Master gmat 2010 part 3 docx

Analytical Writing Assessment Sections 1 and 2 Analysis of an Issue one writing task, 30-minute time limit Analysis of an Argument one writing task, 30-minute time limit Optional break 1

• The GMAT at a glance

• How the computer-adaptive GMAT works

• The GMAT CAT interface

• The GMAT CAT test-taking experience

• Your GMAT scores

• Score reporting

• How business schools evaluate GMAT scores

• Top 10 tips for GMAT prep

• Summing it up

THE GMAT AT A GLANCE

The GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) is a standardized test of

the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which develops

guidelines, policies, and procedures for the graduate business school

admission process and provides information about the admission process to

the schools and to prospective applicants The test provides graduate business

schools, vocational counselors, and prospective applicants with predictors of

academic performance in MBA programs Approximately 1,900 graduate

business schools worldwide use GMAT scores as a part of their admissions

process

The GMAT is currently developed by ACT, Inc., and delivered by Pearson

VUE It is administered only by computer and is given in a computer-adaptive

(CAT) format This means that each section of the test starts with a question

of moderate difficulty If you answer correctly, the computer will follow with a

more difficult question If you answer incorrectly, the question that follows

will be easier

The GMAT contains three parts: an Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section, a Quantitative section, and a Verbal section The total testing time (excluding breaks) is 3 hours, 30 minutes Here’s the basic structure of the test

Analytical Writing Assessment (Sections 1 and 2)

Analysis of an Issue (one writing task, 30-minute time limit) Analysis of an Argument (one writing task, 30-minute time limit)

Optional break (10-minute time limit)

Quantitative (Section 3)

(37 multiple-choice questions, 75-minute time limit) Problem Solving (22–23 questions)

Data Sufficiency (14–15 questions)

Optional break (10-minute time limit)

Verbal (Section 4)

(41 multiple-choice questions, 75-minute time limit) Critical Reasoning (14–15 questions)

Sentence Correction (14–15 questions) Reading Comprehension (12–13 questions, divided among four sets)

Sequence of Exam Sections

Sections 1 and 2 (the two timed essay sections) always appear first, before the two timed

multiple-choice sections Section 3 is always Quantitative Ability, and section 4 is always Verbal Ability

Sequence of Questions in Quantitative and Verbal

In each of the two multiple-choice sections, question types are interspersed Here’s a typical sequence for each section (on the actual GMAT, the sequence might be different):

Quantitative Ability (Typical Sequence of Questions)

Verbal Ability (Typical Sequence of Questions)

Ground Rules

Here are some basic procedural rules for the GMAT (we’ll cover test-taking procedures in

greater detail later in this book):

• Once the timed test begins, you cannot stop the testing clock

• If you finish any section before the time limit expires, you have the option of

proceeding immediately to the next section

• Once you exit a section, you can’t return to it

• Pencils and scratch paper are provided for all exam sections

• You select a multiple-choice answer by clicking on an oval next to the choice (All

multiple-choice questions include five answer choices.)

• You compose both essays using the word processor built into the GMAT testing

system (Handwritten essays are not permitted.)

The Four Timed GMAT Sections

Here’s a quick look at what each of the four timed test sections covers

ANALYSIS OF AN ISSUE (1 ESSAY, 30 MINUTES)

This 30-minute section tests your ability to present a position on an issue effectively and persuasively Your task is to compose an essay in which you respond to a brief (one to two sentence) opinion about an issue of general intellectual interest You should consider various perspectives and take a position on the issue and argue for that position Your essay will be evaluated based on content, organization, writing style, and mechanics (grammar, syntax, word usage, etc.)

ANALYSIS OF AN ARGUMENT (1 ESSAY, 30 MINUTES)

This 30-minute section is designed to test your critical reasoning and analytical writing skills Your task is to compose an essay in which you critique a paragraph-length argument based on the strength of the evidence presented in support of it and on the argument’s logic (line of reasoning) You can also indicate what additional evidence would help you evaluate the argument and how the argument could be improved Like your Issue Analysis essay, your Argument Analysis essay will be evaluated based on content, organization, writing style, and mechanics

QUANTITATIVE ABILITY (37 QUESTIONS, 75 MINUTES)

This 75-minute section consists of 37 multiple-choice questions designed to measure your basic mathematical skills; understanding of basic mathematical concepts; and ability to reason quantitatively, solve quantitative problems, and interpret graphical data The Quantitative Ability section covers the following topics:

• Arithmetical operations

• Integers, factors, and multiples

• The number line and ordering

• Decimals, percentages, ratios, and proportion

• Exponents and square roots

• Descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation)

• Basic probability, permutations, and combinations

• Operations with variables

• Algebraic equations and inequalities

• Geometry, including coordinate geometry Algebraic concepts on the GMAT are those normally covered in a first-year high school algebra course The GMAT does not cover more advanced areas such as trigonometry and calculus

Each Quantitative question appears in one of two formats (any of the topics listed above is fair game for either format):

Problem Solving questions require you to solve a mathematical problem and then

select the correct answer from among five answer choices Some of these questions

will be “story” problems—cast in a real-world setting

Data Sufficiency problems each consist of a question followed by two statements

labeled (1) and (2) Your task is to analyze each of the two statements to determine

whether it provides sufficient data to answer the question and, if neither suffices

alone, whether both statements together suffice Every Data Sufficiency question

has the same five answer choices As with certain Problem Solving questions, some

of these questions will be so-called “story” problems, cast in a real-world setting

VERBAL ABILITY (41 QUESTIONS, 75 MINUTES)

This 75-minute section consists of 41 multiple-choice questions Each question will be one of

the following three types (each type covers a distinct set of verbal and verbal reasoning skills):

Critical Reasoning questions measure your ability to understand, criticize, and

draw reasonable conclusions from arguments Each argument consists of a brief

one-paragraph passage

Sentence Correction questions measure your command of the English language

and of the conventions of Standard Written English Areas tested include grammar,

diction, usage, and effective expression (but not punctuation) In each question,

part (or all) of a sentence is underlined Your task is to determine which is correct—

the original underlined part or one of four alternatives

Reading Comprehension questions measure your ability to read carefully and

accurately, to determine the relationships among the various parts of the passage,

and to draw reasonable inferences from the material in the passage You’ll

encoun-ter four sets of questions; all questions in a set pertain to the same passage The

passages are drawn from a variety of subjects, including the humanities, the social

sciences, the physical sciences, ethics, philosophy, and law

HOW THE COMPUTER-ADAPTIVE GMAT WORKS

A “computer-adaptive” feature of the GMAT CAT makes it an entirely different animal from

conventional paper-based tests The following are five key features that set the CAT apart

During the two multiple-choice sections, the GMAT CAT will continually

adapt to your ability level.

The “A” in CAT stands for “Adaptive,” which means that during each of the two

multiple-choice sections, the testing system tailors its difficulty level to your level of

ability How? The initial few questions of each type are average in difficulty level As

you respond correctly to questions, the CAT system steps you up to more difficult

questions Conversely, as you respond incorrectly to questions, the CAT steps you

down to easier ones Thus, the CAT builds a customized test for you, drawing on its

NOTE

Early in an exam section, the CAT can shift from the easiest level to a very challenging level (or vice versa) in as few

as 3 or 4 successive questions Later in the section, when your ability level is established, the difficulty level will not vary

The GMAT CAT does not let you skip questions.

Given the adaptive nature of the test, this makes sense The computer-adaptive algorithm cannot determine the appropriate difficulty level for the next question without a response (correct or incorrect) to each question presented in sequence

The GMAT CAT does not let you return to any question already presented (and answered).

Why not? The computer-adaptive algorithm that determines the difficulty of subse-quent questions depends on the correctness of previous responses For example, suppose you answer question 5 incorrectly The CAT responds by posing slightly easier questions Were the CAT to let you return to question 5 and change your response to the correct one, the questions following question 5 would be easier than they should have been, given your amended response In other words, the process

by which the CAT builds your GMAT and determines your score would be under-mined

The GMAT CAT does not require you to answer all available questions.

The CAT gives you the opportunity to respond to a total of 37 Quantitative and 41 Verbal questions But the CAT does not require you to finish either section The

CAT will tabulate a score regardless of the number of available questions you’ve answered, except if you fail to respond to at least one question during a section, in

which case an “NS” (no score) will appear on your score report for that section only.

During each section, the GMAT CAT automatically warns you when time is running out.

When 5 minutes remain during each timed section, the on-screen clock (in the upper left corner of the screen) will blink silently several times to warn you This 5-minute warning will be your only reminder

THE GMAT CAT INTERFACE

The three simulated screen shots on pages 9 and 11 show the GMAT CAT interface for the AWA sections, the Quantitative section, and the Verbal section Let’s first examine the features of the interface that are common to all exam sections

The CAT Title Bar

A dark title bar will appear across the top of the computer screen at all times during all test sections (You cannot hide this bar.) The CAT title bar displays three items:

Left corner: The time elapsed for the current section (hours and minutes) Middle: The name of the test (GMAT) and current section number

Right corner: The current question number and total number of questions in the current section

NOTE

During each of

the two essay

sections, if you fail

to type at least

one character,

you’ll

automati-cally receive a

score of 0 (on a

scale of 0 to 6)

for that section.

This score will

appear on

your report.

00:28 Computer-Adaptive GMAT-Section 2: Analytical Writing 2

The following appeared in a memo from the manager of UpperCuts, a hair salon located in a suburb of the city of Apton, to the salon’s owner:

“According to a nationwide demographic study, more and more people today are moving from suburbs to downtown areas So in order to boost sagging profits at UpperCuts we should relocate the salon from its current location in Apton’s suburban mall to downtown Apton, while retaining the salon’s decidedly upscale approach in terms of services, products and pricing After all, HairDooz, our chief competitor at the mall, has just relocated downtown and is popular among

The manager’s argument relies on a series of unproven assumptions and is therefore unconvincing as it stands To begin with, the argument assumes that Apton’s demographic trend reflects the national trend Yet, the mere fact that one hair salon has moved downtown hardly suffices to |

Cut

Paste

Undo

Test

Quit

Section

?

Help Answer Confirm Next

Beginning

CAT Title Bar

Name and Number

of Text Section Time elapsed

Next button

Confirm Answer button

Help button

Exit Section button

Quit Test button

Time button

The AWA

Editing

Screen

AWA Topic

The CAT Toolbar

A series of six buttons appears in a toolbar across the bottom of the computer screen at all

times during all test sections (You cannot hide the toolbar.) Here’s a description of each

button’s function:

Click on this button to stop the test and cancel your scores for the entire test.

(Partial score cancellation is not allowed in any event.) If you click here, a dialog

box will appear on the screen, asking you to confirm this operation Stay away from

this button unless you’re absolutely sure that you want to erase your GMAT score

for the day and you’re willing to throw away your GMAT registration fee

Click on this button if you finish the section before the allotted time expires and

wish to proceed immediately to the next section A dialog box will appear on the

screen asking you to confirm this operation Stay away from this button unless

you’ve already answered every question in the current section and you don’t feel as

Click on this button to display the time remaining to the nearest second By default,

the time elapsed is displayed (in the upper left corner) in hours and minutes, but not to the nearest second

Click on this button to access the directions for the current question type (for example, Data Sufficiency or Sentence Correction), general test directions, and instructions for using the toolbar items

Until you confirm, you can change your answer as often as you wish (by clicking on

a different oval) But once you confirm, the question disappears forever and the next one appears in its place Whenever the NEXT button is enabled (appearing dark gray), the CONFIRM ANSWER button is disabled (appearing light gray), and vice versa

Click on the NEXT button when you’re finished with the current question When you click on NEXT, the current question will remain on the screen until you click on CONFIRM ANSWER

The AWA Screen

As illustrated in the screen shot on page 9, the AWA prompt appears at the top of your screen, and your essay response appears below it as you type your response (The screen in the figure includes the first several lines of a response.) Notice that you have to scroll down to read the entire topic and question You compose your essays using the CAT word processor (Later in this chapter, we’ll review its features and limitations.)

The Quantitative and Verbal Screens

To respond to multiple-choice questions, click on one of the ovals to the left of the answer

choices You can’t use the keyboard to select answers Notice that the answer choices are not

lettered; you’ll click on blank ovals

SPLIT SCREENS

For some multiple-choice questions, the screen splits either horizontally or vertically, depending on the section

Reading Comprehension

The screen splits vertically The left side displays the passage; the right side displays the question and answer choices

NOTE

In the sample

questions

throughout this

book, the answer

choices are

lettered for easy

reference to

corresponding

explanations.

Quantitative Questions Including Figures

The screen splits horizontally The figures appear at the top; the question and answer choices

appear at the bottom

VERTICAL SCROLLING

For some multiple-choice questions, you’ll have to scroll up and down (using the vertical scroll

bar) to view all the material that pertains to the current question

Reading Comprehension

Passages are too long for you to see on the screen in their entirety, so you’ll need to scroll as

you review them

Richard began driving from home on a trip averaging 30 miles per hour How many miles per hour must Carla drive on average to catch up to him in exactly

3 hours if she leaves 30 minutes after Richard?

Test

Quit

Section

Exit Time

?

Help

Answer

Confirm Next

35 55 39 40 60

The Andean cordillera is made up of many interwoven mountain ranges, which include high intermountain plateaus, basins and valleys The Northern Andes contain several broad ecosystems falling into four altitudinal belts Its northern sub-region is distinguished from the rest of the region by higher relative humidity and greater climatic symmetry between the eastern and western flanks of the range.

The Central Andes are characterized by a succession of agricultural zones with varied climatic conditions along the mountains’ flanks and by large, high-altitude plateaus, variously called puna or altiplano, which do not occur in the Northern Andes The soil fertility of the northern altiplano is generally good The western Central Andean ranges are relatively arid with desert-like soils, whereas the eastern ranges are more humid and have more diverse soils The eastern slopes of the Central Andes in

In the passage, the author’s primary concern is to

describe the climate and topography of various regions of the Andean cordillera discuss the factors affecting the climate of the Andean cordillera

suggest various alternative explanations for the diversity of climate among the various regions of the Andean cordillera examine the effects of topograpy on the climate and vegetation of the Andean cordillera

compare and contrast the climate and topography of the Northern Andes to that

of the Central Andes

(5)

(10)

(15)

(20)

Beginning Questions 6 to 8

Quantitative Questions Including Figures

Some figures—especially charts and graphs—won’t fit on the screen in their entirety; you might need to scroll

The CAT’s Word Processor

During the two essay sections, you’ll use the simple word processor built into the CAT system While the word processor includes some features that are standard in programs like Wordt and WordPerfectt, it also lacks many of these programs’ features

KEYBOARD COMMANDS FOR NAVIGATION AND EDITING

Here are the navigational and editing keys available in the CAT word processor:

• Backspace removes the character to the left of the cursor

• Delete removes the character to the right of the cursor

• Home moves the cursor to the beginning of the line

• End moves the cursor to the end of the line

• Arrow Keys move the cursor up, down, left, or right

• Enter inserts a paragraph break (starts a new line)

• Page Up moves the cursor up one page (screen)

• Page Down moves the cursor down one page (screen) Certain often-used features of standard word processing programs are not available in the CAT word processor For example, no keyboard commands are available for:

• Beginning/end of paragraph

• Beginning/end of document

• No key combinations (using the CTRL, ALT, or SHIFT key) or other so-called macros are available for editing functions (You’ll use your mouse for cutting and pasting text.)

MOUSE-DRIVEN NAVIGATION AND EDITING FUNCTIONS

Just as with other word processors, to navigate the editing screen you can simply point the cursor to the position at which you wish to begin typing, then click The CAT word processor also includes mouse-driven CUT, PASTE, and UNDO

Selecting Text You Wish to Cut

You select text the same way as with standard word processing programs: either (1) hold down your mouse button while sweeping the I-beam on the screen over the desired text, or (2) hold down the SHIFT key and use the navigation keys to select text