GMAT Preparation Content

(Book) The Psychology of GMAT Preparation: A companion book for humans preparing for the GMAT

What do I mean by “book for HUMANS preparing…”? I mean that since we are humans, we will feel emotions as we prepare. The book is an attempt to help people deal with and resolve their emotions, instead of dodging or suppressing their emotions.

Metaphor about effort versus results.
How to prepare
Chiranjeev Singh

Why is your GMAT score stuck? Because there is no learning in your learning rituals

It’s a frustratingly common story I see with students: they’re diligent, they keep detailed error logs, and they review every mistake, yet their GMAT score remains stuck. The issue often isn’t a lack of effort, but a flaw in the learning process itself. I’ve observed a tendency to act as a librarian of past errors rather than an engineer of one’s thinking process. In this piece, I share an insight from a recent student conversation that perfectly illustrates this distinction, hoping it offers a new perspective for your own reflection.

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How to prepare
Chiranjeev Singh

The Slow Path to a Fast GMAT Score: Understanding ‘Rush’

Many GMAT aspirants blame rushing for poor performance but don’t understand what it actually is. Rush isn’t speed—it’s pace-purpose misalignment. This destroys preparation at multiple levels: overall timelines, topic mastery, mistake analysis, and test-day performance. Learn to identify your optimal pace, break the rush habit, and discover why accepting your current capacity is the fastest path to your target score.

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How to prepare
Chiranjeev Singh

The GMAT Skill-Challenge Equation: Why ‘Just Practice More’ Doesn’t Work for Everyone

Hitting a plateau despite endless practice? Your GMAT strategy might be wrong for your situation.

Many test-takers get trapped doing hundreds of practice problems without seeing score improvements. The secret isn’t more practice—it’s understanding the Skill-Challenge Equation. Discover whether you’re on the “Exposure Path” (where practice works) or the “Deep-Learning Path” (where you need to build core reasoning skills first). This framework will transform how you approach GMAT prep and help you choose the right strategy for your unique starting point.

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Three Stages of Making Mistakes

Feeling stuck because you’re still making mistakes? Maybe you’re measuring progress the wrong way. True growth isn’t just about eliminating errors, but also about how quickly you recognize them. Learn to see the progress you’re already making.

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How to prepare
Chiranjeev Singh

Scored Low on the GMAT After Studying Everything? Here’s the Real Problem.

Scored low on the GMAT after studying everything? You’re not just ‘bad at the test.’ Your score is a symptom of deeper gaps in foundational skills like comprehension, focus, and discipline. Discover the five-level ‘Enabling Skills’ model to pinpoint your real problem and learn why true improvement is a journey of personal growth that goes far beyond simple test prep.

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Is overthinking your problem? Here’s the solution

Meaning of overthinking. How is it different from thinking? Why overthinking is a sympton, not the problem. What is the actual problem?

CJ’s Guidelines to make the most of GMAT Club

Don’t practice aimlessly. Follow these guidelines to make the most of your practice. Avoid the common pitfalls.

What can a GMAT aspirant learn from the story of a bamboo tree?

A Chinese bamboo tree takes five years to grow. It has to be watered and fertilized in the ground where it has been planted every day. It doesn’t break through the ground for five years. After five years, once it breaks through the ground, it will grow 90 feet tall in five weeks!

How long does it take to prepare for the GMAT?

The question is answered using a simple speed-distance-time formula. What does speed of improvement depend on?

6 Months for GMAT Preparation! Am I dumb?

If you have taken more than 6 months preparing for the GMAT and have started questioning your intelligence, this article will show you why you think everyone else takes 3 months to ace the GMAT and why you can’t trust your thinking.

That's it!

Correlation to Causation

One of the most frequently tested logics in GMAT CR questions – explained using several official questions

Correlation to Causation – 2

Examples from daily lives, including marketing. And a common yet unexpected argument structure “Effect. Therefore, Cause.”

A Common Pattern in CR Incorrect Options

Using this knowledge can help you improve your accuracy tangibly.

What does the statement mean? – Addressing a comprehension problem

Understand the difference between what is possible and what can be inferred. Using examples from daily life.

Q#TypeQuestion Text
0InferenceFinding of a survey of Systems
1WeakenPolitician: Hybrid cars use significantly
2InferenceA company's two divisions performed
3InferenceBetween 1975 and 1985, nursing-home
4StrengthenBoreal owls range over a much larger
5WeakenArchaeologist: Researchers excavating a burial
6WeakenFive years ago, as part of a plan
7WeakenHotco oil burners, designed
8AssumptionIf the county continues to collect
9StrengthenIn emerging economies in Africa
10InferenceMeteorite explosions in the Earth's
11FlawNalmed Province's plan is to reduce highway congestion
12StrengthenMany agriculturally intensive areas of the world
13StrengthenPetrochemical industry officials have said that the extreme pressure
14InferenceTo protect certain fledgling industries
15InferenceWhen the products of several competing suppliers
16WeakenMotorists in a certain country frequently complain
17WeakenEconomist: On average, the emergency treatment
18StrengthenProlonged spells of hot, dry weather at the end of the
19WeakenIn each of the past five years, Barraland's prison
20StrengthenWhen mercury-vapor streetlights are used
21StrengthenCaterpillars of all species produce an identical
22WeakenFirms adopting profit-related-pay (PRP) contracts
23ParadoxWhen officials in Tannersburg released
24WeakenSince the deregulation of airlines
25AssumptionThe higher the level of certain vitamins and minerals
26Bold FaceCR31410.01 - Most of Western music 
27EvaluateCR87051.01 - Psychologist In a survey
28StrengthenCR09461.01 - Most geologists believe
29WeakenCR45650.01 - Suriland
30AssumptionCR47931.01 - Researchers conditioned a group of flies
31Main PointCR36441.01 - Consumer advocate 
32ParadoxCR20661.01 - Clearbell Telephone 
33ParadoxCR09090.01 - Beets and carrots
34FlawCR70870.01 - Some theorists and critics
35InferenceCR97561.01 - Under the agricultural policies 
36InferenceCR00661.01 - There are fundamentally two possible changes 
37InferenceCR30461.01 - Mashika 
38WeakenCR21041.01 - Advertisement: Our competitors
39WeakenCR60561.01 - Although elementary school children
40EvaluateCR49770.01 - First discovered
41StrengthenCR02531.01 - A fossil recently discovered
42ParadoxOzone in the stratosphere blocks deadly ultraviolet rays
43FlawBanker: My country's laws require every bank to invest
44AssumptionIn an experiment, each volunteer was allowed to choose between
45Bold FaceDelta Products Inc. has recently switched at least partly
46ParadoxVeterinarians generally derive some of their income 
47ParadoxAsthma, a chronic breathing disorder, is significantly more common
48InferenceIn the country of Marut, the Foreign Trade agency's records
49WeakenIn Colorado subalpine meadows, nonnative dandelions 
50WeakenWith seventeen casinos, Moneyland operates the most casinos
51StrengthenThe heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city's economy
52AssumptionIt is widely assumed that people need to engage in intellectual activities
53AssumptionGortland has long been narrowly self-sufficient in both 
54WeakenCR02741.01 - Kayla: Many people are reluctant
55StrengthenCR04161.01 - Scientist: In an experiment, dogs had
56Method of ReasoningCR03161.01 - Mansour: We should both plan to change
57InferenceCR33661.01 - Advertisement: Today's customers expect
58Parallel ReasoningCR46521.01 - City resident: These new digital
59AssumptionCR69561.01 - Exports of United States wood pulp
60WeakenCR53140.01 - In a certain rural area
61WeakenCR10661.01 In the United States
62ParadoxCR47561.01 - Pharmaceutical companies spend more
63Method of ReasoningCR30370.01 - Sasha: It must be healthy
64StrengthenCR20521.01 - Errors in the performance
65Method of ReasoningCR66590.01 - Shirla: In figure skating
66FlawCR78561.01 - Since 1978 when the copyright
67StrengthenSmithtown University's fund-raisers succeeded in getting donations
68InferenceBeginning in 1997, high school seniors in State Q have been required
69AssumptionA researcher discovered that people who have low levels of immune-system activity
70StrengthenThe air quality board recently informed Coffee Roast, a small coffee
71StrengthenFilm Director: It is true that certain characters and plot twists in my newly released
72StrengthenArt restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissance oil paintings
73StrengthenOne variety of partially biodegradable plastic beverage container is manufactured
74AssumptionIn setting environmental standards for industry and others to meet, it is inadvisable
75InferenceThe country of Virodia has, until now, been barely self-sufficient in both meat
76InferenceA company's two divisions performed with remarkable consistency over the past
77InferenceCorporate officers and directors commonly buy and sell, for their own portfolios
78strengthenA major network news organization experienced a drop in viewership in the week
79AssumptionA famous singer recently won a lawsuit against an advertising firm for using...
80AssumptionGenerally scientists enter their field with the goal of doing important new research
81InferenceProponents of the recently introduced tax on sales of new luxury boats had argued
82InferenceAlthough aspirin has been proven to eliminate moderate fever associated
83AssumptionCity council member: Demand for electricity has been increasing by 1.5 percent a year
84strengthenTo persuade consumers to buy its personal computers for home use
85AssumptionBank depositors in the United States are all financially protected against bank failure
86AssumptionA newly discovered painting seems to be the work of one of two seventeenth-century artists

How to ace Reading Comprehension?

The article explores what’s being tested in RC and why,  the idea of ignorance about ignorance among GMAT aspirants, the meaning of comprehension, and mindset and process to ace RC.

Reading Comprehension
Chiranjeev Singh

How to Read a Sentence

Most people read a sentence in one go, struggling with complex structures and rereading when they don’t understand. This article introduces a step-by-step approach to reading, helping you progressively build meaning while avoiding common mistakes. Master this method to read faster, more accurately, and with deeper comprehension.

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Quant
Chiranjeev Singh

Independent vs. Mutually Exclusive Events: An Intuitive, Commonsense Explanation

Confused by ‘independent’ and ‘mutually exclusive’ events in probability? Many find these terms technical and abstract. This article offers a clear, commonsense explanation, using everyday examples instead of jargon. Learn the crucial difference, understand their connection to dependence, and see how these core probability ideas relate to real life. Click to finally grasp these concepts intuitively!

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Quant
Chiranjeev Singh

Uncovering the Layers of Learning Barriers: A Coaching Conversation

This article captures a deep, step-by-step conversation with a student struggling with GMAT Quant. What started as a discussion about rigid, step-by-step problem-solving gradually uncovered deeper psychological layers—fear of making mistakes, self-judgment, and a harsh inner critic. We explored how the student’s need for control was a defense against self-rejection, rooted in an unconscious belief about their worth being tied to flawless execution. Drawing parallels with their experiences in golf, we arrived at a key insight: mistakes are skill gaps, not personal failures. The real breakthrough was learning to approach mistakes with acceptance rather than judgment.

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Quant
Chiranjeev Singh

How to Practice GMAT Quantitative Questions?

A comprehensive guide to practicing GMAT Quant questions effectively. This article explains what exactly to write down while solving each question, how to document your mistakes and thought process, and why the common practice methods like timed drills may be counterproductive. It provides specific instructions to help you maximize learning from each practice question.

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GMAT Focus Algorithm – A piece of advice for test-takers

A person got one quant question wrong but got only the 81 percentile. How is that possible? And what can we learn from him?

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