Vocabulary relevance for new GRE verbal?

[suedonim]

I know they've changed the use of vocabulary in the new GRE by getting rid of analogies and antonyms. I'm not sure how important vocabulary is in the new GRE afetr that revision.

I just took a practice old official GRE from a couple of years ago to evaluate where I'm at currently on verbal and figure out what to focus on in prepping. I scored at the 97%. I missed only 1 question on the reading sections, the rest of the errors were vocabulary issues. (My official verbal score years ago was 99%, so I am aiming to be up there again).

So, what's the deal on vocab now, how important is it now compared to the prior version, and does anyone have suggested strategies for vocab for the new version vs. the old?

I'd be particularly interested in hearing from people who've taken both versions of the actual GRE. Thanks.

[Harpreet]

The new test still emphasizes vocab but it uses new test item types. I memorized the top 200 words but still encountered new words on the test. In fact, I had 3 minutes left on the clock and the only questions I had marked to review were the ones with vocabulary words I hadn't encountered before. So I just sat there and looked at them! Ended up scoring 155 but I know it could've been better had I known more words.

I'd recommend you know the top 500 words and the root word list. Vocab is the key!

[midnight]

You still need to know vocab, but it's all in context now. The question types are very different than the previous test, so it's most important to familiarize yourself with the new format.

If you were able to score 99% on the last version and reading comprehension is your strength, I don't think you'll have any problem with the current test.

[suedonim]

You still need to know vocab, but it's all in context now. The question types are very different than the previous test, so it's most important to familiarize yourself with the new format.

If you were able to score 99% on the last version and reading comprehension is your strength, I don't think you'll have any problem with the current test.

Thanks for the "in context" explanation of how vocab is now used. That's important and helpful to know. It's the best and most fundamental, despite being so pithy, explanation I've encountered in trying to get an idea of what's going on now with the new verbal section. Great.

[iowaguy]

I actually think a strong vocab might be an even bigger advantage with the current format. I took the "old" GRE 10 years ago when applying for my M.S., and the "revised" GRE this fall. True, vocab is critical with the "old" GRE antonym section. But the "revised" GRE has a question type where you have to pick the combination of 2 words that make the sentence true. The percent chance of guessing correctly is lower on this format (1 in 10 random chance) than the old format (1 in 5).

http://magoosh.com/gre/2011/the-new-gre-and-guessing/

If you know your vocab, you can eliminate several of the answer possibilities, and this "new" question type is actually very easy. OTOH, someone weak in vocab is going to do worse on this new question type if they have to resort to guessing.

There are also several questions where you have to fill in the blank. On the "hard" 2nd verbal section, most of my fill-in-the-blank were 3 parts, each of which had 3 options to choose from. Again, having a strong vocab is a big advantage since the chance of randomly being able to choose answers is very low when all 3 have to be correct in order to get the question right.

[suedonim]

I actually think a strong vocab might be an even bigger advantage with the current format. I took the "old" GRE 10 years ago when applying for my M.S., and the "revised" GRE this fall. True, vocab is critical with the "old" GRE antonym section. But the "revised" GRE has a question type where you have to pick the combination of 2 words that make the sentence true. The percent chance of guessing correctly is lower on this format (1 in 10 random chance) than the old format (1 in 5).

http://magoosh.com/g...e-and-guessing/

If you know your vocab, you can eliminate several of the answer possibilities, and this "new" question type is actually very easy. OTOH, someone weak in vocab is going to do worse on this new question type if they have to resort to guessing.

There are also several questions where you have to fill in the blank. On the "hard" 2nd verbal section, most of my fill-in-the-blank were 3 parts, each of which had 3 options to choose from. Again, having a strong vocab is a big advantage since the chance of randomly being able to choose answers is very low when all 3 have to be correct in order to get the question right.

Thanks for this.

What do you recommend for review then? Reviewing word lists?

I do have a strong vocab, but have been away from academia for so long that I'm somewhat rusty. I've known the meanings of very many of the "hard" words in the past that I think I can refresh my memory in much less time than someone who needs to learn them in the first place.

[midnight]

Yeah, review a few word lists and take as many verbal practice tests as you can tolerate. I'm seeing hit parade words like "minatory" and "diffidence" again and again in practice, but who knows what the actual test will throw your way. I made sure to remember "jackleg" as well since it appeared twice in my Barron's practice.

I have an expansive vocabulary, yet I still run across the occasional unfamiliar word. However, it's not too difficult to narrow down the choices if you're a word-oriented person. Sometimes the format of the sentence you need to fill in is trickier than the word choices.

(And as an aside, I can't imagine tackling the GRE verbal without an already-strong vocab base. I know people do it, but it seems daunting and nearly impossible in some respects.)

Anyway, I truly think you'll be fine.

[valkener]

So what is the golden standard of word lists? I plan on memorizing about 1000 words, any recommendation?

Thank you!

[iowaguy]

What do you recommend for review then? Reviewing word lists?

I personally used flash cards. Manhattan has 1,000 flash cards that I recommend you learn pat (500 Essential + 500 Advanced). I also did the 500 Kaplan GRE (most were also on the Manhattan but didn't hurt to see them again & in a different context), the GradFlash computer flashcard program (1,305 words), and the GRE Vocabulary Builder Flashcard Book (900 words). Again, some of these words overlapped with other flashcards, but that only helped to reinforce my learning. For "fun" I did the Vocabulary Synapse computer CD which quizzes your knowledge of 1,000 vocabulary words in context (more like you would actually see the word on the GRE).

With all the flashcards the most time-consuming part is the initial pass-through. I would go through each flashcard to see if I knew the word really well, without flipping it over (i.e. just looking at the word without any context). The actual GRE is going to also give you some contextual clues, so if you know the word down pat you won't have any trouble with it in its GRE context.

Anyway, if I knew the word (after checking its use on the reverse side) then I put it aside never to be seen again. All the words I didn't know pat I put into a review pile. Then EVERY NIGHT right before I went to bed (that's my personal best time for retention of new knowledge) I would review a chunk of the words I didn't know. Once I knew the word pat, I removed it from the review list. This was very intimidating at first when staring at a huge pile of flashcards that I didn't know. Eventually, after 4 months of doing this, I knew every single word from all of those flash card lists. I was also reading the Economist & NY Times online to practice seeing some of these new words in context.

The cool thing about learning new vocab is that (most of it) sticks with you after the test. Best of luck!

[midnight]

Well, after re-taking the GRE today, I can safely say that vocab gave me little trouble, but some of the reading comps were a bit tricky for me (though GRE RC is always my verbal weakness, especially science-based excerpts).

[chrismagoosh]

Vocabulary is still very important for the GRE. However, compared to the old GRE -- esp. those pesky antonyms! -- the new GRE allows you to rely on context. For those who are avid readers of The Economist and magazines of its ilk, being able to rely on context is a boon. The other piece of good news is that much of the archaic and formal vocabulary that had crept into the old GRE (basically as a result of everyone cramming most of the high-frequency vocabulary) is absent from the new GRE. As long as you can recognize most of the words in a edition of the New York Times you should be fine.

 

The only downside to Revised GRE's emphasis on context would be for those who were good at devouring stacks of flashcards, but who didn't really have a good sense of how those words functioned in context. If you fall into this group--or even if you were planning to use only flashcards for vocab prep--I'd encourage you to use the web to help give you a more fully developed sense of how words function in context. One such tool, wordnik.com, provides plenty of example sentences drawn from the web. Also, you can go to nytimes.com and enter a word into a search box and you will get scores of example sentences. If no sentences come up for that word -- or if that word has only popped up one or twice in the last few years -- then that word is far too esoteric and in all likelihood won't show up on the GRE. 

 

As for as actual GRE vocab resources go, I'd recommend the Manhattan flashcards (as one student mentioned). These flashcards provide excellent example sentences, so you'll learn how a word functions in context. What I wouldn't recommend are the 3,500 or 4,500 word lists, which offer vague definitions, little to no context, and obscure words that wouldn't pop up on the GRE.  

[midnight]

Vocabulary is still very important for the GRE. However, compared to the old GRE -- esp. those pesky antonyms! -- the new GRE allows you to rely on context. For those who are avid readers of The Economist and magazines of its ilk, being able to rely on context is a boon. The other piece of good news is that much of the archaic and formal vocabulary that had crept into the old GRE (basically as a result of everyone cramming most of the high-frequency vocabulary) is absent from the new GRE. As long as you can recognize most of the words in a edition of the New York Times you should be fine.

 

The only downside to Revised GRE's emphasis on context would be for those who were good at devouring stacks of flashcards, but who didn't really have a good sense of how those words functioned in context. If you fall into this group--or even if you were planning to use only flashcards for vocab prep--I'd encourage you to use the web to help give you a more fully developed sense of how words function in context. One such tool, wordnik.com, provides plenty of example sentences drawn from the web. Also, you can go to nytimes.com and enter a word into a search box and you will get scores of example sentences. If no sentences come up for that word -- or if that word has only popped up one or twice in the last few years -- then that word is far too esoteric and in all likelihood won't show up on the GRE. 

 

As for as actual GRE vocab resources go, I'd recommend the Manhattan flashcards (as one student mentioned). These flashcards provide excellent example sentences, so you'll learn how a word functions in context. What I wouldn't recommend are the 3,500 or 4,500 word lists, which offer vague definitions, little to no context, and obscure words that wouldn't pop up on the GRE.  

 

Chris, at the risk of sounding like a Magoosh shill (n.b.: I'm not!), I used and loved your free PDFs. I found them really helpful for both verbal and quant.

 

And you have a lot of great suggestions in your post.

[chrismagoosh]

@Latte Macchiato

 

Thanks for the kudos   . I'm glad the pdf books were helpful in your prep!

[Scarf in the wind]

Hello. Can someone give me a clearer idea of what they mean when instructing people learn a word in context? I read the New York Times, the New Yorker, ALdaily, orion magazine's site, and I feel I'm not learning the meaning of the word. Furthermore, I write down sentences I find on wordnik.com, as Magoosh's product instructed, and I feel I'm not really learning the word any differently then  when I learned via rote memorization with flash cards.