Primary Objectives April 30, 2007
Posted by ssridhars in Critical Reasoning.add a comment
Keep these points in consideration while attempting questions in Critical Reasoning
- Determine whether the stimulus contains an argument or if it is only a set of factual statements.
- If the stimulus contains an argument, identify the conclusion of the argument. If the stimulus contains a fact set, examine the fact.
- If the stimulus contains an argument, determine if the argument is strong or weak.
- Read closely and know precisely what the author has said. Do not generalize!
- Carefully read and identify the question stem. Do not assume that certain words are automatically associated with certain question types.
- Prephrase : After reading the question stem, take a moment to mentally formulate your answer to the question stem.
- Always read each of the five answer choices.
- Separate the answer choices into Contenders and Losers. After you complete this process, review the Contenders and decide which answer is the correct one.
- If all five answer choices appear to be Losers, return to the stimulus and re-evaluate the argument.
Of arguments, facts and conclusions April 29, 2007
Posted by ssridhars in Critical Reasoning, GMAT.add a comment
Saturday was a day well spent on groceries and movies. I tried to get going with the Critical Reasoning Bible but could not complete much of the stuff. I got up this morning and found some time to complete the first two chapters. The more I look at reasoning, the more it looks like a math equation. I believe that with enough practice, we can all visualize and break down the question into the arguments, facts, conclusions and assumptions.
The things I learnt today are
Breaking down the line into arguments, facts
Identifying the premises in the stimulus
Finding out whether the conclusions are strong or weak.
More on this later but I feel better for now 
Work and Class April 26, 2007
Posted by ssridhars in GMAT.add a comment
I am so tired today that I dont think I can write a long story. Had a hectic day at work and then the GMAT class. The class starts with a Quant review and then ends with Verbal. I always seem to have a gala time when Math skills are being reviewed. I get RIGHT back to reality with a thud whenever I see the intricacies in Verbal. I am sure its only a matter of time before I improve my Verbal skills but sadly, its causing me enough grief. I have decided to concentrate on Verbal, especially the CR bible and the SC book from Manhattan.
I have been hitting 90% + accuracy in Math and I wish to keep it up. I am going to start reading more on some inspirational blogs out there in cyber space on clearadmit site. May be a little bit of inspiration is all I need to be put in to get maximum output.
Class day April 25, 2007
Posted by ssridhars in GMAT.add a comment
Equations strategies guide is due for today’s class. I have skimmed through the concepts and most of them seem to be familiar. Now, I realize why my Math teacher forced me to practice Math so hard. I still remember almost all the concepts from my high school. I am through with two guides from Manhattan GMAT series namely
These guides , along with five more guides came as part of course material for Manhattan GMAT.
I believe the Math guides are written with a non-math guy in mind. But, it gives a sense of accomplishment to skim through the books as a refresher course and solve the corresponding problems in the Official Quantitative review guide.
I am starting to feel that I am getting in a groove at least with the quant part. However, I feel I should really better my Verbal skills even before I begin to dream about a good overall score in GMAT.
I better start my Critical reasoning and gain the needed confidence boost.
No-work weekend April 23, 2007
Posted by ssridhars in GMAT.add a comment
It has been real tough to concentrate on the weekends what with the new responsibilities that come with getting married. This weekend was devoted to movies. Watched a couple of telugu movies and ate like a pig. Just skimmed through some Critical Reasoning strategies. I have read in various blogs/posts that people who have been successful at topping 700 have all slogged through the weekends for about 7-8 hrs. I need to pull up my act together and start working harder. Concentration holds the key. Today, I am planning to complete second and third chapters from Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction and probably do some Math, especially probability.
Good luck to myself
Jinxed April 22, 2007
Posted by ssridhars in GMAT.add a comment
My GMAT prep always takes a backseat whenever I start writing a journal. I haven’t touched any prep material today. I went out of town to seek God’s blessings and prayed sincerely for a divine intervention. I hope that as long as I am sincere and dedicated, he will shower his infinite blessings on me.
I wish to work on something tomorrow apart from getting my laundry done. I will try to put in at least a couple of hours into reaching my goal.
As if I don’t have enough distractions to worry about, its the beginning day of playoffs for Lakers. I sincerely hope that they do the (almost) impossible thing and beat Suns. I really want to see them winning the NBA championship. Good Night
Lack of motivation April 21, 2007
Posted by ssridhars in GMAT.add a comment
The title is quite paradoxical. I am very interested in pursuing MBA and have started preparing for GMAT. The lead period towards making this decision was a lot and enough thought has gone into it. Looks like I am facing the initial hurdles of inertia. No matter how much I try, I cant seem to be able to concentrate on the preparation. I guess one has to go through all these stages before one can attain Salvation ( I mean good score on GMAT
I have touched lightly on my quant skills and seem to have found out my weak areas. I might have to work up some sweat in Statistics, Probability and Permutations and Combinations. Also, my verbal skills seem to be pathetic to say the least. Need to work out a strategy to set that straight. I am quite confident that GMAT is surmountable with dedicated effort. Persistence seems to be the key.
Mission GMAT April 19, 2007
Posted by ssridhars in GMAT.add a comment
Welcome to my blog. I have been thinking of taking GMAT exam for a while now. A little bit of googling suggested that keeping a journal along my journey might not be such a bad idea at all !!
I am a typical Indian engineer ( I say typical because there are so many of those writing the GMAT exam . Though, I have always had a secret admiration for MBA degree, I never thought of actually pursuing it. Now that I have taken the initiative, I would like to explore the details to their finest granularity. Like they say, the devil lies in the details and I am ready for the devil
To start with, I have the Official guide 11 and Manhattan GMAT series (7 books). I am not yet ready to take the diagnostic test since I dont want to see my weaknesses yet
I hope to add some useful stuff and make this a useful site.
