GRE Lit: "first sweep"?

[Medievalmaniac]

Yup. That pretty much sums it up. I skipped a LOT--I'm not good with putting names with poems (novels and plays, not a problem, but poems for some reason KILL ME). A lot of my time was gobbled up by the reading comprehension--they seemed to be incredibly long and I felt like (though this just could be me) that there were more than usual number of Middle/Old English. I don't have a problem "reading" and "translating" them, it just takes ma long time.

Those of you who had a clock in your classroom, consider yourself lucky.There was no clock in my classroom and I didn't have a watch (too hot to wear one in India--it gave me heat rash that lasted for a month--so I left it at home). I took this test in India and the proctor was a douche. He yelled at the room right off the bat because someone asked him to clarify directions, and I quote, "Do not ask me questions or I will not give you extra time." Then, once the test got started, he left the room so we couldn't even ask for a time check (we got a five minute warning, which according to the girl behind me who did have a watch, should have been a 10 minute warning, so I'm not convinced he didn't gyp us 5 minutes--which would have been all I needed to answer the last set of 6 questions). He came back exactly twice--both times he interrupted our test taking--once to take our answer sheet to check to make sure we'd filled out everything on it, the second time to record information off our test booklets. I almost went balistic on him the second time because he took the test booklet while I was in the middle of reading a question and then HELD ONTO IT while he answered some other test takers' question. I'm sure it was less than 5 minutes, but it felt like forever and I had to start all over again on that particular set of questions (i.e. re-reading the poem, re-reading the questions, etc.).

A little part of me want to lodge a formal complaint with ETS, the other part of me is like "you can't undo the did." So... meh.

There was no Old English on the exam. The oldest text presented to us was Chaucer. Most of the passages were historical or theory-driven and came from the 18th century on.

As far as the man's procedure for test administration - you should ABSOLUTELY file a formal complaint with ETS on several grounds.

1. The room must have a working clock, because that is the "official" time for the test. If the person is going by his or her individual watch, s/he is obligated to allow you the chance to set your watch by his or hers, i.e. "By my watch, it is now x:00. The examination is 2 hours and 50 minutes long. You may begin" or something to that effect. Otherwise, too easy to claim the timing waswrong and invalidate the whole group.

2. He must take care of all of that procedural crap BEFORE the exam begins, or AFTER the exam is over. During the examination period, you have the right to an uninterrupted, 2 hour and 50 minute period. Although we cannot do anything about sneeze-girl or sniff-boy or bathroom-break guru, the administrator of the exam is obligated to provide as optimal an exam experience as possible - this does NOT include multiple interruptions from him or her for procedural activities!

3. "I almost went balistic on him the second time because he took the test booklet while I was in the middle of reading a question and then HELD ONTO IT while he answered some other test takers' question. I'm sure it was less than 5 minutes, but it felt like forever and I had to start all over again on that particular set of questions (i.e. re-reading the poem, re-reading the questions, etc" This MUST BE REPORTED. You were penalized all of that time - and five minutes can equal several questions answered or unanswered. This is absolutely unacceptable.

No, reporting will not change your score, but ETS needs to be informed that this occurred. At best, you will be offered a chance to retake at no charge. At worst, nothing happens. Ideally, you will be able to explain the circumstances as you explained them above and have a formal complaint filed with ETS that supports your claims; I would demand a letter from tem verifying what you stated as reported, so you can send that to programs along with your scores. They might or might not provide you with one - but honestly I would make a big stink about this, because you were treated in a VERY unjust way and it certainly could have affected your score negatively in multiple ways. I would not let that go.

Bottom Line: If admissions and fellowship programs require these scores, and ETS is the only way to get these scores, then ETS needs to be held accountable when circumstances beyond your control and completely int he control of the test administrator arise to cheat you out of your best possible score.

[shepardn7]

Tina, that guy is incredibly unprofessional and should lose his job. You should also be allowed to retake, but since you can't before due dates (April is a long time away), I understand why you'd want to let it go and be done with the test. Still, you might want to say something out of principle, even if you don't want to retake. You paid well over one hundred dollars to take this test; some guy shouldn't be taking it from you, being loose with the time, etc. My proctor was a nice, young, somewhat nerdy guy who was professional and gave us a 20 min warning (though we also had a big clock in the front of the room).

But here is why I think you should complain: if you had taken an extra five or so minutes on the test after time was called, your test would likely be thrown out, right? Because the time is supposed to be the time, and is the most challenging part of the test; even an extra sixty seconds can get you two extra points.

Well, in my room, a woman had her test book open and was presumably working eight minutes after time was called, and the nice-guy proctor got (rightfully) mad and told her he had to report her. I don't know what she was thinking. I mean, he announced it loudly and we were all talking loudly as he was collecting books. By eight minutes post-call, she should have known by all the bustle, but I don't know if it was purposeful because wouldn't she have hid it when he came close enough to see? Totally weird.

If you lost even five minutes on this test due to proctor negligence, your proctor should get in trouble, just as that woman will. It should go both ways.

But I think I hate ETS more than most, and think they don't respect their customers at all, so.

Edited November 15, 2010 by sarandipidy

[violaswamp]

Took the test on November 13th. The format was completely different than the available practice test. Except for 3 questions with theory ids, it was all reading comp and the ids were imbedded in the questions related to particular passages. I don't think the first sweep strategy would help with this new format, because there were very few questions which one could answer without having read the passage.

Hope this helps!

[dantete]

i agree about the editor question. really?

and the ones i tended to skip were the pure ID questions where i just wasn't sure which answer was correct. there was a lot more reading comp than i thought there would be, but at least with those you don't have to rely purely on memory.

one of the troubles with both the GRE and the Eng Lit. Subj test is that the amount of time and effort involved doesn't equal the amount of weight given by admissions committees...okay, that's a good thing because i have no idea what i got on the subj. test and basing admission on tests is ridiculous, especially for lit. programs. but i studied my butt off for it and now have to sort of "rush" to prepare my essays which i know are infinitely more important.

[harpyemma]

I actually did do a first sweep (Nov test). Though a lot of the questions were related to the passages, plenty of them had line references and buzzwords so that i could tell whether or not it was worth attempting first time around. I didn't pause for too long on anything, and if i found myself getting too embedded into a question i'd move on. I ended up doing three sweeps through. Of course, only time will tell whether the strategy worked.

I'm not placing too much emphasis on the test--rightly or wrongly--because i think it's flawed. Moreover, i'm a critical theory/C20 specialist... i would hope addcoms will recognise that the test is not geared towards people like me! We will see.

[truckbasket]

I took the test in October and the "first sweep technique" actually threw me off.

As many have mentioned, the test bore little resemblance to the practice tests or study material suggested by the GRE. Mine was more like 75 to 80% analysis from large blocks of text -- very little trivia-related stuff, and many of the passages I had never seen before. In my first sweep I think I knew maybe 30 questions; and that messed up my confidence. Despite studying for a solid six months, and taking 7 complete practice tests in the weeks leading up to it, I got nailed pretty hard.

It was also the worst environment possible -- extremely noisy and overcrowded with very unprofessional proctoring also.

My scores demonstrated this (29th percentile) but to be frank, I'm not that disappointed simply because the test is so ridiculous and thankfully, more and more graduate programs are ignoring it.

Good luck everyone!

[dantete]

i won't find out what subject test scores are til 12/13 or so when i'm able to call ETS for them.

for the GRE, i'm pleased with my verbal score, but my math score was awful. and i studied so freaking hard. partly because math's not my strong suit in the first place and i haven't had a math class since high school. while studying for the GRE, i ended up learning math better from books and the internet than i was able to in high school. i did sheets and sheets of practice problems too. but when it came down to the GRE, during the math section i went back and forth trying to decide whether or not i'd guess and move on to the next question if i wasn't positive what the answer was or just stick to my guns and work it through. i told myself that i studied so hard and learned so much that i should be able to do this stuff, but just ended up forgetting to watch my time, and i hadn't even finished when time was up. i could have had one problem left to do or 5, i don't know.

and, doing it on a computer was the worst. the reason i had to take so much time to decide whether i was going to guess and move on if i wasn't sure about something or keep working on a problem and try to figure it out is because once you moved on, that was it; no way to go back.

i'm applying to english lit programs and a rhetoric program, so i realize the math isn't really that important. (i hope.) but still, i hate my exceedingly low math score and yesterday, i was actually thinking about retaking the damn thing so i could at least get better scores to harvard in time since their application isn't due til 12/30.

that's not going to happen though.

truckbasket, i like your attitude.

I took the test in October and the "first sweep technique" actually threw me off.

As many have mentioned, the test bore little resemblance to the practice tests or study material suggested by the GRE. Mine was more like 75 to 80% analysis from large blocks of text -- very little trivia-related stuff, and many of the passages I had never seen before. In my first sweep I think I knew maybe 30 questions; and that messed up my confidence. Despite studying for a solid six months, and taking 7 complete practice tests in the weeks leading up to it, I got nailed pretty hard.

It was also the worst environment possible -- extremely noisy and overcrowded with very unprofessional proctoring also.

My scores demonstrated this (29th percentile) but to be frank, I'm not that disappointed simply because the test is so ridiculous and thankfully, more and more graduate programs are ignoring it.

Good luck everyone!

[truckbasket]

truckbasket, i like your attitude.

To be honest, it's just not worth worrying about. Many respected people in academia have told me that the test is looked at with disdain.

The only real disappointment for me was that I studied everyday for six months -- and it was a total waste of my time.

[shepardn7]

To be honest, it's just not worth worrying about. Many respected people in academia have told me that the test is looked at with disdain.

The only real disappointment for me was that I studied everyday for six months -- and it was a total waste of my time.

I studied for about two-and-a-half or three months, but I felt that much of the stuff I had studied 9-12 weeks prior generally didn't stick with me. The previously unfamiliar literary terms, for whatever reason, stayed with me forever. I had never heard of a zeugma, but the second I read an example of one, it was entrenched in my mind. But many of the novel character names, and which Canterbury character told which story beyond the big ones (like Wife of Bath, Nun's Priest), and the real people to whom the characters of "Absalom and Achitophel" corresponded ... all that was, like, pretty much gone by test time and I had to re-review. Granted, it was somewhat easier to remember what I'd already encountered, but I did feel that I would have gotten the same score had I begun studying only a month in advance. Oh man, just thinking about all the worthless trivia I knew. So frustrating.

[anonacademic]

I should know this, but don't. When will those of us who took the November exam receive our scores? I'm morbidly curious.

Edited December 9, 2010 by Chumlee

[thereandbackagain]

info is at http://ets.org/gre/subject/scores/get. we should be able to call on monday and pay $12 to hear them. i will be calling. i want to rip the bandage off quickly.

I should know this, but don't. When will those of us who took the November exam receive our scores? I'm morbidly curious.

[anonacademic]

info is at http://ets.org/gre/subject/scores/get. we should be able to call on monday and pay $12 to hear them. i will be calling. i want to rip the bandage off quickly.

a-ha! Apparently I have a sixth sense for this. I'm not dishing out any more money (simply can't), but the end is in sight. The last time this happened, I looked at my scores and laughed at myself (they were atrocious). Here's hoping they'll be higher this time

Thanks!

[shepardn7]

info is at http://ets.org/gre/subject/scores/get. we should be able to call on monday and pay $12 to hear them. i will be calling. i want to rip the bandage off quickly.

AUGH.

I will be calling, too.

[fall-11]

It's ridiculous that they do this to us: $140 to register for the test, plus however many additional score reports you need for $23 each (!!), and then as a final insult, $12 to hear the score which they're not going to post online for another ten agonizing days. It just makes me mad.

[Queequeg]

I'm sure ETS has it all figured out.

I don't want to call to get my scores for $12, but one of the schools I'm applying to (UCSB) requires your subject test scores, even if unofficial, by the 15th if you want to be considered for "top fellowships". And or course it's worth $12 to be considered, even if I'm a long shot. But that's what sucks. Why doesn't ets just send the scores if they have them and save us the trouble and expense of calling? Because that would be convenient for its customers and kill a whole line of easy revenue.

If you can't tell, I have no warm feelings for the ets...though they'll get my $12 nonetheless.

[anonacademic]

I'm sure ETS has it all figured out.

I don't want to call to get my scores for $12, but one of the schools I'm applying to (UCSB) requires your subject test scores, even if unofficial, by the 15th if you want to be considered for "top fellowships". And or course it's worth $12 to be considered, even if I'm a long shot. But that's what sucks. Why doesn't ets just send the scores if they have them and save us the trouble and expense of calling? Because that would be convenient for its customers and kill a whole line of easy revenue.

If you can't tell, I have no warm feelings for the ets...though they'll get my $12 nonetheless.

I additionally think that the date the scores should be received is part of this scheme: December 24, aka Christmas Eve? Yes, why not release scores on a very popular holiday, one where - ever so incidentally - people, especially the college-aged, often travel and are thus parted from their mailboxes. Besides, who wants potentially bad news on a holiday?

ETS, we are, like, so over.

[Medievalmaniac]

I additionally think that the date the scores should be received is part of this scheme: December 24, aka Christmas Eve? Yes, why not release scores on a very popular holiday, one where - ever so incidentally - people, especially the college-aged, often travel and are thus parted from their mailboxes. Besides, who wants potentially bad news on a holiday?

ETS, we are, like, so over.

Agreed - I can't think why on earth they wouldn't send it out on the 20th or so, at least, the 24th is just silly. And I wish ETS and grad schools would align their deadlines and score reporting dates more clearly - I'd think this would be desirable on their end, as well as on ours.

But, eh ben. What can you do?