a. The significant increase in sales after the relocation of the books indicates that customers are more likely to buy books at the front of the store (choice b) and that the display may have caught the

inter-est of people who might not otherwise purchase a romance novel (choice c). It is also logical to con-clude that sales would further increase if the books were moved even farther toward the front of the store (choice e). Choices b and e and the increase in sales all suggest that customers believe the best books are near the front of the store (choice d). The only conclusion that cannot logically be drawn from this scenario is that customers will come back to purchase more romance novels (choice a). The data does not indicate repeat purchases for customers.

10. b. All of the choices except b offer reasons why online degree programs are problematic, suggesting that resources should not be focused on developing online degree programs. Choice b offers support for the argument by stating that the flexibility of online classes will attract students who would not normally be able to attend regular classes.

11. b. The direct rail line is the most logical explanation for an increase in property values. The proxim-ity to New York Cproxim-ity in itself (choice a) would not necessarily increase property values, but the addi-tion of public transportaaddi-tion that provides direct access to the city would make the town a more desirable place to live. When a place becomes more desirable, real-estate values increase. Choice c, the addition of housing units, is likely an effect of the direct rail line and an increase in the desirability of the location. The improvement of the schools and the renovation of the downtown (choice d) may or may not be related to the increase in property values. It would be logical to conclude that funds for improving the schools and downtown could be gleaned from additional resources from increased property taxes, another effect of increased property values. The relocation of a major corporation to a neighboring town (choice e) could account for the increased desirability of property in South Orange, but the direct access to the city is a more compelling reason. Perhaps a few hundred persons

–V E R B A L P R E T E S T–

12. a. Statistics can be very deceiving. In this case, based only on the numbers, St. Mary’s seems like a safer place to undergo heart surgery. But what you do not know about St. Mary’s and St. Vincent’s can lead you to make a poor choice. If St. Vincent’s specializes in heart surgery for elderly and high-risk patients (choice a), then it is logical that it would have a higher rate of mortality among its patients. Indeed, given this fact, the difference in mortality rates may make a case for going to St. Vin-cent’s instead of St. Mary’s. Assuming you are not an elderly or high-risk patient, to make an

informed choice, you would need statistics about St. Vincent’s mortality rates for surgery on patients who are not elderly or high risk. Up-to-date equipment is important (choice b), but the condition of the patients prior to surgery and the skill of the surgeons are more important considerations. The fact that St. Vincent’s has the best heart surgeon in the country (choice c) is compelling, but it does not contradict the statistics. The payment options (choice d) are irrelevant if you do not survive the surgery, and there can be many reasons why the doctors who worked at St. Mary’s are now at St. Vin-cent’s (choice e), so you cannot consider this factor without more information.

13. c. The fact that would most strengthen this argument is the percentage of cases in which DNA evi-dence overturned prior convictions. If half of all cases resulted in erroneous convictions that were later cleared by DNA evidence, then that should certainly draw other convictions into doubt. The fact that one in three of today’s convictions rest on DNA evidence has no bearing on prior convictions, so choice a is incorrect. Similarly, the admissibility of DNA evidence (choice b) has no bearing on the quality of prior convictions. That DNA evidence is accurate (choice d) and difficult to tamper with (choice e) strengthens the argument for the use of DNA evidence in court, but it does not directly strengthen the argument that prior convictions should be called into doubt.

14. d. Despite growing evidence of global warming is a dependent clause that should be followed by a comma when preceding an independent clause (34 different states . . . ). Choice a is incorrect because a semi-colon should not be used between a dependent and independent clause. Choice b creates a sentence fragment because the dependent clause is set off as a separate sentence. Choice c incorrectly uses a colon, which should only be used to introduce lists, quotations, or explanations. Choice e cre-ates an illogical sentence that uses both despite and for, confusing the relationship between the two clauses.

15. d. This version states the idea clearly, correctly, and concisely, using parallel structure. Choice a is bulky and awkward with its opening phrase suggested by new research is the fact that; it also has sev-eral superfluous commas. Choice b incorrectly uses that instead of who to refer to people, and while it is not wordy, it is not as fluent as choice d. Choice c is wordy, relying on bulky passive constructions and prepositional phrases. Choice e is incorrect because it lacks parallel structure.

16. b. This version is the most active and direct, starting with the agent of action (the Truman Doctrine) and clearly and concisely stating the effects of the doctrine. Choices a and c awkwardly put the action before the subject, and choice c also breaks up the two actions, interrupting the fluency of the sen-tence. Choice d uses two bulky which clauses, rather than the more concise parenthetical phrases of choice b. Choice e begins with a passive construction and is both wordy and redundant.

17. a. This is the most concise, precise, and correct choice. Choice b is wordy, using the phrase in a mas-terful way instead of masmas-terfully. Choice c uses awkward word order that requires the addition of a verb (considers) because explores is moved to before the subject. Choice d is wordy as the result of moving social and moral from their position directly before the noun they modify. Choice e awk-wardly places what are after explores and deletes the important idea of possibility conveyed by of what might happen.

18. c. Choice a is a run-on sentence and is therefore incorrect. Choice b uses being in an awkward and grammatically incorrect manner. Choice d is unnecessarily wordy, and choice e replaces the comma with a period and creates a sentence fragment.

19. d. This is the most concise and fluent version. Choice a incorrectly uses the transitional phrase on the other hand, and because it puts which is commonly known as sugar into a nonrestrictive clause imme-diately after the appositive glucose, the sentence may be confusing. Choice b is grammatically correct but quite awkward, using which three times in one sentence. Choice c inverts the sentence, making it less direct and therefore less clear. Choice e is correct but less direct and slightly more wordy than d because it uses the passive construction (converted by the body).

20. b. Choice b presents the most concise and fluent version. Choice a incorrectly uses amount instead of number. Choice c is unnecessarily wordy, using the nonrestrictive phrase which is on the rise instead of on the rise. Choice d is also unnecessarily wordy and less direct. Choice e is awkward, with an inverted word order.



P r e t e s t A s s e s s m e n t

How did you do on the pretest? If you answered nearly all of the questions correctly, congratulations. If you missed more than three questions, chances are most of your incorrect answers were in one category. Perhaps your reading comprehension skills are strong, but you need to focus on building your critical-reasoning skills.

Clearly, the more questions you got wrong in each section, the more time you should devote to your review of that material.

It is difficult to scale your performance on this pretest to its actual GMAT equivalent because the GMAT CAT factors in both the number of questions answered and the level of difficulty of each question to deter-mine your score. However, a simple percentage of correct answers in each category should give you a good indication of how you might perform on the Verbal section. If you missed three or more questions in any sec-tion, you will probably need several weeks of concentrated study to do well on those questions during the actual exam.

–V E R B A L P R E T E S T–

Based on the title “Verbal section,” you might expect this portion of the exam to measure your oral commu-nication skills or your ability to express yourself effectively in writing. But that is not quite what the Verbal section is about. It is designed to measure three rather different groups of skills. The questions on the GMAT Verbal section can be divided into the following categories:

■ reading comprehension questions that test your ability to read and understand sophisticated written texts

■ critical reasoning questions that test your reasoning skills and ability to evaluate arguments

■ sentence correction questions that test your knowledge of standard written English and the elements of effective writing

The 41 multiple-choice questions in the Verbal section are divided evenly among these three types. Each category contains approximately 13—14 questions, and you will have 75 minutes to complete this portion of the test.

What to Expect