{"id":7895,"date":"2014-09-23T18:30:24","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T18:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/?p=7895"},"modified":"2019-09-05T16:03:29","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T16:03:29","slug":"how-to-set-up-your-gmat-scratch-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/blog\/how-to-set-up-your-gmat-scratch-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Up Your GMAT Scratch Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Manhattan<\/p>\n

Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We\u2019re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

A student in one of my classes recently asked me how best to set up his GMAT scratch paper while taking the exam, so my first task is to give a shout-out to Robert and thank him for giving me the topic for this article!<\/p>\n

I shared a few things with him during class and I\u2019ll share these things with you below. Plus, now that I\u2019ve had a chance to reflect, I have some other ideas for you.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the GMAT Scratch Paper Like?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

You\u2019ll be given a bound booklet of 5 sheets of legal-sized paper (that\u2019s the overly long paper often used for legal documents). This yellow graph paper will be laminated, so you\u2019ll use a special marker to write on it. (If you\u2019re in one of our classes, then you received your very own GMAT scratch paper booklet as part of your books and other materials.)<\/p>\n

While the booklet technically has 10 faces (front and back of 5 pages), the first page has a bunch of writing and instructions on it, so in practice you\u2019ll have 9 faces on which to write. You can have only one booklet at a time, but you are allowed to exchange the booklet for a new one during the test.<\/p>\n

AWA (Essay)<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The test is divided into four sections. Chances are that you won\u2019t need much scratch paper, if any, during the Essay section. In fact, I recommend typing your notes right onto the screen as you read the essay prompt. For example, every time I find a flaw in the argument, I type up a note, then hit enter. When I\u2019m done, I look through the list of flaws, decide which ones to keep, and cut and paste to reorder them. Now, I have a template for what I\u2019m going to write for each paragraph.<\/p>\n

Integrated Reasoning (IR) and Organizing Your Page<\/strong><\/h4>\n

You will definitely use your GMAT scratch paper during the IR section, but there are only 12 question prompts and 9 sheets of paper, so you should have plenty of space.<\/p>\n

Organization, though, will be important, since most IR question types have two or three parts. Plan to spend about half a page per problem and keep that work discrete. In fact, I recommend drawing a horizontal line halfway down the page to force yourself to work in a discrete space and keep your steps organized.<\/p>\n

Have you ever done this?<\/p>\n

[Internal monologue] Hmm, there\u2019s not a lot of room left on this page, but I think I can squeeze one more problem in here. Oh, there isn\u2019t quite enough room after all, but if I turn the paper sideways and write in this blank space between some other work over here, I can finish it off. Argh, none of the answers match. I must\u2019ve made a mistake\u2026let me check my work\u2026 Wait, am I looking at work from this problem or from the last problem?<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m one of the worst offenders on this on Quant. Check this out. I just went and found an old piece of scratch paper (I did not create this just for this article\u2014I promise!):<\/p>\n

\"Manhattan<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t even know whether that\u2019s one problem or two different problems. Either way, that is NOT good GMAT scratch paper practice. I think this might have been one of our challenge problems and I was definitely struggling to figure the problem out.<\/p>\n

However, when I\u2019m working under testing conditions, I\u2019m super anal about writing much more neatly and uniformly. I make sure that my work is line by line so that I can easily review the steps if need be.<\/p>\n

I also clearly delineate the \u201cgiven\u201d information (from the question stem) versus the work that I\u2019m doing to try to solve the problem. The given info comes first. Then I leave a blank line before I start working. If I need to back up, I know that I only need to back up to that line; the given info doesn’t change.<\/p>\n

Of course, that last part depends upon the assumption that I wrote down the given info correctly in the first place. To that end, when I\u2019m done writing down what I need from the question stem, I quickly glance back over the question on screen to make sure that I hit everything and that it\u2019s all correctly transcribed.<\/p>\n

Quant and Timing<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Next up, you\u2019ll have an 8-minute break before you start the Quant section. Turn in your scratch paper now and get a fresh booklet.<\/p>\n

(Note: I have had occasional reports from students saying that the test center proctors sometimes don\u2019t want to give a fresh pad if you haven\u2019t used up the existing pad. I spoke with GMAC\u2014the organization that owns the GMAT\u00ad\u2014and you are allowed to ask for a fresh pad even if you have not used up the existing pad. If your proctor balks at this, tell them that you specifically asked about this and GMAC affirmed that you are allowed to get a new scratch booklet at the break even if it\u2019s not yet full. Of course, be super nice to the proctor while having this conversation.)<\/p>\n

For the Quant section, your GMAT scratch paper organization method is also going to let you keep track of your timing; how awesome is that? [Another shout-out, this time to Manhattan Prep instructor Jane Cassie for devising this fantastic method!]<\/p>\n

Okay, here\u2019s what you\u2019re going to do:<\/p>\n

\"Manhattan<\/p>\n

That graphic contains 9 \u201csheets\u201d of scrap paper. Flip to the last page and draw a cross on the page, dividing it into 4 quadrants. Then give yourself a smiley face or a \u201cDone!\u201d in the lower-right corner.<\/p>\n

Flip to the second to last page. Divide that one into quarters, too, but this time write \u201c8\u201d in the lower-right corner. Keep doing this, counting up by multiples of 8, until you reach the first page.<\/p>\n

On that first page, divide the page into 5 sections, not 4. (But you\u2019re still counting by multiples of 8, so the final number you\u2019ll write is 64.)<\/p>\n

Now, you\u2019ve got 37 discrete spaces in which to complete your 37 Quant problems. What\u2019s more, as you finish each page, you\u2019ll know how much time should be left on the clock. If you\u2019re more than about 2 minutes off in either direction, take action!<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going too fast, slow down and start writing out all of your work and checking that you\u2019re answering the right question.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going too slowly, do two things: guess immediately on the next hard question that pops up, and start being more careful about spending extra time on problems.<\/p>\n

One more important thing: when<\/i> do you set up your GMAT scratch paper this way? You cannot do so over the break or before the proctor starts up your test again\u2014you\u2019re not allowed to use the scratch paper at that time. So here\u2019s what you do: at the beginning of the section, there is a 1-minute \u201cinstructions\u201d tutorial that tells you basic instructions for working through the section. Set up your scratch paper during this time\u2014practice ahead of time and it won\u2019t take you more than a minute!<\/p>\n

Verbal: The Annoying One<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Again, ask for a new scratch booklet between the Quant and Verbal sections.<\/p>\n

Verbal is annoying for a couple of reasons. First, the average question time is different for each question type. Second, the amount of what we need to write also varies by question type. Since we don\u2019t know the order in which we\u2019re going to get questions, there isn\u2019t an easy set-up, as there is for Quant.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to set up your scratch paper:<\/p>\n

\"Manhattan<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to turn the booklet sideways and open up two pages at once, the way I do, but I do so because then when I write the timing benchmarks (see below for more), it\u2019s good for two pages. Try it out and see what you think.<\/p>\n

To the left, I write ABCDE with some space in between each letter. The GMAT scratch paper is graph paper, so gridlines are already set up. Then, I assess each problem\u2019s answer choices underneath, moving to a new line for each new problem. You may notice that I didn\u2019t number the problems. It\u2019s unnecessary: the only thing that matters is the problem up on the screen right now!<\/p>\n

Then to the right of the answer grid, I start taking notes whenever I need them. When I finish a problem, I box off the notes, so that I know I\u2019m done with the notes. The writing that doesn\u2019t have a box around it is the stuff I\u2019m working on right now.<\/p>\n

When I move to the right side, I do typically re-draw the ABCDE thing, because I find it annoying to go all the way back to the left-hand side to use the answer grid. Others don\u2019t, though; play around with it and see what you like.<\/p>\n

Now, here\u2019s what you\u2019re going to do for the timing. Split the Verbal test into four quarters. You\u2019re going to spend approximately 19 minutes on each quadrant, so you have to memorize 3 somewhat annoying numbers\u2014but only 3:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
question number<\/b><\/td>\ntime remaining<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

10<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

56m<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

20<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

37m<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

18m<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Notice that the tens digit goes down by 2 each time and the units digit goes up by 1 each time. Memorize those rules plus the first number, 56, and you\u2019ve got the three numbers.<\/p>\n

Okay, now here\u2019s the more annoying part. Those numbers assume that you start exactly one new RC passage in each quarter. So you\u2019re going to keep track of your RC passages by drawing a little dot or line on your hand each time you start a new passage.<\/p>\n

When you glance at the clock for your first check, you should have one dot on your hand. At the second mark, you should have two dots, and at the third, three dots.<\/p>\n

If you have fewer dots than expected, then you need to have MORE time left on the clock than your standard benchmark time\u2014a few minutes more. If you have more dots than expected, then your remaining time should be a few minutes lower than you\u2019d be expecting by the standard benchmark, because you’ve started more RC passages than expected at this point in the test.<\/p>\n

As with Quant, if you discover that you\u2019re off by more than 2 minutes in either direction, take action right away!<\/p>\n

Key Takeaways: Organize Your GMAT Scratch Paper<\/strong><\/h4>\n

(1) Think about this! Good GMAT scratch paper technique will help you to minimize careless mistakes, use less mental energy, and keep yourself on track throughout the test. Work on this throughout your studies so that you’ve had a chance to figure out what works for you and practice it before test day.<\/p>\n

(2) Use the above suggestions as a starting point, but feel free to try other techniques or configurations that occur to you as you\u2019re studying. Above all, be consistent. Find methods that work for you and stick with them!\u00a0?<\/p>\n

\n

Can\u2019t get enough of Stacey\u2019s GMAT mastery? Attend the first session of one of her upcoming GMAT courses<\/a> absolutely free, no strings attached. Seriously.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"stacey-koprince\"<\/a>Stacey Koprince<\/a> is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Montreal, Canada and Los Angeles, California.<\/strong> Stacey has been teaching the GMAT, GRE, and LSAT \u00a0for more than 15 years and is one of the most well-known instructors in the industry. Stacey loves to teach and is absolutely fascinated by standardized tests. Check out Stacey\u2019s upcoming GMAT courses here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We\u2019re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here. A student in one of my classes recently asked me how best to set up his GMAT scratch paper while taking the exam, so my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[873,52871,2,8,9,10],"tags":[52800,82,810,52740,450,811],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-7895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-for-current-studiers","category-gmat-strategies","category-how-to-study","category-quant-on-gmat","category-taking-the-gmat","category-verbal-on-gmat","tag-analytical-writing-assessment","tag-awa","tag-gmat-scratch-paper","tag-integrated-reasoning","tag-ir","tag-note-taking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7895"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15301,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7895\/revisions\/15301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7895"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=7895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}