How To Prepare For GRE?
GRE is one of the oldest international online standardized tests in the world to secure admission in PG or Ph.D programs for non business graduate schools of US universities. But students still face a lot of difficulty in preparation for the exam. The major problem that they face is planning their schedule for preparation. Always remember “people don’t fail because they plan to fail; they fail because they fail to plan.” Therefore, for GRE preparation some strategies need to be followed.
The following points should be taken care of while preparing:
• Do a self analysis.
• Set your target.
• Plan your preparation schedule.
• Practice time management.
• Work on your weaker areas.
• Practice smart, not hard.
• Apprise yourself of the test pattern and structure.
• Use shortcuts to arrive at the final answer.
• Maintain your concentration level.
• Don’t procrastinate.
• Don’t panic.
GRE exam has three distinct sub-divisions viz. Verbal Section, Quantitative Reasoning Section and Analytical Writing Section. GRE tests the fundamental skills of applicants and does not require any subject-specific theoretical study. Verbal Section The GRE verbal section consists of four types of questions: Sentence Completions, Analogies, Reading Comprehension, and Antonyms. They are designed to test your ability to reason, using the written word. Vocabulary is the most challenging part of the preparation. It, therefore, requires intense preparation. No amount of practice is too much for this purpose. So your preparation must begin with vocabulary and must continue throughout.
Vocabulary • To improve your vocabulary, start preparing FLASH CARDS. Each card may contain, say, 10 words written alphabetically on the front with the roots/clues as well as structure (nouns, adjectives and adverbs etc.) with meanings at the back. This is for quick referral in case you forget what the meaning of a particular word is. Now make it a habit to carry these flash cards in your pocket wherever you go (office, college etc.). Go through these cards whenever you get free time and try using these words in your general day to day communication and also while replying to mail. There\’s no better way to remember words than to use them in day to day speech
• “A picture is worth a thousand words “. Our pictographic memory accepts pictures and symbols much faster. Hence, the association of words with symbols helps us retain the words much better. Associate the given words with the known words. The words can be associated by their structure, usage, meaning and pronunciation.
• Vernaculisation: This technique is one of my most preferred when it comes to learning new words for which I cannot find any imaginative or associative source. Vernaculisation is simply the technique to learn a particular word by relating it to something that one could use in one\’s mother tongue.
Reading Comprehension
• Don’t read for words, read for ideas.
• Always read at varying speeds.
• Look for extreme answers and half-truths as they are more likely to be distracters.
• Always keep the central idea in mind while answering the questions.
• Try to understand the tone of the words used in the passages.
• Preview the passage by reading the first sentence of each paragraph.
• Trigger words can help you identify contrasting ideas, thus helping you comprehend the passage better. Quantitative Reasoning section This section in GRE involves four types of questions viz. Problem Solving, Quantitative Comparisons, Graph Based and Student Response questions.
Following are the important tips that will help you attempt problem solving questions effectively and accurately:
• Always go through the options while reading and formulating the problem. Options always give some hint and save time.
• Try to express the information given in the problem into mathematical expressions.
• Selection by Elimination is the best method for most of the questions. • Never involve yourself in lengthy calculations.
• For questions involving variables, try using substitution method by assigning the numeric values given in the options
• Restrict yourself to the given data in the question. Don’t assume.
• Recheck and confirm the answers before final submission as there are very close options available.
Analytical Writing Section AWA stands for Analytical Writing Assessment. It tests one’s ability to think critically and logically about a given situation or problem and write a coherent and coordinated essay, using one\’s analytical abilities together with proficiency in the language. It is graded on the scale of 6.The main emphasis is on clarity of thought, originality, analytical skill and presentation. The AWA section has recently got a fillip from the ETS and the universities as the standard format to benchmark the level and appropriateness of the language used in the admission documentation. This is done to ensure that students do not get their SOPs and other documentation (that otherwise are expected to reflect the individual\’s original ideas and thoughts) prepared solely by the professionals.
Do’s on the D-day
• It is of utmost importance to answer the first few questions correctly as GRE is an adaptive test. • As you proceed with the test analyze and deduce things faster as time is a big constraint.
• Be alert while choosing the correct option. Don’t fall into the traps.
• Don’t stick to one question for long.
• Use the scratch paper that the test centre provides you.
• Keep your cool and try to maintain the concentration level Taking more and more simulated tests is the key to master these skills. Another important point is to make sure that you have understood and practiced the concepts well before taking the simulated tests.
www.TCYonline.com offers you thousands of such tests to hone your skills. The analytics provided on this site enable you to gauge your performance in each section, thus bringing forth your strength areas and those needing improvement. You can also take online lessons for your weak areas on this one stop station for your GRE preparation.
About Author – TCYonline.com No.1 Testing Platform, umesh@tcyonline.com