Gre on Wednesday..

[arunkum]

I am writing gre on wednesday, Aug 19. I am preaparing from July 20, 2009. I know this is a short interval. But, I chose to write early because I had already written Gre in Jan, 2009. Last time, my score was 1200(710Q + 490). AWA was 3.5. Last time when I took the test, I got nervous, left a question unattended and cancelled my score. But later, my friends prompted me to reinstate it.

I ve gone through barrons wordlist and took 5 quants paper tests in Barrons. I went through ETS power prep material and barrons. I also saw 5 tests from big book. I took a CAT from mygretutor(the free test) and i got 740Q and 600V. I don't want to rely on ETS PP tests, because I ve already taken them.

I am very unsure about what to do for AWA. Last time, I wrote one practise essay. This time, I am a bit diffident and went through all the issue topics in the site(just the topic). I haven't started writing an essays. With just two days left what is your suggestion to get a good score(3.5 - 4.0 :-) ) in AWA. I would be happy with anything above 3.

And I also didn't understand the meaning the following topics clearly. I would be grateful If someone could explain the meaning.


1. The function of science is to reassure; the purpose of art is to upset. Therein lies the value of each ( I ve never thought of art as something that upsets and science as something that's reassuring)

2. It is a grave mistake to theorize before one has data ( Does it mean that it's a mistake to make a generalization based on a logic without empirical observations? :-(. i am sorry if this is silly)

3. "The bombardment of visual images in contemporary society has the effect of making people less able to focus clearly and extensively on a single issue over a long period of time." ( "bombardment of visual images" is having many opinions and conceptions about the society? )

4. "People who are the most deeply committed to an idea or policy are the most critical of it." ( Deeply committed people are disposed to give opinions on the idea they are committed to. Is this interpretation right?)

5. "Those who treat politics and morality as though they were separate realms fail to understand either the one or the other." (politics as in running the govt or politics at any organization?)

Thanks a ton!

[fendergre]

Originally Posted by arunkum

1. The function of science is to reassure; the purpose of art is to upset. Therein lies the value of each ( I ve never thought of art as something that upsets and science as something that's reassuring)

2. It is a grave mistake to theorize before one has data ( Does it mean that it's a mistake to make a generalization based on a logic without empirical observations? :-(. i am sorry if this is silly)

3. "The bombardment of visual images in contemporary society has the effect of making people less able to focus clearly and extensively on a single issue over a long period of time." ( "bombardment of visual images" is having many opinions and conceptions about the society? )

4. "People who are the most deeply committed to an idea or policy are the most critical of it." ( Deeply committed people are disposed to give opinions on the idea they are committed to. Is this interpretation right?)

5. "Those who treat politics and morality as though they were separate realms fail to understand either the one or the other." (politics as in running the govt or politics at any organization?)

Thanks a ton!

1. I'd approach it as science explains things whereas art interprets them - so I would say that art is created to provoke a response from whoever views it whereas science tends to be more of a dispassionate explanation.

2. I'd approach this as inductive reasoning vs deductive - i.e. do you start with a theory and then look for evidence to prove/disprove it or do you start by looking for evidence and then use it to formulate a theory.

3. I'd take bombardment of visual images to mean advertising in the middle of TV shows, billboards, the internet etc. Maybe talk a bit about how most internet users now multitask between various windows/tabs and don't concentrate on reading just one website. Then link that to whether this means people can no longer concentrate on one thing.

4. I think I'd interpret it more as to truly be able to support something wholeheartedly you need to be aware of, and be able to, defend all of its faults. For example, if I said I'm a big supporter of Manchester United football club rather than Chelsea I'd be able to say 'well I know that we don't have a great goalkeeper, but because we have great defenders we can overcome that'.

5. I think the main meaning is politics as in government, but you could get around that by specifying in your first sentence and saying 'When discussing this question, politics will be taken to mean the politics of government rather than personal politics or workplace politics'

Hope that helps. If I've been unclear let me know.

I'd say the key to a good AWA is writing a clear introduction laying out what you plan to say, and a conclusion summing it all up. If you can add in examples or relevant similes that'll also help

[arunkum]

@fender..

In 4. issue topic, you meant that people are critical (as in displeased) of the idea to themselves, but since they know its drawbacks they will be able to defend it to others? And in the example, did you mean that only by being critical of the team you support, you will be able to defend it?

That helped a lot .. Thank you!

[khenirajesh]

The function of science is to reassure; the purpose of art is to upset. Therein lies the value of each

Science and art, both play an important role in the development of humanity and society. Both of them have unique purposes. However, you cannot say that science can only reassure and art can only upset. Both of them can reverse their roles also.
There is no doubt of science performing the function of reassuring as each invention in science makes our life easy. It gives us security and the feeling of comfort. For example, inventions like telephone, automobiles, and aeroplanes have made our lives easy and comfortable. Our ancestors had dreamt of flying like a bird, but science has made this dream come true. Similarly, the invention of electricity, has removed many unknown and unexplained fears from our minds.
The development of medical science has played a vital role in reassuring humans. Earlier, human beings used to wait for some miracle to be treated. However, now the most dreaded diseases can also be treated with the help of medicines.
However, science can also upset our lives. The invention of nuclear weapons and the harmful by products of scientific experiments have started threatening human life and the environment. Hence, the reassuring purpose of science is failed. Moreover, man has lost his peace of mind as with the development of science, human nature of exploring the unknown world has also grown. With the development of technology, people have more chances and resources to explore the huge cosmos and the solar system, which makes us upset and gives us large encouragement at the same time. Meanwhile, all these high tech researches, atomic science, medical research are trying to solve the old problems but initiating new puzzling thoughts.
On the other hand, art has an altogether different purpose. It is considered an activity that relaxes our mind. However, we cannot generalize the things as it depends on the artist's state of mind when he creates certain art piece. For example, listening to music makes you calm and comfortable. These days yoga gurus use music therapy to treat the patients suffering with stress related diseases. If you watch at the famous smiling painting of Mona Lisa, it brings a smile to your face. Similarly, the famous childhood story of "The Ugly Duckling" gives a child reassurance. The movements in classical dance give you unlimited imagination. There are also some art pieces, which upset you. If a painting shows hunger and poverty, then surely it will upset you. However, that is the artists' way of enlightening the society. Sometimes, the artist can also depict his sad state of mind on the canvas or in a music piece. For example the famous painting "Pigeon and Guernica" by Picasso shows us the feeling of his being upset.
Both art and science are important to us. There is no point defining their functions. It is difficult as well as meaningless. Science is required for the benefit and growth of man, however, its abuse can destroy the world. Hence, we can conclude that both science and art play both the functions of reassuring and upsetting us in different circumstances.

[khenirajesh]

It is a grave mistake to theorize before one has data

Data are facts or pieces of information that help in fining out things or making decisions. We analyze the data, study its nature in different situations and circumstances and form hypothesis and theories based on the observation. This hypothesis becomes the basis of many inventions and discoveries. However, if the theory is not derived from the observations of a given data, it might be misleading and result in wrong postulates.
For any work, there is a lot of initial preparation and planning that goes in. This preparation sets the foundation of the success of the work to be carried out. If the foundation is strong, it will help in executing the work in a successful way. On the other hand, if we execute the task without proper planning and preparation, we are bound to get stuck somewhere. If you are lucky you might get another chance, but life is not all that considerate. An opportunity knocks the door but once. Hence, it is up to us to make the best of it when it comes.
When you have no data and you trust only your imagination and foresight, you are bound to meet with surprises. Data gives you authentic and trustable information. On the other hand, you cannot trust your ability to foresee things since their relevance can be seen only in future. Data is like the wheels of a vehicle which are important for it to run. Without wheels, it is a useless piece of junk.
Let us take an example. While planning for a week long trip, you will plan beforehand and collect all the required materials. You need to pack up things like clothes, medicines, and sometimes even food for it. You need to think about the most suitable and convenient way of traveling. Apart from this you need to study the place where you are traveling for its special requirements. That means that if the place is too cold, you will need to prepare yourself for it. Without planning, you can find yourself in a difficult position and ruin the trip. Moreover, planning is required to be complete and not just restricted to one area. We can see how planning goes into a small thing like a week long trip. Hence, it can be understood that preparation and planning is vital to all the important tasks that need to be executed. This is the same as having information and data before you begin a task.
Similarly, to take important decisions, you need to have authentic and genuine information. Let us see the wider aspect of decision making. When a government has to make policies and laws for its citizen, it needs to have a proper understanding of the conditions they are living in, how many people are living in the country and how many will get affected with the change in laws. If the statistics of a county's people shows a majority of people living under the poverty line it will be beneficial to make policies suitable for them. Opening small scale industries, imparting free education, giving job opportunities etc. are beneficial for such a country. However, such policies and laws are not successful for a developed country where the people are rich and well off. Hence, forming small-scale industries will be of no use there. It is only known with proper data at the time of planning as to what the needs of the society are.
It can therefore be said that data, information, planning and preparation are prerequisite of any new work at hand. Without these there is a lot left to chance which can prove to be a blunder.

[arunkum]

Thanks a lot :-)..