It is true that there is a lot of difference between paper and computer based exams. You do need to have a good feel of computer based test taking before the D-day.
All the same, you might be hard pressed to find sufficient good practice material in soft form. I recommend you to get the concepts clear on the paper, take some practice tests on paper as well, but ensure that you take sufficient full-length practice GMAT's on computer before taking the actual exam.
I've been solving sample papers. even then my accuracy level in RC has not increased up to a satisfactory level. What should i do? VA is one of my weeknesses............
Guys, please try out this one. A sweet, short and easy to understand RC yet with some tricky questions.
Please post your answers and the second best answers/ GMAT trying to trick answers up. This is to enable gmat takers in the future to avoid such pitfalls.
The fact that superior service can generate a competitive advantage for a company does not mean that every attempt at improving service will create such advantage. Investment in service, like those in production and distribution, must be balanced against other types of investments on the basis of direct, tangible benefits such as cost reduction and increased revenues. If a company is already effectively on a par with its competitors because it provides service that avoids a damaging reputation and keeps customers from leaving at an unacceptable rate, then investment in higher service levels may be wasted, since service is a deciding factor for customers only in extreme situations. This truth was not apparent to managers of one regional bank, which failed to improve its competitive position despite its investment in reducing the time a customer had to wait for a teller. The bank managers did not recognize the level of customer inertia in the customer banking industry that arises from the inconvenience of switching banks. Nor did they analyze their service improvement to determine whether it would attract new customers by producing a new standard of service that would excite customers or by proving difficult for competitors to copy. The only merit of the improvement was that it could easily be described to customers. 1.)The primary purpose of the passage is to a.Contrast possible outcomes of a type of business investment b.Suggest more careful evaluation of a type of business investment c.Illustrate various ways in which a type of business investment could fail to enhance revenues d.Trace the general problems of a company to a certain type of business investment e.Criticize the way in which managers tend to analyze the costs and benefits of business investments 2.)According to the passage, investment in service are comparable to investment in production and distribution in terms of the a.Tangibility of the benefits that they tend to confer b.Increased revenues that they ultimately produce c.Basis on which they need to be weighed d.Insufficient analysis that managers devote to them e.Degree of competitive advantage that they are likely to provide 3.)The passage suggests which of the following about service provided by the regional bank prior to its investment in enhancing that service? a.It enabled the bank to retain customers at an acceptable rate. b.It threatened to weaker the banks competitive position with respect to other regional banks. c.It had already been improved after having caused damage to the banks reputation in the past. d.It was slightly superior to that of the banks regional competitors. e.It needed to be improved to attain parity with the service provided by competing banks. 4.)The passage suggests that bank managers failed to consider whether or not the service improvement mentioned in the beginning of the second paragraph a.Was too complicated to be easily described to prospective customers b.Made a measurable change in the experiences of customers in the banks offices. c.Could be sustained if the number of customers increased significantly d.Was an innovation that competing banks could have imitated e.Was adequate to bring the banks general level of service to a level that was comparable with that of its competitors. 5.)The discussion of the regional bank in the second paragraph serves which of the following functions within the passage as a whole? a.It describes an exceptional case in which investment in service actually failed to produce a competitive advantage b.It illustrates the pitfalls of choosing to invest in service at a time when investment is needed more urgently in another area c.It demonstrates the kind of analysis that managers apply when they choose one kind of service investment over another. d.It supports the argument that investments in certain aspects of service are more advantageous than investments in other aspects of service e.It provides an example of the point about investment in service made in the first paragraph 6.)The author uses the word only in the last sentence most likely in order to a.Highlight the oddity of the service improvement b.Emphasize the relatively low value of the investment in service improvement c.Distinguish the primary attribute of the service improvement from secondary attributes d.Single out a certain merit of the service improvement from other merits e.Point out the limited duration of the actual service improvement.
OA will be posted within 12-24 hours and please rate the difficulty of this whole RC 1-5. Thanks (questions and essay wise)
Guys, please try out this one. A sweet, short and easy to understand RC yet with some tricky questions.
Please post your answers and the second best answers/ GMAT trying to trick answers up. This is to enable gmat takers in the future to avoid such pitfalls.
Your "wrong" answers are exactly/close to mine. Is there a way to tackle the GMAT RC in what it may seem for them to trick takers like us?
Hi !
I'm suprised to see the answers. But i'm sorry don't know any paticular method to tackle the RC. The only way i feel to tackle is to practice RC sitting online. Cause i know my accuracy is 80-85% when i do Rc on paper-pen format and is totally bad-some times 100% accuracy of marking answers wrong online. As my RC books got over today. So I have decided to practice RCs online. that's the only way to make radical changes in accuracy. Practice and Discipline is the only key. and also Not Giving Up.
You can get 2 gmatprep tests at www.mba.com. You would first need to register at the site then you can download them. You can also get one free manhattan gmat test at Free GMAT Sample Test | ManhattanGMAT
Questions 1-9 The ocean bottom ---- a region nearly 2.5 times greater than the total land area of the Earth ---- is a vast frontier that even today is largely unexplored and uncharted. Until about a century ago, the deep-ocean floor was completely inaccessible, hidden beneath waters averaging over 3,600 meters deep. Totally without light and subjected to intense (5) pressures hundreds of times greater than at the Earth's surface, the deep-ocean bottom is a hostile environment to humans, in some ways as forbidding and remote as the void of outer space. Although researchers have taken samples of deep-ocean rocks and sediments for over a century, the first detailed global investigation of the ocean bottom did not (10) actually start until 1968, with the beginning of the National Science Foundation's Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP). Using techniques first developed for the offshore oil and gas industry. the DSDP's drill ship, the Glomar Challenger, was able to maintain a steady position on the ocean's surface and drill in very deep waters, extracting samples of sediments and rock from the ocean floor. (15) The Glomar Challenger completed 96 voyages in a 15-year research program that ended in November 1983. During this time, the vessel logged 600,000 kilometers and took almost 20,000 core samples of seabed sediments and rocks at 624 drilling sites around the world. The Glomar Challenger's core samples have allowed geologists to reconstruct what the planet looked like hundreds of millions of years ago and to (20) calculate what it will probably look like millions of years in the future. Today, largely on the strength of evidence gathered during the Glomar Challenger's voyages, nearly all earth scientists agree on the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift that explain many of the geological processes that shape the Earth. The cores of sediment drilled by the Glomar Challenger have also yielded (25) information critical to understanding the world's past climates. Deep-ocean sediments provide a climatic record stretching back hundreds of millions of years, because they are largely isolated from the mechanical erosion and the intense chemical and biological activity that rapidly destroy much land-based evidence of past climates. This record has already provided insights into the patterns and causes of past climatic change--- information that may be used to predict future climates.
1. The author refers to the ocean bottom as a "frontier" in line 2 because it (A) is not a popular area for scientific research (B) contains a wide variety of life forms (C) attracts courageous explorers (D) is an unknown territory
2. The word "inaccessible" in line 3 is closest in meaning to (A) unrecognizable (B) unreachable (C) unusable (D) unsafe
3. The author mentions outer space in line 7 because. (A) the Earth's climate millions of years ago was similar to conditions in outer space (B) it is similar to the ocean floor in being alien to the human environment (C) rock formations in outer space are similar to those found on the ocean floor (D) techniques used by scientists to explore outer space were similar to those used in ocean exploration
4. Which of the following is true of the Glomar Challenger? (A) It is a type of submarine. (B) It is an ongoing project. (C) It has gone on over 100 voyages. (D) It made its first DSDP voyage in 1968.
5. The word "extracting " in line 13 is closest in meaning to (A) breaking (B) locating (C) removing (D) analyzing
6. The Deep Sea Drilling Project was significant because it was (A) an attempt to find new sources of oil and gas (B) the first extensive exploration of the ocean bottom (C) composed of geologists from all over the world (D) funded entirely by the gas and oil industry
7. The word "strength" in line 21 is closest in meaning to (A) basis (B) purpose (C) discovery (D) endurance
8. The word "they " in line 26 refers to (A) years (B) climates (C) sediments (D) cores
I'm suprised to see the answers. But i'm sorry don't know any paticular method to tackle the RC. The only way i feel to tackle is to practice RC sitting online. Cause i know my accuracy is 80-85% when i do Rc on paper-pen format and is totally bad-some times 100% accuracy of marking answers wrong online. As my RC books got over today. So I have decided to practice RCs online. that's the only way to make radical changes in accuracy. Practice and Discipline is the only key. and also Not Giving Up.
All The Best Regards, Neha
Hi
I got q 2 and q 3 wrong .Is it possible for Bhalim to give an explanation for all the answers
Both Alexander Gerschenkron and Jerry Hough view the former Soviet Union as an "anomalous" nation in certain fundamental respects. Gerschenkron sees the Soviet Union as deviating from the expected European pattern of industrialization, while Hough emphasizes how the Soviet Union differed from the standard type of bureaucratic organization. Despite this difference in orientation, bothauthors share a similar theoretical approach. First, both authors react in their works to specific explanations already existing in their fields. Gerschenkron responds to the prevailing belief that all countries pass through stages ofindustrialization similar to that of England's industrial growth and that states must possess certain specific prerequisites before they can industrialize. Hough reacts to the notion that only a bureaucracy that embodies theconventional American image of organization can operate efficiently. This idealized American image, known as monism, sees efficiency as maximized when bureaucrats perform only those duties passed down to them from acentral authority. Second, both Gerschenkron and Hough also attempt to use their work to supplement the existing explanations prevailing in their fields. Gerschenkron expands W. W. Rostow'sindustrialization model by defining a causal factor, the "degree of economic backwardness," that he believes impacts, among other things, the speed and structure of a country's industrialization. In a similar vein, Houghconcludes that the centralized, monistic model of organization must be expanded if it is to enable efficient administration. He uses the Soviet experience to show that overlapping bureaucratic duties can sometimes promoteorganizational efficiency. Ultimately, Gerschenkron and Hough succeed at their similar tasks; not only do both authors provide enough evidence to document the anomalous nature of the cases theyinvestigate, but they use their anomalous cases to increase the explanatory range of the existing theories without altering those theories beyond recognition. 1. The author's main point in the passage is reflected most accurately in which one of the following statements? (A)Gerschenkron and Hough share a similar theoretical enterprise in their works, and both manage this enterprise successfully. (B)In their research, both Gerschenkron and Hough react to prevailing theories within their fields. (C)Gerschenkron and Hough both use evidence from the Soviet case to highlight the anomalous features of the former Soviet experience. (D)The works of Gerschenkron and Hough are expansive because both authors attempt to refute existing theories within their fields and to replace these theories with better explanations. (E)The works of Gerschenkron and Hough are similar with respect to the specific central tenets of their research. 2. The passage suggests that both Gerschenkron and Hough would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements? (A)Scientific studies of the former Soviet Union should be limited to an emphasis on industrialization patterns or methods of bureaucratic organization. (B)W. W. Rostow's industrialization model can be expanded by incorporating the variable of economic backwardness. (C)All countries pass through stages of industrialization similar to those experienced by England during its early growth. (D)Empirical research into anomalous cases can broaden the explanatory range of current theories. (E)Empirical research should focus on attempting to falsify theories through emphasis on disconfirming cases. 3. Which one of the following is explicitly cited as evidence to demonstrate a specific use to which Gerschenkron put his work? (A)Gerschenkron reacted to the accepted notion that industrialization does not require states to possess any prerequisite characteristics. (B)Gerschenkron and Hough differed regarding the specific orientation of their respective works. (C)Gerschenkron described the monistic image of bureaucratic organization in order to show how centralized authority helps to promote bureaucratic efficiency. (D)Gerschenkron demonstrated that the speed of a country's industrialization affects the country's degree of economic backwardness. (E)Gerschenkron incorporated a new factor into the model of industrialization put forth by a previous theorist. 4. The author refers to the concept of monism in the second paragraph in order to (A)support the claim that the former Soviet Union deviated in its development from the normal European pattern of industrialization (B)refute the notion that Hough provides an alternative conception of bureaucratic efficiency (C)demonstrate that Hough's work takes issue with the conventional view that efficient bureaucratic organization must conform to the American idealized image (D)support the claim that Hough portrays the former Soviet Union as similar to most industrialized nations in its bureaucratic structure (E)provide evidence for the conclusion that the former Soviet case displayed many elements of the idealized American model of bureaucratic organization :D
Both Alexander Gerschenkron and Jerry Hough view the former Soviet Union as an "anomalous" nation in certain fundamental respects. Gerschenkron sees the Soviet Union as deviating from the expected European pattern of industrialization, while Hough emphasizes how the Soviet Union differed from the standard type of bureaucratic organization. Despite this difference in orientation, bothauthors share a similar theoretical approach. First, both authors react in their works to specific explanations already existing in their fields. Gerschenkron responds to the prevailing belief that all countries pass through stages ofindustrialization similar to that of England's industrial growth and that states must possess certain specific prerequisites before they can industrialize. Hough reacts to the notion that only a bureaucracy that embodies theconventional American image of organization can operate efficiently. This idealized American image, known as monism, sees efficiency as maximized when bureaucrats perform only those duties passed down to them from acentral authority. Second, both Gerschenkron and Hough also attempt to use their work to supplement the existing explanations prevailing in their fields. Gerschenkron expands W. W. Rostow'sindustrialization model by defining a causal factor, the "degree of economic backwardness," that he believes impacts, among other things, the speed and structure of a country's industrialization. In a similar vein, Houghconcludes that the centralized, monistic model of organization must be expanded if it is to enable efficient administration. He uses the Soviet experience to show that overlapping bureaucratic duties can sometimes promoteorganizational efficiency. Ultimately, Gerschenkron and Hough succeed at their similar tasks; not only do both authors provide enough evidence to document the anomalous nature of the cases theyinvestigate, but they use their anomalous cases to increase the explanatory range of the existing theories without altering those theories beyond recognition. 1. The author's main point in the passage is reflected most accurately in which one of the following statements? (A)Gerschenkron and Hough share a similar theoretical enterprise in their works, and both manage this enterprise successfully. (B)In their research, both Gerschenkron and Hough react to prevailing theories within their fields. (C)Gerschenkron and Hough both use evidence from the Soviet case to highlight the anomalous features of the former Soviet experience. (D)The works of Gerschenkron and Hough are expansive because both authors attempt to refute existing theories within their fields and to replace these theories with better explanations. (E)The works of Gerschenkron and Hough are similar with respect to the specific central tenets of their research. 2. The passage suggests that both Gerschenkron and Hough would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements? (A)Scientific studies of the former Soviet Union should be limited to an emphasis on industrialization patterns or methods of bureaucratic organization. (B)W. W. Rostow's industrialization model can be expanded by incorporating the variable of economic backwardness. (C)All countries pass through stages of industrialization similar to those experienced by England during its early growth. (D)Empirical research into anomalous cases can broaden the explanatory range of current theories. (E)Empirical research should focus on attempting to falsify theories through emphasis on disconfirming cases. 3. Which one of the following is explicitly cited as evidence to demonstrate a specific use to which Gerschenkron put his work? (A)Gerschenkron reacted to the accepted notion that industrialization does not require states to possess any prerequisite characteristics. (B)Gerschenkron and Hough differed regarding the specific orientation of their respective works. (C)Gerschenkron described the monistic image of bureaucratic organization in order to show how centralized authority helps to promote bureaucratic efficiency. (D)Gerschenkron demonstrated that the speed of a country's industrialization affects the country's degree of economic backwardness. (E)Gerschenkron incorporated a new factor into the model of industrialization put forth by a previous theorist. 4. The author refers to the concept of monism in the second paragraph in order to (A)support the claim that the former Soviet Union deviated in its development from the normal European pattern of industrialization (B)refute the notion that Hough provides an alternative conception of bureaucratic efficiency (C)demonstrate that Hough's work takes issue with the conventional view that efficient bureaucratic organization must conform to the American idealized image (D)support the claim that Hough portrays the former Soviet Union as similar to most industrialized nations in its bureaucratic structure (E)provide evidence for the conclusion that the former Soviet case displayed many elements of the idealized American model of bureaucratic organization :D
Hi , I need an advice. I have almost completed RCs from Kaplan Premier pgm book & nw planning to start some practice from OG - 12.I have to plan my schedule for the same. So, can someone , who has completed OG , or is doing it pls tell me what could be my study plan ? I am planning to practice for alteast 2 weeks from OG ( all the sections ), then will solve one of the test ( probably from mba.com) to see where do I stand....
So , can someone pls tell me , hw many questions should I practice in a day ( I can spend 2 hrs a day on working days & 4-5 hrs on sats & sundays)..
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c
help me,