GMAT Tips for a Brilliant Score

“Winners don’t do different things, they do things differently” is a famous proverb by Shiv Khera. Likewise, this article discusses about different ways to approach the GMAT questions that will be helpful for a high score. 

Guessing Appropriately
Guessing is very important in the GMAT, like in any other standard tests. That is because, one cannot expect to know the answers to all questions in the exam but one needs to answer every question. The CAT format doesn’t allow one to leave a question unanswered and return to answer it later on. Most students waste time trying to answer a few difficult questions, while they must be guessing smartly and moving on to other questions for which they could score. If one doesn’t move on, one might not have enough time to complete the test and hence receive a poor score. 

Eliminating the Wrong Answers
The key guessing strategy is knowing how to spot the wrong answers and eliminating them to find the correct answer. The process of elimination is very critical in determining how your GMAT levels are. It is a common knowledge that one out of the five possible answers is definitely the right one. So, the chance is 20%. In case you manage to eliminate two answers that you know are obviously wrong, you find yourself with 33% chance of arriving at the right solution. Eliminating the wrong answers is not easy, but not too complicated either. It can be done with exact precision in the data sufficiency questions, where you can get rid of two choices if you know that one of the statements is true. Also avoid the answer choices that look completely different from the others. They could be most probably wrong. In the quantitative section, one negative option amongst all other positive options is most likely the wrong one.

Using the Rough Paper Wisely
A big advantage you could ever ask for is the unlimited amount of rough paper. Make sure you have lots of it and use it wisely. You need to use it in order to avoid silly mistakes like calculation ones, because a small carry over mistake could cost you dearly. Doing calculations on the paper will help you arrive at the right answer in a shorter amount to time. Moreover, verifying your answer becomes easier when you can see the calculation process on paper. The rough paper can be of great use even while solving reading comprehension questions. Skimming each paragraph and writing down a note about each will help in spotting answers quickly and save time to complete all questions.

However, one has to be careful while copying down questions to the paper. If one makes a mistake in writing the question, then undoubtedly the answer would be wrong. To get used to the rough paper, it is suggested that one starts incorporating its use in practice tests also.