Paper based test, advice?

[blackeyes]

Hi guys,
I'm new here and would like to say hello to everyone. This is a very interesting and useful corner of the net.
I'm taking the paper based general test this october and wonder if you guys have any advice. I know paper based test is kind of old, but what else can it be since i'm in Vietnam. I'm studying like a mad dog and want to relax some in this forum. Please wish me luck

[shanghaitest]

Hi!

You might want to take a look at some of the pacing strategies for the SAT, since it is still delivered in paper based form.

The main thing to remember when taking the paper based test is that all the questions are worth the same number of points, no matter how hard they are. So there are three broad categories of questions: questions you will probably get right no matter what, questions you will only get right if you spend some time on, and questions you will probably get wrong even if you work on them. Make sure you are spending the bulk of your time on the middle category!! Lots of people tend to rush through because they want to finish all the questions, but that is impossible for almost everyone.

Of course, you should still bubble in everything, since you will not be penalized for getting anything wrong.

Also, you have a good advantage in that you can decide what questions you want to do first. This is especially useful in the Reading comprehension section. Go for the easy questions first, then go back and do the harder ones. If you have a plan for how many raw points you need, you can allow yourself to randomly guess on some of the questions, that way you won't have to waste your time.

I don't know if that's helpful, but that's all the P&P specific tips I can think of. Good luck!

[blackeyes]

Thanks Shanghai for your advice
I think i should relatively divide a certain time for each question since they're equally important. To be honest, i prefer the computer based test.
I'm now learning vocabulary from Vocaboly. It has some 3600 words. I don't know if you know this software but it seems cool since it offers pronunciation, example, and some games or testings.

[sklamba]

Hi Blackeyes, like you, I am going to do my GRE this October in Taiwan, so it will also be a paper based test. I initially loathe the paper based test, but now that I have done few practice ones, I found some advantages of writing paper based.

First of all, like Shangaitest said, you can write the verbal section in the sequence you prefer, a clear advantage that CBT doesn't have. I usually do it in this sequence: Sentence completion -> Analogy -> Antonym -> Short Reading -> Long Reading

Secondly, the essay test is separated from the verbal and quantitative section. So instead of starring at the monitor for HOURS, you only have ~1:30h for writing your essays.

Also, the fact that you can write on the paper really helps. This is extremely helpful when it comes to process of elimnation, and some geometry problems and stats in quan. section.

Lastly, I don't know if you have noticed, but paper based's quan. section tends to be slightly easier.

However, I have also heard the rumour that CBT is easier to score high in verbal as long as you can secure the first questions. And paper based seems to be hard on verbal these years.

One way or another, we got to do it no matter what. Wish you luck!