i

HOW TO PASS THE

GMAT®

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GMAT® questions are difficult to answer and they are even more difficult to write! If you do find an error then the author should be grateful if you would notify him so that they can be removed at a future reprint. During your program of revision and review, if you hit a problem not covered here or if you would like suggestions of further sources of practice material then do please contact the author care of Kogan Page.

I dedicate this book to Anne Waters

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Publisher’s note

Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and author cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the author.

First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2007 by Kogan Page Limited

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:

The right of Mike Bryon to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

GMAC®, GMAT®, GMAT CAT®, and Graduate Management Admission Test® are registered trademarks of the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). This publication does not contain any real GMAT® test material. The Graduate Management Admission Council® does not endorse this product.

ISBN-10 0 7494 4459 2

ISBN-13 978 0 7494 4459 4

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bryon, Mike.

How to pass the GMAT: unbeatable preparation for success in the Graduate Management Admission Test / Mike Bryon.

p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978–0–7494–4459–4 ISBN-10: 0–7494–4459–2

1.Graduate Management Admission Test--Study guides. 2. Management--Examinations, questions, etc. I. Title.

HF1118.B79 2007 658.0076--dc22

2007001100

Typeset by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Cambridge University Press

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Contents

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vii

Preface

Choose this book for GMAT® success

This volume deserves a place among your GMAT® preparation material for the following reasons:

It is value for money when compared with many other GMAT® practice titles some of which cost more than $30.

There are 20, 10-minute practice mini-tests so that you can practice little and often and get off to a flying start in the real GMAT® sub-tests.

Over 600 realistic practice questions, answers and explanations will allow you to get down to some serious score-improving practice, especially if you find the algebra, geometry, English grammar and critical reasoning the most challenging parts of the GMAT®.

This book is intended for people who need to realize a well-balanced, aboveaverage GMAT® score. It will be of greatest value to the GMAT® candidate who may not have experienced in their academic career to date, all the verbal and quantitative skills tested in the GMAT®. It will also help the candidate facing the GMAT® after some years since leaving university, the mathematically challenged or the candidate who does not speak English as a first language.

If you are such a candidate then you have most to gain. Become familiar with the test’s demands, and practice, and review, lots of relevant questions. You are then most likely to see a significant and worthwhile improvement in your score. This revision or review may help secure you a place in the business school of your choice, an outcome that you may not otherwise have achieved. To succeed, be prepared to undertake an extensive program of revision over many weeks and, ideally, months.

No single book or author should be relied on to provide all the material needed to prepare for the GMAT®. Most candidates, to demonstrate their full potential, need to undertake a major program of revision that will require the use of quite a number of

viii Preface

publications. In Chapter 2, I refer to sources of free material, and what I consider is published material that is worth purchasing.

Please note that this volume does not provide advice on the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). Such advice is available from some of the other publications listed in Chapter 2, and I feel I can add little to what others have already said on this subject. I have also not provided reviews of grammar and mathematics, as there are other books that cover these subjects perfectly well.

Also note that the explanations offered in Chapter 6 are only intended as an aidememoire and to help readers realize where they may have gone wrong. A full explanation of all the operations and rules covered is beyond the scope of this book and if required are obtainable from academic and educational titles.

You may find this book a challenge but it is intended first and foremost as a source of help. May I wish you every success with your application to business school and especially with the GMAT®!