Beat The GMAT!

I feel like I'm making progress in understanding how Data Sufficiency works.

After going through my normal Delta Course problems and RC passage from OG, I did a practice set of 40 DS problems from OG. I managed to earn a significantly higher hit rate compared to the last OG DS set I did: this time I hit 80% correct. Even more good news was that nearly all of my errors were careless mistakes, which I was able to correct upon second examination.

I am much more systematic in my approach now. Here's what I've done:

1. First, I read the question prompt very carefully, making sure I understand the information being presented. A common error I make is in misreading.
2. Next, I determine the question type--whether it is a "YES/NO" or "Asking for Value" question. WRITE DOWN the question type on your scrap paper. I've discovered that writing down the question type has been the most important factor in improving my DS today. It has kept me on track for determining what kind of sufficiency I am looking for in a problem.
3. Finally, keep the statements separate when solving. Very standard and important advice.

I am pleasantly surprised how well this strategy has worked for me. The only thing I have to work on now, besides improving my hit rate, is moving faster. I am currently very slow with DS, averaging over 2 minutes per problem. Speed and accuracy will come with practice, so I just have to keep at it.

SUMMARY OF DAY 52 WORK:
1. Delta Course BONUS questions, #71-80.
2. Official Guide Reading Comprehension passage, #101-106, pages 352-353.
3. Official Guide Data Sufficiency Set, #201-240, pages 257-261.

RECAP OF DAY 52 WORK:
1. Be as systematic as possible in approaching DS problems.
2. For each DS problem, WRITE DOWN the question type on your scrap paper. Trust me, it helps a lot!

Labels: Data Sufficiency, GMAT Math

This entry was posted on Monday, June 27, 2005 at 11:59 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.