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G M AT FLASHCARDS
43 Reading Comprehension
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B E AT T H E G M AT
http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/free-gmat-prep-flashcards
Eric Bahn
Founder of Beat The GMAT
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B E AT T H E G M AT
VERBAL S E N T E N C E C O R R E C T I O N
FLASHCARDS
These flashcards are free and updated frequently. Download the latest version: http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/free-gmat-prep-flashcards
43 Reading Comprehension
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Agree to something inanimate. match, but he said that he liked cricket better.”
CORRECT: “I agree to your proposal.” Singular/Plural subject agreement
INCORRECT: “The average dentist expects patients to
be on time, and they are usually mistaken.”
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People – Plural word than the orchids at Jane’s wedding.” (You are comparing
flowers to a specific type of flower, but this is OK, as they
CORRECT: “People are often confused about
are in the same general category.)
grammatical issues that arise on the GMAT.”
Compare actions to like actions:
CORRECT: “Beeswax candles burn more cleanly than
synthetic candles.”
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• “plays as”
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Pronoun Participles
A pronoun must: Participles are sentence fragments. They are often adjectives
• Agree with its antecedent formed from verbs. They are often grammatically ambiguous,
and cause problems due to this ambiguity.
• Refer to a specific antecedent without ambiguity
CORRECT: “Peter, distracted by his cat and wanting to
Remember: “that” is singular and “those” is plural
do his work…”
“Less” Passive
Less is a word used to describe non-count nouns, but also The passive voice is not grammatically incorrect, but the
used for sums of money, periods of time and distance, GMAT considers it stylistically inferior to the active voice.
and citations of numerical/statistical data. • Eliminate passively worded choices if there is a
CORRECT: “It’s less than 35 miles to San Francisco.” grammatically correct alternative in the active voice.
CORRECT: “We spent less than $100.”
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Use “compare with” for like things “As” normally used to compare two clauses, NOT two nouns
CORRECT: “The paralegal compared the copied CORRECT: “He looks as though he is drunk.”
signature with the original.” “Such as” normally used to give examples.
CORRECT: “Investment banking has taught me skills
such as discounted cash flow modeling.”
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CORRECT: “She might have arrived yesterday evening.” “The number of ” always takes singular verbs.
CORRECT: “The number of warblers has increased…”
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“Having” Plural/Singular
“Having [PAST PARTICIPLE]” is used to express actions “[QUANTIFIER] of [NOUN] [VERB]”
that are finished and to convey order of occurrence. The noun determines whether verb is singular or plural.
CORRECT: “Having eaten a huge Thanksgiving dinner, CORRECT: “Most of the students are…”
Elliot loosened his belt one more notch.”
CORRECT: “Most of the school is…”
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“Majority” Pronoun
“Majority” should be used with count nouns only. When you see a pronoun, especially “it” or “they”,
INCORRECT: “The majority of the talk…” immediately check the antecedent.
CORRECT: “The greater part of the talk…”
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“Each” “Compare”
“Each” is usually singular. But when “each” follows a “Compare to” compares UNLIKE things, whereas
plural subject, the verb and subsequent pronouns “compare with” compares LIKE things. “Compare to” is
remain in the plural. used to stress resemblance.
CORRECT: “Three cats each chase birds.” CORRECT: “She compared the evening gown to the cocktail dress. “
CORRECT: “Three cats, each of which chases birds….” “Compare with” can be used to show either similarity or
difference (usually difference).
CORRECT: “When compared with Laura’s work product,
Jim’s showed a world of difference.”
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Modifiers
Place modifiers as close as possible to what they
are modifying.
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B E AT T H E G M AT
VERBAL C R I T I C A L R E A S O N I N G
FLASHCARDS
These flashcards are free and updated frequently. Download the latest version: http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/free-gmat-prep-flashcards
43 Reading Comprehension
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Assumptions -1 Assumptions - 2
An assumption is merely an unstated (implied) premise. Ask yourself, “What must be true to make the conclusion
In logically correct arguments which contain an assumption, valid?” (using the premise + assumption = equation formula).
the premise + assumption = conclusion. • Remember, since the assumption is an UNSTATED
If the question stem asks you “what is assumed…” then premise, any answer choice that comes from the
you should identify unstated premise of passage. Look for passage to support your assumption is necessarily
a gap in logic. incorrect. The answer will be implied, not
explicitly stated.
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Strengthen/Weaken Strategy
Don’t be careless! Wrong answer choices often have Identify the conclusion and find the answer that addresses
exactly opposite of desired effect. the conclusion. Most questions follow this guideline.
• Double-check that your answer satisfies the ques-
tion stem, not the opposite of the question stem.
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Weaken/Strengthen Inference
When you compare two items, you must be sure that the For inference questions, determine which answer choice
two items are indeed comparable. must absolutely, positively be true based on what you’ve read.
• Pick the obvious answer choice.
• Avoid extreme answers (too strong or too weak)
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Irrelevant Negate
Watch for irrelevant or overly strong answer choices in CR. For assumption questions, negate CR answer choice to
Stay within SCOPE and TONE of passage. see if the conclusion can survive.
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Prephrase Explanation
Prephrase an answer before looking at the actual With explanation questions, reconcile the facts presented.
answer choices. • Stay within scope.
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B E AT T H E G M AT
VERBAL R E A D I N G C O M P R E H E N S I O N
FLASHCARDS
These flashcards are free and updated frequently. Download the latest version: http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/free-gmat-prep-flashcards
43 Reading Comprehension
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Scope Focus
Scope is the aspect of the topic (subject matter) that the Focus on your reading on the broad idea of the passage,
author discusses in the passage. not every specific fact.
That said, note where overly-specific facts are first
introduced, so you can zero in on them if there is a
detail question later.
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Inference Anticipate
Inferences are suggested by passage. Remind yourself Anticipate what’s next by looking for signpost words.
whether the inferences given as answer choices are • Is the author about to change course? Agree with an
positive, negative or neutral. expert? Disagree with the view expounded in the
Incorrect inferences: previous passages? Cement an idea just presented?
• Distort
• Are superfluous, contradictory, outside of scope
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B E AT T H E G M AT
Q U A N T I TAT I V E G E N E R A L
FLASHCARDS
These flashcards are free and updated frequently. Download the latest version: http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/free-gmat-prep-flashcards
43 Reading Comprehension
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Assuming Multiple
All numbers on the GMAT belong to the set of Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9…
real numbers.
• Unless you’re explicitly told that a specific
type of number is involved, do not make any
further assumptions.
• For example, do NOT assume that variables
represent positive integers.
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( ) ( )
n
k
=
n
n-k
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( )
Chan’s, her time was 4/3 as long.
rt = d 1− 1 5k
5
( ) ( )
CORRECT: 3
4
r 4 t = d
3
() 4
5
5k
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Radius
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( )
20 – n n 18 – n
CORRECT:
10,000 1 + 0.10 = $11,025
2
2
CORRECT: (20 – n) + n + (18 – n) = 25 => n = 13
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15n + 40 = 10n + 50
5n = 10 => n = 2 liters
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a
d=a+b
b c d
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2√5 ()
12√15 = 12 √15 = 6√3
2 √5
To drop a percent, divide by 100%:
CORRECT: 1 % × 1 = 1
(6√3 )2√5 = (6 × 2)(√3√5) = 12√15 2 100 20,000
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=> 2x + 24
6
x
=> + 4
3
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( ) ( )
percent/price difference volume to create a solution that is 15% alcohol by volume?
amount of
between stronger solution ×
stronger solution CORRECT: n(15 – 10) = 2(50 – 15)
and desired solution
5x = 2(35) => n = 70/5 => 14 liters of 10%
solution must be added.
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= 10,000 x (1.04)^2
= $10,816
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Percent Factors
Example: 15 is 3/5 percent of what number? Factors of 18: 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18
CORRECT: 3/5 percent = 3/500 Factors of 6: 1, 2, 3, 6
15 = (3/500) x whole
whole = 2500
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Triangles
30-60-90 45-45-90 3-4-5
2x 5
x x(sq. rt 2) 3
x
x(sq. rt 3) 4
5-12-13 x 9-12-15
13 12 15 12
5 9
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B E AT T H E G M AT
Q U A N T I TAT I V E D ATA S U F F I C I E N C Y
FLASHCARDS
These flashcards are free and updated frequently. Download the latest version: http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/free-gmat-prep-flashcards
43 Reading Comprehension
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Insufficient Strategy
Half the time statements (A) and (B) are both insufficient. 1. Focus on the question stem—thinking about the
information needed to answer the question.
2. Look at each stem separately.
3. If neither statements was sufficient alone, look at
both statements in combination.
4. Half of the Data Sufficiency (DS) answers on the
GMAT come down to step 3.
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