1. GMAT grammar adheres to the rules of "Standard Written English"

Standard written English refers to the grammar rules that you find in grammar books and in formal writing. Since proper written English often differs from spoken English, the best answer will not always sound the best, and will sometimes sound terrible. You cannot rely on your ear alone: you must become familiar with the grammar rules of written English.

2. The GMAT tests a limited number of grammar rules.

English grammar contains hundreds of nitpicky rules. Luckily, the GMAT only tests a few. So devote your energies to mastering these rules: if you try to conquer all of English grammar, you'll likely do far worse than if you confine your studies to the most commonly-occurring rules. Missing one obscure-rule question is much better than missing six parallelism questions.

3. Grammar is key - but style is important, too

On the GMAT, the correct answer must not only be grammatically correct: it must be stylistically correct, too. This means that the best answer must also be clear, without unnecessary redundancy, and with proper punctuation. Idioms must be used correctly.
Style is a secondary concern. Look for grammar errors first, and then check for style errors.

4. Don't change the meaning of the sentence

In the sentence correction section, you'll sometimes find two answer choices that are equally correct in terms of grammar and style conventions. When this happens, choose the answer that maintains the meaning of the original sentence. The best answer will never significantly alter the original meaning.

5. Incorrect answer choices are incorrect

Sentence Correction answer choices are variations on the correct answer. Incorrect answers will almost always be identifiable as such: that is, incorrect answers contain errors. Even if an answer choice sounds funny, if you can't find a definite error, then don't rush to eliminate it.

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