Study group online for GRE?

[Etien]

Hey Etien, even tho i'm not an instructor or any kind of expert on GRE vocab, but I have to say you're going about it the wrong way. I started my prep this way but it didn't produce any worthwhile results. Plus it was so mind-numbingly boring that I lost motivation after a couple of weeks.

 

Here's a strategy that u might want to try: Get hold of any good vocab book or ebook and start learning new words, in context, instead of going through them alphabetically. That'll be much more fun (or at least it won't bore u to death). The revised GRE tests you more with the contextual knowledge of words rather than the quantity of words in your arsenal. A huge difference from the old GRE.

 

Just my 2 cents.

Hi, I really appreciate your advice. Actually it sounds merely obvious! The only problem is that I don't realise where to get this "context". Is there some specific book with GRE texts or whatever?  On the other hand you maybe want to suggest to me to take words from any book I read?? I currently read Sherlock Holmes stories and yes I recognize some of the GRE words there, but is it efficient to work like that?Doesn't looks like at all(((

[sarab]

OK, thanx. Do I need to register there?

No, you don't. You can log in using facebook, I think, or you can also log in as a guest.

[NavyMom]

tlcowgirl, it depends on how many wrong answers you have on practice tests!?

 

LOL!  Hopefully very little!

[NavyMom]

Hi, I really appreciate your advice. Actually it sounds merely obvious! The only problem is that I don't realise where to get this "context". Is there some specific book with GRE texts or whatever?  On the other hand you maybe want to suggest to me to take words from any book I read?? I currently read Sherlock Holmes stories and yes I recognize some of the GRE words there, but is it efficient to work like that?Doesn't looks like at all(((

 

 

I second this.  The words I am doing are just ten random words I pick up from my phone app.  I have it so it shuffles the words.  Then I look them up, write them down and read them a few times.  It's been helping a little.

The only issue I am having is retaining the knowledge.

[sarab]

Hi, I really appreciate your advice. Actually it sounds merely obvious! The only problem is that I don't realise where to get this "context". Is there some specific book with GRE texts or whatever?  On the other hand you maybe want to suggest to me to take words from any book I read?? I currently read Sherlock Holmes stories and yes I recognize some of the GRE words there, but is it efficient to work like that?Doesn't looks like at all(((

 

Well, if you're making flashcards you can look up example sentences using that word. You can also get a pdf file from the gre website about GRE words in context.

Also, if you have an android, there's an app called painless GRE that gives you sentence examples.

[AdilB990]

I have another suggestion. Start grouping similar words together and I don't just mean words with similar meanings. For example, words like errant, arrant, err. Or indignant, indigent etc. I hope u catch the drift. Read sample sentences, that'll give you a clear picture of how the word is being used. This tactic is much better than just cramming words!

 

Here's a book that helped me a lot, it hasn't got too many words but its free and definitely worth your time:

http://magoosh.com/gre/2012/gre-vocabulary-ebook/

Edited July 19, 2013 by AdilBari990

[AdilB990]

Well, if you're making flashcards you can look up example sentences using that word. You can also get a pdf file from the gre website about GRE words in context.

Also, if you have an android, there's an app called painless GRE that gives you sentence examples.

 

Wish I'd known about the GRE pdf file before I appeared for it. Oh well. Any how, that's good advice.

[AdilB990]

Hi, I really appreciate your advice. Actually it sounds merely obvious! The only problem is that I don't realise where to get this "context". Is there some specific book with GRE texts or whatever?  On the other hand you maybe want to suggest to me to take words from any book I read?? I currently read Sherlock Holmes stories and yes I recognize some of the GRE words there, but is it efficient to work like that?Doesn't looks like at all(((

 

Reading Sherlock Holmes will help unless you're reading the one written in old English. But reading books with typical GRE words will not only enhance your vocab but its also a great way to prepare for Reading Comprehension questions. Make a habit of reading newspaper articles, scientific journals, magazines such as Reader's Digest, The New Yorker etc. This routine will make the job of sifting through the GRE test passages much easier. Otherwise the deluge of info can be overwhelming.

[NavyMom]

Peer reviewed journals found on JSTOR and also Wallstreet Journal are supposed to be really good sources of reading material.  I also subscribed to a few sites that email you a "word of the day" to help expand my vocabulary.

[Monochrome Spring]

Hi guys! I would really like to join you! I'm gonna have my general test in the end of September as well! I'm just trying to figure out the exact time of the following meeting!

Double Shot, I'm studying for GRE biochem, molbio , I've already registered for Oct, 19. Are you gonna take the same test or GRE Biology??

I'm taking GRE Biology. Not the GRE Biochem.

 

Also, I find my alphabetical flashcards work just fine. And mine are premade with context, synonyms, etc. from Manhattan, so I just use them when there's a commercial on TV or I'm waiting in line.

[Shimeng]

Verbal Advantage is really a helpful book for GRE. A friend of mine, who got V 170, strongly recommends this book. 

 

Hopefully I could join u, but I'm in China, and I have to spend this weekend with my old friends~

 

Any suggestion on AW part? Last time I got 3 ~   

 

Thanks in advance.

[MikKar]

Train yourself to write essays in a limited amount of time, that's the best training you can do for AW.

[sarab]

Verbal Advantage is really a helpful book for GRE. A friend of mine, who got V 170, strongly recommends this book. 

 

Hopefully I could join u, but I'm in China, and I have to spend this weekend with my old friends~

 

Any suggestion on AW part? Last time I got 3 ~   

 

Thanks in advance.

 

For the Issue Task:

Pick a side: do you agree or disagree? Demonstrate your side on the first paragraph.

Consider the other side of your argument.

Use examples and cite alternatives.

Make claims and provide evidence.

 

For the Argument Task:

Determine the validity or inadequacy of the reasoning, and analyze it for flaws and how to make it better or stronger with improvements or changes.

Decide how convincing the provided argument is by evaluating the evidence provided.

Each prompt will have 3 or 4 flaws.

 

For both:

 

Consider the hierarchy of evidence and use supporting evidence from most valid to least valid:

1. Documented facts and statistics
2. Expert testimony
3. Personal experience and anecdotes
4. Hypothetical illustrations
5. Analogies of any kind

And last, practice! Look at other prompts and write them out as if it were the real thing.

Good luck!

Edited July 20, 2013 by sarab

[andyzpost]

Hey guys. Am planning to write during sept/october as well. And just started preparing. Would like to join the study group as well. 

[Jarrod]

Sarab: Is that advice from a book, or is it your own? I can't help but twitch a little at the suggestion that analogical reasoning and hypothetical illustrations are less useful tools for reasoning than anecdotes! (see eg: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reasoning-analogy/ for a good discussion of the former).

 

edit: of course, it is certainly possible that this advice is good for getting a high score anyway (like the advice to use unnecessarily large words and to focus on length), which is why I am interested if it came from a prep-book.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Jarrod

[sarab]

Sarab: Is that advice from a book, or is it your own? I can't help but twitch a little at the suggestion that analogical reasoning and hypothetical illustrations are less useful tools for reasoning than anecdotes! (see eg: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reasoning-analogy/ for a good discussion of the former).

 

edit: of course, it is certainly possible that this advice is good for getting a high score anyway (like the advice to use unnecessarily large words and to focus on length), which is why I am interested if it came from a prep-book.

 

Those are notes from a GRE workshop I'm taking.

 

I wouldn't write an essay the way I'm required to for the GRE in real life, but you know, it's about what they want.

[Monochrome Spring]

Let's confirm a tinychat room for today?

[sarab]

Let's confirm a tinychat room for today?

 

I suggested we used mine tinychat.com/mypetitmal if that's OK

[Monochrome Spring]

Fine with me. See you then!

[NavyMom]

I'm up! I'm up!!!!

 

Where's my coffee.... 

[andyzpost]

Guess I missed you guys. How did the study group go?

[Etien]

Hi guys! Sorry I couldn't join you , my internet provider fcked me yesterday. Could you pease share with that gre words in context pdf? I can't find it anywhere(

[Etien]

By the way , thank you for Verbal Advantage...at first glance itlooks really fine tool!

[NavyMom]

Guess I missed you guys. How did the study group go?

 

 

Hi guys! Sorry I couldn't join you , my internet provider fcked me yesterday. Could you pease share with that gre words in context pdf? I can't find it anywhere(

 

 

Hey guys,

 

Yeah we did meet yesterday.  It was pretty cool.  Got to know each other, discussed what we all need to work on, exchanged information, and came up with a game pan.  We plan to meet again next Sunday, same time.  (see above information regarding chat room name).

[Monochrome Spring]

Can you repost the tinychat room? I can't remember where the link was.