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adonis · 10-13-2004, 07:58 AM

The Verbal Section

The verbal section is one of the most unpredictable but enjoyable sections of the GRE. The RC section is still a taboo for many of the fellars but it’s not impossible and with sufficient practice, it can be one of the most enjoyable.

Barron’s seems to be the bible for many of the guys but a more helpful book towards the end of your preparation can be the BIG BOOK. Why? Because, the BIG BOOK is published by the ETS, has standard tests, all the tests are of the same difficulty level, has clear answers without any ambiguities and most of all, is the panacea for all those who dread the RC section.

RC section

The RC section can be called the easiest in its own terms. The only drawback with the RC section is the time it takes to complete one. So, with sufficient practice, u can make a mockery of the RC section. In fact in my exam, I had answered 2 wrong (In all I had only 5 wrong answers) out of the 8 RC questions asked and those too were pertaining to specific details from the passage. Guess I suffered from short term memory loss ;-).

The best way to crack the RC section is to practice. And the best way to do it is from the BIG BOOK. That’s coz, the passages from the BIG BOOK have high standards and they have nice answers. So by the time u complete 10 tests in the BIG BOOK, u will see a marked improvement in your level of handling RCs. Reading good stuff too helps increase your speed. Editorials from top dailies can be read. It serves a three fold purpose. One – u can increase your reading speed. Second – you get to learn the usage of sum standard words in the English language. Third – u get updated on current affairs and an expert’s view of ‘em. This will hardly take 10 minutes of your time.

Please read the passage before you try and answer the questions and come back to it after reading the questions. Fast repetitive reading is better than trying to work out the answers without reading the passage entirely.

The RC sections can make or mar ur Verbal score. That’s because they are time consuming and if it’s a difficult one, u’ll be unable to answer all the questions pertaining to it. So check things like how long the passage is and how many questions from that particular passage are asked. Say, the 23rd question is a 100 line long passage but has only two questions and u’re left with say only 5 minutes of time, I wud suggest u skip them and go on to answer the easier analogies and sentence completion questions that wud come later. By doing that ur score might come down by 20, but if u don’t complete the section there’s a huge penalty.

Use the scratch paper. This is one section where it will be of great help. And with questions regarding specific lines in the passage, make sure u read a couple of lines preceding and succeeding the numbers mentioned. This is because; there might be a shift in the mood of the idea which u mite tend to miss out if u don’t. Words like “although” etc. are very dangerous and hafta be taken care of.

ANTONYMS

Probably the fastest answerable questions in the exam. The answer is either know or dunno, guesses don’t help. Get ur Barron’s, get the master word list, but I suggest u get the meanings from a standard dictionary. Oxford is good, but more relevant to American usage is Webster’s. If u have PCs at home, get urself the dictionaries that are available on CDs like Encarta or Simon and Schuster. Makes learning of words fun and saves a lotta time that u might have to otherwise spend in browsing a paper dictionary to find a particular word. The best part is they give u the usage which u don’t find in concise paper dictionaries.

A very important thing to be noted here is, if at the exam u’re stumped by sum word that u’ve not seen before, don’t try guessing it. The fact is it can’t be guessed. ETS doesn’t give u points for educated guessing or getting a close answer. It’s either right or wrong. After a lot of speculation and even “inky pinky ponky” u might end up getting the wrong answer. So my suggestion is click any of the choices asap and move onto the next question. It is meaningless to spend or rather waste time guessing.

ANALOGIES

In total contrast to the antonym section, this is one where educated guessing helps. You cud work ur way back from the answers, eliminate uncorrelated answer choices, check the precise meaning that part of speech implies et al. So u cud spend sum time trying to guess the answers in the analogies section even if u don’t know the principal pair, but no “inky pinky ponky” please. Try to establish the meaning of the answer choices, their relation and answer the questions asap. Almost everybody scores well in this section. So rest easy.

Note: some common words with weird associations are being asked. So get to know all the possible avatars a particular word can take.

SENTENCE COMPLETION

This needs sum patience and a thorough understanding of the implied meaning. Please don’t be hasty. All those villains in “although”, “though”, “notwithstanding”, “but” etc. might deceive you into marking a wrong choice. So be patient, read the sentences thoroughly and try eliminating choices if still hazy.

More later. Feel free to ask for any help.
ciao

10-13-2004, 07:58 AM	#7 (permalink)
adonis Smells like teenspirit;-) Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: rite in the mi'l of nowhere Posts: 711	Cracking the GRE - Verbal The Verbal Section The verbal section is one of the most unpredictable but enjoyable sections of the GRE. The RC section is still a taboo for many of the fellars but it’s not impossible and with sufficient practice, it can be one of the most enjoyable. Barron’s seems to be the bible for many of the guys but a more helpful book towards the end of your preparation can be the BIG BOOK. Why? Because, the BIG BOOK is published by the ETS, has standard tests, all the tests are of the same difficulty level, has clear answers without any ambiguities and most of all, is the panacea for all those who dread the RC section. RC section The RC section can be called the easiest in its own terms. The only drawback with the RC section is the time it takes to complete one. So, with sufficient practice, u can make a mockery of the RC section. In fact in my exam, I had answered 2 wrong (In all I had only 5 wrong answers) out of the 8 RC questions asked and those too were pertaining to specific details from the passage. Guess I suffered from short term memory loss ;-). The best way to crack the RC section is to practice. And the best way to do it is from the BIG BOOK. That’s coz, the passages from the BIG BOOK have high standards and they have nice answers. So by the time u complete 10 tests in the BIG BOOK, u will see a marked improvement in your level of handling RCs. Reading good stuff too helps increase your speed. Editorials from top dailies can be read. It serves a three fold purpose. One – u can increase your reading speed. Second – you get to learn the usage of sum standard words in the English language. Third – u get updated on current affairs and an expert’s view of ‘em. This will hardly take 10 minutes of your time. Please read the passage before you try and answer the questions and come back to it after reading the questions. Fast repetitive reading is better than trying to work out the answers without reading the passage entirely. The RC sections can make or mar ur Verbal score. That’s because they are time consuming and if it’s a difficult one, u’ll be unable to answer all the questions pertaining to it. So check things like how long the passage is and how many questions from that particular passage are asked. Say, the 23rd question is a 100 line long passage but has only two questions and u’re left with say only 5 minutes of time, I wud suggest u skip them and go on to answer the easier analogies and sentence completion questions that wud come later. By doing that ur score might come down by 20, but if u don’t complete the section there’s a huge penalty. Use the scratch paper. This is one section where it will be of great help. And with questions regarding specific lines in the passage, make sure u read a couple of lines preceding and succeeding the numbers mentioned. This is because; there might be a shift in the mood of the idea which u mite tend to miss out if u don’t. Words like “although” etc. are very dangerous and hafta be taken care of. ANTONYMS Probably the fastest answerable questions in the exam. The answer is either know or dunno, guesses don’t help. Get ur Barron’s, get the master word list, but I suggest u get the meanings from a standard dictionary. Oxford is good, but more relevant to American usage is Webster’s. If u have PCs at home, get urself the dictionaries that are available on CDs like Encarta or Simon and Schuster. Makes learning of words fun and saves a lotta time that u might have to otherwise spend in browsing a paper dictionary to find a particular word. The best part is they give u the usage which u don’t find in concise paper dictionaries. A very important thing to be noted here is, if at the exam u’re stumped by sum word that u’ve not seen before, don’t try guessing it. The fact is it can’t be guessed. ETS doesn’t give u points for educated guessing or getting a close answer. It’s either right or wrong. After a lot of speculation and even “inky pinky ponky” u might end up getting the wrong answer. So my suggestion is click any of the choices asap and move onto the next question. It is meaningless to spend or rather waste time guessing. ANALOGIES In total contrast to the antonym section, this is one where educated guessing helps. You cud work ur way back from the answers, eliminate uncorrelated answer choices, check the precise meaning that part of speech implies et al. So u cud spend sum time trying to guess the answers in the analogies section even if u don’t know the principal pair, but no “inky pinky ponky” please. Try to establish the meaning of the answer choices, their relation and answer the questions asap. Almost everybody scores well in this section. So rest easy. Note: some common words with weird associations are being asked. So get to know all the possible avatars a particular word can take. SENTENCE COMPLETION This needs sum patience and a thorough understanding of the implied meaning. Please don’t be hasty. All those villains in “although”, “though”, “notwithstanding”, “but” etc. might deceive you into marking a wrong choice. So be patient, read the sentences thoroughly and try eliminating choices if still hazy. More later. Feel free to ask for any help. ciao