GRE Preparation Technique (for those who need it)

From someone who's talking like he got a 1600 but actually got a 1480 (Q=800 V=680)

I hope the reader considers this as a guideline only and doesn't take it as sacrosanct.


MATERIALS REQUIRED :

MAJOR:

1. A lot of patience and time (28 full days at least)
2. A mom who berates you for watching Naruto instead of studying
3. A lot of friends who're ready to help!!
4. Someone who's given the GRE (no matter how bad the score) e.g. Me

SUB-MAJOR :

1. Barron's newest edition **
2. Kaplan's newest edition **
3. Peterson's Master the GRE (ebook will do)
4. Princeton Review (ebook)
5. Nova GRE (ebook)
6. GRE Powerprep (you'll get this when you register within a month) **
7. Bigbook or ETS 10th Edition (I dont think these are available in the market, I acquired these from Princeton Review Minto Park) **
8. A software dictionary (available for download on most websites) **


** =>> Most essential

THE ACTUAL TEST:


                       The GRE is mainly an exam to test how well you take the GRE. It is not at all an exam which measures how much you know or how little you have learnt all your life. Even if you are a straight A kinda guy, please don't be disheartened scoring low in the GRE. Unlike most exams we face, this one has an exorbitantly high luck factor. I believe full preparation restricts the ill-effects of luck to a certain degree; however, it definitely cannot vanquish the element of fate. Knowing everything in the GRE curriculum is inhuman, so please don't read this if you've already memorized everything Merriam and Webster have deigned to write. I'm writing this for people who do NOT have a photographic memory or natural inclination to mug. I myself have a very poor memory, and try to remember stuff using methods which require the least effort. Did I mention I'm inexorably lazy as well? Anyway, lets get on with the issue at hand.

                     You've probably heard this a million times already, but just in case you haven't let me reiterate it yet again. The GRE has 4 sections. Of these, for us engineers-to-be, the two requiring least preparation (an hour a day is fine) are the Analytical Writing section. These consist of two essays, an Issue and an Argument. The issue essay is a simple descriptive essay in which you must write the topic in the form of a debate. So pick a side, choose a triplet of good examples and go for it. I'll get into it in detail a bit later, so hang on. Next is the Argument essay. This is a bit annoying, becausing you have to work quickly. ETS gives you 30 minutes to do this section. Of this limited duration, you can't really afford giving much time to planning your essay, unlike in the other case. So please, increase your typing speed. I suppose one entire MS Word 2007 page in Book Antiqua size 12 should take you around 20-22 mins, but this is a rough estimate, because all my essays came to 1.25 to one an a half pages in 30 mins. Right, we'll go into this later too, in detail. I've got time, and I'm not hungry yet, so dont worry, won't run off. Next comes the most difficult two sections in the GRE! (kidding!! they're actually not that tough). Math is a cakewalk, and with the additional cushion of a maximum of one mistake allowed in an 800 score, it shouldn't trouble you much. However, on test day, even simple sums will seem difficult, so do practise till it become ingrained in your arteries. Verbal is a cakewalk too - on rock cakes and if you're walking with stilettos. Enough said. Its time to delve deeper into each section. Ready? Lets go.


                 Hold your horses! Let's put the AWA section on hold for now, ok? We'll come back to it later.. I'm too tired right now! He he :)

MATH :
                  Ok. Now, first let's tackle the math section since its easier to study. There is only ONE legitimate source for this section and that is the MATH REVIEW in the GRE POWERPREP!! NO OTHER SOURCE IS RELIABLE! Trust me on this. A majority of books state that Standard Deviation calculation is not required. This may be true, but learning it doesn't do you any harm, specially since a comparison question may easily contain a SD problem. Now, for powerprep, go to www.ets.org/gre and download the Powerprep software (works on XP and pre-vista technologies at 640x480 resolution, for Vista give me a call. I'll have to teach you how to do run as administrator using a different setting - its tiresome) Powerprep is the most essential software implement for GRE preparation. With it, you'll know almost EXACTLY what you'll score on the actual test. I scored 1470 when I took the first Powerprep CAT the first time after preparation, and my score bears testament to its potency of clairvoyancy. As I was saying study all mathematical theorems and stuff like that from the Math Review. It should take you approximately 1 hour to sift through the stuff you already should be knowing (I didn't know a few though ;) hee hee)

QUANT COMP & PROBLEM SOLVING :

               I won't needlessly elaborate on this. You people are probably better at math than I am. Just remember a fundamental rule of GRE math in case of problem solving - all problems can be solved using TWO methods. One is for amateurs and one for adept mathematicians. So for the first 18 questions, do try your best to solve using both approaches lest you make a mistake using just one. Even on my test day, I almost screwed one up cos I was in a hurry. For Quant Comp, I guess the most effective method is to take five numbers.

0
1
-1
a fraction
a large number

Usually this works. If it doesn't you'll know there's something in the question giving you the hint. Remember something VERY IMPORTANT. If a question is like this

(1/x) + 1                                                                                 x + 1

and |x| < .5 is given, you CANNOT cross multiply x to make the question 1 & x^2. Its wrong! Because x has a negative possibility. However -1 can be added on both sides, even if its negative as the addition does not alter the inequality.

STATS :

               I call this section Stats because it doesn't really require much data interpretation at all. Bar charts, and pie charts are all you need to know as well as basic approximation techniques. Please don't go for a Numerical Analysis book for this Rudrendu.. I mean really simple techniques, like 23445 can be considered 24000 but remember to reduce the answer you get a little bit to compensate. Another type of question you mustn't forget is the Statistics you learnt in Class 10 (ICSE board). Median mode and average of a frequency distribution is very essential.

VERBAL :

               For Verbal, first, MUG BARRON'S WORDLIST!! Yep, you got it.. All 50 wordlists. Mug mug mug!! Luckily I knew 80% of the words beforehand, so it took me a 5 day period to finish it. But finishing isn't the key - revising is. Do 10 lists daily and after a fortnight you'll know at least 95% by heart. Don't worry, there's a trick to mugging. My friends will testify that i CANNOT memorize much of anything. So I found a better way. There are three kinds of words. One which you remember easily. Two, which bear a startling resemblance with another, but has a totally disparate meaning. e.g. DISPARATE means separate, but DISPARAGE means to rebuke or say something having a belittling effect. Similarly, try this one : Vindictive, and Vindicate. Check the dictionary. They have very dissimilar meanings. VINDICTIVE means someone who works for revenge, and VINDICATE is to exonerate. Stuff like this, please be careful. Also I suggest you not to go for etymology word unless you have no other choice. RESTIVE means what? Ans : Resting. NO!! Restive means restLESS!! See? So if you went for resting looking at the root "Rest", you're gone. One easy question down. And remember a very important statistic! 22 out of 30 questions are based on Vocab! So please, do brush up your vocab. I'll write the analytical section in tough english, so until you study your words you wont have a clue what I mean!! He he ;)
After Barron is done, give yourself a pat on the back cos Voila!! you're GRE verbal prep is 90% over! :) Next, lets check out the sections in Verbal.

ANTONYMS :

Barron's Wordlist will contain all these words I'm sure. Perhaps the guys who get 800 in verbal would be a better person to ask what the most difficult word on their GRE was, but for me, it was probably "thrall" in a sentence completion, so you should ideally get all the Antonyms right.

ANALOGIES :

I love this section! Its a real test of intelligence. Make a connecting sentence with the two stem words, and make sure you don't see the answers before you're done making it. Make sure the connecting sentence is flexible, so that you don't look for a particular answer in the choices, but instead go for a less regimental answer choice which closely resembles the given pair.

SENTENCE COMPLETION:

Read the sentence. Then re-read the sentence. Make sure you understand the clue offered in a particular portion of the sentence and then choose two words or one word which best fits the blank. Then you know what to do.. Click!

TACKLING READING COMPREHENSION :

This is the typical nightmare section for most GRE students, so don't worry if you get a zero on your first practice exercise at home. I got a minus one. (I missed a question! ;) )  Anyway, I'm not that bad at reading comp. On test day, I perceive I scored greater on RC than on SC! SC's were sooooooooooo tough!! My god.. and i was short on time. Had to rush through two SCs right at the end. The trick to handling reading comp is to get inured to disgustingly vexing language! Read a newspaper column written on your least favourite topic.. However I circumvented this predicament of difficult language in a slightly different way. Read up topics you know absolutely nothing about, and which come frequently as GRE topics. Wikepedia is a great source. Read up on Black History, Civil war and all things American, in order to give you a better idea of the topic, so that once you start understanding tough language, at least the subject won't be new. I found a lot of horrible subjects specifically suffragist movements, black history and other political stuff to read. Learning up the topics help if you get a similar topic in the GRE.

Stuff you should know : The luck factor is really important in the sense that not only does the topic of the reading comp matter a lot, but so too does its relative position on the test. If it comes within question 1 to 5 (as it did mine) you're plain unlucky pal. Your score will probably have a little hitch so do them very carefully. If they come in question 10 to 25, you're the luckiest! It gives you ample opportunity to re-increase your score after a (possible) little drop. But do NOT treat RCs like anathema - they are not all that difficult. Try this - it helps.

1. Read the bloody passage!! Stop trying to evade this essential act. Train yourself to read amazingly quick instead of trying to cheat your way out of reading it.

2. If you're absolutely hell-bent on not reading it, or got no time to do so.. Look at the question. If its a primary point of the passage type read the 1st and last para carefully and make an educated guess.. (You're out of time right? So don't argue.. I'm increasing your probability of success here!)

3. If its a direct question, search like hell in the passage for the highlighted phrase and ferret out the details. Answers lie within +/- 4 lines of the phrase.

4. If its a question asking you to infer something, there's a low probability you'll get it correct without sufficient time to analyse the passage, so look for the answer choice which contains very few quoted words from the passage, (as well as makes logical sense e.g. if its an inference about a bat, don't click on something which describes the bat seeing a fruit!! Its blind you dolt! ) and click it. But beware - this has a 25% success rate.

5. But trust me. Reading the passage, for me, has had very good results. I scored a 1600 in a practice test because I got 3 passages from more or less familiar topics and read it once thoroughly! (This is true! Useless I know, but true.. ) Remember to use your brain! The correct answers may sound very foreign, but if you read them carefully, they'll have the same answer as that you formed in your mind after seeing the question.

Just practice all the exercises you can get your hands on! Verbal and Math, from every material listed above, except Powerprep and 10th Edition. First finish everything else. If you want to learn "techniques" you can, but I thoroughly advise against it. Good ol' hard work and intelligence totally obviates the need for any techniques. Techniques are not always 100% accurate. They usually bring the odds down to 1 in 2 instead of 1 in 5, and may be totally useless in tricky GRE questions. Also, why burden your brain with more stuff when the basics are all you need???

Next time : Will write about stuff regarding anything I might have missed. Please feel free to comment or ask anything you like, either here or on my email ID : chak.ankush@gmail.com Adios senores and senoritas!!

Hope I helped,
Ankush.