GRE INFORMATION

ViJiT

A quick run-down on what exactly comprises the Graduate Record Examination. You basically have to answer three sections, one each of Quantitative, Analytical and Verbal, and also one unidentified research section which could be on any one of the three. The questions are all objective and u just have to pick an answer from the choices available. Of course, its a lot more than just picking...so let's take a look at the questions u can expect and test how good your picking skills are....

VERBAL Iconoclastic, parochial, sacrilege, zephyr... if you think these words belong to either Greek or Latin, then it's time to pull up your socks. The GRE is particularly tough on Verbal Ability. Out of the 38 questions in this section, normally, 7 are on sentence completion, 9 on analogies, 11 on Reading Comprehension and 11 are on Vocabulary (usually antonyms).

Let's see how you fare on these sample questions:

Antonyms:
Identify the answer choice which is most nearly opposite in meaning to the given word.
(1) INTEMPERATE:
(a) Hot-tempered
(b) Moderate
(c) Inchoate
(d) Excessive.
Answer: b

Analogies:
Choose the word pair that best expresses the relationship of the high-lighted word pair.
(2) CAT: FELINE
(a) Fish : aquatic
(b) Dog : domestic
(c) Horse : mare
(d) Lady: feminine
Answer: a

Sentence Completion:
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the sentence Sentence completion questions measure the ability to recognize the overall meaning of a sentence and decide which of five words or set of words can best be substituted for blank spaces in a sentence. You must consider each answer choice and decide which completes the sentence in such a way that the sentence has a logically satisfying meaning & can be read as a stylistically integrated whole.

Reading Comprehension:
Are you a good reader? If so, how many words can you read per minute? 200? Then, your reading speed is not much to boast of, after all. The average reading speed is somewhere between 300 and 350 words per minute; 500 to 550 is considered excellent. But speed in reading taken by itself has no meaning.
The author wants you to comprehend the meaning. Those who do plenty of so called bed-side reading (Murder in Bedroom/Bathroom variety) usually nurture wrong notions about their reading comprehension skills. For the reading matter in these tests is of more than mere functional variety requiring keen attention.
The purpose of these tests is to see how well you grasp the contents of a piece of writing and how fast. The passages ranging from 500 to 1000 words vary in content, from socio-economic problems to ecology, aesthetics, Black American poetry, Jewish ethical code, ergonomics, or genetic engineering. You are sure to find a passage on a scientific topic. The passages, however, are not highly technical in content or style; they are couched in language that an average educated person is expected to be familiar with.

Quantitative Ability:
The section comprises 30 questions on Quantitative comparison, Problem Solving and Data Interpretation. The questions are designed to measure basic mathematical skills, understanding of elementary mathematical concepts, the abilities to reason quantitatively & to solve problems in a quantitative setting. Quantitative Comparisons:
In Quantitative Comparison, two mathematical quantities are mentioned, one in column - A and another in Column - B. You are to compare the two and determine which of the following is true. 1. the quantity in column A is greater 2. the quantity in column B is greater 3. the two quantities are equal 4. the relationship cannot be determined from the information given -

Example:
Column A Column B 1. 0.06 1/6 2. 3 (105) + 3 (103) +5 80.305

Problem Solving:
Tackling this area requires a sound background in the basics of Arithmetic, Algebra & Geometry of the 10 th/11th std level & a good knowledge of everyday facts, such as the number of days in July, or the meaning of such terms as counter clockwise. A great many of the problems in the section are simple Arithmetic, followed by Algebra & Geometry. You are also required to interpret data from graphs, charts and tables.

Data Interpretation:
The questions on Data Interpretation are based on tables, graphs, bar charts and pie charts. You are required to interpret the data depicted in these. This could involve determining the trends across years, calculating growth rates, and percentages.

Analytical Ability:
From Oct 2002 the analytical section has undergone changes.

For details refer to article: Changes in GRE

Started Oct 2002, the GRE is tougher on engineering junta.
The GRE has traditionally consisted of verbal, quantitative, and analytical sections. Engineering and science students from India have always found the quantitative and analytic sections to be relatively easy nuts to crack. It's the Verbal that they dread. Now, the analytical section is undergoing a radical transformation. It will be identical to the test called the Writing Assessment, which was introduced in October 1999. as an optional test.

The change has been made in order to:
(1) help admissions committees assess higher level critical thinking and analytical writing skills of applicants,
(2) measure a test taker's ability to make and critique arguments, which is central to the work done by graduate students in most fields.

What the test look like...
The verbal and quantitative sections are unchanged - they will contain 30 and 28 multiple-choice questions respectively in computer-adaptive format. The Analytical Writing consists of two analytical writing tasks:
1) A 45-minute "Present Your Perspective on an Issue" task. An opinion on an issue of general interest will be stated. You are asked to address the issue from any perspective(s) you wish, as long as you provide relevant reasons and examples to explain and support your views

2) A 30-minute "Analyze an Argument" task. You are required to to critique an argument by discussing how well reasoned you find it. It does not matter whether you agree or disagree with the position presented, you have to assess whether the argument is logically sound. These two tasks are in a sense complementary.

Sample topics for Writing Assessment Issue task
"It is often necessary, even desirable, for political leaders to withhold information from the public."

"The greatness of individuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their contemporaries."

More sample topics can be viewed at http://www.gre.org along with scored essays. GRE POWERPREP Software will be sent to you when you register with ETS for the test.

To Write or to Type
For the analytical writing section you can choose to type or handwrite your responses. Typed responses will take abt 10-15 days to report scores, while handwritten ones will take upto 6 weeks. Each essay receives a score from two trained readers, on a 6-point "holistic" scale. (the 2 scores are averaged)

A score of 2000 in the present GRE will be roughly equivalent to a score of 1300 in the new GRE and a grade of 4.5 in the Essay section.

Bottom-line: Analytical writing is a skill that cannot be picked up in a 6 month crash course. This makes it crucial to build strong English skills from school level itself, reading "deeper" books and arguing with your dad on issues other than pocket money.

Pssst: In case you're thinking of taking GRE before September to beat the new format, it’s too late. As per informed sources, all seats are booked as even FEs from IIT Mumbai have registered!

bhavin_3 · 04:02 PM

THE INFO HAS BEEN POSTED BY VJAQUARIAN_14 USER.

Introduction:
Neeraj Doshi is all set to start an MS in Environmental Policy Management in the US. Here he tells us how he prepared for the GRE and achieved a score of 1480/1600.

Which area of the exam did you find the most difficult?
I come from a maths background so quantitative wasn't a concern but yes, verbal was definitely the hardest part.

How did you overcome this difficulty?
I knew from my friends and from my brother, that verbal was going to snatch my sleep. So I geared up to face it. Moreover I was studying again after four years so I thought it was better to enroll in some classroom contact program to polish the rough edges and ready myself for the real thing. I joined CIE's 3-month GRE prep class. The program brought in the regularity that becomes quite an issue when you have a full time job. In two months time, I brushed up all my fundamentals and also learned a few good techniques to crack verbal. But my performance in the mock tests wasn't promising. After the batch was over, I took leave from my job and gave all my attention to exam preparation. I used Barron's GRE as the main reference book.

Time Tested Tips provided help in sentence completion (SC), analogies, reading comprehension (RC). The word list in Barron's vocabulary was comprehensive, though not exhaustive. I also used a vocabulary software (Guru's word list) to add new words to my list. For RC, I read a lot. The New York Times supplement which comes with the Saturday edition of The Asian Age really helped me get familiar with the US style of English. I used to browse the www.aldaily.com website for my daily fill of the articles and news. It helped a lot in increasing my reading speed and I became used to looking at the screen for longer durations. Analogies were the toughest. An online GRE preparation forum www.testmagic.com came to my rescue. It's the definitive site for GRE/ GMAT preparation on the Net. There are a lot of sections like Math, RC, SC, Analogies, and Antonyms, each loaded with hundreds of practice questions. The best part is the explanatory answers. The huge participation from fellow students ensures that all your queries are not only answered but also explained well. One most important aspect of the site is the "just finished my GRE" section.

Here students who have appeared for the exam share their experiences and the type of questions they faced. Once I was through with the prescribed syllabus, I picked up The Big Book, an ETS publication that contains 27 actual GRE tests, about twenty days before D-day. My plan was to do 1 test a day, analyze my performance and work on the weak areas. As I took the tests under strict conditions, it helped me in timing the sections as well.

What was your score? Do you think you could have done better / worse?
I scored 1480 (680 on Verbal and 800 on Quantitative) out of 1600 and 4.0 out of 6.0 in the analytical writing section. I guess the score is decent enough for me to apply in my desired field. I think I could have managed 700+ on the verbal section (that was my dream) had I been able to finish the section. I left 1 question unanswered and the penalty for leaving a section unfinished is high.

Have you attempted the CAT or any other such exam? Any differences / similarities between such tests and GRE?
No I have never taken the CAT, but I have sat for similar management exams like those of S P Jain and Symbiosis. I think management exams like CAT concentrate more on analytical rather than verbal capabilities. The quantitative level is much higher in CAT than in GRE. But the GRE verbal is definitely tougher than that of CAT.

Excerpted from The Global Educator: The Perfect Guide For International Education.
More information on www.theglobaleducator.com
Email [email address]

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Tips For The GRE Verbal
Do a diagnostic test to get an idea of where you stand. When you’re reviewing the answers, create a word bank from all the words you didn't know. Do this by taking a note pad and jotting down the words and their meanings after consulting a dictionary/ website like www.dictionary.com.

Add words to your Personal Word Bank every time you take a test. Remember to go through the list at the end of everyday. You'll come across lots of words you've never heard before and might mix up the definitions, especially when it comes to similar sounding words. It might help to write a sentence using the word as a reference so that you are absolutely clear about its exact meaning. You need not limit yourself to words from practice tests.

Every time you come across a new word in a newspaper/ magazine/ book/ TV show, look up the dictionary and add it to your word bank. You can also subscribe to free email services like A Word A Day (www.wordsmith.org/awad) - its a great way to improve your vocabulary. In the beginning, you’ll find yourself wondering if you studied in a regional medium but don't worry, you'll soon discover that a lot of words get repeated in the practice tests - certain typical GRE words that ETS loves to ask. Bucolic is one such favorite. What are you waiting for? Go look it up now!
__________________
“COMING TOGETHER IS BEGINNING; KEEPING TOGETHER IS PROGRESS; GROWING TOGETHER IS SUCCESS"

ViJiT

Test Preparation Materials

General Test
GRE POWERPREP Software
Includes two computer-based GRE General Tests, sample analytical writing topics, scored sample essays and reader commentary, test-taking strategies, a math review, and test tutorials. Sent to individuals who register for the computer-based GRE General Test or download now
http://ntis01.ets.org/onyx/powerprepTestTakers.htm

GRE Practice General Test
Contains one full-length paper-based GRE General Test, test-taking strategies, sample verbal and quantitative questions with explanations, sample analytical writing topics, and scored sample essays and reader commentary. Sent to individuals who register for the paper-based GRE General Test or download now
http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/p...ral%20test.pdf

An Introduction to the Analytical Writing Section of the GRE General Test Contains a description of the analytical writing section, strategies for each task, directions, scoring information, scoring guides, score level descriptions, a sample test, and scored essay responses with reader commentary
http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/awintro.pdf

Math Review
Contains information on the mathematical skills and concepts likely to be tested on the GRE General Test.
http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/p...thPractice.pdf

Interactive General Test sample questions
http://www.ets.org/vgn-ext-templatin...0022f95190RCRD

Preparing for the Verbal and Quantitative Sections of the GRE General Test
Contains sample questions with explanations
http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/011499.GRE.pdf

Test-taking strategies for the General Test
http://www.ets.org/vgn-ext-templatin...0022f95190RCRD