Sentence correction questions make up approximately 14 of the 41 questions in the GMAT verbal section. They consist of a long sentence that is either partially or completely underlined. Your goal as the test-taker is to identify if the sentence is correct as written and, if not, then to correct the sentence by picking the correct response to replace the underlined portion of the sentence.
Instructions
Basic Preparation
1. Familiarize yourself with the GMAT verbal section, specifically the sentence completion questions. This can be accomplished through specialized books, courses or tutoring.
2. Complete sample GMAT verbal tests. These can be found in GMAT preparation books or online.
3. Use the process of elimination. Discussions about this test-taking technique can be found online or in GMAT preparation books.
Major Errors Found in Sentence Correction Questions
4. Study the major errors typically found in the GMAT verbal section. This is not as hard as one might think since there are only a limited number of error types the GMAT contains. The various errors are listed in the next steps.
5. Study pronoun errors. These usually deal with reference or number. Either the pronoun used does not match the noun it refers to by number (singular or plural), or it is unclear which noun the pronoun is referring to.
6. Study misplaced modifiers. The most common example of this on the GMAT is when a phrase beginning with a verb that ends in -ing starts a sentence but does not modify the noun following the phrase.
7. Study parallel construction errors. These errors on the GMAT usually take the form of lists that have dissimilar constructions and sentences that are divided into 2 parts but have different verb forms.
8. Study tense errors. The general rule of thumb here is that a sentence should stay in the tense in which it begins.
9. Study subject-verb agreement errors. Subjects and verbs must agree in number (singular or plural), even when they are separated by prepositional phrases.
10. Study comparison errors. When 2 items or actions are compared in a sentence, they need to be comparable.
11. Study quantity errors. Word usage changes if a sentence is referring to 2 items or to more than 2 items.
12. Study idiom errors. The GMAT includes commonly used phrases that are used incorrectly.
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