The woodcutter story
Let’s start with a story.
A woodcutter is in a jungle. He’s using his axe to cut a tree, and somehow he can’t seem to get the job done. He’s been at it for hours. He’s been swinging away with his axe. He’s been hitting at the tree from all possible directions and all possible angles, but somehow, the tree is not getting cut down.
And meanwhile, he looks around—there are people all around who are doing a great job with their axes. They’re cutting the trees in no time at all, and it looks like this guy is stuck.
Consulting the experts
So he decides to consult some experts.
The first expert tells him, “Oh, man, look at the grip you have. You’re holding the axe with both your hands at the same place. Instead, one hand should be at the bottom of the stick that has the axe, the other hand should two feet up. And then that’s how you should be swinging your axe.”
Our woodcutter is like, “Oh yeah, that’s what I was missing.” He starts again, and away he goes. Yet, after hacking at the tree with this new grip, he still can’t get the job done.
Then another expert tells our woodcutter that the angle he’s using to strike the trunk of the tree needs to be once 45 degrees from the ground and then once 135 degrees from the ground—so once from the bottom up, and then once from the top down. “Try to chip away at the tree like that.”
The woodcutter says, “Okay, that seems to make sense,” and he starts again.
Trying harder
There are a few things that our woodcutter tries himself. He tries to increase the speed, the force with which he brings the ax down. He tries to hit the same point multiple times.
He’s consulted experts. He’s applied their advice. But he still can’t seem to cut that damn tree.
The real problem
Eventually, an eight-year-old kid comes and tells the woodcutter:
“Your axe is completely blunt. No matter what you do, you will not be able to cut down the tree with that axe. Before you do anything else—before you worry about the force that you’re applying, the angle, the grip, and all those technical things—sharpen your axe.”
And once your axe is sharpened, of course, the angle, the force, the grip—those things will help. But many people will be able to cut down a tree even without using all those technical things, as long as their axe is extremely sharp.
Applying this to the GMAT
If you feel like you’re hacking away at GMAT without making a dent, you might just be in a similar situation as that woodcutter. You’ve tried different grips (strategies), different angles (courses), more force (harder questions, more hours) — but the real problem could be not about your effort, but that your axe isn’t sharp enough yet.
So what does sharpening the axe mean in the context of GMAT?
The foundational skills – skills of reading, reasoning, basic math, comprehension, structuring, problem solving, analysing critically. If you’re not good at these foundational things, work on them. Do not just assume that by learning more concepts and practising more questions, you’ll be able to compensate for the lack of the core skills needed. Just like a good technique cannot compensate for a blunt axe, concepts cannot compensate for gaps in the basic skills.
What exactly is a “blunt axe” in GMAT terms? How do you know if your axe needs sharpening? And most importantly, how do you do it?
Step 1: Identify What a “Blunt Axe” Looks Like
- You might be able to answer easy questions correctly, but can are you so clear about the solution that you can explain it to an 11-year-old? If not, that’s could be a sign of a blunt axe.
- In Quant, how comfortable and fluent are you with mental maths? How comfortable are you with algebra? Are you able to understand whether the impact of a certain change would be in a positive or negative direction?
- How well are you able to comprehend the text that you read? This is applicable in all three sections. One of the most required skills on the GMAT is the ability to read precisely. It might sound like a very basic thing that everyone already possesses, but in my experience, it is one of the most common reasons people don’t do well in GMAT verbal – they do not read precisely. Now, I don’t have a test for you to evaluate whether you’re reading properly, but in our online course (GMATIntensive.com) the first three sessions are dedicated to reading skills. Could be worth exploring.
Step 2: Inspect Your Axe — A 3-Point Diagnostic
How do you know if this is your problem? You need to diagnose it.
- The Untimed, Low-Difficulty Drill — Take 15–20 “Easy” official questions in one topic area and do them untimed. Your only goal: 100% accuracy. If you get more than one wrong, maybe your is blunt. There’s a core knowledge.
- The “Teach It Back” Method — For any question you review, try to write out a step-by-step solution as if you were explaining it to a total beginner. The exact point where you get stuck or your explanation feels weak is the blunt spot on your axe.
- Hyper-Specific Error Logging — maintain a confusion log instead of an error log. Flag any question that you feel even slightly less than 100% clear about. Now do this even before you check whether your answer is correct. If in over 25% questions you raise the confusion flag, that’s a sign.
Step 3: Sharpen Your Axe
Now, I don’t have a direct solution that I can share here. But, I’ll share some suggestions.
- In learning phase, do not restrict your time while practicing questions at all. Even if a question requires 30 minutes – stick with it. That’s how we improve skills.
- Read patiently. Give your brain time to process what you’re reading.
- In data sufficiency, try to figure out whether the statements are sufficient without even putting pen to paper.
- Do mental calculations whenever dealing with money – business, restaurants, shopping, etc
Biggest suggestion
Prioritise sharpening the axe. Take the time to inspect your tools first. A sharp axe doesn’t guarantee you can cut down every tree, but a blunt axe guarantees you can’t.
So, if your skills need work, work on those first. Do not chase 2 min/ question targets, stick with ‘easy’ questions, do not assume that the basics will anyway be fixed. Work on them consciously.
So, if that means you need to go through some basics of maths before you get into GMAT content – great. Do that. Do not assume that you need to use only GMAT content to fix all skill gaps. E.g. khanacademy.org is a great source to develop basic math skills. If you currently need 5 minutes to understand a CR passage properly, take that time. Trying to rush is not the way to improve your skills. Let it come more naturally.
Pick one blunt spot today — and start sharpening.