GMAT Tip of the Week

And Then There Were Two...

(This is one of a series of GMAT tips that we offer on our blog.)

Quite often, test takers lament that they can almost always narrow the answer choices on verbal questions down to two, but don't guess at much better than a 50% average from there. Does this happen to you? If so, it is likely the result of a common way that people approach questions, and you can tweak your thought process just enough to avoid that trap.

Many questions require two different thought processes -- one to narrow the choices down to two, and then another to choose between the finalists. The biggest problem with that is that test-takers often either try to use the same process once they have narrowed it down by eliminating bad answers, or lose track of what they are being asked to do because the most recent things they have read have been misinformation in the wrong choices. To combat that, you should essentially “cleanse your mental palate” once you have narrowed down the answers, and reframe the question so that you can refocus on the exact question, and treat it as a new one with only two plausible answers. In that way, you are more likely to recognize the shift in necessary thought process, and focus on the remaining answer choices without having your mind clogged with unnecessary information.

For more insight in to the way that your mind works on GMAT questions, consider working with Veritas Prep's GMAT prep experts.