Almost everyone whose worth any money in the GMAT universe will tell you that you should ANALYZE your practice tests and questions.
But, what does that really mean?
Let us find out:
Okay, so you have solved your daily quota of 20 questions. And you get 18 our of 20 right, so... you don't need to analyze anything right? At least, you don't need to analyze the 18 Qs you answered correctly... right? Well, you actually do need to analyze each and every question.
a. Compare your approach and line of thinking with what is given in the official solution.
b. Find out alternative approaches or solutions. Questions on the GMAT are usually wrong for multiple reasons, and you can always find something else wrong with the verbal or quant question.
c. Finally, you need to take a look at the questions you answered incorrectly and look for the right reasons. Did you lack the knowledge? Or did the test makers trick you? Most likely it will be the latter. And if that's the case, you need to commit to memory HOW they tricked you, so that you don't fall for the same trap again, ever!
Although, different tests provide different kinds of reports for you to analyze, the official GMAT Prep tests do not provide such a report. GMATPrep does provide some information, but that is really not enough.
GMAT Prep Analysis - For this you will need to simply take screenshots of each question, as you see whether you got the question right or wrong. Screenshots are extremely important, because GMAT Prep does not really let you analyze the tests as thoroughly as (say) the Manhattan prep tests do. Paste all the screenshots in a word document, and then start your analysis.
a. Find out how many questions per sub section you got right. That would look something like this:
DS: 9/10, PS:17/31, RC:7/8, etc. You get the idea. This is not the most important part, but you need to keep score so that you can compare this to your next practice test performance. You can gauge your performance easily. Determine which sub-section you're the weakest on and then focus your attention on improving on that sub-section. For example, if you find out you're weakest in sentence correction, you can easily start focusing on it for the next week or so.
b. Analyze EACH and every question, irrespective of whether you got it right or wrong. The methodology for analyzing individual questions has been given above.
MGMAT Test Analysis - MGMAT offers one of the best analysis reports for their practice tests. So, you don't need to check how many you got right vs. how many you got wrong in each sub section. The MGMAT software will do that for you. All you need to do is look at the report and see which sub-section you're weakest in. Plus, they even give you a nice break-down according to question type, so you can simply look for advice and tips related to those question types online or in books.
Most other tests offer similar test reports. And so are really useful. But, I still maintain that official is still official. So, whenever possible, focus on the GMAT Prep software. You can retake the tests as many times as you like. You may get one or two repeats, but beyond that the test is worth every bead of perspiration you spend on it.
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If you liked my post, you can always check out my kindle book here
But, what does that really mean?
Let us find out:
Analyzing Questions
Okay, so you have solved your daily quota of 20 questions. And you get 18 our of 20 right, so... you don't need to analyze anything right? At least, you don't need to analyze the 18 Qs you answered correctly... right? Well, you actually do need to analyze each and every question.
a. Compare your approach and line of thinking with what is given in the official solution.
b. Find out alternative approaches or solutions. Questions on the GMAT are usually wrong for multiple reasons, and you can always find something else wrong with the verbal or quant question.
c. Finally, you need to take a look at the questions you answered incorrectly and look for the right reasons. Did you lack the knowledge? Or did the test makers trick you? Most likely it will be the latter. And if that's the case, you need to commit to memory HOW they tricked you, so that you don't fall for the same trap again, ever!
Analyzing Tests
Although, different tests provide different kinds of reports for you to analyze, the official GMAT Prep tests do not provide such a report. GMATPrep does provide some information, but that is really not enough.
GMAT Prep Analysis - For this you will need to simply take screenshots of each question, as you see whether you got the question right or wrong. Screenshots are extremely important, because GMAT Prep does not really let you analyze the tests as thoroughly as (say) the Manhattan prep tests do. Paste all the screenshots in a word document, and then start your analysis.
a. Find out how many questions per sub section you got right. That would look something like this:
DS: 9/10, PS:17/31, RC:7/8, etc. You get the idea. This is not the most important part, but you need to keep score so that you can compare this to your next practice test performance. You can gauge your performance easily. Determine which sub-section you're the weakest on and then focus your attention on improving on that sub-section. For example, if you find out you're weakest in sentence correction, you can easily start focusing on it for the next week or so.
b. Analyze EACH and every question, irrespective of whether you got it right or wrong. The methodology for analyzing individual questions has been given above.
MGMAT Test Analysis - MGMAT offers one of the best analysis reports for their practice tests. So, you don't need to check how many you got right vs. how many you got wrong in each sub section. The MGMAT software will do that for you. All you need to do is look at the report and see which sub-section you're weakest in. Plus, they even give you a nice break-down according to question type, so you can simply look for advice and tips related to those question types online or in books.
Most other tests offer similar test reports. And so are really useful. But, I still maintain that official is still official. So, whenever possible, focus on the GMAT Prep software. You can retake the tests as many times as you like. You may get one or two repeats, but beyond that the test is worth every bead of perspiration you spend on it.
=================================================
If you liked my post, you can always check out my kindle book here
I am getting a jump on the GMAT because I wanted to start applying to get in an MBA program as soon as possible. I have been taking an online GMAT prep course to help me prepare for the test, as it being online has been very convenient for me.
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