GMAT Prep 2023 For Dummies with Online Practice

Lisa Zimmer Hatch served as VP of The Center for Legal Studies, where she created standardized test preparation. Currently, she is an Independent College Counselor and president of College Primers. Scott A. Hatch develops courses for a variety of careers and assists those seeking advanced degrees in law, business, and other professions.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 2

Beyond the Book: The Online Practice 3

Where to Go from Here 3

Part 1: Getting Started with the GMAT 5

Chapter 1: The Lowdown on the GMAT 7

Knowing Why the GMAT Is Important 7

Timing It Perfectly: When to Take the GMAT (and What to Bring) 8

When to register for and take the GMAT 8

Things to take to the GMAT (and things to leave at home) 10

Forming First Impressions: The Format of the GMAT 10

Getting familiar with what the GMAT tests 10

Understanding the computerized format 11

Honing your computer skills for the GMAT 12

Knowing Where You Stand: Scoring Considerations 13

How the GMAT testers figure your score 13

How the GMAT testers report your score 13

When should you cancel your GMAT score? 14

Repeating the Process: Retaking the GMAT 15

Chapter 2: Maximizing Your Score on the GMAT 17

Discovering Strategies for Successful Guessing 17

Forcing yourself to guess so you can move on 18

Understanding the importance of completing each section 18

Winning the Race against the Clock 19

Giving each question equal treatment 19

Making time for the last ten questions 19

Keeping track of your pace 20

Getting Rid of Wrong Answers 20

Keeping track of eliminated answer choices for the computer test format 20

Recognizing wrong answers 21

Playing It Smart: A Few Things You Shouldn’t Do When Taking the Test 25

Don’t lose your focus 25

Don’t read questions at lightning speed 25

Don’t waste all your time on the hardest questions 25

Don’t cheat 25

Tackling a Case of Nerves with Relaxation Techniques 26

Chapter 3: Mastering Business School Admissions 27

Choosing a Business School 27

Lining Up Your Ducks — Applying to Business Schools 29

When to apply 30

What to submit 30

Crafting Effective Business School Essays 31

Part 2: Creating a GMAT Study Plan 33

Chapter 4: Planning Your Approach 35

Using the Preassessment: The How-To 35

Evaluating Section 1: Quantitative 35

Evaluating Section 2: Verbal 36

Evaluation Section 3: Integrated reasoning 36

Devising a Plan of Attack 36

Chapter 5: GMAT Practice Assessment 39

Section 1: Quantitative 40

Section 2: Verbal 44

Section 3: Integrated Reasoning 48

Chapter 6: Scoring and Interpreting the Practice Assessment 53

Section 1: Quantitative Reasoning 53

Section 2: Verbal 61

Section 3: Integrated Reasoning 64

Answers at a Glance 67

Part 3: Vanquishing the Verbal Section 69

Chapter 7: Applying What You Learned (We Hope) in Grammar Class: Sentence Correction 71

Building a Solid Foundation: Grammar Basics 72

Getting wordy: The parts of speech 72

Pulling together: The parts of a sentence 75

Pointing Out Mistakes: Common Sentence Correction Errors 76

Errors in grammar and sentence construction 77

Errors in expression 83

Implementing an Approach to Sentence Correction Questions 85

Spotting the error 86

Eliminating answers that don’t correct errors 86

Eliminating choices that create new errors 87

Rereading the sentence 87

Reviewing the process and guessing on sentence corrections 87

Sentence Correction Practice Problems with Answer Explanations 87

Practice problems 88

Answer explanations 90

Chapter 8: Not as Enticing as a Bestseller: Reading Comprehension 93

Judging by Appearances: What Reading Comprehension Questions Look Like 93

Approaching Reading Passages 94

Mastering the message: The main point 94

Absorbing the ambiance: Author’s tone 95

Finding the framework: The passage’s outline 95

Sticking to the Subject: Types of Passages 96

Experimenting with natural science passages 96

Gathering in social circles: Social science passages 96

Getting down to business passages 97

Approaching Reading Comprehension Questions 97

Identifying the question type 97

Eliminating answer choices 101

Dealing with exception questions 102

Reading Comprehension Practice Questions with Answer Explanations 104

Reading comprehension practice questions 104

Answer explanations 109

Chapter 9: Thinking This through Logically: Critical Reasoning 115

Focusing on “Critical” Concepts: An Overview 115

Understanding the structure of the questions 116

Figuring out how to answer the questions 116

Making a Case: Essentials of Informal Logic 117

Fighting fair: The elements of an argument 117

Getting from Point A to Point B: Types of reasoning 117

Thinking Inside the Box: Question Types 119

Stalking Your Prey: How to Approach Each Question Type 120

Strengthening or weakening arguments 120

Delving into drawing conclusions 124

Spotting those sneaky assumptions 125

Using your noggin to make inferences 127

Pondering the paradox 128

Making you r way through method-of-reasoning questions 129

Critical Reasoning Practice Questions and Answer Explanations 131

Critical reasoning practice questions 131

Answer explanations 136

Chapter 10: Bringing It Together: A Mini Practice Verbal Section 141

Working Through Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions 142

Understanding What’s Right with Answer Explanations 150

Part 4: Acing the Analytical Writing Section 157

Chapter 11: Analyze This: What to Expect from the Analytical Writing Assessment 159

Fitting in the AWA with the Rest of the GMAT 159

Calling 411: Your AWA Writing Tools 160

Analyzing an Argument 160

Racking Up the Points: How the GMAT Scores Your Essay 161

Getting to know your readers 161

Interpreting the scores 162

Requesting your essay be rescored 162

Chapter 12: Present Perfect Paragraphs: How to Write a GMAT Essay 163

Avoiding Grammar, Punctuation, and Mechanics Errors 163

Punctuation errors 164

Sentence-structure problems 165

Faulty forming of possessives 165

Spelling issues 165

More dos and don’ts 166

Practice makes perfect! 166

Building a Better Essay: Ten Steps to a Higher Score 167

Chapter 13: Deconstructing Sample GMAT Essays 171

Defining GMAT AWA Scores 171

Taking a Look at Sample Essays 172

Sample essay #1 172

Discussion of sample essay #1 174

Sample essay #2 174

Discussion of sample essay #2 175

Sample essay #3 176

Discussion of sample essay #3 177

Sample essay #4 177

Discussion of sample essay #4 178

Chapter 14: Sampling a Series of Writing Prompts 179

Sample Prompt #1 179

Sample response to essay #1 180

Dissection of essay #1 180

Sample Prompt #2 181

Sample response to essay #2 181

Dissection of essay #2 182

Sample Prompt #3 182

Sample response to essay #3 183

Dissection of essay #3 183

Sample Prompt #4 184

Sample response to essay #4 184

Dissection of essay #4 184

Part 5: Conquering the Quantitative Section 187

Chapter 15: Getting Back to Basics: Numbers and Operations 189

Just Your Type: Kinds of Numbers 189

It’s Not Brain Surgery: Basic Operations 191

Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing 191

Checking out the real estate: Properties of real numbers 193

Using Little Numbers for Big Values: Bases and Exponents 196

Adding and subtracting with exponents 196

Multiplying and dividing with exponents 196

Figuring out the powers of 0 and 1 197

Dealing with fractional exponents 197

Working with negative exponents 198

Checking Out the Ancestry: Roots 198

Order of Operations: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally 200

Splitting Up: Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages 200

Defining numerators, denominators, and other stuff you need to know about fractions 201

Adding and subtracting fractions 203

Multiplying and dividing fractions 203

Calculating percent change 205

Taking it further: Repeated percent change 206

Making Comparisons: Ratios and Proportions 207

Playing the Numbers: Scientific Notation 208

Chapter 16: Considering All the Variables: Algebra 211

Defining the Elements: Algebraic Terms 211

Braving the unknowns: Variables and constants 212

Coming together: Terms and expressions 212

Knowing the nomials: Kinds of expressions 213

Maintaining an Orderly Fashion: Algebraic Operations 213

Adding to and taking away 213

Multiplying and dividing expressions 215

Extracting Information: Factoring Polynomials 218

Something in common: Finding common factors 218

Two by two: Factoring quadratic polynomials 218

Minding Your Ps and Qs: Functions 220

Standing in: Understanding function terminology 220

Taking it to the limit: Domain and range of functions 222

Putting On Your Thinking Cap: Problem Solving 224

Isolating the variable: Linear equations 224

Bringing in the substitution: Simultaneous equations 226

Not playing fair: Inequalities 227

Solving quadratic equations 229

Reading between the lines: Word problems 231

Burning the midnight oil: Work problems 232

Going the distance: Distance problems 233

Chapter 17: Getting the Angle on Geometry: Planes and Solids 235

Fishing for the Answers: Lines and Angles 235

Trusting Triangles 238

Triple treat: Types of triangles 238

The area of a triangle 239

The Pythagorean theorem and other cool stuff about right triangles 240

A striking resemblance: Similar triangles 243

Playing Four Square: Quadrilaterals 244

Drawing parallels: Parallelograms 244

Raising the roof: Trapezoids 245

Showing Their Good Sides: Other Polygons 247

Eating Up Pieces of Pi: Circles 247

Ring measurements: Radius, diameter, and circumference 248

Blueprints for Noah: Arcs 248

Line ’em up: Chords, inscribed and circumscribed figures, and tangents 249

Getting a Little Depth Perception: Three-Dimensional Geometry 251

Chipping off the old block: Rectangular solids 251

Sipping from soda cans and other cylinders 252

Chapter 18: Keeping in Step: Coordinate Geometry 255

Taking Flight: The Coordinate Plane 255

Line dancing: Understanding coordinate geometry 255

What’s the point? Finding the coordinates 256

On all fours: Identifying quadrants 257

Slip-Sliding Away: Slope and Linear Equations 257

Taking a peak: Defining the slope of a line 257

Using the slope-intercept form to graph lines 259

Meeting in the middle 261

Going the distance 262

Considering other shapes on the coordinate plane 263

Fully Functioning: Graphing Functions 264

Passing the vertical line test 264

Feeling at home with domain and range 266

Chapter 19: Manipulating Numbers: Statistics and Sets 269

Joining a Clique: Groups 269

Setting Up Sets 271

Set terminology 271

Getting a visual: Venn diagrams 271

Making Arrangements: Permutations and Combinations 273

Positioning with permutations 273

Coming together: Combinations 275

Meeting in the Middle: Mean, Median, and Mode 277

Straying from Home: Range and Standard Deviation 279

Scouting out the range 279

Watching out for wanderers: Standard deviation 279

Predicting the Future: Probability 281

Finding the probability of one event 282

Finding the probability of many events 282

Chapter 20: It’s All in the Presentation: GMAT Quantitative Question Types 285

Enough’s Enough: Data Sufficiency Questions 285

You don’t need the solution to find the answer 286

Steps to approaching data sufficiency problems 286

Taking a Look at Data Sufficiency Practice Problems 289

Practice questions 289

Answer explanations 291

Houston, We Have a Problem: Problem Solving Questions 295

Trying Out Some Problem-Solving Practice Problems 297

Practice questions 297

Answer explanations 299

Chapter 21: All Together Now: A Mini Practice Quantitative Section 303

Tackling GMAT Math Practice Questions 303

Checking Out the Answer Explanations 311

Part 6: Excelling on the Integrated Reasoning Section 321

Chapter 22: Best of Both Worlds: The Integrated Reasoning Section 323

Understanding What the IR Section Is All About 323

Skills tested 324

Question format 324

Figuring Out How the IR Section Is Scored 326

Making the Most of Your Time 326

Approaching Each Question Type 327

Table analysis 327

Two-part analysis 330

Graphics interpretation 333

Multi-source reasoning 334

Chapter 23: Deciphering Data in Charts and Graphs 339

Approaching Integrated Reasoning Data in Five Easy Steps 339

Translating Information in Tables 340

Making Comparisons with Bar Graphs 341

Simple bar graphs 341

Graphs with many bars 342

Segmented bar graphs 342

Evaluating Line Graphs 344

Basic line graphs 344

Scatter plots 344

Complex scatter plots 346

Clarifying Circle Graphs (Also Known as Pie Charts) 347

Extracting Data from Venn Diagrams 347

Part 7: Practice Makes Perfect 351

Chapter 24: GMAT Practice Test 353

Answer Sheet 355

Section 1: Analytical Writing Assessment 358

Section 2: Integrated Reasoning 359

Section 3: Quantitative 360

Section 4: Verbal 367

Chapter 25: Practice Test Answers and Explanations 379

Section 1: Analytical Writing Assessment 379

Section 2: Integrated Reasoning 381

Section 3: Quantitative Reasoning 381

Section 4: Verbal 396

Answers at a Glance 405

Part 8: the Part of Tens 407

Chapter 26: Ten Question Types You’ve Got a Good Shot at 409

Main-Idea Reading Questions 409

Specific Information Reading Questions 409

Sentence Corrections 410

Exception Questions for Reading Passages 410

Strengthening or Weakening Critical Arguments 410

Data Sufficiency Math Questions 410

Math Problem Solving with Figures 410

Math Problems Involving Basic Operations 410

Substitution Math Problems 411

Graph and Table Analysis Questions 411

Chapter 27: Ten Writing Errors to Avoid 413

Composing Complicated Sentences 413

Presenting Your Text in Passive Voice 413

Wasting Time with Unfamiliar Words 414

Using Unclear (Or Zero) Transitions 414

Going Overboard with Generic Terms 414

Writing in Informal English 414

Giving a Laundry List of Examples 414

Succumbing to Sentence Fragments 414

Announcing a Position without Explanation 415

Putting Aside Proofreading 415

Chapter 28: Ten Ways to Increase Your Chances of Getting into Business School 417

Accumulate a Little Work Experience 417

Ace the Interview 418

Apply Early 418

Apply While You’re Upwardly Mobile 418

Capitalize on What Makes You Unique 418

Demonstrate Interest 418

Focus on Fit 419

Get the Right Recommendations 419

Study for the GMAT 419

Write a Memorable Admissions Essay 419

Index 421