The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review, 2nd edition

338 Pages·2009·130.06 MB·English

by  Graduate Management Admissions Council

THE OFFICIAL GUIDE FOR GMAT®VERBAL REVIEW, 2ND EDITION
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Table of Contents 1.0 What Isthe GMAT®? 4
1.1 Why Take theGMAT®Test? 5
1.2 GMAT®Test Format 6
1.3 What IstheContent oftheTest Like? 8
1.4 Quantitative Section 8
1.5 Verbal Section 8
1.6 WhatComputer SkillsWilli Need? 9
1.7 WhatAre theTest CentersLike? 9
1.8 HowAre Scores Calculated? 9
1.9 Analytical Writing Assessment Scores 10
1.10 Test DevelopmentProcess 10
2.0 Howto Prepare 12
2.1 HowCan IBestPrepare toTake theTest? 13
2.2 What AboutPractice Tests? 13
2.3 Where Can IGetAdditional Practice? 14
2.4 General Test-Taking Suggestions 14
3.0 Reading Comprehension 16
3.1 WhatIsMeasured 18
3.2 Test-Taking Strategies 20
3.3 The Directions 21
3.4 Sample Questions 22
3.5 Answer Key 59
3.6 Answer Explanations 60
4.0 Critical Reasoning 112
4.1 What IsMeasured 114
4.2 Test-Taking Strategies 114
4.3 The Directions 115
4.4 Sample Questions 116
4.5 Answer Key 152
4.6 Answer Explanations 153
5.0 Sentence Correction 236
5.1 BasicEnglish GrammarRules 237
5.2 Study Suggestions 242
5.3 What IsMeasured 242
5.4 Test-Taking Strategies 242
5.5 The Directions 243
5.6 Sample Questions 244
5.7 Answer Key 268
5.8 Answer Explanations 269
Appendix A Percentile Ranking Tables 324
Appendix B Answer Sheets 330
Reading Comprehension Answer Sheet 331
CriticalReasoning Answer Sheet 332
Sentence Correction Answer Sheet 333
1.0 What Is the GMAT®?
4
1.0WhatIsthe GMAT<l!l?
1.0 What Is the GMAJ®?
The Graduate ManagementAdmissionTest<l!l (GMAT<l!l) isastandardized, three-part test delivered
in English.The test wasdesigned to help admissions officers evaluate how suitable individual
applicantsarefor their graduatebusinessand management programs.Itmeasuresbasicverbal,
mathematical,and analyticalwriting skills that a test taker hasdeveloped over along period oftime
through education and work.
The GMAT test does not measure aperson'sknowledgeofspecificfieldsof study.Graduate
businessand managementprogramsenroll people from manydifferent undergraduate and work
backgrounds,so rather than testyour masteryofanyparticular subject area,the GMAT test will
assessyour acquired skills.Your GMAT scorewill give admissionsofficersastatistically reliable
measureofhow well you are likely to perform academically in the corecurriculum ofagraduate
businessprogram.
Ofcourse, thereare manyotherqualificationsthatcan help people succeed in business school and
in theircareers- for instance,job experience, leadership ability, motivation, and interpersonal skills.
The GMAT test doesnotgauge thesequalities.Thatiswhy your GMAT scoreisintended tobe
used asone standard admissions criterion among other, more subjective,criteria, such asadmissions
essaysand interviews.
1.1 Why Take the GMAJ® Test?
GMATscores are used byadmissions officers in roughly 1,800graduate businessand management
programsworldwide. Schoolsthat require prospective students to submit GMAT scoresin the
application process are generallyinterested in admitting the best-qualified applicantsfor their
programs,which means thatyou mayfind a more beneficial learning environmentat schoolsthat
requireGMAT scores aspartofyour application.
Because the GMAT test gaugesskillsthat are
Myth FACT
important to successfulstudyofbusinessand -vs-
management at the graduate level,your scoreswill
giveyou agood indication ofhow well prepared 5'vf- If Idon'tscore in the 90th
you are to succeed academicallyin agraduate percentile, Iwon'tget into
managementprogram;howwell you do on the test anyschool Ichoose.
may also helpyou choose the businessschoolsto
F - Very few people getvery high
which you apply.Furthermore, the percentile table
scores.
you receivewith your scoreswill tell you howyour
performanceon the testcompares to the
Fewerthan50of themorethan200,000
performance ofother test takers, givingyou one peopletakingtheGMATtest eachyearget
way to gauge your competitionfor admission to aperfect scoreof 800.Thus,whileyou may
beexceptionallycapable,the oddsare
business school.
againstyour achievingaperfectscore.Also,
theGMATtest isjust one pieceof your
applicationpacket. Admissionsofficersuse
GMATscoresinconjunctionwith
undergraduate records,applicationessays,
interviews, lettersof recommendation,and
otherinformationwhen deciding whom to
accept into theirprograms.
5
The OfficialGuideforGMAT®Verbal Review2nd Edition
Schoolsconsider manydifferent aspects ofan application before making an admissionsdecision, so
even ifyouscorewell on the GMAT test,youshould contact theschoolsthat interest you to learn
moreabout them and to askabout how theyuse GMAT scores and otheradmissionscriteria(such
asyour undergraduate grades, essays, and lettersofrecommendation) to evaluate candidates for
admission. School admissionsoffices, schoolWeb sites,and materialspublished bytheschoolare
the best sources foryou to tap when you are doing research aboutwhereyou might want togo to
businessschool.
For more information about how schoolsshould use GMAT scores in admissionsdecisions,
please read AppendixA ofthisbook.For more information on the GMAT,registering to take
the test,sending yourscores to schools,and applying to businessschool,pleasevisitour Web ite
atwww.mba.com.
1.2 GMAT®Test Format
The GMAT test consistsoftourseparately timed sections (see the table on the next page).You start
the test with two 30-minuteAnalyticalWritingAssessment (AWA) questions that require you to
type your responsesusing the computer keyboard.The writingsection isfollowed by two 75-minute,
multiple-choice sections: the Quantitativeand Verbal sections ofthe test.
The GMAT isacomputer-adaptive test (CAT),
Myth FACT
which meansthat in the multiple-choice sections -vs-
ofthe test, the computer constantlygauges how
wellyou are doing on the test and presentsyou ~"'v[- Gettingan easierquestion
with questions thatare appropriate toyour ability meansIansweredthe last one
level.Thesequestions are drawn from ahuge pool wrong.
ofpossible test questions.So, although we talk
F - Getting aneasier question
about the GMAT asone test,the GMAT test you
does notnecessarily mean
take maybe completelydifferent from the test of
you gotthe previousquestion
the person sitting next toyou.
wrong.
Here'show it works.At thestart ofeach GMAT Toensurethat everyonereceivesthesame
multiple-choicesection (Verbaland Quantitative), content,thetestselectsaspecificnumber
of questionsof eachtype.Thetest maycall
you will be presented with aquestion ofmoderate
foryournextquestionto bearelatively
difficulty.The computer usesyour response to that hardproblem-solvingiteminvolving
first question to determine which question to arithmeticoperations.But,if thereareno
morerelativelydifficult problem-solving
present next.Ifyou respond correctly,the test
itemsinvolving arithmetic,youmight be
usually will giveyou questionsofincreasing givenaneasieritem.
difficulty.Ifyou respond incorrectly,the next
Mostpeople arenot skilledatestimating
question you see usually will be easier than the one itemdifficulty,sodon't worrywhentaking
you answered incorrectly.Asyou continue to thetestorwastevaluabletimetryingto
determinethe difficultyof thequestions
respond to the questionspresented,thecomputer
youareanswering.
will narrowyourscore to the number that best
characterizesyour ability.When you complete
each section, thecomputerwill have an accurate
assessmentofyour ability.
6
1.2WhatIsthe GMAT®7GMAT®Test Format
Because each question ispresented on the basisofyour answers to allpreviousquestions, you must
answereach question asit appears.You may not skip,return to, or changeyour responses to
previous questions.Random guessing can significantlyloweryourscores. Ifyou do not know the
answer to aquestion, you should try to eliminate as manychoicesaspossible, then select theanswer
you think isbest. Ifyou answer aquestion incorrectlybymistake-or correctlybylucky guess
your answers to subsequentquestionswill lead you back to questions thatare at the appropriate level
ofdifficultyforyou.
Each multiple-choice question used in the GMAT test hasbeen thoroughly reviewed by
professional test developers.New multiple-choice questionsare tested each time the test is
administered.Answers to trial questions are not counted in the scoring ofyour test,but the trial
questions are not identified and could appearanywhere in the test. Therefore,you should tryto do
your best on every question.
The test includes the types ofquestions found in thisguide,but the format and presentation ofthe
questions are different on the computer. When you take the test:
• Onlyone question at atime ispresented on the computer screen.
• The answer choicesfor the multiple-choicequestions will be preceded by circles, rather than by
letters.
• Differentquestion types appear in random order in the multiple-choice sectionsofthe test.
• You must select your answer using the computer.
• You must choose an answerand confirm your choice before movingon to the next question.
• You may not go back to change answersto previousquestions.
/
Format of the GMAT®
Questions Timing
AnalyticalWriting
Analysisofan Argument 1 30min.
AnalysisofanIssue 1 30 min.
Optionalbreak
Quantitative
Problem Solving 37 75 min.
Data Sufficiency
Optionalbreak
Verbal
Reading Comprehension
41 75 min.
Critical Reasoning
Sentence Correction
Total Time: 210 min.
./
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TheOfficial GuideforGMAT'"VerbalReview 2nd Edition
1.3 What Is the Content of the Test Like?
Itisimportant to recognize that the GMAT test evaluatesskills and abilitiesdeveloped over a
relativelylong period oftime.Although the sections contain questionsthatare basicallyverbal and
mathematical,the complete test providesone method ofmeasuring overall ability.
Keep in mind thatalthough the questionsin thisguide are arranged byquestion type and ordered
from easy to difficult, the test isorganized differently.When you take the test, you maysee different
types ofquestions in any order.
1.4 Quantitative Section
The GMAT Quantitative section measuresyourability to reason quantitatively,solve quantitative
problems, and interpret graphicdata.
Two typesofmultiple-choice questionsare used in the Quantitative section:
• Problem solving
• Data sufficiency
Problem solving and data sufficiencyquestionsare intermingled throughout the Quantitative
section. Both types ofquestions require basic knowledge of:
• Arithmetic
• Elementaryalgebra
• Commonlyknown concepts ofgeometry
To review the basic mathematicalconcepts thatwill be tested in the GMAT Quantitativequestions
and for test-takingtips specific to the question typesin the Quantitative section ofthe GMAT test,
sample questions, and answerexplanations, see theOfficialGuidefir GMAT' Review,12th Edition,
or theOfficialGuidefirGMA7~ QuantitativeReview,2nd Edition; both are available for purchase at
www.mba.com.
1.5 Verbal Section
The GMAT Verbal section measuresyour ability to read and comprehendwritten material, to
reason and evaluate arguments, and to correctwritten material to conform to standardwritten
English. Because the Verbal section includes readingsections from several differentcontentareas,
you may be generallyfamiliar with some ofthe material; however, neither the reading passages nor
the questions assume detailed knowledge ofthe topicsdiscussed.
Three types ofmultiple-choice questions are used in the Verbal section:
• Reading comprehension
• Critical reasoning
• Sentence correction
8
1.6What Isthe GMAT®?WhatComputerSkills Willi Need?
These question typesare intermingled throughout the Verbal section.
For test-taking tipsspecificto each question typein the Verbalsection,samplequestions, and
answerexplanations, see chapters3 through 5.
1.6 What Computer Skills Will I Need?
You only need minimalcomputerskills to take the GMAT Computer-AdaptiveTest (CAT).You
will be required to typeyour essayson the computer keyboard using standard word-processing
keystrokes.In the multiple-choicesections,youwill selectyour responses using eitheryour mouseor
the keyboard.
To learn more about the specific skills required to take the GMAT CAT, download the free test
preparation software available atwww.mba.com.
1.7 What Are the Test Centers Like?
The GMAT test isadministered at a test centerprovidingthe quiet and privacyofindividual
computerworkstations.Youwill have the opportunity to take two optionalbreaks-one after
completing theessaysand anotherbetween the Quantitativeand Verbal sections.An erasable
notepad will beprovided foryour useduring the test.
1.8 How Are Scores Calculated?
Your GMAT scores are determined by:
• The number ofquestionsyou answer
• Whetheryou answer correctly orincorrectly
• Thelevelofdifficulty and otherstatisticalcharacteristicsofeach question
Your Verbal, Quantirative, and Total GMAT scores are determined byacomplex mathematical
procedure that takesinto account the difficultyofthe questions thatwere presented to you and how
you answered them.When you answer the easier questions correctly,you getachance to answer
harderquestions-making it possible to earn a higherscore.Afteryou have completed all the
questionson the test- orwhen your time is up-thecomputerwill calculateyour scores.Your
scores on the Verbaland Qpantitativesections arecombined to produceyour Total score. Ifyou have
not responded to all thequestionsin asection (37 Quantitative questionsor 41 Verbal questions),
your score isadjusted,using the proportion ofquestionsanswered.
Appendix A contains the2007percentile ranking tablesthat explain how your GMAT scores
compare with scores ofother 2007 GMAT test takers.
9