Master gmat 2010 part 2 ppt

Top 10 Wrong-Answer Ploys 410 Keys to Successful GMAT Reading Comprehension: The Basics 410 Keys to Successful GMAT Reading Comprehension: Advanced Techniques 412 Summing It Up 414 PART VI: FIVE PRACTICE TESTS Practice Test 2 423 Analytical Writing Assessment 423 Quantitative Section 425 VerbalSection 432 Answer Keys and Explanations 446 Practice Test 3 471 Analytical Writing Assessment 471 Quantitative Section 473 VerbalSection 480 Answer Keys and Explanations 494 Practice Test 4 517 Analytical Writing Assessment 517 Quantitative Section 519 VerbalSection 525 Answer Keys and Explanations 539 Practice Test 5 561 Analytical Writing Assessment 561 Quantitative Section 563 VerbalSection 570 Answer Keys and Explanations 585 Practice Test 6 607 Analytical Writing Assessment 607 Quantitative Section 609 VerbalSection 616 Answer Keys and Explanations 631 APPENDIXES Appendix A: Resources for GMAT Preparation 651 Appendix B: Determining Your Score 657 Appendix C: Word List 659 Contents xi www.petersons.com Before You Begin HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED Taking the GMAT is a skill. It shares some aspects with other endeavors, such as competing in athletics. It requires discipline and practice to succeed. These are skills that can be improved through coaching, but ultimately, improvement also requires practice. This book gives you both. • Top 10 Strategies to Raise Your Score lists the ten most important test-taking tips to help you score high on the GMAT. • Part I provides essential information on the GMAT, including where to take it and how it’s scored. You’ll also learn what subjects are covered and what traps to watch out for. This part of the book also shows you each test section and each basic type of question up close; we’ve provided examples of each type of question (along with explanations), so you can get a good initial feel for the overall test. • Part II is a diagnostic test of the GMAT’s Quantitative and Verbal Sections. This will give you your first chance to work with samples of GMAT question types. Use the results of this test to determine where you need to focus your GMAT preparation. • Parts III through V make up the coaching program. This part of the book analyzes each section of the GMAT exam—Analytical Writing, Quantitative Questions, and Verbal Questions—and pro- vides powerful test-taking strategies, both basic and advanced, for successfully attacking every question type you’ll encounter in the actual exam. • Part VI consists of five full-length practice tests with detailed answer explanations for each question. Each test contains the same number and mix of question types you will encounter on the actual GMAT. The answer explanations are invaluable for helping you learn from your mistakes. To accurately measure your performance, be sure to adhere strictly to the stated time limits for each section. • The Appendixes provide resources for GMAT preparation, help you calculate your GMAT score, and provide a handy vocabulary list to help you prepare for the Verbal Section of the GMAT. xiii Because the actual GMAT is computerized, you’ll be entering answers on the actual exam by typing on a keyboard or using a mouse. Some parts of the exam, such as the Analytical Writing section, require you to type sentences and paragraphs. The other two sections require that you fill in the answer by typing a whole number in a box, checking off boxes in a grid using the computer mouse, or filling in blanks in a sentence with your mouse by “dragging and dropping” your chosen answer choices to the blanks. Obviously, answering in this fashion isn’t possible in a printed book—you’ll have to fill in your answers by hand when taking the diagnostic and practice tests we’ve provided. To remain consistent with the actual exam, however, we’ve retained references to “clicking,” “typing,” or “dragging and dropping” the answers. SPECIAL STUDY FEATURES Peterson’s Master the GMAT 2010 is designed to be as user-friendly as it is complete. To this end, it includes several features to make your preparation more efficient. Overview Each chapter begins with a bulleted overview listing the topics covered in the chapter. This will allow you to quickly target the areas in which you are most interested. Summing It Up Each chapter ends with a point-by-point summary that reviews the most important items in the chapter. The summaries offer a convenient way to review key points. Bonus Information As you work your way through the book, look for bonus information and advice in the margins of the pages. Information is in the following forms: NOTE Notes highlight need-to-know information about the GMAT, whether it’s details about registration and scoring or the structure of a question type. TIP Tips provide valuable strategies and insider information to help you score your best on the GMAT. ALERT! Alerts do just what they say—alert you to common pitfalls and misconceptions you might face or hear regarding the GMAT. xiv Before You Begin www.petersons.com ABOUT THE CD The CD accompanying this book provides the latest computerized testing software, which closely replicates the testing experience of the actual test. The software was developed by Peterson’s and the practice test content was created by the test prep experts at Peterson’s. YOU’RE WELL ON YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS You’ve made the decision to apply to graduate school. Peterson’s Master the GMAT will help prepare you for the steps you’ll need to take to achieve your goal—from scoring high on the exam to being admitted to the graduate program of your choice. Good luck! GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK Peterson’s publishes a full line of resources to help guide you through the graduate school admission process. Peterson’s publications can be found at your local bookstore or library, and you can access us online at www. petersons.com. We welcome any comments or suggestions you may have about this publication and invite you to complete our online survey at www.petersons.com/booksurvey. Or you can fill out the survey at the back of this book, tear it out, and mail it to us at: Publishing Department Peterson’s, a Nelnet company 2000 Lenox Drive Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 Your feedback will help us make your education dreams come true. Before You Begin xv www.petersons.com TOP 10 STRATEGIES TO RAISE YOUR SCORE Later in the book we’ll review strategies and tips for specific test sections and question types. Right now, however, here’s a list of general strategies for the GMAT. Even if you’ve read about these strategies elsewhere, or if they seem like common sense to you, it’s a good idea to reinforce them in your mind. 1. Know your optimal pace and stay on it. Time is definitely a factor on every section of the GMAT. On the multiple-choice sections, expect to work at a quicker pace than is comfortable for you. Similarly, the 30-minute time limit for each Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) response requires a lively writing pace, allowing little time for editing, revising, and fine-tuning. During the multiple-choice sections, check your pace after every 10 questions or so (three times during a section) and adjust it accordingly so that you have time to at least consider every question in the section. During each essay section, be sure to leave yourself enough time to cover all your main points and to wrap up your essay with a brief concluding paragraph. The best way to avoid the time squeeze is to practice under timed conditions so that you get a sense of your optimal pace. 2. If you’re not sure what the correct answer is, don’t dwell on it—move on. This tip is closely related to the previous one. You might find yourself reluctant to leave a question until you’re sure your answer is correct. The design of the computer-adaptive test (CAT) contributes to this mindset, because your reward for correct responses to difficult questions is greater than your reward for easier questions. But a stubborn attitude will only defeat you, because it reduces the number of questions you may attempt, which in turn can lower your score. Remember: You can miss quite a few questions and still score high. De- velop a sense of your optimal pace—one that results in the greatest number of correct responses. 3. Take your time with the first few quantitative and verbal questions. The CAT uses your responses to the first few questions to move you either up or down the ladder of difficulty. Of course, you want to move up the ladder. So take great care with the initial questions—perhaps move at a somewhat slower pace. Otherwise, you’ll have to answer several questions just to reverse the trend by proving to the CAT that you’re smarter than it thinks you are. 4. Avoid random guessing. If you must guess, always try to eliminate obvious wrong-answer choices first, then go with your hunch. Eliminating even one choice improves your odds. If you’re out of time on a section, there’s no advantage to guessing randomly on the remaining questions. Why? You might luck out and guess correctly, but if you don’t, incorrect responses move you down the ladder of difficulty, and correct responses to easier questions aren’t worth as much as correct responses to more difficult questions. So on balance, there’s no net advantage to guessing randomly. xvi Before You Begin www.petersons.com 5. Read each question in its entirety, and read every answer choice. You’ll discover GMAT test designers sometimes “bait” test-takers with tempting wrong-answer choices. This applies to every type of multiple-choice question on the exam. So unless you’re quickly running out of time, never confirm an answer until you’ve read all the choices. This mistake is among the leading causes of incorrect responses on the GMAT. 6. Maintain an active mind set. During the GMAT, it’s remarkably easy to fall into a passive mode in which you let your eyes simply pass over the words while you hope that the correct response jumps out at you as you scan the answer choices. Fight this tendency. Try “interacting” with the test as you read it. Keep in mind that each question on the GMAT is designed to measure a specific ability or skill. Adopting an active, investigative approach to each question will help. Ask yourself: • What skill is the question measuring? • What is the most direct thought process to determine the correct response? • How might a careless test-taker be tripped up on this type of question? Answering these three questions is, in large part, what the rest of this book is all about. 7. Use your pencil and scratch paper. Using pencil and paper helps keep your mind in an active mode. Making brief notes and drawing diagrams and flow charts will help keep your thought process clear. 8. Move the keyboard aside for the multiple-choice sections. You won’t use the keyboard at all for these sections, so put your scratch paper right in front of you and get the keyboard out of the way. 9. Know the test directions inside and out—before you take the test. Just before the first question of each type (e.g., Data Sufficiency or Reading Comprehension), the CAT will display the directions for that question type. The clock will be running while you’re reading these directions. You can save valuable time by dismissing the directions as quickly as possible (by clicking on the DISMISS DIRECTIONS button)—presuming you’ve already made yourself familiar with the directions before exam time. 10. Use the 10-minute breaks, but keep an eye on the time. Remember: The GMAT CAT clock is always running, even during the two scheduled 10-minute breaks. By all means, take advantage of these breaks to leave the room, perhaps grab a quick snack from your locker, and do some stretching or relaxing. But don’t get too relaxed: Ten minutes goes by very quickly and the test will begin after that time has elapsed—with or without you. Before You Begin xvii www.petersons.com P ART I GMAT BASICS CHAPTER 1 All About the GMAT CHAPTER 2 GMAT Questions: A First Look . Successful GMAT Reading Comprehension: The Basics 410 Keys to Successful GMAT Reading Comprehension: Advanced Techniques 4 12 Summing It Up 414 PART VI: FIVE PRACTICE TESTS Practice Test 2 423 Analytical. the GMAT. • Part I provides essential information on the GMAT, including where to take it and how it’s scored. You’ll also learn what subjects are covered and what traps to watch out for. This part. determine where you need to focus your GMAT preparation. • Parts III through V make up the coaching program. This part of the book analyzes each section of the GMAT exam—Analytical Writing, Quantitative