Just sat the GRE - verbal section advice

[gibbom]

Hi all. I've just got back from sitting the GRE in London and scored a 161Q/167V. Given how much of a challenge I found preparing for the exam and how diverse (and disparate in terms of quality) many of the resources out there are, I figured I'd offer my 2 cents. However, first things first; the GRE quant was quite a bit tougher than I had anticipated. I sat the GMAT a few years back and, while I scored better on the GRE quant section, it didn't feel like there was too much difference between the two. The questions were subtly difficult and, particularly in the case of the QC questions, seemed far greyer than many of the practice questions. Indeed, on pretty much all of practice tests I sat, I scored over 164 and managed a 170 on one occasion on a Powerprep test. My advice - really knuckle down and get the basics right. Work through all the high-quality you can, starting with Magoosh and the ETS Quantitative Guide to Manhattan's 5LB workbook. Don't stop until you really 'get' the material, and make detailed notes on the processes you don't understand. 

 

Now, onto the verbal section. I have to admit, I found the verbal section immensely tough, as there's an incredible nuance to the questions and the reading comprehension really requires you to conceptualise the material you're presented with. I'll deal with this section in more detail below; however, suffice it to say, it requires a hell of a lot of work and a real ability to think clearly (eminently achievable, I might add, but still very difficult). The TC and SE sections seem to pretty wildly misrepresented by most prep companies; I've read stuff by Manhattan, Barron's and Kaplan, and they all seem to put way too much stock into learning obscure vocabulary. Doing so might well have served you well in the 'old' GRE, but the revised version of the exam is all about picking apart the structure of highly convoluted sentence structures - the vocab itself isn't actually that hard at all (about the most obscure word I encountered was 'surfeit'). Saying that, I'd recommend revising all of the wordlists in the Magoosh flashcards under 'basic' and 'common', as well as noting down any words you don't know from the Magoosh and ETS Guide/Powerprep exercises/practice tests. Do not be disheartened by the content of Manhattan's tests; some of the vocab on there is ridiculously obscure and will lull you into a false sense of security if you happen to have an absurdly comprehensive knowledge of rarely-used words. Instead, get reading, and become used to critically engaging with what you're reading. Focus on sentence structure and subtle shifts and contrast words that emerge. Also, remember that all the clues you need to answer a question are provided in the context of the question. This is to say that, the questions are designed to actually have a definitive example, so try to really get to grips with the meaning of neighbouring words and the overall 'sense' of the sentence.

 

The reading comprehension is a whole different beast, and requires serious focus. In my own preparation, I focused on two things: one, my actual strategy for reading the passages, and; two, attacking the question by finding patterns in the solutions to individual question types, as per the Official Guide/Manhattan/Magoosh. It's a tired cliche, but you really have to read actively, and seek to unravel the rhetorical structure of the passage. What's the author's opinion, and how does it relate to experts cited in the text? Is there a strong authorial voice? I'd recommend writing concise notes that, rather than focusing on details, give a general sense of the overarching themes in the text. You might not refer to them much, but they at least force you to think and help unravel the subtleties of what you're reading. In reference to my second point about looking for patterns in the solutions to question types, what I mean to say here is that you need to get into the mind of the test writers and get used to the nasty little tricks that they can play on you. In the case of 'specific' questions (eg. It can be inferred from the passage that.../The function of 'x' (line y) serves to...) you have to be able to find, I would follow a pretty simple pattern that was hammered home by Magoosh: first, reword the question in your own language; second, if applicable, find the 'best fit' answer in the text before you've even read the answer choices; third, see whether your answer corresponds to the available choices; fourth, work through each answer choice, and find a reason why it is or isn't correct. This serves to really make you justify why you've picked a given answer and prevents laziness and poor reasoning. Do not just read the question and then go straight to the answer choices - you will, in all likelihood, fall into one of the traps set by the test writers.

 

That's it, really. It's all about getting those brain cells working, and working on your capacity to think critically. In terms of resources, I highly recommend Magoosh, chiefly because they're video lessons are wonderfully put together and provide you with more than sufficient practice questions. Furthermore, pick up any of the Manhattan Guides, because then you get access to 6 practice tests that, despite being pretty useless for SE and TC, will provide you with ample workout for your RC. Finally, get hold of the Official Guide and the new ETS Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions, a really good resource that faithfully mimics the content of the actual exam. Happy to answer questions, and I hope that what I've written is at least vaguely useful. Cheers

 

[Psych_Mom_15]

Thanks for your tips! Unfortunately, I keep falling into those traps that you speak of, especially RC. Though I've gotten much better, it's still happening.

I have been practicing with Magoosh and Manhattan. Both have been extremely helpful, but I like Magoosh better.

[gibbom]

Thanks for your tips! Unfortunately, I keep falling into those traps that you speak of, especially RC. Though I've gotten much better, it's still happening.

I have been practicing with Magoosh and Manhattan. Both have been extremely helpful, but I like Magoosh better.

 

No problem at all. The best 'cure' is practice, at least it was in my case. I can't recommend getting the Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions book highly enough; it's got three subsections dedicated to RC/TC/SE, as well as three mixed problem sets. All the questions are supplemented with pretty detailed explanations, allowing you to really get to grips with how the test writers think. It's hard work, sure, but genuinely do-able. 

[dicapino]

OP gibbom

could you kindly be more expansive on the quantitative section. Did the ETS quant practice question book mirror actual test questions? thanks

[gibbom]

OP gibbom

could you kindly be more expansive on the quantitative section. Did the ETS quant practice question book mirror actual test questions? thanks

 

By all means. I would say that the ETS quant book very faithfully mirrors the actual test and contains a few nasty little traps that you're likely to encounter on test day. I'd strongly suggest getting hold of it and the 5LB Manhattan Prep book, which contains a hell of a lot of quite difficult questions. 

[dicapino]

By all means. I would say that the ETS quant book very faithfully mirrors the actual test and contains a few nasty little traps that you're likely to encounter on test day. I'd strongly suggest getting hold of it and the 5LB Manhattan Prep book, which contains a hell of a lot of quite difficult questions. 

 

 

Thanks a lot. I have both books.