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GMAT CR: “Weaken” Question of the Day!

Try out this medium-level “weaken” question from GMAT Hacks!

Industry analysts feel that Bluecorp paid far too much to acquire rival fi…rm Strickland. While doing so limited competition they face in the marketplace, this approach cannot be pro…table in the long
run. Once two rival fi…rms merge in order to increase pro…ts, the higher prices would only provide other competitors an opportunity to enter the …field at a lower price, cutting into Bluecorp’s pro…fits
and making the acquisition of Strickland an expensive mistake.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the
argument?

(A) In some countries it is legal for two companies to merge
even if the resulting entity would nearly monopolize the
market.

(B) The combination of Bluecorp and Strickland creates an
entity whose size allows it to produce items at a far lower
cost than could any smaller enterprise.

(C) In addition to eliminating competition, Bluecorp’s
acquisition gives it a much more substantial presence
in urban areas.

(D) As a result of the acquisition, the new corporate entity
will create two smaller entities to operate as independent
suppliers to Bluecorp.

(E) When two large companies in the same …field combine,
entrepreneurs tend to shy away from the fi…eld due to the
single entity’s perceived dominance.

—
-Conclusion: Bluecorp acquiring Strickland = NOT profitable long-term
(author concedes it DID limit competition)

-Evidence: Higher prices gives competitors opportunity

-Assumption: That the merger = higher prices

The question asks which answer choice would “weaken” the argument, so my prediction is something that shows the merger resulting in LOWER prices for Bluecorp.

Let’s look at the choices:

(A) The legality of the merger is irrelevant to the argument
(B) This correctly weakens the argument! “Lower cost” correctly refutes the “higher prices” in the assumption.
(C) Bluecorp’s presence in urban areas is irrelevant to the argument.
(D) Independent suppliers are irrelevant to the argument.
(E) The focus here is on the entrepreneurs “shying away” – it doesn’t weaken the argument, which focuses on the merger = higher prices.

The correct answer is (B).

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Two Types of GRE “Averages”: Mean and Rates

The word “average” on the GRE can refer to two concepts: arithmetic mean, and the average speed (or average rate) formula. It’s important not to confuse the two on the Test Day, as they require different formulas to solve.

Mean is the mathematical average. This is defined as the sum of the terms divided by the number of terms. Mean = Sum / # of terms. For a list of consecutive integers or evenly spaced numbers, the mean is equal to the median, or the middle number. For example, the “average” of 3, 5, and 9 is 5.67.

Average Speed or Average Rate is often found in complex word problems. This type of question is one many students are less familiar with so you may not have seen it before. Let’s review two important equations to remember and look at how this concept appears on the GRE.

The first formula to memorize is: D = R x T. This stands for Distance = Rate x Time (referred to as the “DIRT” formula). It is perfectly acceptable to also think of it as Time = Distance / Rate or as Rate = Distance / Time as well. Usually the “Rate” is speed but it could be anything “per” anything. In a word problem, if you see the word “per” you know this is a question involving rates.

The second formula is: Average Rate = Total Distance / Total Time. This is its own special concept and you will notice that it is NOT a simple Average of the Speeds (which would be something like the Sum of the Speeds / the Number of Different Speeds or what we know as the Arithmetic Mean). Average Rate is a completely different concept, so do not let the common word “average” confuse you. Let’s look at a sample question from Grockit’s GRE question bank:

Question 1: The average (arithmetic mean) of four numbers is 30, after one of the numbers is removed, the average of the remaining three numbers is 10. What number was removed?

We know that the four original numbers sum to 30*4 = 120. The new equation becomes:

4*30 – x/3 = 10
120 – x/3 = 10
120 – x = 30 (add an x to each side and subtract a 30)
90 = x

7 Tips for a Perfect GRE Issue Essay

If you get a perfect score on the GRE’s Issue Essay (a 6), it can really boost your graduate school admissions chances! The best schools want good Verbal and Quantitative scores, but also students who are clear, competent writers. Lots of students have excellent transcripts and are good at taking tests – but not everyone can demonstrate impressive writing skills! Here are 7 tips to take your Issue essay to that perfect 6!

1. Write at least three practice essays. Practice makes perfect! You can study for the GRE online by looking up the AWA prompts and practicing writing several of them within the 30 minute guideline. The only way to get comfortable with the time constraints is to practice them, so set up test-like conditions and get to work. You can see the Issue essay prompts here: http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool

2. Don’t waffle. Choose one side of the issue only, and don’t try to “have it both ways.” Even if you don’t believe in the side you choose, you’ll only have time to argue one side effectively. If you take a middle-of-the-road approach you won’t sound as confident or clear. Remember, according to ETS, the “readers are evaluating the skill with which you address the specific instructions and articulate and develop an argument to support your evaluation of the issue.” What exactly you say (what side you choose to defend) is less important than how you defend it!

3. Choose very specific real-world examples. Don’t be general! Every reader would like to see more specific examples: Mitt Romney, the War of 1812, Keynesian economic theory, the mating rituals of octopii, an anecdote about your Uncle Ralph the compulsive gambler, etc. You can have some fun with it, and your examples don’t have to be the most scholarly. What are you an expert on?

4. BUT, make sure your examples are relevant to the topic. You can absolutely choose examples from a wide range of subjects: personal experience, pop culture, history, sports, literature, current events, politics, etc. But make sure you explain HOW your example clearly supports your thesis.

5. Avoid first-person and self-reference. “I think” or “I believe” are obvious. You are the person writing this essay! First-person pronouns should ONLY appear in a body paragraph if you are using personal experience as an example, and telling a story from your own life to support your thesis. Never use “I” in your introductory or concluding paragraph.

6. Make strong, declarative statements. Look for ways to add charged adjectives, adverbs and “because” clauses to make your sentences sound more confident. EX: “The president shouldn’t allow Congress to pass the law.” Or, “It is unacceptable for the president to permit Congress to pass the law because it unconstitutionally overextends Congress’ powers.”

7. Refute the opposing view in your conclusion. Many GRE students wonder what to do in their conclusion. Try introducing the opposing viewpoint, showing that you recognize that in fact some people do not support your position. Then refute their argument in 1-2 sentences, and reinforce the validity of your own thesis.

All About the SAT!

Fast facts to help you cover everything you need to know about registering, prepping for, and taking the SAT exam!

  • The SAT is a 10-section test, testing three areas: Critical Reading, Writing, and Math.
  • The SAT is offered seven times each year in the U.S. and six times internationally. It is offered in October, November, December, January, March (U.S. only; SAT only), May and June.
  • High school students in the U.S. or U.S. territories who can’t afford to pay test fees may be eligible for SAT fee waivers! Find out if you qualify here!
  • If you have a documented disability, you may be eligible for accommodations on SAT Program tests. Arrangements can be made if you need accommodations such as: wheelchair accessibility; preferential seating; special test formats such as Braille or large print; written copy of spoken directions; or other accommodations.
  • Your raw scores are calculated for each section based on the number of questions you got correct or incorrect, or that you omitted. From this raw score, a scaled score is derived. Finally, you’ll receive a percentile score.

Looking for a diagnostic to see where you’re at? Take a free Princeton Review practice test here!

Application Questions on the GMAT

Application questions on the GMAT go one step further than Inference questions, asking you to apply what you have learned from the passage to a different or hypothetical situation. They are similar to New Situation questions!

Straight from the horse’s mouth, the Official Guide to the GMAT outlines 4 possible ways Application questions can test you (starting on p.361), and points out the importance difference between Inference and Application questions. To solve Application questions, you must recognize the underlying features of what’s in the passage when presented to you in new contexts.

Check out the video question on #9 on this Learnboard. Notice the first question the instructor asks in the video is, “where do we read about Shakespeare apologists?” Use the key phrases from the question stem to locate the relevant info in the passage. You shouldn’t have to re-read more than 1-2 sentences for each Application question.

ACT Science: How to Compare Two Experiments

One type of ACT Science passage, Research Summaries, will present descriptions of one or more related experiments and will require you to answer questions about one or both experiments. To compare them accurately, answer the following questions as you read. Make sure to underline, circle, or otherwise mark up the passages as you read!

1. How is each experiment set up? Make sure you understand the method for each experiment. What tools/processes/chemicals are used?

2. What does the data show? Pay close attention to the results of each experiment. Usually this is presented in tables or charts. How do the different variables relate to one another? Draw arrows on the tables to show the trends. Keep the following definitions in mind:

Independent variables: These are factors that are controlled by the scientists. Did the scientists increase the heat in the experiment? Did they add or remove pressure? If the scientists have control over the variable, it is independent.

Dependent variables: These are factors that the scientists observe changing. This is what the look for and how they record data — but they don’t control it.

Direct variation: This is when two things change in the same way over time. If Column A increases and Column B increases at the same time, we can say that the two vary directly.

Indirect variation: If when Column A increases, Column B decreases, there is an indirect (also called inverse) variation between the two elements.

3. How do the experiments differ? There will be certain elements common to both experiments, and one or more elements will change from Experiment 1 to Experiment 2. Circle the new information. Then focus on the results – do the variables interact similarly or differently in the 2nd experiment? Is the range of data greater or smaller?

6 Great Motivational Quotes to Help You Study

Feeling burnt out? Here’s 10 great quotes to help inspire your study plan!

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal — a commitment to excellence — that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”–Mario Andretti

“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.”–Pearl Buck

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”–Vince Lombardi

“The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born — that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.”

–Warren G. Bennis

“Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.”–Stephen Covey

“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.”–– Thomas J. Watson

How to Pace Yourself on the ACT Reading Test

The ACT Reading Test is 35 minutes long and contains 40 questions (10 questions on each passage). This means you’ll have slightly less than 9 minutes to spend on each of the 4 passages, so pacing yourself is essential.

One way you can focus your timing is to briefly flip through the entire test BEFORE you begin. You will always see 4 passages and you must always answer all 40 questions, but that doesn’t mean you have to approach them in the order in which they are presented on the test. As you practice, you will start to realize which passages are easier and which are more challenging for you.

For example, if Prose Fiction is your strong point but Natural Science passages make you nervous, it may make sense for you to do the Prose Fiction passage first and save the Natural Science passage for last. Just because the Natural Science passage is first, doesn’t mean you’ve got to do it right away. If you do decide to skip around, make sure you are still bubbling in your answers into the corresponding numbers on the answer grid. You don’t want to lose points because you bubbled incorrectly!

Another way you can pace yourself appropriately is by practicing your active reading skills. Do you find yourself getting lost in the details or are you someone who tends to read too quickly and miss some of the important information? For the ACT Reading Test, you’ve got to strike a balance between reading for the author’s point of view and for the function of each paragraph and also noting the location of important details in case you need to come back later. Make sure you underline anything that seems significant to you – look for words and phrases that reveal the author’s opinion or summarize or give the main idea of each paragraph. Practice with an egg timer. If you are spending more than 3 minutes reading and marking passages, you are risking not being able to finish all of the questions on test day.

Once you feel confident in your Reading skills and strategies, it’s important to practice before your test day by taking a few full-length practice reading sections. Full-length practice tests are available in ACT practice books at local bookstores, at your local library, and are even downloadable online. Find a quiet place where you can take the practice session and clear off the table or desk. Try and eliminate any distractions and do the best your can to mimic your test-day environment. Keep a clock or timer in front of you so you can periodically check and see how you are doing. You may want to set the timer to go off every 9-10 minutes. If it does and you are still on the same passage, it may indicate to you that you need to practice your strategies in order to get through the test. Don’t rush, but make sure you can move confidently from one passage to the next and answer ALL questions in the time allotted.

Remember there is no wrong answer penalty on the ACT test so you need to make sure to bubble in something, even if you are running out of time!

Breaking the GMAT Word Problem Barrier!

“Expect problems and eat them for breakfast.”

– Alfred A. Montapert

Word problems on the GMAT get an unfair reputation for being especially challenging. Once you’re able to effortlessly translate the key phrases into algebra, you’ll be able to handle any word problem with aplomb!

Here’s my favorite resources from around the web all in one convenient Learnboard to help you overcome your fear of word problems: GMAT – Word Problems. And, no worries if Word Problems are the bane of your existence, we’ll start with the very basics!

GMAT CR: “Strengthen” Question of the Day

Try this Critical Reasoning “strengthen” question from the GMAT Official Guide 12th Edition on your own! Then scroll down for an answer and explanation!

The pharmaceutical industry argues that because new drugs will not be developed unless heavy development costs can be recouped in later sales, the current 20 years of protection provided by patents should be extended in the case of newly developed drugs. However, in other industries new-product development continues despite high development costs, a fact that indicates that the extension is unnecessary.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the pharmaceutical industry’s argument against the challenge made above?

(A) No industries other than the pharmaceutical industry have asked for an extension of the 20-year limit on patent protection.
(B) Clinical trials of new drugs, which occur after the patent is granted and before the new drug can be marketed, often now take as long as 10 years to complete.
(C) There are several industries in which the ratio of research and development costs to revenues is higher than it is in the pharmaceutical industry.
(D) An existing patent for a drug does not legally prevent pharmaceutical companies from bringing to market alternative drugs, provided they are sufficiently dissimilar to the patented drug.
(E) Much recent industrial innovation has occurred in products-for example, in the computer and electronics industries-for which patent protection is often very ineffective.

Let’s look at our analysis!

Conclusion: The extension is unnecessary (the 20yr protection doesn’t need to be continued)

Evidence: New-product development continues despite high dev costs in other industries

Assumptions: That there isn’t some reason the pharmaceutical industry is diff. from other industries

The question asks which would support the pharmaceutical industry’s argument. In other words, what would WEAKEN our author’s argument. My prediction is something that shows the pharmaceutical industry is diff. from other industries, and that somehow the trends of other new-product development doesn’t apply to it.

Now let’s review the answer choices:

(A) What other industries have done is irrelevant.
(B) The length of time involving clinical trials would show what sets the pharmaceutical industry apart. Correct!
(C) This would seem to actually support the argument.
(D) Irrelevant to the argument.
(E) This choice does not show why the pharmaceutical industry NEEDS the extension – it just comments that for other industries, patents are ineffective. In a way, this seems to be the opposite of what we are looking for – the assumption being if these other industries don’t need a patent, then the pharmaceutical industry might not need one.

The tricky thing about this question is differentiating between the AUTHOR’s argument and the PHARMACEUTICAL’s argument. The correct answer is (B).