UMAR - Try, Try and Try

GMAT and its preparation may be a piece of cake or a tad tough for some people, but there may be folks around like me. I could have posted the review after official GMAT test , however i wanted to bring into notice a few helpful tips, morale boosting circumstances, head scratching moments, jubilation's & Urgh's and tips to motivate and hence improve your chances to ACE THE GMAT
Background:
I have been a hardworking, good and intelligent student (At least i and few around considered that) throughout my formal education. Going through my initial phases of GMAT preparations, i found myself weak and incapable in Verbal. Reason wasn't that i didn't understand the concepts but that I LACKED BASICS TO APPLY THESE CONCEPT AND RULES. Partly, because of education setup in my part of world. I had no idea of Critical Reasoning and Critical Reading to begin with. Though i knew grammar rules, i never studied english/verbal with the intent of Understanding Meaning and never focused on "words" that build the context of a sentence. Therefore, i wasn't able to grasp the GIST of passage while going through CR and RC in particular.
I took annual leaves to finalize my preparations for GMAT 2016 version and went through Manhattan Quantitative Guides and Official GMAT Guide. It felt fine until I attempted Verbal CR , SC and RC questions on Beat The GMAT & GmatClub. I was swept away. I realized before the test that i am gonna fail miserably in Verbal. On top of that, i attempted a Verbal Ability Quiz on e-GMAT while surfing internet for some tweaks and shortcuts for good verbal score. I was dead from inside after i had given the test. The DAY came and rest is history.

E-GMAT & upcoming GMAT 2017:

I was jolted at such a magnitude by the OFFICIAL TEST that i kept quiet for few days. Not because my first attempt was very bad but because i failed to understand and answer most of CR and RC questions with conviction. I made a promise to myself that i wont stop trying till i master GMAT. Identifying the reasons behind low score was not that difficult. It was lack of Verbal proficiency.
e-GMAT ability test was in the back of my mind since my first ability quiz. The explanations provided for the questions presented such a fine and refined method to unfold the puzzles in a typical CR, RC passage that i didn't give a second thought and bought the Verbal Online Package. I will list a few upsides of Verbal Preparation by e-GMAT.

SC :
1. Coupled with Manhattan SC book, lessons on SC are enough to hit with < 90 % accuracy.
2. It presents the reader with a framework to view a sentence beyond the rules of grammar. Yes, The Meaning. Ace it and see the magic.
CR :
1. Initially i laughed at the concept of pre-thinking ( how could you pre think an answer) , but it is the best method to ace the CR. No other way around. Simplest Mantra : why has author said/written that conclusion.
2. The process of identifying reason behind a conclusion and drawing scenarios in mind while making assumptions help you to master any CR passage.
3. Level of Questions are by far the best and very Official GMAT like.
RC :
A lot has been said about the quality of RC content. I was praying for easy RC passages in my 1st GMAT Test and i got 3 ( 2 passages comprised first 8 questions). Since RC passages consume a lot more time, students normally falters and score poorly. The 7 tips available in Basics of RC will ease your mind in deconstructing any passage easily. There are enough details about each type of question. I hardly answered any question correctly on RC and now i rarely mark a wrong answer choice. Having said that, there will be some genre of passages that you may not feel confident about.

As i am going through my preparations, i have noticed a remarkable change in my understanding of SC , CR and RC. Though it took me some time, i can now apply given methods and techniques to answer any question. A giant leap forward is that i can easily figure out the wrong answer choices.

METHOD FOR CONQUERING VERBAL:

This process worked for me and i will recommend it to candidates who are weak in Verbal.
1. Go through SC first.
Takeaway: you will be able to understand the meaning and context of a sentence --> will help you in CR passages.
2. Go through CR then
Take away : Being able to understand a sentence, it will be easy to figure out Conclusion, premises, additional information, reasoning and missing links. Always think about " What reasons has led author/xyz to reach this conclusion". Start questioning the reasoning and you will understand the myth of Assumption, Evaluate, Strengthen and Weaken Family : Four major types of Questions.
3. Go through RC
Take away : i got a lot of help through BF questions to be able to understand the role a passage may play in RC. I recommend that give proper time to understand and summarize RC passage. if you follow the e-gmat method, you will be able to answer most of the questions in less than 40 seconds.

4. Be consistent in your preparations. Study daily.
5. Dont jump from SC to CR to RC until you have mastered one concept.
6. Attempt Scholaranium questions atleast 2 times. Point is that you will be able to understand the process even though you may know the answer.

My personal advice: if you are weak in verbal, e-gmat got your back. Its not only interactive but also objective.
P.S : if you think you are good at Quant, give a quant ability test in e-GMAT. :)

Thanks for a patient read.