Why should I delve deep into questions that I will never see on my test?

This article will address two questions I have been asked recently:

When I asked a student to deeply analyze why, in verbal questions, each option is correct or incorrect, I sensed hesitation in the student. When I asked him whether he would do so, he shared his skepticism. “But I will not see this question in the exam.” So, the question I am going to address is the one that is asked in the title of this post.
The second question is the one asked recently on GMAT Club by a user who understood the depth of the reasoning in my solution and immediately started worrying, “How will I ever reason this way in the exam?”

Question 1: Why should I delve deep into questions that I will never see on my test?

Let me begin answering by asking a question:

What is the alternative to delving deep into questions?

Analyzing the questions superficially.

But then, why analyze the questions superficially when you won’t even see them on your test? Shouldn’t you be not analyzing the question at all?

And if you’re not going to analyze the questions, why practice them?

So, since you’re not going to see your practice questions in the exam, you should not do any practice at all. In other words, you should directly take the test without any practice.

Makes sense?

It doesn’t make sense. Right?

Your practice helps you improve your score. Thus, it makes sense to practice.

However, how does practice help you improve your score if you don’t see the same questions in the exam?

Because the objective of practice is not that you become familiar with certain questions and are then able to solve such questions. The objective of practice is to build clarity of thought and to understand and rectify your mistakes.

In other words, the objective of practice is not to memorize certain questions or patterns but to build logic.

Given this objective, does it make sense to delve deep into questions that you will never see on your test?

Yes. For sure. Rather, it does not make any sense not to delve deep into questions during your practice.

By not analyzing your questions or analyzing them superficially, you ensure that you do not reach your potential.

Question 2: How will I ever reason like an expert within 2 minutes in the exam?

Let me begin answering this question by asking a question: (By now, you know what happens in my private tutoring sessions. The student doesn’t get answers but more questions!)

How will I ever dance like an expert dancer?

Here’s a bit about me:

Dancing is hard for me in every way. I find it tough to remember the steps and move with the music. Coordination is a big challenge – my body doesn’t always do what I want it to. Even keeping the rhythm feels like a puzzle I can’t solve. I often feel self-conscious because I’m not comfortable dancing. In short, every aspect of dancing is a bit of a struggle for me.

What can I do? Or is there no hope for me?

There is indeed hope for me. I need to master one thing (one step) at a time. Initially, I’ll be very slow since I will keep getting steps wrong if I move fast. However, gradually, as I keep practicing, I’ll pick up pace. Over a period of days or months, I will have mastered ‘ONE’ dance sequence.

How many dance sequences are there to master?

A million?

Will the 100th dance sequence be as difficult for me to master as the 1st dance sequence was?

Absolutely not.

Is the 100th dance sequence the same or very similar to the 1st dance sequence?

No.

I hope you understand what I am getting at.

If you keep understanding each and every question/option with as much clarity as you can, you will eventually have the skills to reason out options that you have never seen.

So, of course, you need practice to build expert-like reasoning. However, remember that practice is a means to learning. Focus on learning from every question or option. Get to the depth of things. Don’t easily accept whatever is thrown at you. Challenge things. Challenge yourself. By challenging yourself and proving yourself wrong time and again, you will reach a stage where you will hardly be wrong!

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Chiranjeev Singh

An Alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and with scores of 780 (2017) and 770 (2013) on GMAT and 99.98%ile on CAT, Chiranjeev is one of the most qualified GMAT tutors in India. Chiranjeev has earlier served as Director of Curriculum at e-GMAT. Chiranjeev has been helping students ace GMAT since 2012. He follows a concept-based methodology to teaching GMAT and is very committed to student success. You may contact him for any private GMAT tutoring needs at CJ@GMATwithCJ.com. He conducts online sessions for students across the world.