Conquer the GRE General Exam
How to Study Effectively for the GRE General Test
Taking the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test is a quintessential part of the graduate school application process. The GRE General Tests measures skills in verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and critical thinking and analytical writing skills.
Some graduate programs require both the GRE General and Subjects tests, such as the GRE Psychology, which assess the specialized academic knowledge that you’ve learned thro
ugh your studies in college. Be sure to check the individual requirements for each graduate program that you apply to. To not have required GRE scores is pretty much on par with application-to-grad-school suicide.
Studying for the GRE is a rite of passage that every prospective graduate student must endure. But some students have no idea where to start. What are the best GRE review guides to follow to brush up on basic skills that grad programs are looking for?
1. ETS GRE: Practicing To Take the GRE General Test (10th edition)
This book is actually published by the Educational Testing Service, the institution that administers the GRE General Test. One might think that this guide would offer the best advice for GRE preparation, but read on….
2. Princeton Review’s Cracking the GRE 2010 Edition
Surprisingly, this review guide actually gets slightly better customer ratings than the ETS version. Apparently, it includes tons of practice questions in the book, exclusive free access to 2 practice tests, and expert advice online.
3. Kaplan GRE Exam Vocabulary in a Box
These targeted products come in handy if you already know where your weaknesses lie, and say, for example, that you know that you need to brush up on vocabulary. There are over 500 handy flashcards that you can use to review GRE vocabulary. There is also a GRE Exam Vocabulary Workbook if you prefer that format over flashcards.
4. Kaplan GRE Exam Math Workbook
Similar to the Vocabulary in a Box, this workbook is a great idea if you already know that math is your weakness. There’s lots of review of core math concepts, detailed answer explanations, and strategies to solving different types of math problems. Basically, this guide will cover everything that you may have forgotten since your last college-level mathematics course.
BONUS for those who are interested in interactive GRE software:
5. Barron’s GRE with CD-ROM
Barron includes a full-length book that has two full-length practice exams with all questions answered and explained. As a bonus, it also includes two full-length computer-adaptive tests on the CD-ROM. Why is this a good idea? The GRE General exam is almost always administered via computer. What better way to study than using the actual computerized format that you will face during actual GRE test administration?
Decide how you study best – and then pick the GRE preparation book that works best for you and your particular goals.
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GMAT Writing Section
The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section of the test consists of two essays. In the first, the student must analyze an argument and in the second the student must analyze an issue. Each essay must be written within 30 minutes and is scored on a scale of 0-6. The essay is read by two readers who each mark the essay with a grade from 0-6, in 0.5 point increments with a mean score of 4.1. If the two scores are within one point of each other, they are averaged. If there is more than one point difference, the essays are read by a third reader.
The first reader is IntelliMetric, a proprietary computer program developed by Vantage Learning, which analyzes creative writing and syntax of more than 50 linguistic and structural features. The second and third readers are humans, who evaluate the quality of the examinee’s ideas and his or her ability to organize, develop, and express ideas with relevant support. While mastery of the conventions of written English factor into scoring, minor errors are expected, and evaluators are trained to be sensitive to examinees whose first language is not English.
Each of the two essays in the Analytical Writing part of the test is graded on a scale of 0 (the minimum) to 6 (the maximum):
- 0 An essay that is totally illegible or obviously not written on the assigned topic.
- 1 An essay that is fundamentally deficient.
- 2 An essay that is seriously flawed.
- 3 An essay that is seriously limited.
- 4 An essay that is merely adequate.
- 5 An essay that is strong.
- 6 An essay that is outstanding.
source: www.wikipedia.org
GRE Verbal Section
The verbal section consists of analogies, completions, and reading comprehension passages.
Multiple-choice response sections are graded on a scale of 200-800, in 10-point increments.
This section primarily tests vocabulary, and average scores in this section are substantially lower than those in the quantitative section. In a typical examination, this section may consist of 30 questions, and 30 minutes may be allotted for it.
This is usually composed of 8-10 questions about antonyms, 6-8 analogy questions, 5-7 sentence completions and 6-10 reading comprehension questions (based on 2-4 passages).
GMAT Verbal Section
The verbal section consists of 41 multiple choice questions, which must be answered within 75 minutes.
There are three types of questions: sentence correction, critical reasoning, and reading comprehension.
The verbal section is scored from 0 to 60 points.
Over the 3 years ending in October 2009, the mean has been 28.0/60; scores above 44 and below 9 are rare.
source: www.wikipedia.org
GMAT Total Score
The “Total Score”, composed of the quantitative and verbal sections, is exclusive of the analytical writing assessment (AWA), and ranges from 200 to 800. About two-thirds of test takers score between 400 and 600. The score distribution resembles a bell curve with a standard deviation of approximately 100 points, meaning that the test is designed for 68% of examinees to score between 400 and 600, while the median score was originally designed to be near 500. The 2005/2006 mean score was 533.
The quantitative and verbal sections comprise a computer-adaptive test. The first question may be difficult. The next few questions in each section may be around the 500 level. If the examinee answers correctly, the next questions are harder. If the examinee answers incorrectly, the next questions are easier. The questions are pulled from a large pool of questions and delivered depending on the student’s running score. These questions are regularly updated to prevent them from being compromised by students recording questions.
The final score is not based solely on the last question the examinee answers (i.e. – the level of difficulty of questions reached through the computer-adaptive presentation of questions). The algorithm used to build a score is more complicated than that. The examinee can make a silly mistake and answer incorrectly and the computer will recognize that item as an anomaly. If the examinee misses the first question his score will not necessarily fall in the bottom half of the range.
Also, questions left blank (that is, those not reached) hurt the examinee more than questions answered incorrectly. This is a major contrast to the SAT, which has a wrong-answer penalty. Each test section also includes several experimental questions, which do not count toward the examinee’s score, but are included to judge the appropriateness of the item for future administrations.
Verbal and Quantitative Section scores range from 0 to 60. Analytical Writing Assessment scores range from 0 to 6 and represent the average of the ratings from the two GMAT essays. The essays are scored differently from the Verbal and Quantitative sections and are not included in the total score.
All scores and cancellations in the past 5 years will be on a student’s score report, a change from the previous policy of the last three scores and cancellations being kept on the score report.
source: www.wikipedia.org
GRE Structure
The exam consists of four sections. The first section is a writing section, while the other three are multiple-choice style.
One of the multiple choice style exams will test verbal skills, another will test quantitative skills and a third exam will be an experimental section that is not included in the reported score.
Test takers do not know which of the three multiple-choice sections is the experimental section.
The entire test procedure takes about 4 hours.
source: wikipedia
GMAT Sentence Correction
The Sentence Correction section tests a test taker’s knowledge of American English grammar, usage, and style.
Sentence correction items consist of a sentence, all or part of which has been underlined, with five associated answer choices listed below the sentence. The first answer choice is exactly the same as the underlined portion of the sentence. The remaining four answer choices contain different phrasings of the underlined portion of the sentence.
The test taker is instructed to choose the first answer choice if there is no flaw with that phrasing of the sentence. If there is a flaw with the original phrasing of the sentence, the test taker is instructed to choose the best of the four remaining answer choices.
Sentence Correction questions are designed to measure a test taker’s proficiency in three areas: correct expression, effective expression, and proper diction. Correct expression refers to the grammar and structure of the sentence. Effective Expression refers to the clarity and concision used to express the idea.
Proper Diction refers to the suitability and accuracy of the chosen words in reference to the dictionary meaning of the words and the context in which the words are presented.
source: www.wikipedia.org
Required Scores
Most schools do not publish a minimum acceptable score or detailed statistics about the scores achieved by applicants. However, schools do generally publish the average and median score of their latest intake, which can be used as a guide.
The average score for nearly all of the top business schools, as commonly listed in popular magazines and ranking services, is in the upper 600s or low 700s.
It may be possible to overcome a low test score with impressive real world accomplishments, good undergraduate performance, outstanding references and/or connections, particularly strong application essays, or coming from an under represented group.
Registration and Preparation
- The examinee may register for the GMAT either online or by calling one of the test centers. To schedule a test, an appointment must be made at one of the designated test centers.
- Third-party study preparation aids are available, including self-study using GMAT books, classroom GMAT preparation courses (live or online), or private tutoring.
- Cost of Exam is $250.
- You may not take the GMAT more than once within 31 days, even if the scores are canceled.
Problem Solving
This tests the quantitative reasoning ability of the examinee. Problem-solving questions present multiple-choice problems in arithmetic, basic algebra, and elementary geometry.
The task is to solve the problems and choose the correct answer from among five answer choices.
Some problems will be plain mathematical calculations; the rest will be presented as real life word problems that will require mathematical solutions.
- Numbers: All numbers used are real numbers.
- Figures: The diagrams and figures that accompany these questions are for the purpose of providing useful information in answering the questions.
- Unless it is stated that a specific figure is not drawn to scale, the diagrams and figures are drawn as accurately as possible.
- All figures are in a plane unless otherwise indicated.
source: www.wikipedia.org