GMAT Course Comprehensive Curriculum at Manhattan Review
GMAT Test Strategy and Content Mastery
Manhattan Review's GMAT course teaches students to reach proficiency in the academic content underlying the GMAT and at the same time teaches strategies and tips for approaching the different GMAT question types. We consider our course to be based on a two-pronged curriculum of content mastery and test strategy.
Content Review
Our content reviews ensure that students have a solid grasp on the academic skills that the GMAT will assess. Our main review areas are mathematics, statistics, grammar and writing. For each subject review area we provide comprehensive instruction on the points that students might have forgotten from their educational studies. These subjects are not only reviewed for competency but they are taught in the context of the test. Students are shown how these subjects might be addressed by different GMAT question types. This combination of content mastery and contextual test-question practice enables students to face any test problem with confidence.
Test-Taking Strategy
Manhattan Review continually practices and fine-tunes the test strategy we teach to guarantee that it is applicable to the most recent version of the test. Our strategies are tested and retested to ensure that they save time and maximize test scores. We show students how to pick out patterns in test structure using real questions that have appeared on GMAT tests. We teach how to spot distractor answers. We outline where shortcuts can save time as well as where shortcuts should be avoided as they might point toward faulty answers. Students learn to think like testmakers in terms of understanding the nuances in the types of reasoning skills that the test is assessing.
Understanding the test patterns is one of the most crucial skills that test preparation can provide. Individual questions are deconstructed to demonstrate the straightforward concepts underlying the question and the reason behind the question format. This deconstruction gives students confidence in their complete understanding of the questions and the motivations behind question phrasing and format. Strategies and techniques are carefully outlined for each section of the GMAT as well as for all of the various question types within each section. These techniques are taught and drilled until their use becomes automatic.
Upon completion of Manhattan Review's course, students essentially have a toolkit of test-taking techniques, strategies and methods for breaking down complex problems. On GMAT test day, students will instantly recognize the question types as well as the best approaches for solving them.
Timing for Test
As the GMAT is a timed test, the time management element cannot be ignored. Once students are drilled on the methods of solving each type of question they are timed and assessed on their ability to apply these techniques quickly and efficiently. These drills further reinforce the memorization and quick recall of test-taking strategy. Any problems executing test-taking techniques are identified and addressed in a simulated test-taking environment. Efficient use of time is essential to achieving peak GMAT performance. We address students' individual needs to ensure they are able to complete the test carefully in the time provided.