Very poor verbal reasoning scoring for an English native

[Genetix]

Hey all,

 

I am scoring on practice tests from 143-148. I see that A LOT of people on this board score above 160's. I have read consistently throughout my life, but I still can't do well on the VR. I use the context to figure out of the blank is a negative or positive connotation. Then, I look to see if there are negatives or double negatives. The problem I have is that I have seen these words in context, but don't necessarily know exactly what their definition is. 

 

Is there any way I can improve on this? Any methodologies that has worked well for some of you or your though process when you get sentence equivalence or text completion questions?

[Jay's Brain]

Vocabulary is a tricky issue with a lot of people studying for the GRE so don't be too worried! The words are not meant to be very real world friendly, but, unfortunately, they are required to do well on the VR section.

 

You've probably seen this on other posts, and I won't be surprised if you are already using it too, but take a look at the Magoosh prep apps for your phone/tablets. They are very comprehensive and can help with all sorts of challenges you may face on your GRE. 

 

My other advice would be to do what I did, which is to cover the answers when reading the sentences. Fill the blanks with words you think make sense, regardless of how simple they are, and check to see if there are any words on the answer list that are similar. If yes, then those are the ones to go. Continue using the connotation method. That works wonders!

Good luck!

[Genetix]

Heres the problem. When I use apps like Magoosh, it gives me 4 answers to choose from. This makes it very simple because your brain naturally looks for patterns and when you get the question wrong, it tells you the right answer. So when you come back to that vocab word, your brain remembers that most familiar word. 

 

In SE and TC questions, you have no word bank to choose from, which makes it exponentially more difficult to reextract those definitions accurately.

[gellert]

I really recommend the Barron's vocab lists.  What seems to be giving you the most trouble on a question by question basis, though: reading comprehension, fill in the blank/rote vocab memorization, or what?  

 

If reading comp, I recommend getting a subscription to the WSJ or the Economist or the Atlantic and trying to read articles and come up with questions you can ask yourself about the argumentative points, etc. (read: GRE questions).  Otherwise, just memorize all the 'most common words' lists you can find and learn the basics of Greek and Latin roots.  

 

Vocab is nearly impossible to study for, though; far more than quant, it seem as if you either know it or you don't....

 

Good luck!

[Genetix]

I really recommend the Barron's vocab lists.  What seems to be giving you the most trouble on a question by question basis, though: reading comprehension, fill in the blank/rote vocab memorization, or what?  

 

If reading comp, I recommend getting a subscription to the WSJ or the Economist or the Atlantic and trying to read articles and come up with questions you can ask yourself about the argumentative points, etc. (read: GRE questions).  Otherwise, just memorize all the 'most common words' lists you can find and learn the basics of Greek and Latin roots.  

 

Vocab is nearly impossible to study for, though; far more than quant, it seem as if you either know it or you don't....

.

 

Good luck!

 

Basically, fill in the blank and vocab memorization. I know how to properly use words in context verbally, but knowing the EXACT definition to accurately answer a SE and TC questions is a pain. When more than one definition is assigned to a word, it is confusing because if you don't know the other definitions, you automatically eliminate that even if it is right. Reading comprehension is a breeze.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Genetix

[TakeruK]

I think the right advice for you would really depend on a lot of things, like your study preferences, how much time you have etc.

 

Personally, I do think it's possible to study for the GRE Verbal. In my experience, I had a much easier time studying for the GRE Verbal than I did for the Physics GRE, for example. 

 

My strategy for the GRE Verbal was 50% brute force memorization and 50% "understanding the test". As others said, the vocabulary on the GRE Verbal isn't "real world friendly" and some of the words I would probably never use! So, I wanted to just cram it in my head for the one test and immediately forget afterwards. I found a list of the most common GRE vocabulary words and then went as far down the list as I could. A few hours of memorization per week for ~8 weeks helped me get to about 500 words memorized. I found that 500 of the most common words was enough. I am not technically a native english speaker (it's my second language) but it's the only language I can fluently read, write and speak. 

 

Some tips that help me memorize words:

- I used flashcards and went over them when I have time (on the bus, during the "simmer" phase of recipes etc.)

- I kept the flashcards very simple (just a slip of paper) 

- One exception was that I did print them in different colours. I'm kind of a visual memorizer in the sense that sometimes on a test, I will remember where on the page the information was, but maybe not the exact info. However, this might be enough of a clue to trigger my memory. So, having words in various colours allowed me to associate a colour with each word and that was sometimes enough to help trigger the definition (which was also written in that colour). If you do this, only pick 2 or 3 colours though, and just assign them randomly.

- Similarly, find as many connections with the words to other things as you can. For example, I remembered "obviate" because of the spell that Hermione uses on her parents in Harry Potter.

- For words with multiple meanings, you will find that many of them are similar in meaning. Make special note of the ones with meanings that either surprised you or have multiple, opposite meanings. 

 

I spent about half of my GRE preparation time memorizing words. The other half of the time, I spent doing practice questions (many questions using the words I was trying to memorize). I think it's just as important to see the actual thing you're preparing for. I second the recommendation to prepare specifically the sections you are doing poorly in. For me, sentence equivalence was the most tricky part. I think if you do enough practice questions, you will get into the mindset of a GRE test creator and know what they are looking for. It might even be a good idea for you to create your own GRE test questions out of the words you're trying to memorize. 

 

Some strategies of the test that I learned:

- In the multiple choice questions, there is definitely a pattern to the choices they give you, which helps you eliminate one or two choices

- For example, there are "common misconceptions". Sometimes a word looks like it should mean something (due to a prefix) but it actually means something else. For example, "rescind" might appear like a "re-" word, such as "rearrange" and it might looks like it fits in a place where you want the word to mean to redo something. ETS will often include tricky words like this in cases where the incorrect meaning would make sense. So, if you watch out for these words and if you know that ETS does this, it could help you eliminate answers

- For sentence equivalence, you have to pick a pair of answers out of 6 choices. It doesn't matter how "good" a certain answer sounds, if you can't find another word that makes the sentence means the same thing, then it's wrong. Sometimes ETS will trick you by offering one word that really fits the sentence very well and then cause you to guess that another word (which you didn't know the meaning of) might make the sentence mean the same thing. Being "stuck" on this wrong choice will lead you to make another wrong choice!

- Finally, knowing the exact definition is important because for the other types of questions, if you know the exact definition of all the words except one, and you know that the words you know are not the correct answer, you can confidently guess the remaining choice.

 

Overall, what worked for me in GRE V preparation was to figure out the test and memorize words. I probably only remember about 10% of the words I memorized for the GRE V but that's okay--I didn't study those words to actually learn them, I only study them for the test. Personally, I don't think reading WSJ etc. would be helpful to me because I memorize best when there are no distractions (i.e. just the word and the definition, no underlying story or opinion to also dissect). Reading WSJ etc. is a great way to actually learn vocabulary but to do well in the GRE V, you don't have to learn vocabulary, you just need to memorize things and learn the test strategy.

 

Since you say that your score is in the 140s range and that you've only seen the words in context, not the exact definition, I would recommend learning the exact definitions in whatever way you think best suits you (for me, this is just plain and boring but effective brute force memorization). The GRE Verbal Reasoning is a test that really preys upon people who think they know word meanings because they've seen it in context and can guess at what it means (like me). But it's full of tricks and the best way to beat the test, in my opinion, is to use whatever strategy that will allow you to learn the exact definition(s) of as many words as you can.

[Genetix]

I think the right advice for you would really depend on a lot of things, like your study preferences, how much time you have etc.

 

Personally, I do think it's possible to study for the GRE Verbal. In my experience, I had a much easier time studying for the GRE Verbal than I did for the Physics GRE, for example. 

 

My strategy for the GRE Verbal was 50% brute force memorization and 50% "understanding the test". As others said, the vocabulary on the GRE Verbal isn't "real world friendly" and some of the words I would probably never use! So, I wanted to just cram it in my head for the one test and immediately forget afterwards. I found a list of the most common GRE vocabulary words and then went as far down the list as I could. A few hours of memorization per week for ~8 weeks helped me get to about 500 words memorized. I found that 500 of the most common words was enough. I am not technically a native english speaker (it's my second language) but it's the only language I can fluently read, write and speak. 

 

Some tips that help me memorize words:

- I used flashcards and went over them when I have time (on the bus, during the "simmer" phase of recipes etc.)

- I kept the flashcards very simple (just a slip of paper) 

- One exception was that I did print them in different colours. I'm kind of a visual memorizer in the sense that sometimes on a test, I will remember where on the page the information was, but maybe not the exact info. However, this might be enough of a clue to trigger my memory. So, having words in various colours allowed me to associate a colour with each word and that was sometimes enough to help trigger the definition (which was also written in that colour). If you do this, only pick 2 or 3 colours though, and just assign them randomly.

- Similarly, find as many connections with the words to other things as you can. For example, I remembered "obviate" because of the spell that Hermione uses on her parents in Harry Potter.

- For words with multiple meanings, you will find that many of them are similar in meaning. Make special note of the ones with meanings that either surprised you or have multiple, opposite meanings. 

 

I spent about half of my GRE preparation time memorizing words. The other half of the time, I spent doing practice questions (many questions using the words I was trying to memorize). I think it's just as important to see the actual thing you're preparing for. I second the recommendation to prepare specifically the sections you are doing poorly in. For me, sentence equivalence was the most tricky part. I think if you do enough practice questions, you will get into the mindset of a GRE test creator and know what they are looking for. It might even be a good idea for you to create your own GRE test questions out of the words you're trying to memorize. 

 

Some strategies of the test that I learned:

- In the multiple choice questions, there is definitely a pattern to the choices they give you, which helps you eliminate one or two choices

- For example, there are "common misconceptions". Sometimes a word looks like it should mean something (due to a prefix) but it actually means something else. For example, "rescind" might appear like a "re-" word, such as "rearrange" and it might looks like it fits in a place where you want the word to mean to redo something. ETS will often include tricky words like this in cases where the incorrect meaning would make sense. So, if you watch out for these words and if you know that ETS does this, it could help you eliminate answers

- For sentence equivalence, you have to pick a pair of answers out of 6 choices. It doesn't matter how "good" a certain answer sounds, if you can't find another word that makes the sentence means the same thing, then it's wrong. Sometimes ETS will trick you by offering one word that really fits the sentence very well and then cause you to guess that another word (which you didn't know the meaning of) might make the sentence mean the same thing. Being "stuck" on this wrong choice will lead you to make another wrong choice!

- Finally, knowing the exact definition is important because for the other types of questions, if you know the exact definition of all the words except one, and you know that the words you know are not the correct answer, you can confidently guess the remaining choice.

 

Overall, what worked for me in GRE V preparation was to figure out the test and memorize words. I probably only remember about 10% of the words I memorized for the GRE V but that's okay--I didn't study those words to actually learn them, I only study them for the test. Personally, I don't think reading WSJ etc. would be helpful to me because I memorize best when there are no distractions (i.e. just the word and the definition, no underlying story or opinion to also dissect). Reading WSJ etc. is a great way to actually learn vocabulary but to do well in the GRE V, you don't have to learn vocabulary, you just need to memorize things and learn the test strategy.

 

Since you say that your score is in the 140s range and that you've only seen the words in context, not the exact definition, I would recommend learning the exact definitions in whatever way you think best suits you (for me, this is just plain and boring but effective brute force memorization). The GRE Verbal Reasoning is a test that really preys upon people who think they know word meanings because they've seen it in context and can guess at what it means (like me). But it's full of tricks and the best way to beat the test, in my opinion, is to use whatever strategy that will allow you to learn the exact definition(s) of as many words as you can.

I think that my studying habits are incorrect. I can get through Magoosh flashcards super easily because it is multiple choice, but to pull a definition from nothing makes it very hard. I often forgot about 90% of the definitions even though I can breeze through some types of flashcards. 

 

I think maybe 50 words a day to learn is sufficient. Also, I should be able to cite the definitions from the words and the words from the definitions. Then go back through the next day and run through those words quickly. Ones that I remember with the first guess can be omitted. Ones I still am having trouble with can go back into the deck to make a total of 50. e.g. If I am having a hard time with 11 words the next day. I will add 39 new words.

 

50 might be too much.

[TakeruK]

When making flashcards, I do not remove the ones where I can remember with the first guess. I find that when I do this, I will eventually forget about it. Instead, I continually review and practice all of the cards.

 

50 words a day is way too much (for me). I learned about 100 words per week. I also made my flashcards in stacks of 100 (all evenly distributed through the alphabet). Each week, I reviewed the same flashcards over and over again until I knew all 100 words. Then, the next week, I had the next 100 words. During the second week, I mostly reviewed the new stack but I also made sure to go back to the old stack occasionally to ensure I still remember them. This means that near the end, it would take me longer to learn 100 new words because I would still be reviewing the old ones, which is why I say "about" 100 words per week but it took me about 8 weeks to get to 500 words total. So maybe a more accurate count is an average of 65 words per week.

 

In my opinion, when studying for the GRE V, it is far better to know the exact definitions of a small number of words (even just 200 or 300) than it is to know the general "context" of 1000+ words. As I said above, a lot of the questions involve knowing the precise definition and you will make a lot of mistakes if you are answering based on general context knowledge only. Of course, you need to choose which 200-300 words wisely--I think the "most common GRE words" list is a good way to go--they are "most common" for a good reason!

[ginagirl]

So maybe a more accurate count is an average of 65 words per week.

I agree with this- I also used a brute force method and just memorized definitions/synonyms and stuck to learning 10 new words a day. That meant even if I got them memorized quickly, I would stop there and just keep practicing those. The next day I would add in 10 more, but also review all the old ones. I would go thru the stack multiple times (and shuffle them up- this was important for me so I didn't start to just remember what came next in the stack) until I could give a strong synonym or a quick definition without much thought. Along the same lines of what TakeruK said, don't underestimate the power of mnemonic devices or silly ways to remember things. Do whatever you can, and I think you'll find that it pays off.