Everythings About GRE (2)

GRE Test

GRE stands for Graduate Record Exam. It is a competitive entrance exam designed and conducted by ETS. The ETS is run by well qualified professionals and it is responsible for administering a number of standardized entrance tests across US.

GRE test is made solely for the purpose of scanning students for admission in a graduation course. Every year there are numerous students who seek admission in various colleges and universities across US. They come from different socio-economic backgrounds and hence have a different level of knowledge and understanding. GRE test examines them for a standard level of knowledge which they are supposed to have at the college level. College education is tougher than school education and colleges can not afford to take in students who are not competent enough to complete it. The GRE test, in fact, solves dual purpose. Firstly, it helps colleges scan candidates and select only the capable ones. The colleges can shun those which do not meet their requirements and choose form others who have scored well in the GRE test. Secondly, it helps students by giving them an opportunity to show their knowledge which is measured on a common scale and all deserving students get a fair chance of admission to a college of their choice. The test is fair and unbiased to any particular class of students. It is an excellent opportunity for students to compete for admission.

The GRE test comprises of two types of tests. Firstly, you have to general test which is compulsory and the second test is an optional subject test. Now the general test tests the basic knowledge, reasoning skills, logic, understanding skills, learning capacity and analytical abilities of students. It signifies the basic requirement for college studies. And the subject test tests the subject specific abilities of the students. For those who want to take up some specific subject of their choice the subject test comes in handy. This test gives you a score and hence a certification that your knowledge in the subject which you intend to undertake is good enough for you to understand the subject at the graduation level. Hence the college authorities do not hesitate in giving you admission. It is an added admission criterion of sorts.

The GRE test (general) consists of three sections, each having a different purpose. The first section is the Verbal Section. Here your knowledge of different aspects of English language is tested. For a student who has to study graduation in a college a certain level of proficiency in English is required. He has to know how to interpret written information, how to comprehend, the meanings of difficult words etc. For testing these capabilities of a candidate, the verbal section is a part of GRE test. Here you have four types of questions: analogies, antonyms, sentence completion and reading comprehension. Only a person who has a good vocabulary, good reading and comprehension skills and whose concepts of grammar are clear can attempt this section well. Next you have the Quantitative Section. Mathematics is considered to be a difficult subject but at the same time it is a very important subject. They say that ‘mathematics is the mother of all sciences’ and very truly so. Any subject that you take up, any job that you take up or even small little calculations required at home are based on the basic principles and formulae of mathematics. Hence it becomes obvious that your quantitative skills are tested in the GRE test. The topics will include number systems, percentages, fractions, decimals, quadratic equations, basic coordinate geometry, ratio and proportion, area, volume, probability etc. The level of knowledge tested is that of a student of 10th standard. Moreover this section hints at your sense of logic as well and is thus an indispensable part of the GRE test. The last section of the GRE test is the Analytical Writing Section. In this section you are tested for how you can write analytically and how well you can express yourself. Here you have to write two essays. In the first essay you have to read a given viewpoint and present your own views on the issue. In the second essay you have to critically analyze the viewpoint presented and contradict the views in a logical manner. Here the criticism need not be reflective of your personal ideas; only the given viewpoint has to be analyzed. These two questions give a fair idea of how logically you can analyze written material, develop ideas and present them. Thus the three sections of GRE test cover significant aspects of your education and intellect and give a comprehensive view of your capabilities.

The latest feature of the test is that it is now CAT i.e. it is a computer adaptive test. By computer adaptive we mean that the test is taken on a computer and the computer adapts itself according to your specific needs. The GRE test is designed such that one question appears on the computer screen after the other. The sequence of questions is not fixed and a different set appears to each examinee. The first few questions are of medium difficulty level. If you answer a question correctly then the next question will be of a higher difficulty and if you answer it incorrectly then the next question will be of an easier level. This process is followed throughout the GRE test. As a result the computer changes the test according to your level and it is thus called computer adaptive. The benefits of the computer adaptive test lies in its basic structure. The computer adaptive format is examinee centered. You are given those questions which you are capable of answering. In this format there is lesser scope of not knowing the correct answer and this results in a higher score.

The GRE test is conducted in a large number of centers all around the world. And in most of the centers the computer adaptive format is available. You will have to check with the center you wish to take the test in for the availability of GRE computer adaptive format. In centers where this is available you can choose from a wide range of test dates, whereas in the centers where only the paper format is available you have only a few dates to choose from. You select the date available at the center first, then register for the test and then take it.

It is ideal to take the test a few months before the admissions start. There should be enough time for the scores to be out before admissions are over so that you don’t miss your chance of admission to a college of your choice. Also if you have to retake the test you should have enough time at hand. Start gathering information about the GRE test well in advance, something like a year before the college session starts.

The scoring procedure of the paper format and the computer adaptive format is different. In the paper format the questions are fixed and so the marking scheme is fixed. Whereas in the computer adaptive format the papers appearing to any two students are different. Here the questions are assigned a certain difficulty level and a related weightage. Hence the score depends on not only the questions answered correctly but also the difficulty level of the question. All the three sections of the GRE test are scored separately and also a percentile of each student is calculated. This gives the admission authorities an idea of where the student stands in the competition. The ETS also has provisions to send scores of GRE test directly to the colleges you have applied to.

The GRE test is said to be predictive of your score during graduation, hence colleges prefer to rely on its results. Other than the score of GRE test they consider other achievements like school representations, co-curricular record, participation in sports events, teacher recommendations, academic records, personal interview, college admission essays etc for scanning students. This criteria along with the GRE form the basis of admission in most of the colleges across US and thus the admission procedure becomes fair and unbiased. Though GRE faces a lot of criticism it is likely to overcome its shortcomings in the coming days and be the most efficient testing option for college admissions.

GRE Testing

When you pass out of school and seek admission in a college your knowledge is tested by the college admission authorities. They intend to know why they should admit you and leave out other candidates. Colleges consider a lot of aspects while admitting students but the most important criterion is the GRE. Colleges can not compare students who have studied in different schools and come from different areas and backgrounds, sometimes even from different nationalities. Here GRE testing becomes the most important factor which determines which students obtain admission in a college.

GRE testing is considered to be very fair and valid. All students are treated equally and are tested on the same basis. The GRE testing is conducted in numerous countries all around the world but the paper is of the same difficulty level; there is no special paper for any center. Nor is there any consideration for students from different socio-economic backgrounds. All the students appear for the same exam no matter who or where they are. This ensures that the scores of different students can be compared. The colleges can compare the scores quantitatively and select students for admission. The most significant factor of GRE testing is that it is carried out by ETS which is a professional organization and can be trusted because of its credentials.

The GRE testing includes the testing of your knowledge, reasoning skills, writing skills, logic, analytical abilities, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking etc. This is done in the three sections of the GRE test. The Verbal section aims at testing the capacity of a student to understand English language. This means that the student should be able to comprehend written material and synthesize it, interpret the meanings of words and the interrelation between parts of sentences, analyze the relationship between words and ideas. Verbal section of GRE testing contains questions of four types: analogies, antonyms, sentence completion and reading comprehension. Questions on verbal analogies contain two words. The relation between the two words has to be analyzed and the similar pair of words has to be picked from the five options given. In verbal analogies the opposite of a given word has to be picked from five options. The questions based on sentence completion consist of incomplete sentences which have to be completed by choosing the most suitable words from the five given options. The resulting sentence has to be meaningful and grammatically correct. In reading comprehension a passage is given and some questions are asked. The answers have to be lifted from the passage; they will either be obvious or implied. So in the GRE verbal testing your vocabulary, interpretation skills, grammar concepts and reasoning skills are tested. This section has multiple type questions only and quantifies your knowledge in English language.

The Quantitative Section of GRE testing consists of problems related with mathematics. The topics are from algebra, arithmetic, data interpretation and geometry. The level expected is that of a student of 10th grade and include concepts of the number systems, percentages, fractions, decimals, quadratic equations, basic coordinate geometry, ratio and proportion, area, volume, probability etc. These topics are related with our daily life and hence their knowledge is expected of any average graduate. The three types of questions asked are quantitative comparison questions, discrete quantitative questions and data interpretation questions. The quantitative comparison questions consist of two quantities which have to be compared. These questions require very little calculations, if at all they do. The discrete quantitative questions consist of questions involving actual calculations using formulae and reasoning. Mathematically problems will be given here which have to be read carefully, reasoned out and solved.

The data interpretation questions are based on graphs. Here different types of graphs are given which have to be interpreted and some questions might even involve small calculations. In the GRE quantitative testing questions of all types, related with mathematics are given.

It is not just your calculation abilities but also your estimation, reasoning, analysis and interpretation skills that are required to attempt this section well.

The Analytical Writing section of GRE testing consists of two questions. In each question an essay has to be written by the student. The first question is based on analysis of an issue. Here two topics will be given out of which you will have to choose one. You have to present your own viewpoint on the issue given. The topic given here will be a debatable one and you have to present your views about the claim in the question statement. You have to support your ideas with suitable reasons and examples. Your abilities to think critically, reason and present your viewpoint convincingly are the criteria for judgement in this question. The second type of question is analysis of an argument. Here a viewpoint is given and you have to criticize it. Here you don’t have any choice and have to compulsorily discuss the given topic. You have to analyze the concepts of the writer and comment on his sense of logic and reasoning. In this question it is not necessary that you give your own viewpoint, but you have to analyze the author’s ideas in a logical manner. This section gives an insight into your reasoning abilities as well as your writing skills. The essay should be properly structured with apt use of logic and grammar.

GRE testing also includes the testing of subjects, but this is optional. If the college admission authorities intend to scan students for admission to a master’s course then they use the criterion of subject tests. If you want to pursue a specific subject then you must take the GRE subject test. You stand a better chance of selection. In fact it is possible that some colleges make it compulsory for the candidates to take subject tests. The subject tests offered in GRE testing are Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Literature in English, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology. Many students skip the subject tests but it is better to check with the colleges for their requirements.

GRE testing is now done through a computer in most centers across the world. This new format is called the computer adaptive test. As the name suggests, the test is adaptive in structure. GRE testing authorities slot out questions in three according to the difficulty level. If a response given by you is wrong then the next question selected by the computer is easier and vice-versa. Throughout the test the computer keeps adjusting the next question based on the previous response. This makes it easier for you to attempt the maximum number of questions correctly. Each question has a different value, in terms of marks, according to its difficulty level. So the final score depends on the number of questions correctly answered as well as the difficulty level of the questions. This method of GRE testing is easier for the ETS to administer and the calculation of the result is also easier. Moreover this test can be administered on a large number of days, throughout the year. There is lesser preparation required for the authorities and tampering is nearly impossible.

GRE testing suffers from a few drawbacks. Many critics believe that it does not test aspects of a person’s personality like the vocal skills, personality traits, confidence, creative talent etc. Also GRE testing proves to be a poor predictor of the graduation scores of students, though ETS claims otherwise. Nonetheless the importance of GRE testing is ample and can not be questioned.

GRE Verbal - GRE Sentence Completions

GRE Sentence completions in GRE Verbal measure your:

• ability to understand the logic of a sentence


• recognize words or phrases that complete the meaning of a sentence

You are shown a sentence with either one or two words missing. Your job is to pick the answer choice with the word, or words, that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

GRE Verbal - Sentence Completion Strategies :

• Read the incomplete sentence and try to fit your own words in before looking at the answer choices.


• Pay attention to grammatical clues.


• Break down sentences with two blanks into parts and analyse each part individually.


• See that both parts of your answer choice fit the sentence correctly.

GRE Verbal - Sentence Completion sample Question:

The pressure of population on available resources is the key to understanding history, consequently any historical writing that does not take cognizance of_________ facts is_________flawed.

A. ecological..marginally
B. demographic..intrinsically
C. cultural..subtantively
D. psychological..philosophically
E. political..demonstratively

Answer: B

---

GRE Verbal - Antonyms

GRE Antonyms measure your:

• vocabulary


• ability to reason from a given concept to its opposite

You are presented with a single word followed by five answer choices containing words or short phrases. You have to select an answer choice that's most nearly opposite in meaning to the original word. Since the questions often require you to distinguish finer shades of meaning, go through all the possible answer choices before making your selection.

GRE Verbal - Antonyms Strategies :

• Try to define the word precisely


• Look for shades of meaning of the given word


• Make a sentence with it


• Analyse the prefix or suffix to help establish a word's meaning


• Eliminate irrelevant answer choices

GRE Verbal - Antonyms Sample question :

PERSEVERE

A. Take Away
B. Put into
C. Send out
D. Give up
E. Bring forward

Answer: D

---

GRE Verbal - GRE Analogies

Analogies measure your ability to recognize:

• relationships among words and concepts they represent


• parallel relationships

Here you are presented with a related pair of words followed by five answer choices containing lettered pairs of words or phrases. Select the lettered pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.

GRE Verbal - Analogies Strategies :

• Try to establish a strong relationship between the given pair of words


• Consider relationships of kind, size, spatial contiguity, or degree.


• If more than one of the answer choices seems correct, try to state the relationship more precisely.


• Check for second meanings of the given words

GRE Verbal - Analogies Sample question :

EVAPORATE:VAPOUR

A. petrify:stone
B. centrifuge:liquid
C. saturate:fluid
D. corrode:acid
E. incinerate:fire

Answer: A

---

GRE Verbal - GRE Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is the toughest one in GRE Verbal. Many students get a poor GRE Score in GRE Verbal section because of the toughness of the reading comprehension questions. GRE Reading comprehension measures your ability:

• to read with understanding, insight, and discrimination


• to analyze a written passage from several perspectives

Passages are taken from the humanities, social sciences, biological sciences and physical sciences. The passages are of varied lengths, but generally of 75 to 150 lines. The number of questions pertaining to a particular passage could range from 3 to 5.

GRE Verbal - Reading comprehension Strategies :

• Go through the passage once to get the genearal idea of the passage


• Don't try to memorize details but instead pay attention to the topic and the focus of the passage as you read.


• For questions asking you to give the passage a title, look at the first and last lines of the passage for clues.

GRE Verbal - Reading Comprehension Sample question :

Reading comprehension Passage:
In his 1976 study of slavery in the US, Herbert Gutman, like Fogel, Engerman, And Genovese, has rightly stressed the slaves' achievements. But unlike these historians......(rest of the passage) ........In sum, Gutman's study is significant because it offers a closely reasoned and original explanation of some of the slaves' achievements, one that correctly emphasizes the resources that slaves themselves possessed.

Which of the following is the most appropriate title for the passage, based on its content?

A. The influence of Herbert Gutman on Historians of Slavery in the US
B. Gutman's explanation of how slaves could maintain a cultural Heritage and develop a communal consciousness
C. Slavery in the US: New Controversy about an old subject
D. The Black heritage of Folklore, Music, and Religious Expression: It's growing influence
E. The Black family and extended kinship structure: How they were important for the freed slave

Answer: B

GRE - Computer Adaptive Test (CAT)

The computer based GRE is a test in which the computer actually adapts to your performance as you're taking the test.

Details of the CAT

At the start of each section, you are presented with test questions of average difficulty. Based on your responses, you will be presented with questions of increasing difficulty if you've answered correctly. Otherwise, if you answer incorrectly, you will be presented with questions of lesser difficulty. As you go along, your next question will be the one that best reflects both your previous performance and the test design.

Given below is an image of what the computer screen looks like when you take the actual GRE test.

Answering of questions

You have to answer each question in turn, so you cannot skip a question to move to another. When you select an answer, you are allowed to change it as long as you haven't moved on to the next question. Therefore select your answers carefully since you cannot come back later to modify your previously selected answers.

Scoring of answers

Your score on each section depends on the following :

• Number of questions answered in allotted time


• Performance on questions answered


• Level of difficulty of questions answered

You receive a scaled score from 200 to 800 on each of three scored sections.

GRE Essays

Before you start preparing for the essay writing for GRE, you must be aware of what exactly you are supposed to write, what type of essays are asked, and how you are to approach the questions.

There will be two types of essays to be written. The first essay will be related with analysis of an issue, and the second with analysis of an argument. For analysis of an issue you shall be given two topics out of which you have to choose one. Here the question will present a brief opinion on an issue. You have to analyze it and present your opinion in a convincing manner, within 45-minutes. The second essay will be related with analysis of an argument. Here only one topic will be given and you will have no choice. You will have to critically analyze the argument presented, think of ideas to oppose the views of the author by thinking of valid counter observation, within 30 minutes. Here you will be judged on how well you can critically think and oppose the views given. You need not present your own views here. The topics will be related to general issues and no prior knowledge is required.

The purpose of this essay section is to judge you better. The essays give an insight into your way of understanding, thinking, reasoning, analyzing and presenting your opinions, which can not be judged in a better way. You can not attempt this section by learning anything by rote, you have to scratch your brain and get to the depth of the matter in order to write well. Thus there is no better tool for colleges to judge your capabilities. So, you can not ignore this part of GRE and need to prepare well for this section.

When you start preparing gather all the information you can about the essays and choose the best source for preparation, according to your specific capabilities and needs.

Gre Essays - General guidelines for preparation:

When you write an essay the examiner will take notice of the content, the structure, language used and mechanics. All aspects are equally important as the examiner does not judge the essay in separate sections but collectively. Hence it is important that all these aspects are kept on mind.

When you go through the question take some time to concentrate and think clearly about what exactly you want to say, what you want to write and what you don’t want to convey. If you have a clear idea about the ‘what’ then the ‘how’ can be easy. If you have a beautifully phrased essay which does not have much meaning and content, then it is absolutely useless. Instead if your ideas are firm and clear then even a few mistakes can be overlooked. You must give valid, intelligent arguments and should not be vague and irrelevant. GRE essays are meant to test both, your critical thinking and writing skills, but definitely it is the former that has more weightage. You basically need to show that you are intelligent enough to think out issues well. So don’t be in a haste and immediately start writing. Instead take some moments to think of important valid points that need to be mentioned. Also be careful about mentioning all the points that are on your mind. Concentrate on the more important points and pen them down first, the less important points can be used to meet the word limit.

As for the structure of the essay, keep in mind a rough draft as you proceed. It is best to start with an introduction, then write two-three paragraphs of actual content and then to give a brief conclusion. In the introduction you should mention the topic and your idea in brief. This tells the examiner that you have complete understanding of what you are handling, and have a clear distinct opinion to elaborate about. Try to make the introduction attractive by using some quote, or an anecdote or a thought provoking question. This will kindle the interest of the reader and he will pay more attention to your essay. But remember that you must not give undue importance to the introduction. It is just for the purpose of inciting interest and not for conveying your complete ideas. Keep it brief yet attractive.

Next comes the main body of the essay. In the following two-three paragraphs you must convey in totality all that you have to say. Give the most valid points first of all, followed by the lesser important ones. The different points must be in sync and well connected. The flow of the ideas should be such that each consecutive idea is well connected to the previous one. In fact a well structured essay is one in which one point leads to another, like a chain reaction. As for the different paragraphs, each should be about something distinctly different and your transitions should be clear yet connected. Also there should be a reason for starting a new paragraph; your structure should be justified.

The conclusion of the essay is as important as the introduction. Though the conclusion can be very brief, it can not be ignored. The conclusion should be in a separate paragraph and it should concisely sum up your point of view. It is the last part of your essay that the examiner will read, thus it will form a conclusive opinion in the mind of the examinee about your essay. The conclusion should be carefully worded; you should avoid giving very strong opinions. Also it should not convey that your interest in the essay has diminished and that you are eager to jump to the next question. It should tell the reader that you have given deep though to the topic and have invested in making your basic point clear. Also you can make use of phrases and quotes to make your conclusion attractive and intelligent.

The language that you use for your essay should be simple to understand. Since you are conveying your own opinion try to write the essay in the words which come naturally to you. Don’t scratch your brain to write synonyms and phrases just for showing how well versed you are with the language. Difficult words which do not convey a clear meaning do not impress the examiners. Moreover they make the essay too formal. The idea is to write an essay which is simple and conversational, the examiner should not feel that he is reading the essay but instead he should feel that he is listening to you. But at the same time you should not be casual in your language. You should sound formal yet polite. Do not use slang and informal colloquial language, nor should you use abbreviations. Try to stay clear of humour or sarcasm. If they are not understood, they ruin your essay.

The use of proper English grammar is very important. You must use the correct structure and punctuation. Be careful about using the correct voice, tenses, reported speech, subject-verb agreement etc. Do not change the person; keep it consistent throughout the essay, no matter what person it is. Here again it is important to mention that the emphasis has to be on the reader. Even if your sentences are grammatically correct but fail to convey the meaning, it is useless. Keep the structure of sentences simple and if in doubt it is best to use short sentences. Also the sentences should vary in length to keep up the interest of the reader.

Gre Essay - Analysis of an Issue

In this section the examiner will look for logical reasoning, convincing examples, clarity of ideas, and focused outlook. Also he will prefer well justified use of sentence structure, vocabulary, phrases, idioms, similes etc. The examiner can ignore spellings, punctuation and grammar. He will be more interested in the content which will give an insight into your way of thinking and the systematic presentation of your thoughts.

Gre Essay - Analysis of an Argument

Here the examiner will look for your ability to identify the main points presented in the argument and to contradict them convincingly. The criticisms should be clear and distinct. The examiner should be able to make out on his own which point you are trying to negate. Your criticisms should be supported with enough evidence, reasons and examples. Here too the examiner will be more interested in the points you put up rather than the punctuation and grammar.

Lastly, the only key to being successful in writing a good essay is practice. You must write as many essays as possible, keeping in mind the word limit and the time limit. If you ignore these two aspects while preparing then no matter how well you write, you shall not be able to attempt this section successfully. So approach the correct source for preparation and start right away.