The Knewton Blog

This GMATPrep® Sentence Correction question was sent to us by a student who got stuck between two choices and couldn’t decide which was right. It is a perfect example of the fact that the GMAT asks you to choose the best version of the sentence from among the five choices given, not the best possible version. Let’s take a look: Regarded by opponents as ineffective and meddlesome and by supporters as a conserver of life… Read more

Posted in GMAT, Verbal Guide | 2 comments

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On GMAT Sentence Correction section, watch out for prepositional phrases in the middle of sentences, especially those bracketed by commas. They often can refer to either the first or second half of the sentence, creating ambiguity. Take a look at this GMATPrep® question: Although various eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American poets had professed an interest in Native American poetry and had pretended to imitate Native American forms in their own works, until almost 1900, scholars and critics did… Read more

Posted in GMAT, Verbal Guide | One comment

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Once in a while, the GMAT will hurl a particularly nasty question in your direction, one that seems deliberately designed to make you feel uncertain about all of the answer choices. These sorts of questions will most likely include rare idioms, awkward phrasing, and suspicious pronouns to keep you off balance. In these instances, sometimes your only defense is to plant your feet firmly on the ground, forget the rules, and pretend that you’re saying… Read more

Posted in GMAT, GMAT Tips, Verbal Guide | One comment

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Critical Reasoning questions compose a little less than one third of all the questions on the verbal section of the GMAT. Each CR question requires test-takers to analyze and/or identify certain parts of a specific argument – a vital skill not only for a high GMAT score, but also for success in business school (and business!) We’ve put together a list of 5 concrete tips to help you master the Critical Reasoning section of the… Read more

Posted in Featured, GMAT, GMAT Tips | One comment

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The Sentence Correction section of the GMAT can be intimidating, especially for test-takers who grew up speaking a language other than English. Luckily for all you Quant whizzes, Sentence Correction portion is actually quite math-like. There are specific words and phrases that you can use to eliminate options, and you can learn how different constructions must fit together in order to form a “correct” sentence. To ace the SC section, start by learning to identify… Read more

Posted in GMAT, GMAT Tips, Verbal Guide | 11 comments

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Confused by all the American idioms? Spending too much time on RC passages? Verb tenses off? The GMAT can be especially daunting for students outside the United States. Our international team of experts will cover this topic from head to toe. Join them for this extremely helpful session. All your questions answered live at 11:30am EDT (9pm IDT) on Thursday, July 15. RSVP now! Use the form below to sign up for this sessions. Space… Read more

Posted in Verbal Guide | No comments

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Jonathan Bethune is a Content Developer at Knewton, where his grammar skills and ESL knowledge help students with their GMAT prep. “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” ~ Charles Mingus In William Zinsser’s 1976 classic book On Writing Well, there is a section wherein the author discusses the problem of pompous language. He explains that, because of social convention, we are often expected to put on airs… Read more

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Meghan Daniels is the Associate Editor at Knewton If someone says to you out of the blue, “They are very important,” you’re likely to respond with, “What?” Why? Because in the first sentence, “they” has no antecedent—that is, no noun which the pronoun is replacing. A pronoun reference error occurs when a pronoun is missing an antecedent, or when there isn’t a clear connection between a pronoun and its antecedent (e.g. there’s one pronoun and… Read more

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Joanna Bersin, a Content Developer at Knewton, takes special pride in crafting mind-numbingly  hard GMAT Sentence Correction questions. Prepping for the GMAT? Check out this super-challenging Sentence Correction question. If you can get this one right, you’ve got nothing to worry about on test day!  For the answer, check out the discussion here. The policy of applying indirect taxes, like value added tax and excise duties, that were enforced in Lithuania was less strict when… Read more

Posted in GMAT, Verbal Guide | 7 comments

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Below are two brutal GMAT questions — one math, one verbal. Answers will be discussed by our expert team of teachers in our interactive classroom live on Monday night at 9pm EDT. One lucky student will receive the Knewton GMAT course free during the webinar! Answer the 2 brutally hard challenges in comments below and then sign up for the Monday night webinar to get the answers. Are YOU up to the challenge? Verbal Challenging the… Read more

Posted in GMAT, GMAT Tips, Quant Guide | 12 comments

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