Full Description
Gear up for mastering the GMATAdministered around the world, the GMAT measures verbal, mathematical, and analytical writing skills to assess qualifications for advanced study in business and management. This new edition of GMAT For Dummies with Online Practice includes proven tips and strategies to help you prepare for the GMAT and achieve ultimate success on test day. The 2020 GMAT test structure has changed slightly, and this revised edition of the trusted test-prep book addresses those changes-including the number of questions per section and the time allotted per section-to make you feel more confident than ever. Two practice tests in the book, plus FIVE more online for a total of SEVEN practice testsReview of foundational concepts for every sectionComplete explanations of every question typeOnline practice and flash cardsWhen you have your heart set on scoring high on the GMAT, you only need one ace up your sleeve-and this book is your ticket to success.
Contents
Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 2Icons Used in This Book 2Beyond the Book 3Where to Go from Here 3Part 1: Getting Started with the GMAT 5Chapter 1: The Lowdown on the GMAT 7Knowing Why the GMAT is Important 7Timing It Perfectly: When to Take the GMAT (And What to Bring) 8When to register for and take the GMAT 8Things to take to the GMAT (and things to leave at home) 10Forming First Impressions: The Format of the GMAT 10Getting familiar with what the GMAT tests 10Understanding the computerized format 11Honing your computer skills for the GMAT 12Knowing Where You Stand: Scoring Considerations 13How the GMAT testers figure your score 13How the GMAT testers report your score 13Why you should (almost) never cancel your GMAT score 14Repeating the Process: Retaking the GMAT 15Chapter 2: Maximizing Your Score on the GMAT 17Discovering Strategies for Successful Guessing 17Forcing yourself to guess so you can move on 18Understanding the importance of completing each section 18Winning the Race against the Clock 19Giving each question equal treatment 19Making time for the last ten questions 19Keeping track of your pace 20Getting Rid of Wrong Answers 20Keeping track of eliminated answer choices for the computer test format 20Recognizing wrong answers 21Playing It Smart: A Few Things You Shouldn't Do When Taking the Test 25Don't lose your focus 25Don't read questions at lightning speed 25Don't waste all your time on the hardest questions 25Don't cheat 26Tackling a Case of Nerves with Relaxation Techniques 26Devising a Plan of Attack 27Chapter 3: Mastering Business School Admissions 29Choosing a Business School 29Lining Up Your Ducks - Applying to Business Schools 31When to apply 32What to submit 32Crafting Effective Business School Essays 33Part 2: Vanquishing the Verbal Section 35Chapter 4: Applying What You Learned (We Hope) in Grammar Class: Sentence Correction 37Building a Solid Foundation: Grammar Basics 38Getting wordy: The parts of speech 38Pulling together: The parts of a sentence 40Pointing Out Mistakes: Common Sentence Correction Errors 42Can't we all just get along? Errors in subject-verb and noun-pronoun agreement 43Building code violations: Faulty construction 45Follow the idiom: Correct use of standard expressions 48Implementing an Approach to Sentence Correction Questions 51Spotting the error 51Eliminating answers that don't correct errors 52Eliminating choices that create new errors 52Rereading the sentence 53Reviewing the process and guessing on sentence corrections 53Sentence Correction Practice Problems with Answer Explanations 53Practice problems 54Answer explanations 56Chapter 5: Not as Enticing as a Bestseller: Reading Comprehension 59Judging by Appearances: What Reading Comprehension Questions Look Like 59Approaching Reading Passages 60Mastering the message: The main point 60Absorbing the ambiance: Author's tone 61Finding the framework: The passage's outline 61Sticking to the Subject: Types of Passages 62Experimenting with natural science passages 62Gathering in social circles: Social science passages 62Getting down to business passages 63Approaching Reading Comprehension Questions 63Identifying the question type 63Eliminating answer choices 66Dealing with exception questions 67Reading Comprehension Practice Questions with Answer Explanations 70Reading comprehension practice questions 70Answer explanations 74Chapter 6: Thinking This through Logically: Critical Reasoning 79Focusing on "Critical" Concepts: An Overview 79Understanding the structure of the questions 80Figuring out how to answer the questions 80Making a Case: Essentials of Informal Logic 81Fighting fair: The elements of an argument 81Getting from Point A to Point B: Types of reasoning 81Thinking Inside the Box: Question Types 83Stalking Your Prey: How to Approach Each Question Type 84Strengthening or weakening arguments 84Delving into drawing conclusions 88Spotting those sneaky assumptions 89Using your noggin to make inferences 91Critical Reasoning Practice Questions and Answer Explanations 94Critical reasoning practice questions 94Answer explanations 98Chapter 7: Bringing It Together: A Mini Practice Verbal Section 103Working Through Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions 104Understanding What's Right with Answer Explanations 113Part 3: Acing the Analytical Writing Section 121Chapter 8: Analyze This: What to Expect from the Analytical Writing Assessment 123Fitting in the AWA with the Rest of the GMAT 123Calling 411: Your AWA Writing Tools 124Analyzing an Argument 124Racking Up the Points: How the GMAT Scores Your Essay 125Getting to know your readers 125Interpreting the scores 126Requesting your essay be rescored 126Chapter 9: Present Perfect Paragraphs: How to Write a GMAT Essay 127Avoiding Grammar, Punctuation, and Mechanics Errors 127Punctuation errors 128Sentence-structure problems 129Faulty forming of possessives 129Spelling issues 129More dos and don'ts 130Practice makes perfect! 130Building a Better Essay: Ten Steps to a Higher Score 131Chapter 10: Deconstructing Sample GMAT Essays 133Defining GMAT AWA Scores 133Taking a Look at Sample Essays 134Sample essay #1 135Discussion of sample essay #1 136Sample essay #2 136Discussion of sample essay #2 137Sample essay #3 138Discussion of sample essay #3 139Sample essay #4 139Discussion of sample essay #4 140Chapter 11: Sampling a Series of Writing Prompts 141Sample Prompt #1 141Sample response to essay #1 142Dissection of essay #1 142Sample Prompt #2 143Sample response to essay #2 143Dissection of essay #2 144Sample Prompt #3 144Sample response to essay #3 145Dissection of essay #3 145Sample Prompt #4 146Sample response to essay #4 146Dissection of essay #4 146Part 4: Conquering the Quantitative Section 149Chapter 12: Getting Back to Basics: Numbers and Operations 151Just Your Type: Kinds of Numbers 151It's Not Brain Surgery: Basic Operations 153Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing 153Checking out the real estate: Properties of real numbers 155Using Little Numbers for Big Values: Bases and Exponents 157Adding and subtracting with exponents 158Multiplying and dividing with exponents 158Figuring out the powers of 0 and 1 158Dealing with fractional exponents 159Working with negative exponents 159Checking Out the Ancestry: Roots 160Order of Operations: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally 161Splitting Up: Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages 162Defining numerators, denominators, and other stuff you need to know about fractions 163Adding and subtracting fractions 164Multiplying and dividing fractions 165Calculating percent change 167Taking it further: Repeated percent change 168Making Comparisons: Ratios and Proportions 169Playing the Numbers: Scientific Notation 170Chapter 13: Considering All the Variables: Algebra 171Defining the Elements: Algebraic Terms 171Braving the unknowns: Variables and constants 171Coming together: Terms and expressions 172Knowing the nomials: Kinds of expressions 172Maintaining an Orderly Fashion: Algebraic Operations 173Adding to and taking away 173Multiplying and dividing expressions 175Extracting Information: Factoring Polynomials 177Something in common: Finding common factors 177Two by two: Factoring quadratic polynomials 178Minding Your Ps and Qs: Functions 179Standing in: Understanding function terminology 180Taking it to the limit: Domain and range of functions 181Putting On Your Thinking Cap: Problem Solving 184Isolating the variable: Linear equations 184Bringing in the substitution: Simultaneous equations 185Not playing fair: Inequalities 187Solving quadratic equations 189Reading between the lines: Word problems 190Burning the midnight oil: Work problems 192Going the distance: Distance problems 193Chapter 14: Getting the Angle on Geometry: Planes and Solids 195Fishing for the Answers: Lines and Angles 195Trusting Triangles 198Triple treat: Types of triangles 198The area of a triangle 200The Pythagorean theorem and other cool stuff about right triangles 200A striking resemblance: Similar triangles 203Playing Four Square: Quadrilaterals 204Drawing parallels: Parallelograms 205Raising the roof: Trapezoids 206Showing Their Good Sides: Other Polygons 207Eating Up Pieces of Pi: Circles 208Ring measurements: Radius, diameter, and circumference 208Blueprints for Noah: Arcs 208Line 'em up: Chords, inscribed and circumscribed figures, and tangents 209Getting a Little Depth Perception: Three-Dimensional Geometry 211Chipping off the old block: Rectangular solids 211Sipping from soda cans and other cylinders 213Chapter 15: Keeping in Step: Coordinate Geometry 215Taking Flight: The Coordinate Plane 215Line dancing: Understanding coordinate geometry 215What's the point? Finding the coordinates 216On all fours: Identifying quadrants 216Slip-Sliding Away: Slope and Linear Equations 217Taking a peak: Defining the slope of a line 217Using the slope-intercept form to graph lines 219Meeting in the middle 221Going the distance 222Considering other shapes on the coordinate plane 223Fully Functioning: Graphing Functions 224Passing the vertical line test 224Feeling at home with domain and range 226Chapter 16: Manipulating Numbers: Statistics and Sets 229Joining a Clique: Groups 229Setting Up Sets 231Set terminology 231Getting a visual: Venn diagrams 231Making Arrangements: Permutations and Combinations 233Positioning with permutations 233Coming together: Combinations 235Meeting in the Middle: Mean, Median, and Mode 237Straying from Home: Range and Standard Deviation 239Scouting out the range 239Watching out for wanderers: Standard deviation 239Predicting the Future: Probability 241Finding the probability of one event 241Finding the probability of many events 242Chapter 17: It's All in the Presentation: GMAT Quantitative Question Types 245Enough's Enough: Data Sufficiency Questions 245You don't need the solution to find the answer 246Steps to approaching data sufficiency problems 246Taking a Look at Data Sufficiency Practice Problems 249Practice questions 249Answer explanations 251Houston, We Have a Problem: Problem Solving Questions 255Trying Out Some Problem Solving Practice Problems 257Practice questions 257Answer explanations 259Chapter 18: All Together Now: A Mini Practice Quantitative Section 263Tackling GMAT Math Practice Questions 263Checking Out the Answer Explanations 270Part 5: Excelling on the Integrated Reasoning Section 281Chapter 19: Best of Both Worlds: The Integrated Reasoning Section 283Understanding What the IR Section is All About 283Skills tested 284Question format 284Figuring Out How the IR Section is Scored 286Making the Most of Your Time 286Approaching Each Question Type 287Table analysis 287Two-part analysis 290Graphics interpretation 293Multi-source reasoning 294Chapter 20: Deciphering Data in Charts and Graphs 299Approaching Integrated Reasoning Data in Five Easy Steps 299Translating Information in Tables 300Making Comparisons with Bar Graphs 301Simple bar graphs 301Graphs with many bars 301Segmented bar graphs 302Evaluating Line Graphs 304Basic line graphs 304Scatter plots 304Complex scatter plots 306Clarifying Circle Graphs (Also Known as Pie Charts) 307Extracting Data from Venn Diagrams 307Part 6: Practice Makes Perfect 311Chapter 21: GMAT Practice Test 313Answer Sheet 315Section 1: Analytical Writing Assessment 318Section 2: Integrated Reasoning 319Section 3: Quantitative 320Section 4: Verbal 327Chapter 22: Practice Test Answers and Explanations 339Section 1: Analytical Writing Assessment 339Section 2: Integrated Reasoning 341Section 3: Quantitative Reasoning 341Section 4: Verbal 356Answers at a Glance 365Part 7: The Part of Tens 367Chapter 23: Ten Question Types You've Got a Good Shot At 369Main-Theme Reading Questions 369Specific Information Reading Questions 369Sentence Corrections 370Exception Questions for Reading Passages 370Strengthening or Weakening Critical Arguments 370Data Sufficiency Math Questions 370Math Problem Solving with Figures 370Math Problems Involving Basic Operations 370Substitution Math Problems 371Graph- and Table Analysis Questions 371Chapter 24: Ten Writing Errors to Avoid 373Composing Complicated Sentences 373Presenting Your Text in Passive Voice 373Wasting Time with Unfamiliar Words 373Using Unclear (Or Zero) Transitions 374Going Overboard with Generic Terms 374Writing in Informal English 374Giving a Laundry List of Examples 374Succumbing to Sentence Fragments 374Announcing a Position without Explanation 374Putting Aside Proofreading 374Chapter 25: Ten Ways to Increase Your Chances of Getting into Business School 375Accumulate a Little Work Experience 375Ace the Interview 375Apply Early 376Apply While You're Upwardly Mobile 376Capitalize on What Makes You Unique 376Demonstrate Interest 376Focus on Fit 376Get the Right Recommendations 377Study for the GMAT 377Write a Memorable Admissions Essay 377Index 379
