What's the Overlap Between GMAT Official Guides and Why You Should Buy All Three
The Official GMAT Materials - the Guide to GMAT Review, Verbal Review, and Quantitative Review - each serve distinct but complementary purposes. Here’s a breakdown of the overlap and reasons to consider purchasing all three books:
1. Content Overlap
The Guide to GMAT Review is a comprehensive resource that covers both verbal and quantitative sections. It includes a mix of questions from both areas and provides a broad overview of the test format, scoring, and strategies.
The Verbal Review book focuses exclusively on verbal skills, offering a deeper dive into reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence correction. It contains additional practice questions that are specifically designed for the verbal section.
The Quantitative Review targets quantitative skills, covering problem-solving and data sufficiency. It provides extra practice questions and detailed explanations for quantitative concepts.
2. Reasons to Buy All Three
Comprehensive Preparation
Each book offers a unique set of questions and explanations. The overlap is minimal, so using all three will give you a more extensive question pool and a better understanding of the test. This comprehensive approach ensures that you cover all aspects of the GMAT, from basic concepts to advanced strategies.
Targeted Practice
If you identify weaknesses in either the verbal or quantitative sections during your study, the specialized reviews allow you to focus intensively on those areas. This targeted practice can help you overcome specific challenges and boost your overall performance.
Varied Question Types
Each book contains different types of questions and explanations that can enhance your understanding and problem-solving skills. This variety is crucial for mastering the GMAT, as it prepares you for a wide range of question types you may encounter on the exam.
Test Strategy
The Guide offers insights into overall test strategies, which can be applied across all sections. The specialized reviews, however, help you refine your approach to specific question types within the verbal and quantitative sections. Combining both approaches ensures that you have a balanced strategy for tackling the GMAT.
Conclusion
While there is some overlap in the types of questions covered, each book is designed to strengthen different areas of your GMAT preparation. Purchasing all three ensures you have a well-rounded set of resources to fully prepare for the exam. Investing in these official GMAT guides can significantly enhance your preparation, giving you the best chance to succeed on test day.