phrase imaginable – “I have no idea why_____.” As […]
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**Note: I will NOT be discussing any individual questions from this new book. Doing so would cheat YOU, the reader, out of experiencing those questions “fresh.” On Test Day, you have to be prepared to deal with any GMAT concept at any time in each section, so knowing anything beyond the obvious (it’s Geometry because I can see a picture of a circle; it’s an Assumption question because the prompt asks for the ‘assumption’) would diminish the process that you have to go through to answer the question.** You […]
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