Stumped on GRE Verbal section

[try2seeme]

Well I know there have been a few threads on this topic, but I would like some fresh opinions. I have been studying for the GRE and while my quantitative section has been continuously improving, I cannot seem to bring my verbal up. My quant is at around 710-750 right now, but my verbal is only at 560-590. I would like to get it up to at least 660. I have studied all of the Kaplan strategies and have memorized the 200 most common words, but I am still not getting my score up. Looking over my old tests, I seem to be missing an even number of questions in each section. My reading comprehension is the best of the 4 sections for me. Does anyone have any tips on how to bring up a verbal score? I have started memorizing word groups, but it is very time consuming and difficult. Any other tips would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[cunninlynguist]

If you're satisfied with your quant estimates, what's wrong with your verbal? For instance, a 750 Q is approximately the 82nd percentile, while a 590 V is actually the 84th percentile.

However, if you're absolutely determined to reach a higher mark on the verbal section - I'd definitely recommend studying roots and word components at this stage, while still tackling a bit of word memorization. Just try to prepare yourself for any word that may appear (and in my experience, the words you studied so intensely won't show up on the test). The easiest way to do that is to be comfortable with the roots and prefixes and so forth.

Just out of curiosity, what programs are you applying to? Is there a particular reason that you've set a threshold for what you'd like to get on the verbal section?

[MoJingly]

If you're satisfied with your quant estimates, what's wrong with your verbal? For instance, a 750 Q is approximately the 82nd percentile, while a 590 V is actually the 84th percentile.

This is true. It's really the percentile that matters, not the raw score...

[starmaker]

I took the GRE last night. I was worried about the verbal. I got a 710 and was very pleased.

Other than taking practice tests, the way that I studied for the verbal was with a free Kaplan GRE vocab flashcards app on my phone (a Droid). It had 501 words, rather than 200. Probably half a dozen of those words, none of which I knew before using this app, showed up on my actual test. I was happy to see them.

My approach to using the flashcard app was very simple. I went through all 501 words, and starred all the ones that I didn't know or was shaky on (starring a word, with this app, means that it gets put onto a separate list). That was about 120 words. Then I drilled my starred word list until I could get all of them - this was easy to do because when you finish a list, the app gives you the option to redo everything that you missed plus a few randomly-chosen others. Once I could get all the starred words right, I went back and did all 501 again. I only missed 5 words on that go-round, and I redid those until I got them. I was thrilled with the result - I thought I was bombing the verbal while I was actually taking it, so when that sweet little 710 showed up on my screen I did a bunch of silent fist-pumping and bouncing up and down in my chair.

A Princeton Review book only costs $20 or so, and if I remember correctly (I didn't use one this time, but I did the first time I took the GRE, five years ago) they explain good strategies for reasoning out the answer even if you don't know the words. This might also be useful for you.

Edited June 28, 2011 by starmaker

[try2seeme]

Thanks for the replies guys. I am applying to sociology programs. My goal in trying to raise my verbal score is simply to raise it. I'm not concerned about the quantitative because I have been consistently able to raise it through practice and review. Verbal has been a different story. If I have the ability to raise my verbal score, I would like to. I've decided to focus on vocab and word roots while just continuing to practice through verbal quizzes and tests.

[Benny]

I concur with starmaker regarding studying the vocab. I spent the weeks leading up to my GRE with a box of 500 flashcards and a handful of other words. Sort them into know, kinda-know, and don't-know groups, then barrelhouse the kinda-know and don't-know words until you have them down. If you continuously have trouble with some of the words in this new group, set them aside and spend more time on them (I spent about a week working on 10 words that were especially troublesome). Then, just before the test, throw 'em all together and test your memory.

You might not memorize all of the words you study, but the GRE uses enough words frequently enough that you're likely to come across two or three that you learned from studying the vocab - and that's a good feeling.

Hope this helps! Good luck raising your verbal!

[try2seeme]

I concur with starmaker regarding studying the vocab. I spent the weeks leading up to my GRE with a box of 500 flashcards and a handful of other words. Sort them into know, kinda-know, and don't-know groups, then barrelhouse the kinda-know and don't-know words until you have them down. If you continuously have trouble with some of the words in this new group, set them aside and spend more time on them (I spent about a week working on 10 words that were especially troublesome). Then, just before the test, throw 'em all together and test your memory.

You might not memorize all of the words you study, but the GRE uses enough words frequently enough that you're likely to come across two or three that you learned from studying the vocab - and that's a good feeling.

Hope this helps! Good luck raising your verbal!

Thanks for the advice Benny!

[csierrah]

I've been having the same issues you've been having. That being said, I've seen a significant improvement on my verbal scores on practice tests by paying particular attention to the first 10 questions. At first I thought that these first questions were not as important as the study guides say they are, but after taking a couple of CAT exams I realize they are. In conclusion, there two important aspects for the verbal section: (1) do what you've done to prepare yourself (i.e. learn vocab and learn strategies) and (2) pace yourself.

Try it and you'll see a difference in your score.

[Belisarius]

I used to not be as good on the verbal section either. I took the test last month and got a 720 V 800 Q 5.5 AWA. I used to seriously suck at the verbal part, missing like half of the RC questions and the more difficult vocab ones. The only thing you can realistically do is study vocab, use it in a daily setting, and try to remember the words you've missed before. Remember word roots, suffixes, prefixes, all that stuff, and try to think about the test through a test-maker's perspective. Furthermore, POE seems to work the best when intuition doesn't immediately give you the answer.

[YaHa]

For Verbal, Sentence Completion and RC should be easier to prepare for than the analogies&antonyms. The latter two, which are heavy on vocabulary, are the questions which require memorization whereas SC/RC do not. Personally I took a few practice tests before starting my GRE prep and found I was getting between 600-700 on Verbal already; since I will be applying to computer science PhD programs I didn't bother wasting time memorizing tons of vocab and instead used the time to make sure I could get 800 on Quant. I would say if you get close to all of the RC/SC and most of the analogies/antonyms in the first 10 questions right, you should be in a good position.

Edited July 8, 2011 by YaHa