GMAT For Dummies (Gmat for Dummies)

386 Pages·2006·4.07 MB·English

by  Scott, J.D. Hatch, Lisa, M.A. Hatch

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GMAT
®
The
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
5
TH EDITION
by Scott Hatch,J.D.
and Lisa Hatch,M.A.
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01_596535 ffirs.qxd 8/2/06 10:44 PM Page i
GMAT
®
The
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
5
TH EDITION
by Scott Hatch,J.D.
and Lisa Hatch,M.A.
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The GMAT For Dummies®, 5th Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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About the Authors
Scottand Lisa Hatchhave prepared students for college entrance exams for over 25 years.
While in law school in the late ’70s, Scott Hatch taught LSAT preparation courses throughout
Southern California to pay for his education. He was so good at it that after graduation, he
went out on his own. Using materials he developed himself, he prepared thousands of anx-
ious potential test-takers for the SAT, ACT, PSAT, LSAT, GRE, and GMAT.
Years ago, Lisa took one of Scott’s LSAT preparation courses at the University of Colorado
and improved her love life as well as her LSAT score. Lisa’s love for instructing and writing
allowed her to fit right in with Scott’s lifestyle, teaching courses and preparing course materi-
als. They married shortly thereafter.
Since then, Scott and Lisa have taught test preparation to students worldwide. Currently
over 300 universities and colleges offer their courses online and through live lectures, and
the Hatches have written the curriculum for both formats. The company they have built
together, the Center for Legal Studies, provides not only standardized test preparation
courses but also courses for those who desire careers in the field of law, including paralegals,
legal secretaries, legal investigators, victim advocates, and legal nurse consultants.
Scott has presented standardized test preparation courses since 1979. He is listed in Who’s
Who in California andWho’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities,and
he was named one of the Outstanding Young Men of America by the United States Jaycees.
He was a contributing editor to The Judicial Profiler(McGraw-Hill) and the Colorado Law
Annotated(West/Lawyers Co-op) series, and he was editor of several award-winning publica-
tions. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and his Juris
Doctorate from Southwestern University School of Law.
Lisa has been teaching legal certificate and standardized test preparation courses since 1987.
She graduated with honors in English from the University of Puget Sound, and she received
her master’s degree from California State University. She and Scott have co-authored numer-
ous law and standardized test texts, including Paralegal Procedures and Practices,published
by West Thomson Publishing, and SAT II U.S. History For Dummies, SAT II Biology For
Dummies,SAT II Math For Dummies, and Paralegal Career For Dummies,published by Wiley
Publishing.
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Dedication
We dedicate our For Dummies books to Alison, Andrew, Zachary, and Zoe Hatch. They
demonstrated extreme patience, understanding, and assistance while we wrote this book,
and we appreciate them beyond expression.
Authors’ Acknowledgments
This book would not be possible without the extensive research and writing contributions of
standardized test prep experts David Newland, M.A., J.D, and Benjamin A. Saypol, M.A. Their
efforts greatly enhanced our writing, editing, and organization, and we are deeply grateful to
them. We’d also like to thank the staff of the Center for Legal Studies, who worked diligently
to execute a smooth process in the administrative tasks necessary to bring about this book.
We need to acknowledge the input of the thousands of prospective MBA students and other
college applicants who have completed our test preparation courses over the last twenty-six
years. The classroom and online contributions offered by these eager learners have provided
us with lots of information about which areas require the greatest amount of preparation.
Their input is the reason we’re able to produce accurate and up-to-date test preparation.
Our meticulous scholarship and attempts at wit were greatly facilitated by the editing profes-
sionals at Wiley Publishing. Our thanks go out to Tim Gallan and Natalie Harris for their
patience and support throughout the process, David Herzog and Laura Nussbaum for their
attention to detail during the editing process, and Kathy Cox for getting the project up and
running.
Finally, we wish to acknowledge our literary agent, Margo Maley Hutchinson at Waterside
Productions in Cardiff, for her assistance and for introducing us to the innovative For
Dummies series. We thrive on feedback from our students and encourage our readers to pro-
vide comments and critiques at [email protected].
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at
www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Composition Services
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Danielle Voirol (Previous Edition: Donna Frederick) Charles Spencer
Editorial Program Coordinator: Hanna K. Scott Indexer:Julie Kawabata
Technical Editor: David Herzog Special Help
Sara Westfall
Editorial Manager: Christine Beck
Editorial Assistants:Erin Calligan, Nadine Bell,
David Lutton
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
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Composition Services
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Debbie Stailey,Director of Composition Services
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction.................................................................................1
Part I: Putting the GMAT into Perspective......................................5
Chapter 1: Getting the Lowdown on the GMAT........................................................................................7
Chapter 2: Maximizing Your Score on the GMAT...................................................................................15
Part II: Vanquishing the Verbal Section .......................................25
Chapter 3: Applying What You Learned (We Hope) in Grammar Class: Sentence Correction.........27
Chapter 4: Not as Enticing as a Bestseller: Reading Comprehension..................................................45
Chapter 5: Getting Logical: Critical Reasoning.......................................................................................63
Chapter 6: Bringing It Together: A Practice Mini Verbal Section.........................................................81
Part III: Acing the Analytical Writing Section..............................93
Chapter 7: Analyze This: What to Expect from the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA)..............95
Chapter 8: Present Perfect Paragraphs: How to Write a GMAT Essay...............................................101
Chapter 9: Deconstructing Sample GMAT Essays................................................................................107
Part IV: Conquering the Quantitative Section .............................113
Chapter 10: Getting Back to Basics: Numbers and Operations..........................................................115
Chapter 11: Considering All the Variables: Algebra.............................................................................137
Chapter 12: Getting the Angle on Geometry: Planes and Solids........................................................163
Chapter 13: Keeping in Step: Coordinate Geometry............................................................................183
Chapter 14: Manipulating Numbers: Statistics and Sets.....................................................................197
Chapter 15: It’s All in the Presentation: GMAT Quantitative Question Types..................................215
Chapter 16: All Together Now: A Practice Mini Quantitative Section...............................................225
Part V: Practice Makes Perfect..................................................239
Chapter 17: Putting the GMAT into Practice: Test #1..........................................................................241
Chapter 18: Explaining the Answers to Practice Test #1....................................................................267
Chapter 19: Putting the GMAT into Practice: Test #2..........................................................................293
Chapter 20: Explaining the Answers to Practice Test #2....................................................................323
Part VI: The Part of Tens...........................................................345
Chapter 21: Ten Questions You’ve Got a Good Shot At.......................................................................347
Chapter 22: Ten Writing Errors to Avoid...............................................................................................349
Chapter 23: Ten Formulas You Need to Know on Test Day.................................................................351
Index.......................................................................................355
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