redpearl

OG Quant Review - 2nd Edition - DS-Question 46 What is the value of x^2 - y^2 ? (x square minus y square) (1) x - y = y + 2 (2) x - y = 1 / (x+y) This is an official question. OA and answer explanation is available. My query is for second condition. How can we mutiply both sides by (x+y) unless it is specified that x+y is not equal to zero or x not equal to -y. Should we assume that denominator is not equal to zero in such GMAT questions ?

I have been preparing for GMAT since 1st March, 2012. I have completed the following books Manhattahn Senctence Correction OG 12 Kaplan GMAT 800 Currenly doing OG Verbal Review OG Quat Review While doing problems from these books, I normally do a timed exercise of 10-20 questions and do well with almost 100% accuracy in quants and around 80% accuracy in verbal. However, when I take practice CAT tests, my scores are not as expected. Powerprep 1 -> 650 (Q49, V28) [Taken the very first day without any preparation] Powerprep 2 -> 600 (Q49, V23) [With one week of preparation doing Manhattan SC] Score 800 Test 1 -> 660 (Q45, V37) [Manhattan SC completed] GMAT Prep 1 -> 700 (Q49, V37) [Mid of OG 12] MGMAT Free Test-> 680 (Q48, V35) [OG 12 completed] MGMAT Test 1 -> 710 (Q47, V40) [Kaplan GMAT 800 completed] MGMAT Test 2 -> 670 (Q48, V33) [Taken today. Verbal score dipped greatly as I messed up with 3 RCs with 10 questions incorrect in a row] I was hopeful to get a decent score of 700+ today. I aim to get a score around 730-740. I feel dejected after seeing my low scores with consistent preparation. I have 14 days left for the G-day. Can some read into my scores and suggest where do I stand on the real GMAT scale ? (Please note I have kept GMAT Prep Test 2 for the final week. So cant use it to determine my level.) How good are MGMAT tests at indicating my preparation level ? Can some expert suggest me some measures that I can take in the short period left to improve my target score ? I normally lag behind the time while taking a test which puts a lot of pressure on me and puts me dilemma on each question whether to attempt the question or just skip it to catch up with time. Any help is greatly appreciated.

This is my first AWA composition which I have written as per template I have prepared looking at various examples. It will be great if experts could point out mistakes, suggest improvements and provide their overall feedback and rating. Analysis of an Issue The following appeared as part of an annual report sent to stockholders by Olympic Foods, a processor of frozen foods: “Over time, the costs of processing go down because as organizations learn how to do things better, they become more efficient. In color film processing, for example, the cost of a 3-by-5-inch print fell from 50 cents for five-day service in 1970 to 20 cents for one-day service in 1984. The same principle applies to the processing of food. And since Olympic Foods will soon celebrate its 25th birthday, we can expect that our long experience will enable us to minimize costs and thus maximize profits.” Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc. Response The author concludes that Olympic Foods' long experice of 25 years will enable the organization to minimize costs and thus maximize profits. Though, at a first glance, the conclusion looks sound, but a closer analysis reveals that the arugment rests on questionable assumptions and weak analogies and is a result of hasty generalization. First, the argument readily assumes that all the conditions affecting an organization's performance remain the same over a long period of as long as 25 years. For example, it could be possible that the market conditions may change over a span of time resulting in more competition and less profit margins even though the organization gains more experience in the particular area. The argument could have been more sound, if it had discussed the impacts of other factors as well. Second, the arugment draws an analogy between food processing industry and film processing industry. This analgoy does not seem very logical as the processing costs may depend on entirely different factors in different industries. To illustrate, the most obvious reason of decreasing costs in film processing industry could be enhancements in technology rather than experience in the industry. Such technolgical enhancments might not have occurred in food processing industry. If the author had provided an example of an industry more closely related to food industry, the arugment would have been lot more convincing. Finally, the arugment claims that because Olympics Foods has a long experience of 25 years in food industry, it is going to do well in future. A long experience does not necessarily mean a consistent performance and growing profits of the company. For instance, it could be possible that company has barely survived over past 25 years with minimum profit margins and may not have very good prospects in the future. If the argument had provided some evidence of company's growing performance over the past few years, the conclusion would have been more acceptable. To sum, the argument is flawed because of the above mentioned reasons and is therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthened if the author clearly mentioned all the relevant facts. In order to asses the merits of a situation, it is necessary to have the knowledge of all the contributing factors. Without this information, the arugment remains unsubstantiated and open to debate.

I understand that a template approach to GMAT AWA is very helpful to obtain a good score. There are several of GMAT AWA templates floating around. I have heard that Princeton Review AWA template is very good. Does anyone have the Princeton Review templates for the essays ? Or can anyone provide me the link to access it? Any help is appreciated. Thanks