GMAT Exam Success

1 LearningExpress sGMAT EXAMSUCCESS In Only 4 Steps! sGMAT EXAMSUCCESSIn Only 4 Steps!Elizabeth Cheslaand Colleen SchultzNEW YORK Copyright 2003 LearningExpress, rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright in the United States of of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:Chesla, Elizabeth exam Success in only 4 steps / Elizabeth Chesla and ColleenSchultz 1st bibliographical 1-57685-472-81. Graduate Management Admission Test Study Management Examinations, questions, etc. I. Schultz, 2003650'.076 dc212003009065 Printed in the United States of America9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First EditionISBN 1-57685-472-8 For more information or to place an order, contact LearningExpress at:55 Broadway8th FloorNew York, NY 10006Or visit us the AuthorsElizabeth Cheslais the author ofTOEFL Exam Success , ACT Exam Success , GED Success , Reading Compre-hension Success , Write Better Essays,and many other writing and reading guides and test preparation lives in South Orange, New Schultz is a math teacher from Binghamton, New York.

2 She is a contributing writer for 501 MathWord Problems, 501 Quantitative Comparison Questions,and an item writer for several high-stakes math IPreparing for the GMAT1 Chapter 1 About the GMAT3 overview of the GMAT4 Computer-Adaptive Test6 Preparing for the Computer-Based gmat Exam7 How the gmat Is Scored9 Getting Your Scores to Schools12 Retaking the Exam12 gmat Testing Center Rules and Regulations13 Registering for the gmat Exam16 Paying for the GMAT20 Chapter 2 gmat Study Skills21 Where Do I Start?21I Need a Plan23I Need a Place26 The Right Tools30 The Study Plan31 You Are Worth It: Motivational and Relaxation Techniques that Work34 Learning Strategies and Test-Taking Techniques37 Testing Psychology40 ContentsviiHow to De-Stress41 Stay Healthy43 Multiple-Choice Strategies44 The Endgame45 PART IIThe gmat Verbal Section49 Chapter 3 Verbal Pretest51 Questions52 Answer Explanations58 Chapter 4 What to Expect on the gmat Verbal Section63 Reading Comprehension Questions64 Critical Reasoning Questions65 Sentence Correction Questions66 Chapter 5 Reading Comprehension69 Active Reading69 Finding the Main Idea72 Distinguishing between Fact and Opinion76 Identifying Specific Facts and Details78 Essay Types and Organizational Patterns79 Making Inferences83 Chapter 6 Critical Reasoning87 Elements of an Argument87

3 Complicating Arguments89 Evaluating Arguments93 Chapter 7 Sentence Correction10924 Rules for Grammar and Style110 Sentence Structure111 Grammar and Usage119 Style128 Chapter 8 Tips and Strategies for the Verbal Section137 Reading Comprehension Questions138 Critical Reasoning Questions139 Sentence Correction Questions141 CONTENTS viiiChapter 9Ve r b F o r m s143 Regular Verbs145 Irregular Verbs146 Helping Verbs150 Subjunctive Mood150 Troublesome Verbs151 Gerunds and Infinitives152 Chapter 10 Prefixes, Suffixes, and Word Roots155 Prefixes155 Suffixes160 Common Latin Word Roots162 Common Greek Word Roots164 Chapter 11 Verbal section Practice Test169 Questions170 Answer Explanations193 Chapter 12 Verbal section Glossary207 PART IIIThe gmat analytical writing Assessment211 Chapter 13 Pretest213 Questions214 Answer Explanations218 Chapter 14 About the analytical writing Assessment221 Analysis of an Issue221 Analysis of an Argument223 How the Essays Are Scored225 Chapter 15 Guide to Effective Writing231 The writing Process231 Seven Steps for writing a Strong AWA Essay236 writing with Style248 writing Correctly.

4 The Conventions of Standard Written English252150 Most Commonly Misspelled Words265 CONTENTS ixChapter 16 Tips and Strategies for the AWA267 General writing Strategies267 Analyzing the Issue269 Analyzing the Argument269 Chapter 17 AWA Practice271 Analysis of an Issue Sample Prompts272 Analysis of an Argument Sample Prompts282 Answers and Explanations292 PART IVThe gmat Quantitative Section305 Chapter 18 Quantitative Pretest307 Problem Solving Questions308 Data Sufficiency Questions310 Answer Explanations312 Chapter 19 About the Quantitative Section317 About the Types of Questions318 Chapter 20 Arithmetic321 Types of Numbers321 Properties of Numbers322 Order of Operations323 Special Types of Defined Operations324 Factors, Multiples, and Divisibility325 Prime and Composite Numbers327 Even and Odd Numbers327 Consecutive Integers328 Absolute Value328 Operations with Real Numbers328 Chapter 21 Algebra339 Translating Expressions and Equations339 Combining Like Terms and Polynomials340 Laws of Exponents341 Solving Linear Equations of One Variable341 Solving Literal Equations342 Solving Inequalities343 CONTENTS xMultiplying and Factoring Polynomials344 Solving Quadratic Equations344 Rational Expressions and Equations.

5 347 Coordinate Graphing349 Systems of Equations with Two Variables350 Problem Solving with Word Problems352 Functions355 Chapter 22 Geometry357 Angles358 Polygons359 Triangles360 Quadrilaterals363 Circles364 Measurement and Geometry365 Chapter 23 Tips and Strategies for the Quantitative Section367 Chapter 24 Quantitative Practice Test369 Questions370 Answer Explanations387 Chapter 25 Quantitative section Glossary397 Appendix A gmat Online Resources401 Appendix B gmat Print Resources403 CONTENTS xiPARTP reparing forthe GMATIA graduate degree in business or management can transform your professional life, opening the door to pro-motions, new opportunities, and new careers. For better or for worse, which business school you attenddepends to some degree upon how well you do on the Graduate Management Admissions Test ( gmat ).

6 Like the SAT exam, ACT Assessment , and GRE test, the gmat exam is a standardized test designedto help schools determine how well you might succeed in their graduate program. Of course, the gmat examis just oneof the tools schools use to assess a candidate s knowledge and skills, and it is by no means a defin-itive measure. But it is an important test, and because your scores can determine your eligibility for certainprograms and give you an edge over other candidates, it is important that you do well on the gmat exam is sponsored by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC ), a non-profit association of representatives from business schools around the world. Nearly 2,000 business schoolsuse the gmat exam, which is developed and administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS ), thesame organization that develops and administers a number of other standardized tests including the SAT andTOEFL exams.

7 The majority of people taking the gmat exam seek to enter MBA programs, but an increas-ing number of other graduate business and management programs are now offered, and many of these pro-grams also use the gmat exam to assess the qualifications of theGMAT ExamPlanning to apply to a graduate business or management degreeprogram? Then you need to find out all you can about the gmat exam so you can do your best on the exam. This chapter will tell youeverything you need to know to get started. You will learn how thetest is structured and scored, how to register, and what proceduresand regulations to expect at the testing the Road to a Graduate DegreeAlthough the MBA is still the most popular graduate business degree, a growing number of other graduate-levelbusiness and management programs are becoming available.

8 Taking the gmat exam can help you apply forprograms that offer several different graduate degrees, including the following: Master of Business Administration (MBA) Master of Science in Management Master of Public Administration (MPA) Master of Science in Financial Engineering4 An overview of the gmat ExamNearly 50 years ago, the GMAC was founded with the goal it maintains today: to develop a standardizedassessment tool for business school candidates. Although the gmat exam has evolved over the years, thethree-and-a-half-hour exam still tests candidates in three main areas, measuring analytical writing , verbal,and quantitative analytical writing Assessment (AWA)The first part of the gmat exam, the analytical writing Assessment (AWA), is designed to measure your abil-ity to analyze ideas and to write clearly and effectively about those ideas.

9 You will be asked to write two sep-arate essays: one that analyzes an issueand one that analyzes an will have 30 minutes for the Analysis of an Issue section , you will be presented with a short passage (one paragraph) aboutan issue, such as whether new technologies create or destroy more jobs or whether education is the mostimportant key to Success . You will be asked to take a positionon this issue and explainyour position. In theAnalysis of an Argument section , you will be presented with a short argument (again, just one paragraph)and be asked to critiquethat argument. In this essay, you should not present your own point of view but ratherassess the logic of the argument that has been both cases, the topics will be general enough for every test taker to write about.

10 Prior knowledge ofthe subject matter may be helpful, but it is not required. It is more important to show your ability to take andsupport a position and your ability to analyze the effectiveness of an Quantitative SectionThe Quantitative section is the second part of the test and includes 37 multiple-choice questions covering twoareas of mathematics: data sufficiency and problem solving. You will have 75 minutes to answer problem solving questions will constitute approximately 60% of the exam (22 questions). The prob-lems will test your knowledge of basic math facts and skills covered in high school, including arithmetic, Over 1,700 schools/programs use gmat scores in the admissions process. The first gmat exam was developed and administered nearly 50 years ago.