I'm sorry if some of you were not able to download some of the GRE material because of the the error message that comes as "bandwidth limit exceeded". It happens when too many people download in a short span of time. And of course, the bandwidth is limited because its a free server. I might as well start looking for donations to upload the stuff on a paid server.

Anyways, I'l be back wih more gre preparation material for you guys very soon. Till then ciao and all the best for your Graduate Record Examination!

Comma splice is the error of joining two independent clauses with nothing but a comma.

Comma splice has two main forms -

1). Run on sentence joined by a comma alone. (Run on sentences are independent clauses that have not been joined correctly).

e.g - Some gourmets like the new French cooking, others find it dull. - incorrect - comma splice run-on.

2). Run on sentence joined by a comma and a word that is not a coordinating conjunction.

e.g - Some gourmets like the new French cooking, however, others find it dull. - incorrect - comma splice run-on.

There are 4 ways to revise a run on sentence.

1). Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

e.g - Some gourmets like the new French cooking, but others find it dull. - Correct

2). Make the clauses into seperate sentences.

e.g - Some gourmets like the new French cooking. Others find it dull. - Correct

3). Restructure the sentence i.e convert an independent clause to subordinate/dependent clause.

e.g - Although some gourmets like the new French cooking, others find it dull. - Correct

4). Use a semicolon.

e.g -

Some gourmets like the new French cooking; others find it dull. - Correct

OR

Some gourmets like the new French cooking; however, others find it dull. - Correct.

OG 10th - Ques number 10 - Example of Comma splice run-on.

10. However much United States voters may agree that there is waste in government and that the government as a whole spends beyond its means, it is difficult to find broad support for a movement toward a minimal state.

(A) However much United States voters may agree that
(E) There is agreement among United States voters that

A is the correct answer.

E - incorrect

E starts with an independent rather than a subordinate clause i.e
(There is agreement among United States voters that there is waste in
government and that the government as a whole spends beyond its means)

and

separates its two independent clauses with a comma hence creates a run-on sentence.
There is agreement among United States voters that there is waste in government and that the government as a whole spends beyond its means -- Independent clause
It is difficult to find broad support for a movement toward a minimal state. -- Independent clause

Welcome to Beat The GMAT! On August 16, 2005, I took the GMAT and scored a 720 (96th Percentile). I studied for the GMAT without the assistance of an expensive test prep class over the course of 80 days, keeping a very detailed weblog of my studying. It is my hope that this blog will serve as a study guide for future GMAT test takers and inspire others to study on their own as well. You do not need to purchase expensive test prep services to do well on the GMAT!

How to use this site

I have carefully documented my studies--down to the specific page numbers of texts I reviewed for each day. Using this website, many people have modeled their own study schedule after my own; some have even copied my day-to-day schedule entirely. Feel free to use this website in any capacity that suits your study needs. Also, be sure to explore the links to other resources that I have provided on this website--they have been critical in helping me master the material on the GMAT.

If you have set aside ample time to study for your GMAT (2-4 months), I would recommend that you start reading my blog from the first entry. However, if you are constrained by time (less than a month), skip ahead and emphasize my entries starting from Day 42, where I began my review of the Official Guide to GMAT Review.

Abbreviations

Some of the books I mention in my blog entries have very long titles. Since these titles are tiresome for my fingers to type, you will see the following abbreviations employed in many of my entries:

OG - Official Guide for GMAT Review, 10th Edition
PR - Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT 2004, with CD
Kap - Kaplan GMAT 2005 with CD
Kap800 - Kaplan GMAT 800, 2004-2005

Important Dates in my Study Schedule

To help you navigate my website more easily, here are some important milestones that I reached during my 80 days of studying for the GMAT:

- Introduction

- Explanation of why I started this website

- Day 1: Began review of Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT

- Day 12: Began review of Kaplan GMAT 2005

- Day 23: Began review of Kaplan GRE & GMAT Math Workbook

- Day 33: Began review of the Delta Course

- Day 37: Started making flashcards (should have done this from Day 1)

- Day 42: Began review of Official Guide, Reading Comprehension section

- Day 48: Began review of Official Guide, Data Sufficiency section

- Day 56: Began review of Official Guide, Sentence Correction section

- Day 65: Began review of Official Guide, Critical Reasoning section

- Day 70: Began review of Official Guide, Problem Solving section / Began review of Analytical Writing Assessment

- Day 80: Last day of studies

- Test day details

- Reflections on the entire GMAT study experience

The Beat The GMAT Scholarship!

I have started an annual scholarship for future GMAT test takers. Details can be found here.

***

A caveat: the page numbers I list for each entry in this blog are specific to the textbook editions that were available at the time of my studies. Consequently, for people studying with later editions, the page numbers in your newer books may not match with those of my own books. However, it should still be easy to follow my study schedule since I note the source and subject material covered for each day along with the page numbers. Always study with the latest materials!

Best of luck! You can Beat The GMAT like I did!

Eric
Beat The GMAT! http://www.beatthegmat.com

Hello GRE test takers. My apologies for the delay in updating this blog - I was too busy in other things, plus, uploading softwares on the googlepages server takes time.

Anyways here are 2 new softwares to help you with your gre preparation:

• Crack the GRE (1mb)

• Hangman Pro (1mb)

Details about the software are given on the download page which opens on clicking the links.

For new users of this blog, you will find a lot of other important GRE study material and software on my other post: More Resources for GRE Preparation

I hope you get a great gre score. All the best!