Greetings and welcome to round 2 of Akil’s GMAT blog. I thought I’d share some of my thoughts and advice on how to study for the test. It seems more and more I encounter people who are studying wrong (oops I mean incorrectly, since I need an adverb to modify ‘studying’ rather than an adjective).
First, to understand how to study properly you have to understand the nature of the GMAT. The GMAT is an adaptive test that tests quantitative and verbal REASONING. As such the GMAT is not a test you can memorize, since a reasoning test requires you to use logic supported by facts to derive answers rather than to simply regurgitate facts. Regurgitating facts will most likely only allow you to get a score in the low to mid 500s. If you are satisfied with a score in the 500s, you should just get a list of formulas and rules tested and memorize them. [My marketing department requires that I insert a shameless plug here for Bell Curves flashcards which give you a nice succinct list of the rules that are tested on the GMAT in a pretty package.] If you want to have a realistic shot at the higher scores, you will need to memorize the facts necessary for success on the test and then, more importantly, develop your ability to use those facts in context.
Are you Flashcard Guy/Girl?
Flashcard Guy/Girl can recite every rule when asked but cannot apply it when presented a problem that utilizes that rule in an indirect or unobvious way. Your goal is to first learn all the rules (you will need to embrace Flashcard Guy/Girl for a little while), but you must quickly transition away from reciting rules to a true understanding and application of those rules.
Let's run a quick test to determine your level of Flashcard Guy/Girlness.
Complete the statement below
Rule:
To add numbers with exponents one must ___.
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If your response was that you cannot add numbers with exponents, you are only partially correct. You should not make it a habit to learn only things you cannot do, as you must also learn what to do instead.
If you said
"To add numbers with exponents one must have the same base and the same power then add the coefficient of each number," you would be correct.
Now, do this question before continuing to read:
Example 1:
What is the value of 3x^2 + 4x^2?
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If you realized how this directly connects to the rule above, you are on your way to GMAT mastery. The correct answer here is 7x^2 .
Now, let’s make the previous question GMAT appropriate and try again to answer it:
Example 2:
What is the value of x^2 + x^2 ?
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Again this is a direct connect to the above rule we began with, but the additional twist that it hides the coefficients. The correct answer is 2x^2 .
Now let’s make it a medium GMAT question (the above questions are probably considered easy, or the steps required would be part of a more difficult problem). Try this example:
Example 3:
What is the value of 3^4 + 3^4 + 3^4 ?
(A) 3^4
(B) 3^5
(C) 3^9
(D) 3^12
(E) 3^24
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If you were able to answer either of the two previous examples, but you were hesitant or unsure on this problem, you have some
Flashcard Guy/Girl in you. You were given a rule and its application never varied, but as that rule was presented in a slightly unexpected manner you struggled, and that’s what
Flashcard Guy/Girl does. The correct answer is B, because when adding numbers with exponents if your bases and exponents are the same you add the
coefficients. Thus the question requires you to add (1)3^4 + (1)3^4 + (1)3^4 which can be expressed as (3)3^4 which is also 3^5 .
Proper preparationTo properly prepare for the test you must accomplish the following:
- Learn the knowledge tested
- Learn to recognize when/where that knowledge is tested
- Learn the tendencies of the GMAT
- Develop personal efficiencies
- Develop a personal pacing plan
One of the greatest challenges in transitioning from the 500s to the 600s is learning how
to leave behind
Flashcard Guy/Girl. Learn to
understand each rule, not to simply recite
them. Learn to recognize each rule being tested. Learn to apply a rule to a given problem.
Doing these things will help you gain an amazing GMAT score, admissions to your top
school, and an opportunity to be at the helm of America’s greatest financial institutions
like Lehman, AIG, Enron, and WaMU.
Resource listI’ll try to remember to add to each of my blog entries a resource list of products that will help support your studies. Of course as founder of Bell Curves, I’ll have a bias for our materials but I will always be honest about products I, and my students, find helpful.
- GMATPrep – the best practice tests, hands down, no question!
- GMATFocus – a GMAC adaptive diagnostic tool. It’s a great source of adaptive questions. I would only use at the end of my prep cycle.
- MathSmart – good basic math review created by the Princeton Review. If you have not seen fractions since 7 th grade and they terrify you, this is a good starting point.
Until next time, I wish you knowledge, skill, and happiness.
Akil Bello
The GMAT Expert
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