Sentence Correction

Class Location: The Internet.

Description: This class will prepare you for taking the Sentence Correction section of the GMAT.

Objective: Learn what will be on the Sentence Correction portion of the GMAT test.

On the GMAT sentence correction section you will need to identify grammatically correct sentences. For each you will be given sentences with underlined parts. Then you will be given five answers that present the underlined words in a different manner. The first answer will repeat the text without changing its meaning. The other choices will change the text's meaning and may be grammatically-correct or incorrect.

The correct sentence correction answer will have:

1. No grammatical errors

2. Correct sentence structure

3. No diction errors (tone or speaker)

4. No change in meaning

The correct answer will not always be the most concise one, so do not simply choose the shortest answer each time.

Tips and Strategies

Choice A will always be a repeat of the underlined text, so do not look at it extensively. Don't ignore it, because it will be the right answer about 1/5 of the time, but you already know what it says. But be careful not to overanalyze the questions or assume that there has to be a better answer than the underlined portion.

Watch out for more than one error. Many test-takers quickly find one error and choose the answer correcting it, but there can be multiple errors that the answer needs to fix. The right answer has to correct all of the mistakes in the underlined text.

Use the process of elimination whenever you can. In this section the easiest way to eliminate wrong answers is to find ones that are grammatically incorrect. You can also eliminate anything that changes the original meaning of the text. Then if you are down to two answers and do not know which to choose, pick the shorter one unless it is written in the passive voice.

Ignore spelling and capitalization errors because they are not being tested.

Look for small differences between answers. Knowing how these answers differ can be a way to find the errors in the text and it can help you from reading the passage so intensely that you miss the errors.

Read the sentence with your answer choice before moving on. We have found this to be very effective for the sentence correction portion of the test because it can help you prevent careless errors.

Listen. If you are stuck, 'say' the choices in your head and choose the answer that sounds best. This is particularly effective for native English speakers.

Grammar You Should Know

While we can not list all the material you need to review, we have a short list of grammatical rules that GMAT writers particularly like to test. It would be a good idea for you to memorize the list.

• Among vs. Between

• Elliptical verb phrases

• Misplaced modifiers

• Parallel sentences

• Pronoun-subject agreement

• Proper use of adverbs as modifiers of verbs

• Proper use of the semicolon

• Fewer vs. Less

• Run-on sentences

• Sentence fragments

• Subject-verb agreement

• Verb tenses

• Who vs. Whom