GRE Question

[Anthonie]

I have no idea if this type of question is appropriate for this part of the forum, but I am looking for help with the GRE. 

My two questions are: Does the test taker automatically have a 130 without answering any questions wrong and then points are added to the 130 as they are answered correctly? Is there a site that someone can look over my practice AWA responses, or do users here compare their practice responses? I hope the first question makes sense. I had called the test center to inquire about the way the test is graded and they said they were "not allowed to answer". I am also wondering if the GRE is similar to the SAT where not answering a question takes less points off than answering incorrectly. 

 

Any help is appreciated. 

[eternallyephemeral]

1. It's sort of like that (a 130 is the lowest score) but its not always so clear-cut. What I mean is, the number of questions you got incorrect is not just subtracted from 170 and then they call it a day. The level of difficulty of the questions matters because the test is adaptive to your performance on the first section. The second section can get easier or more difficult based on how well you do in the first part.

 

2. There are lots and lots of books that you can take out of the library with example AWA responses, and they break things down to help you. I did this when I studied for the GRE and I got a 5.5 on my first try. Also reading books like the APA Handbook, the Elements of Style, and the Sense of Style (this last one written by Harvard professor Steven Pinker) can help you with your writing.

 

Good luck! The GRE was quite stressful in my opinion but I'm glad I put lots of effort in the first time and then never had to do it again.

[grad29]

Buy the Princeton GRE study books. When you take the online test, you can submit the essays and then you get an actual grade a few days later and they have like 4 practice tests

Also I remember how intimated I was when I first began studying. Just keep plugging away each day and you'll be surprised how much progress you can make. It sort of becomes a game after a while, like how high you can score. I got a 155q/157v/5aw being out of school for 5 years and not taking any math classes in a decade. Did it all independently.  For my program that was good enough but I think I couldve scored in the 320s had I kept going. 

Edited February 10, 2016 by westy3789