SparkPrep GMAT pre-Course Module 2

1. Spark Prep SG - GMAT
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Pre-Module2 - Planning
Spark Prep - GMAT
6-0.02 : 3-0.02

2. Spark Prep SG - GMAT
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Confidential and proprietary. Not to be distributed without permission.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
➢ Build and maintain a study schedule and journal
➢ Create your study aids
➢ Know how to use the Spark Prep Study Planner tool

3. Spark Prep SG - GMAT
Copyright QL Education, Ltd. Pte.,
Confidential and proprietary. Not to be distributed without permission.
Planning My Study Sessions
“I’m too busy to prepare” is not an excuse.
Most people who takes the GMAT work full-time
If management consultants, i-bankers, and startup founders manage to prepare,
so can you! (and you MUST to stay competitive)
Planning and Tracking your Study Sessions will help you maintain discipline and help you to
focus your efforts on areas that need it most
The keys things to determine are: What you will study
AND
When you will study

4. Spark Prep SG - GMAT
Copyright QL Education, Ltd. Pte.,
Confidential and proprietary. Not to be distributed without permission.
❏ Block off study times
each week (1-3 hours,
3-4 days/week to total
10-15 hours every
week). Note what you
plan to work on during
each session.
❏ Weekday lunch
times can be very
good!
❏ You don’t have to study
one topic per session.
It’s better to mix things
up (i.e. 1hr of sentence
correction then 1hr of
problem solving.
Planning Study Sessions

5. Spark Prep SG - GMAT
Copyright QL Education, Ltd. Pte.,
Confidential and proprietary. Not to be distributed without permission.
Planning Study Sessions
❏ You don’t need to answer practice questions during every session. You can use the
time to review notes, add to cheat sheets, create flash cards, etc. (more on this later).
❏ Prioritize weaknesses by dedicating more time to them and assigning them study
blocks earlier in the week and at the beginning of a study session.
❏ If you’ve recently taken a practice test and received our analysis, you know your strengths and
weaknesses.
❏ At the end of each study session, make a note in your journal of what went well and
what didn’t. Review your journal each week before planning for the next week, and
include time to tackle any issues that came up in the past week.

6. Spark Prep SG - GMAT
Copyright QL Education, Ltd. Pte.,
Confidential and proprietary. Not to be distributed without permission.
Creating your Study Aids
Error Log: Keep an error log - the Spark Prep Study Planner has one conveniently built-in.
If you decide to create your own, you can use a notebook or a spreadsheet and should
record the following:
❏ Date attempted
❏ Question details: number, type, concepts tested, and difficulty level
❏ Your performance: time spent, your answer, and the correct answer
❏ Error type (conceptual, careless, technique)
❏ Comments - why exactly did you get it wrong? Or did you get it right but not in fastest way?
❏ Action Item - how and when will you follow up?

7. Spark Prep SG - GMAT
Copyright QL Education, Ltd. Pte.,
Confidential and proprietary. Not to be distributed without permission.
Creating your Study Aids (cont’d)
Flashcards: For technique errors, a good way to follow up is to create a flashcard with the
question on one side and its solution on the other. Review it often!
Cheat Sheet: For conceptual errors, review the concepts and re-do the question in a week.
If the question teaches you something new, add it to a cheat sheet.
7

8. Spark Prep SG - GMAT
Copyright QL Education, Ltd. Pte.,
Confidential and proprietary. Not to be distributed without permission.
Spark Prep Study Planner
Above is a screenshot of the Spark Prep Study Planner.
● In it, we’ve categorized every question in the Official GMAT Guide (OG) 2016 & 2017
● You can use it to
○ plan your practice,
○ identify questions to review, and
○ maintain your error log.
● The first worksheet of the Planner provides instructions on how to use it.
* Have suggestions on how we can improve the planner or its instructions?
Please send us an email to: gmat@mymbalink.com

9. Spark Prep SG - GMAT
Copyright QL Education, Ltd. Pte.,
Confidential and proprietary. Not to be distributed without permission.
Using Spark Prep Study Planner
You use the Planner and your 3D AnalyticsTM to plan your study/practice
1. Start with the most critical Concept or Sub-Concept areas identified in your 3D
AnalyticsTM
2. Within that Concept/Sub-Concept, begin at a difficulty level where you are got less than
⅔ of the questions right
3. Review the related Learning Modules and your notes
4. Try some questions from the filtered list - always check your timing and answer after
each question
5. When you’re comfortable with that difficulty level, move on to more challenging ones
6. Move on to a different Concept/Sub-Concept after no more than 90 minutes

10. Spark Prep SG - GMAT
Copyright QL Education, Ltd. Pte.,
Confidential and proprietary. Not to be distributed without permission.
Summary
➢ Build and maintain a study schedule and journal
○ Schedule your study sessions in advance and plan what you will study
○ Mix up what you study in one session
○ Dedicate early time to your weaknesses
➢ Create your own study aids
○ Create error logs, flash cards and cheat sheets and know how to use them properly
➢ Use Spark Prep Study Planner to target your study and practice to specific areas
○ Start with your most target weak areas and work from your current level to more difficult
○ Reference your notes and the Learning Modules as needed to guide you
○ Move on to harder questions as you become comfortable with less difficult questions