1.
Comparison – when two or more things are
compared, they must have similar structures. Ex. p. 268, practice questions, p.
269-70.
a.
Make sure dissimilarities in noun/verb/number
are corrected
b.
Look at the two (or more) things being compared.
Nouns must be compared to nouns, verbs must be compared to verbs.
2.
Verb Tense – within a sentence, verb tenses must
be consistent. Ex. p. 270-271, list of tenses p. 270, practice problem p. 271.
a.
Knowing the names of the tenses doesn’t matter,
just know the structures.
b.
Look for time indicators (e.g., now vs. earlier
vs. later).
c.
One exception: when the past perfect is used,
the other verb that temporally occurs after the past perfect is in simple past.
d.
One other exception: when one action clearly
precedes another (usually with time indicators).
3.
Subject-Verb Agreement – singular vs. plural
must match correctly. Ex. p. 272, list of noncount and irregular singular nouns
and pronouns p. 273, practice problem p. 273.
a.
Match nouns or pronouns to verbs and check their
number
b.
Skip over any prepositional phrases or other phrases
between the noun/pronoun and the verb.
c.
Be very careful with noncount nouns, irregular singularity
& plurality, compound nouns, pronouns, measurements, and adjectives used as
nouns.
4.
Idiom – common usage which follows rules, unlike
common speech which breaks those rules. Ex. p. 274, commonly tested idioms on
p. 275, practice problem p. 274.
a.
This is the least common type of major error
tested.
b.
Look for awkward phrases or patterns incorrectly
implemented.
c.
Look carefully at preposition use.
5.
Quantity Words – correctly distinguish between
two vs. three or more in quantities, and between discrete objects vs.
uncountable substances. Ex. p. 276, lists p. 276, practice problems p. 277-278.
a.
Select quantity words for the correct number
(two vs. three or more).
b.
Select quantity words for the correct nature
(countable vs. uncountable).
6.
Other errors: redundancy, subjunctive mood (If I
were, if he were, if they were), passive voice (when active voice is possible
in the main verb).
a.
These are more rare and require reviewing your
old study of grammar structures.
b.
Do as many real GMAT by GMAC questions as
possible to practice these more rare types.
From IEP Level 8:
Using correct verb forms helps avoid confusing the reader.
Some forms are familiar, but others can be confusing:
· Singular,
plural, and noncount nouns
o Common nouns can
be count or noncount
§ Count
nouns can be singular or plural
· Regular
singular:
o The
cat is purring.
· Irregular
singular:
o Mathematics
is required.
· Regular
plural:
o The
dogs are barking.
· Irregular
plural:
o Phenomena
are interesting.
§ Noncount
nouns, collective nouns, titles, and gerund phrases are singular:
· Air
pollution has contributed to many deaths.
· The
staff is compiling the data.
· The
New York Times is charging subscriptions.
· Breathing
is impacted by air pollution.
· Indefinite
pronouns
o Seem to have
plural meaning, but are singular (except for ‘they’)
§ Anybody
is susceptible.
§ Everybody
benefits.
§ Someone
succumbs to illness.
§ Each
is a trigger.
§ They
are doing a new study.
· Relative
pronouns
o The verb agrees
with the antecedent, the noun to which the pronoun refers
§ People
who have illness are susceptible.
§ People
can use a monitor which alerts them to changes.
§ The
ability to breathe is one of the things that is monitored.
· Compound
subjects
o Plural subject,
plural verb
§ Aerosols
and dust contribute to pollution.
o Single unit,
singular verb
§ Anger
and anxiety is common among those who struggle.
o Singular nouns,
singular verb
§ Every
man, woman, or child is affected.
o Either/or and
neither/nor
§ Agree
with whichever subject is nearest the verb
§ Put a
plural subject last and use a plural verb if only one subject is plural
· Neither
asthma nor COPD is communicable.
· Either
pollution or dust mites are the trigger that caused her asthma attack.
· Subjects
following verbs
o The verb agrees
with the subject no matter where the subject occurs.
o The verb does
NOT agree with the subject complement.
§ There
is a relationship between the two.
§ A
common pollutant is particles in the air.
§ A
monitor and meter are equipment that measure air pollution.
· Subjects
separated from verbs
o The verb agrees
ONLY with the subject.
o Ask “who is?” or
“what is?” to determine the subject.
§ The
samples on the tray need to be analyzed.
§ High
levels of pollution exacerbate illnesses.
§ The
scientist, along with his research team, was on the trip.
· Expressions
of quantity and measurement
o Can
take either singular or plural verb depending on whether the subject is
singular or plural.
§ All
of the children have asthma.
§ All
of the air is polluted.
§ A
few of the triggers are avoidable.
§ Little
of the pollution is from factories.
§ Three-fourths
of the pollution comes from cars.
§ Ten
percent of children were diagnosed.
§ Two
pounds of particles were emitted.
§ A
milliliter of that medicine is the proper dose.
o Time,
distance, amount, money, weight, length will take the singular if the reference
is to a single measure or quantity.
§ Four
days is a long time to wait.
§ Doctors
say that 100 meters is too far to walk.
§ They
believe that 10 percent is too high a percentage.
· Adjectives
used as nouns
o When used as a
plural noun, adjectives take a plural verb.
§ The
poor are more susceptible.
§ The
English are interested.
§ The
sick are unhappy.
§ The
rich are evil.
Chapter 16 “Reading Comprehension”
·
All questions about the same passage will occur
consecutively together
·
Reading comprehension can appear anywhere in the
Verbal section
·
Usually about 1/3 of the Verbal section, ~12 questions
·
Usually about three passages of ~250 words with
~4 questions each
·
You may have a passage long enough to scroll
through, and questions will appear one at a time in a split screen
·
Try not to rush, but do not dally either –
improve time by eliminating answer choices that are wrong
·
These are “open book” questions – the answers
are in the passages!
·
Difficulty is increased by exploiting common
mistakes and by using intimidating topics that have nothing to do with
business, like the sciences (social, physical, and biological).
Tips:
·
They count on you to overanalyze, so don’t do
this!
·
Read actively – take notes, make a “map,” create
an outline
·
Know the question types
·
Eliminate incorrect answers
·
Don’t be predictable – avoid common mistakes
·
Have a plan:
o
Identify the subject of the passage
o
Identify the task of the question
o
Use PoE
o
Read the sentences before and after any sentence
the question specifies.
Basic Approach
1.
Work the passage – plan for reading: active
reading (p. 285)
a.
Follow the argument by identifying the conclusion
and premises (i.e., what the evidence proves, and the evidence itself)
b.
Ask questions as you read:
i. What
is the purpose?
ii. What
are the big ideas and where are they?
iii. What
is the tone? (scholarly, friendly, critical, objective, biased)
iv. Where
does the author go next?
c.
Identify the structure:
i. Specific
to general or vice versa
ii. Topic
sentence(s) – useful signposts
iii. Details/explanations/examples
iv. Transitions
v. Reversals
(however, contrary, on the other hand, etc.), often mid-paragraph
vi. Conclusion
sentences – often the overall point
d.
Main idea:
i. Find
& follow the main idea
ii. Not
necessarily the topic (i.e. biology), but
iii. Rather
a claim or opinion from the author (i.e. we should study this plant for medical
use)
e.
Purpose:
i. Possible
purposes:
1.
Persuasion – most common, author wants to
convince you that their viewpoint is correct
2.
Criticism/evaluation – criticism can be positive
OR negative, i.e., “this idea has many good points” OR “this idea has many
problems”; evaluation is about judging an argument to be good or bad
3.
Explanation or analysis – informative rather
than argumentative; the author tells you about the idea in detail
ii. Generally
about trying to get the reader to accept an idea
iii. In
other words, what the author wants you to believe
f.
Mapping the passage – taking notes about the
passage, making an outline
i. Find
the Key Sentences: in each paragraph, look for an opinion, recommendation,
conclusion, or reason – then write down a summary of each key sentence
ii. Label
each sentence as a claim OR as a reason (i.e., a conclusion the author wants
you to believe OR evidence for that claim)
iii. Putting
the key sentences together gives you the main idea of the passage
2.
Understand the task – crack the question (p.
288)
a.
Identify the subject
i. This
is what you need to read about to answer the question
ii. Helps
to locate necessary information
iii. Helps
to avoid trap answers
b.
Understanding the task
i. Specific:
small part of the passage
1.
Retrieval – find a fact or detail (fetch proof)
– “According to the passage” and “the author mentioned” can be key phrases
2.
Inference – base your answer on evidence – key
phrases include infer, suggest, conclude, imply
3.
Purpose – why the author did x – find the
opinion the author gave – key phrases include “in order to” and “serves which
of the following functions”
4.
Vocab-in-context – what the author means by a
word – the meaning of the word (not always the first definition, could be the
second or third definition) must fit BOTH the context AND the main point
ii. General:
over whole passage
1.
Primary purpose – the very broad “Why did the
author write the passage?” – key phrases include “primary purpose” and “chiefly
concerned”
2.
Main idea – what the author wants us to accept –
the overall claim supported by the evidence – key phrases include “overall
claims” and “main point”
3.
Tone – find feelings/opinions – how strongly
does the author feel, positive or negative; look in the paragraphs for words
like misrepresenting, unlikely, unfortunately, poor, considerable, etc. – key
phrases include “tone” and “attitude”
4.
Structure – flow of ideas (see your outline/map)
– about the sequence of the passage or of a specific paragraph
iii. Complex:
need a good understanding of the main idea
1.
Evaluation – rare; compare or analyze
information in the passage or two pieces of information in the passage – most
accuracy – “Which of the following most accurately summarizes the relationship
between x and y?”
2.
Weaken/strengthen – more common, use
evidence/logic – almost always say “weaken” or “strengthen”
3.
Analogy – make comparisons, look for similarity
– key phrase “most similar”
4.
Application – find information in the passage
and transfer to a new situation – key phrases include scenarios, situations,
assertions
3.
Find the information – the evidence is in the
passage somewhere!
a.
Use your map – your notes are very important
b.
THEN re-read the relevant portion of the passage
to double-check
4.
Use PoE – eliminate answers based on:
a.
Recycled language and memory traps – these are
NOT precise quotes but they sound similar to the language used in the passage;
human brains like what sounds familiar, so these are usually trap answers
b.
Extreme language – only good for a
strengthen/weaken question, BAD for ALL other questions; includes words like:
always, never, all, none, only, must, fail, best, worst, most, etc. Instead, we
prefer “wishy-washy” language like: some, often, may, useful, sometimes, maybe,
can, etc. (see p. 293)
c.
No such comparison – the answer choice compares
things that are NOT compared in the passage – check for what the author
actually compares in the passage by look for words like: better, more,
reconcile, less, decide, more than, less than, etc. Generally be skeptical of
comparisons in the answers – the ideas may have been discussed but not compared
in the passage
d.
Reversals – confusing because they say the opposite
of the main idea or one of the details – if you don’t take notes, you will not
recognize these reversals as wrong
e.
Emotional appeals – answer choices that have
some emotional bias or political value that the author does NOT discuss or
reference
f. Outside knowledge – answer choices that rely on the reader to think about information they have from their own experience but is NOT contained in the passage – very tempting if you have this information, but if the information is not in the passage, eliminate!
g. Half right = ALL WRONG – an answer that has a true part (based on the passage) but another part that is also false (based on the passage)
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