The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition: We Review the Verbal Section

As many readers of this blog have likely noticed, the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) recently released the 12th edition of its bestselling title, the Official Guide for GMAT Review. Prospective test-takers are anxious to learn if they can glean any insights about the GMAT from the latest edition of the venerable OG. We can save you the suspense: while the latest version of the Official Guide is an indispensible resource for practice questions, it does not provide any definitive conclusions about the evolution of the GMAT itself.

Please consider:

• The previous edition of the Official Guide for GMAT Review, the 11th, consistently ranked on Amazon as one of the top 100 books sold (on any topic!); quite frankly, the release of a new edition was bound to generate significant sales and lots of Internet buzz


• GMAC was careful to note that the proportions of question allocated in the Official Guide are not necessarily representative of the proportions that test-takers will face on the actual GMAT, or of the allocation in the GMAT question pool at large


• Questions featured in the Official Guide have been retired for at least five years from active use on the GMAT, so the Official Guide is best viewed as a snapshot of what the test looked like previously, but not necessarily what it looks like now

The latest version of the Official Guide is not a definitive representation of all that a test-taker needs to know before test day, or even a new standard for GMAT preparation. The 12th edition, in which approximately 2/3 of the questions are identical to those in the 11th edition, remains what GMAC has always intended it to be – a resource of official, retired questions for potential test-takers to use as part of their preparation regimen.

Although the 12th edition is not the Rosetta Stone of GMAT preparation, it still is invaluable for anyone preparing for the GMAT. The expert faculty of GMAT instructors at Veritas Prep unearthed other valuable findings:

Critical Reasoning
In the Critical Reasoning section, nearly 1/3 of the published questions fit into "Advanced Applications" as introduced in the Veritas Prep "Critical Reasoning 2" lesson. These categories (e.g. "Assumption" or "Useful to Evaluate") feature convoluted question stems and require specific strategies to successfully solve the most difficult problems. In many cases, these questions closely parallel the advanced Logical Reasoning questions featured on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), thus students can make good use of the logic training in the Veritas Prep "Arguments" lesson and subsequent Critical Reasoning lessons. For several years, Veritas Prep has hypothesized that, in order to make the GMAT verbal section more challenging, GMAC would adopt more advanced Critical Reasoning questions like those found on the LSAT. The new questions featured in the 12th edition support that hypothesis, and demonstrate the value of the increasing emphasis that we place on these advanced topics in our prep materials.

Reading Comprehension
As in the 11th edition, GMAC clearly caps its word limit for Reading Comprehension passages at 350 words, whereas in the past, passages could extend as long as 460 words. The takeaway? Look for shorter, denser passages and an increasing emphasis on unique question types that require less of a "word search" technique, and more of a nuanced understanding of what is being asked. Slightly more than 10% of the 12th edition's Reading Comprehension questions fit the "Function" variety taught in Veritas Prep classes, in which the reason why the author cites a specific detail is of prime importance, not just the detail itself. Our analysis confirms that the proprietary Veritas Prep STOP strategy is the perfect strategic approach to attaining Reading comprehension mastery. STOP emphasizes a structural understanding of each passage, helping the test-taker deduce the author's intent and more quickly identify where pertinent details will appear. Furthermore, nearly half of the Reading Comprehension questions in the 12th edition fit into Critical Reasoning-style categories, reaffirming the value of the logical approach introduced in "Arguments", the opening lesson of the Veritas Prep program.

Sentence Correction
More than in previous editions, the Sentence Correction questions in the 12th edition overwhelmingly skew toward the upper, 56-word sentence limit, requiring examinees to sort through long sentences in search of the correct answer. Notably, less than 5% of the questions feature sentences of 25 words or fewer, with significantly more questions falling in the 50+ word category. Accordingly, Veritas Prep will continue to espouse proactive strategies to seek out common error types, rather than asking students to read each sentence and react afterwards. Veritas Prep strategies like the newly-released "Slash-and-Burn" technique help students reduce the number of words they actually read and consider in each sentence, saving valuable time. Since the verbal section appears at the end of a long test day, the GMAC is committed to its technique of wearing down the test-taker with excess verbiage. The examinee who can avoid this common trap will reserve stamina and enjoy a keen advantage in time management.

Coming soon: we analyze the quantitative sections of the 12th edition of the Official Guide for GMAT Review.

Remember: If you haven't yet purchased the Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition, we offer it on our site for just $10!