GRE: Vocabulary help

[MSKFAHIM]

Hello,

 

I have about 3 months until I have to take the GRE. I am trying to devote as much time as possible to this. I found this website called Magoosh and it's helping me learn new words. However, I have a question about their vocabulary decks. They have divided the words into 3 categories as such: common words, basic words and advanced words. I tried out the common words and managed to learn about 50 new words last night. My questions is: Should I learn these words the way they are categorized or can I just jump from common 1 to Advanced 1?  Since this is not mathematics and relies mostly on my ability to memorize words and their meanings, would that be an unreasonable thing to do? 

 

 

 

Thanks

 

Fahim

[Poiple]

You can study the words in whatever order you wish. I'm currently learning vocal through several sources (Manhattan flashcards, Magoosh iPad apps, reading, and making my own flashcards). You just need to do whatever is best for you.

[MSKFAHIM]

You can study the words in whatever order you wish. I'm currently learning vocal through several sources (Manhattan flashcards, Magoosh iPad apps, reading, and making my own flashcards). You just need to do whatever is best for you.

 

I am currently using the Magoosh app too. I'll attempt to learn 50 more words by tonight. Thanks

[TakeruK]

I did not use Magoosh but I also used word lists that were categorized the same way. For me, I found that the best way to improve your V score is to learn as many words as possible that might be on the test. Therefore, my plan was to learn all of the "common" words first before going onto more advanced words. If Magoosh categorizes words based on how often they appear on the GRE, then I would also think the best strategy is to learn the words that are most likely to appear on the GRE first. That is, it's better to focus your time studying the words that make up the majority of the questions than the advanced words that make up the last little bit.

[Mechanician2015]

"Common" words are supposed to appear more often than the others. If you think about it, as the GRE is section adaptive, you want to handle as many common words as possible to "ace" the first section and then get a hard second section(where the "advanced" questions would come, ideally).

 

If you have 3 months, I think you can finish the full deck of Magoosh words by test date.

 

That being said, keep in mind that knowing words is not the goal. Your goal is to learn how to answer questions correctly. You will need practice to infer meaning from context just as much as knowing words, so balance your preparation.

[SublimePZ]

That being said, keep in mind that knowing words is not the goal. Your goal is to learn how to answer questions correctly. You will need practice to infer meaning from context just as much as knowing words, so balance your preparation.

Definitely this. Understanding + memorizing vocabulary is certainly important, but don't get bogged down too much with absolute definitions and specific words. Especially for the verbal section, your ability to synthesize information and relationships between sentences is much more important.

[MSKFAHIM]

Thank you guys for being so helpful. I think you guys are right. I should try to finish learning the common words first. It also makes sense that I should devote some reasonable amount of time to make sure I understand relationships between sentences and how to infer the correct meaning and etc. 

[GREMasterEMPOWERRichC]

Hi All,

 

The process for learning vocabulary for the GRE can be tedious, depending on how you approach the task. If your goal is to learn 100s of words and their dictionary definitions, then that task could really 'bog down' your studies.

 

Much like everything else on the GRE, the vocabulary that shows up on Test Day falls into patterns that you can take advantage of when you're learning that vocabulary. Certain words show up more often than others on the GRE, so it's important to learn words based on their frequencies. Beyond learning definitions, it also helps to learn 'context' (with pictures and other visual cues) and the "tone" of words (whether they're 'positive', 'negative' or 'neutral'). 

 

The EMPOWERgre Vocal Modules present all of this in an easy-to-use format; you can actually sample a couple of those Module for free right now at our website (www.empowergre.com).

 

GRE masters aren't born, they're made,

Rich

[Brent@GreenlightGRE]

Memorizing a ton of words is a pain. If you really want those definitions to stick, you need to engage 100% in each word. I suggest that, for each word:

• Identify at least 1 synonym and 1 antonym
• Indicate whether the word is positive, negative, or neutral
• Identify prefixes and roots
• Say each word/definition aloud (this activates a different part of the brain) 
• Write/say a sentence that uses the word
• Use imagery and mnemonic devices

We have a free video on this topic. It's video #9 here

 

​In my opinion, it's better to focus on 20 words and have them memorized for ever, than try to learn 50 words and forget most of them.

 

Cheers,

Brent

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2015 by Brent@GreenlightGRE

[random_grad]

In the 2 months that remain you can learn a lot. For me it was helpful to organize words by meaning and colorcoding good-bad etc. This way visual memory helped connect words even if I did not know the definition. I also used the helpful elimination techniques from Mcgraw-hill (I think that s were it was) for answering questions where you don t know all the words. as mentioned above, you need to 'get' how to crack the test fast.

Edited May 21, 2015 by random_grad

[felinebookworm]

You can try using Word Dynamo (free with an account) and its just a bunch of quizzes for everything from everyday terms to standardized tests. There are many for the GRE and you can use that as quick review and best part is it tracks your progress.. You can find it on dictionary.com under more. other than that I just straight up memorize words with flashcards and write out the definition five times, but it requires a lot of time.

[brown_eyed_girl]

"Common" words are supposed to appear more often than the others. If you think about it, as the GRE is section adaptive, you want to handle as many common words as possible to "ace" the first section and then get a hard second section(where the "advanced" questions would come, ideally).

 

This.

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Definitely use the Magoosh apps. They have two vocabulary apps now. They are pretty good and free!