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  • Top 5 GMAT Mistakes by Indian Students

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    Will Fleiss
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    GMAT Prep for Indian Students 1) Idiomatic usage of prepositions – The GMAT is an American exam, so it tests the correct usage of the American version of English—and a very particular version of American English at that, one that we’ll call “GMAT English.” While it may be perfectly acceptable to say, “We agreed for a plan” in the Indian version, the American idiom is “agreed on a plan”— and the first construction would be incorrect on the GMAT. Knewton provides a full list of all the tested idiomatic expressions—including all the ones most commonly confused by Indian students—so that our students know exactly what to expect on test day. 2) Getting too caught up in the details of RC passages to see the big picture – Many of our Indian students come from technical disciplines. As a result, they tend to be very detail-oriented and are able to remember large amounts of information. Unfortunately, these skills are NOT tested on the GMAT. Examining and/or memorizing small details on RC passages is a waste of time, since you’ll have access to the passage at all times. Instead, you should be interested in the big picture: What’s going on in the passage? What is the author trying to tell you, and how does he go about doing so? How is the passage organized? What are the logical threads in the block of text you’re reading? In addition to learning strategies to quickly and correctly answer these “big picture” questions, read publications like The Economist in order to familiarize yourself with the style of writing found on the GMAT. 3) Incorrect usage of verb tenses – Some Indian students also struggle with when to use present perfect vs. past perfect tenses. Often, more than one tense is possible. It is important to recognize when a certain tense is used incorrectly. If a sentence’s action takes place within the same time frame, the verbs should all be in the same tense. The present perfect (for example, I have been waking up early for the past month) describes an action that began at some point in the past and continues into the present. The past perfect (e.g., I had been waking up early until I lost my job) describes an action in the far past (waking up early) that took place before another action in the more recent past (losing my job). Knewton is very proud of the quality of the verbal component of our GMAT course. Unlike other companies that take a more superficial approach to the underlying grammar on Sentence Correction, we made a pedagogical decision to actually teach you the concepts. This way, you can break down each sentence and analyze it piece by piece. If you’re a non-native speaker (of GMAT English, that is), this skill is particularly useful—it gives you a concrete method of attacking SC questions as opposed to a “which one sounds best to you” approach. 4) Getting confused by dense and convoluted CR arguments – Many students have not had the benefit of training in Critical Reasoning. As a result, they find themselves very confused on CR questions. Remember: Your personal opinions don’t matter for these questions. GMAT CR questions test your ability to process the information in front of you and to arrive at the appropriate result. Constantly ask yourself: What is the conclusion or main point or this argument? Pay attention to how well the evidence presented by the author supports the conclusion. It may be tempting to color the given argument with your own real-world knowledge, but you should consciously steer clear of doing so. Many wrong answer choices exist solely to trick you into making additional assumptions that are unwarranted. 5) Focusing on trying to beat the CAT – No we’re not talking about the IIM’s entrance exam, but rather the fact that the GMAT is a Computer-Adaptive Test (CAT for short). Yes, standardized tests are put together using assembly algorithms, but these algorithms are sufficiently complex that it is a waste of your time to try and “crack” th

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    GMAT Prep for Indian Students 1) Idiomatic usage of prepositions – The GMAT is an American exam, so it tests the correct usage of the American version of English—and a very particular version of American English at that, one that we’ll call “GMAT English.” While it may be perfectly acceptable to say, “We agreed for a plan” in the Indian version, the American idiom is “agreed on a plan”— and the first construction would be incorrect on the GMAT. Knewton provides a full list of all the tested idiomatic expressions—including all the ones most commonly confused by Indian students—so that our students know exactly what to expect on test day. 2) Getting too caught up in the details of RC passages to see the big picture – Many of our Indian students come from technical disciplines. As a result, they tend to be very detail-oriented and are able to remember large amounts of information. Unfortunately, these skills are NOT tested on the GMAT. Examining and/or memorizing small details on RC passages is a waste of time, since you’ll have access to the passage at all times. Instead, you should be interested in the big picture: What’s going on in the passage? What is the author trying to tell you, and how does he go about doing so? How is the passage organized? What are the logical threads in the block of text you’re reading? In addition to learning strategies to quickly and correctly answer these “big picture” questions, read publications like The Economist in order to familiarize yourself with the style of writing found on the GMAT. 3) Incorrect usage of verb tenses – Some Indian students also struggle with when to use present perfect vs. past perfect tenses. Often, more than one tense is possible. It is important to recognize when a certain tense is used incorrectly. If a sentence’s action takes place within the same time frame, the verbs should all be in the same tense. The present perfect (for example, I have been waking up early for the past month) describes an action that began at some point in the past and continues into the present. The past perfect (e.g., I had been waking up early until I lost my job) describes an action in the far past (waking up early) that took place before another action in the more recent past (losing my job). Knewton is very proud of the quality of the verbal component of our GMAT course. Unlike other companies that take a more superficial approach to the underlying grammar on Sentence Correction, we made a pedagogical decision to actually teach you the concepts. This way, you can break down each sentence and analyze it piece by piece. If you’re a non-native speaker (of GMAT English, that is), this skill is particularly useful—it gives you a concrete method of attacking SC questions as opposed to a “which one sounds best to you” approach. 4) Getting confused by dense and convoluted CR arguments – Many students have not had the benefit of training in Critical Reasoning. As a result, they find themselves very confused on CR questions. Remember: Your personal opinions don’t matter for these questions. GMAT CR questions test your ability to process the information in front of you and to arrive at the appropriate result. Constantly ask yourself: What is the conclusion or main point or this argument? Pay attention to how well the evidence presented by the author supports the conclusion. It may be tempting to color the given argument with your own real-world knowledge, but you should consciously steer clear of doing so. Many wrong answer choices exist solely to trick you into making additional assumptions that are unwarranted. 5) Focusing on trying to beat the CAT – No we’re not talking about the IIM’s entrance exam, but rather the fact that the GMAT is a Computer-Adaptive Test (CAT for short). Yes, standardized tests are put together using assembly algorithms, but these algorithms are sufficiently complex that it is a waste of your time to try and “crack” th

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    331 views1 page

    Top 5 GMAT Mistakes by Indian Students

    Uploaded by

    Will Fleiss
    GMAT Prep for Indian Students 1) Idiomatic usage of prepositions – The GMAT is an American exam, so it tests the correct usage of the American version of English—and a very particular version of American English at that, one that we’ll call “GMAT English.” While it may be perfectly acceptable to say, “We agreed for a plan” in the Indian version, the American idiom is “agreed on a plan”— and the first construction would be incorrect on the GMAT. Knewton provides a full list of all the tested idiomatic expressions—including all the ones most commonly confused by Indian students—so that our students know exactly what to expect on test day. 2) Getting too caught up in the details of RC passages to see the big picture – Many of our Indian students come from technical disciplines. As a result, they tend to be very detail-oriented and are able to remember large amounts of information. Unfortunately, these skills are NOT tested on the GMAT. Examining and/or memorizing small details on RC passages is a waste of time, since you’ll have access to the passage at all times. Instead, you should be interested in the big picture: What’s going on in the passage? What is the author trying to tell you, and how does he go about doing so? How is the passage organized? What are the logical threads in the block of text you’re reading? In addition to learning strategies to quickly and correctly answer these “big picture” questions, read publications like The Economist in order to familiarize yourself with the style of writing found on the GMAT. 3) Incorrect usage of verb tenses – Some Indian students also struggle with when to use present perfect vs. past perfect tenses. Often, more than one tense is possible. It is important to recognize when a certain tense is used incorrectly. If a sentence’s action takes place within the same time frame, the verbs should all be in the same tense. The present perfect (for example, I have been waking up early for the past month) describes an action that began at some point in the past and continues into the present. The past perfect (e.g., I had been waking up early until I lost my job) describes an action in the far past (waking up early) that took place before another action in the more recent past (losing my job). Knewton is very proud of the quality of the verbal component of our GMAT course. Unlike other companies that take a more superficial approach to the underlying grammar on Sentence Correction, we made a pedagogical decision to actually teach you the concepts. This way, you can break down each sentence and analyze it piece by piece. If you’re a non-native speaker (of GMAT English, that is), this skill is particularly useful—it gives you a concrete method of attacking SC questions as opposed to a “which one sounds best to you” approach. 4) Getting confused by dense and convoluted CR arguments – Many students have not had the benefit of training in Critical Reasoning. As a result, they find themselves very confused on CR questions. Remember: Your personal opinions don’t matter for these questions. GMAT CR questions test your ability to process the information in front of you and to arrive at the appropriate result. Constantly ask yourself: What is the conclusion or main point or this argument? Pay attention to how well the evidence presented by the author supports the conclusion. It may be tempting to color the given argument with your own real-world knowledge, but you should consciously steer clear of doing so. Many wrong answer choices exist solely to trick you into making additional assumptions that are unwarranted. 5) Focusing on trying to beat the CAT – No we’re not talking about the IIM’s entrance exam, but rather the fact that the GMAT is a Computer-Adaptive Test (CAT for short). Yes, standardized tests are put together using assembly algorithms, but these algorithms are sufficiently complex that it is a waste of your time to try and “crack” th

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