manusrat

I'm planning to take the revised GRE too...how can we start studying? Can anyone chalk out a plan?

Dear Friends, Hope you are all fine and studying hard GRE lit . I just need to know a couple of things: 1. The six Nortons you talk of, are they very different from the previous books? Or is it just divided into 6 parts so it's easier to carry? PLease tell me because where I live there is no such 6 vol Nortons! I only got hold of the 2 vol of Brit and 2 vol American Nortons. And I also got the one vol. Critical Theory and 2 vol. of World lit. 2. Is there any webwite where I can download questions of GRE Lit? Can Erin or any one from the testmagic send me some GRe Lit questions through internet? Thank you. manusrat

Hi PeterV! Congratulations!Isn't it wonderful to be a perfect scorer? It must be be.............getting all that praises and to be so successful in life! Could you please help me out with the AWA section? I am having problem understanding the Argumentative Sections. Where to begin? And how to start?I've just started studying for the verbal section a week ago. I work full time and I need to write the general GRE by November at most. That means I do not have much time.I don't think I will have that much time to study for the quantative section. I am in the Humanities group and I don't think the math part would be that important for me. Or is it? I need to get 800 in the verbal section and 6 in the writing section. How much time do you recommend I need to spend studying the verbal and the AWA ? Please give me some advice of how to start and how to pursue. I don't have many friends in Bangladesh who are writing the GRE. I am also preparing for the subject GRE. I'm glad I found this site to help me out. Can you also advice me on practicing the TOEFL? Waiting for a prompt reply. Manusrat

Hi everyone! Those of you who are having problems with the 20th century writers I think u can focus only on the poets and novelists, just leave out the essayists and playwrights! It's just not possible to know everything. Tim Wood's 20th century novelists by routledge could be a good source of reading material. It's not a thick book and gives brief information on the writer's style, work and life. Checking the Nortons anthology of the 20th century poetry is fine. The Norton also has two volumes for comparative literature. You can go through the contents page and have some brief idea on the names of authors from different geographical area and dates as well. And the Nortons also have a single volume on criticism and theory from Plato to present. Hope this helps.

Hello Cridamour and every one! Long time no see. I liked your encouraging posts. How's your studying going on? We are supposed to post more information for each other. Haven't seen any for quite some time. Does any one know the date of the exam in Novemberber. Last time it was on the 13th. When will the ETS post the date? We need to register early. What about your proposals? Some universities give word limits for writing proposals? What do they expect in this writeups? Suppose I am interested in Postcolonial literature. Do I have to make my proposals very scholarly or do they require it to be a critical writeup? Can any one advice? Is there any websites that can give us guidelines to write good personal statements? Is there any difference between personal statement and PhD proposals? Hope you guys are working hard for the GRE. Wish you all the best.

Thank you Cridamour! It's a pain in the neck that I need to write the TOEFL again. I also prepared for a week. I work full time so I didn't have the time to prepare and I thought it was not needed! But then I realised how the CAT works. Don't you think 615/257 and 5.5 in the writing section is OK for a foreign student? I wish I coul get waiver from writing the TOEFL. I wanted to know why you consider not to study the Barron's word list. Is it not helpful? I am not actually memorising them, I am writing to learn them. I am also reading a wonderful vocabulary book 'All about Words' to help me remember new words in context. And I'm checking the text magic web page as well. I would also like to get admission at some Ivy League university but I'm afraid I am not good enough! But I'll try my best. Please let me know which edition of ETS GRE in Lit is coming up in September? Is it 4th/5th edition? I want to order one. It's nice to know that you are doing so well, you are pursuing PhD at 25! I'm 28 and I teach Foundation English courses in a Private uni in Bangladesh. And I seriously want to get back to student life. I need to doo research and get going for some publications. At the moment I am studying for GRE so I don't have much time to think about writing samples or proposals. I will after I have written the GRES and TOEFL. But I'll get in touch with you after sometime. It's hard to work full time and study for the GREs and also plan for sending applications at the same time. I want to apply to at least 15 universities. at Least 5 will be Ivy League. Do you think that's OK or I need to apply to more universities? So when are you writing the general GRE? You must be really very good in English, getting 297 as a foreign student is certainly great! Thanks again for encouraging each other!

Hi every one! It's been a long time I haven't visited this page. So how's your study going on? It very hot in Bangladesh, just unbearable this summer! I was thinking if we could study together the same things. I mean we could at least speak about the things we have read. For example last week I read some important poetry from Old English. I think I have covered almost all of it. This week I have started to read the important authors of Middle English , now I am reading Chaucer. This could boost our confidence. The other day some one was saying that the REA guide is not a good one because it does not give good explanation. I don't think it's necessary because we can figue that ourselves. Some days ago I got hold of that book, it has six GRE questions, at least I we can get a feel of the actual exam from the questions of that book. By the way can any one tell me what edition is the latest edition of Cracking the GRE in English Literature (ETS), is it 4th/5th edition? Is it really coming up in September? Then may be I can order one for myself.

Hey thank you! Yes, I already have them in my list. I think looking into some course reading lists of some well known schools will help. At least I'll get to know the most important writers and who to look up for.

Cantabridgiantales, please tell us about your experience and tell us how we can crack the time! And how is your score?

Thanks Cridamour for the useful advises! I did my undergraduate in English Lit but I did not focus on postcolonial Lit then. In Masters I wrote my dissertation on Anita Desai but from the stylistics point of view ( applied linguistics, took some ELT courses as well but did not focus on any particular lang/lit area, thats how it is in my country). It was then I realised how interesting my dissertation would have been if I could use postcolonial theories in it. So I'm thinking of pursuing postcolonial literature for my PhD, especially on the women writers of the subcontinent. I got 613 in my TOEFL but I have to write it over since its time has expired. I was wondering if I have to write it again since I am a foreign student and English is my second language (though I have majored in English)? I am OK with preparing for the subject GRE in English which makes sense but it seems to be very difficult for me. I should have been more serious in my undergrad. The study load is higher than Mount Everest!And I don't have much time for studying for both the GRE exams. But what about the math part in general GRE? Do I have to get a decent score in math for admission in an English Department? Don't you think it's a waste of time, isn't it wiser to score well in the vocabulary section? Can you please suggest any useful method how I can memorise all the words from the Barron's book? If I can get a good score like 700 or more in the vocab section why bother the math section? Would I be eligible for admission in some reputed university with a low score in math? I'm pretty bad in math!

Thank you Cridamour for answering to my mail! Yes, I have written to Amazon. Infact the service for the post is free of cost! It is difficult to buy things without a credit card and often things get lost by the post. So I am thinking of asking some family friends. I know it is bothersome for busy people but I can't find any other ways. I've been to Dhaka USIS and they have the ETS practice book. Thanks God! I wish they had other collections. I hope studying the 4Nortons and the Critical Theories of Nortons, Edith Hamilton's Mythology and skeeming though the internet will help. What about 20th century literature? Do you know any good internet link? Please let me know. It seems they give a lot of questions on the 20th century writers,

I'd like to know if there is any source where I can practice the difficult part of GRE in Lit where they ask questions on Lit analysis/grammar. I guess these are the most critical and time consuming questions? Can any one suggest how to practice them or where I can find more of these practice questions?

Hi! I'm interested to do my PhD in post-colonial literature. Any idea where I can get information on witing abstracts in this area? I also don't which universities to apply? Can any one tell me if the following universities are suitable for me? Emory/ Boston/ Michigan--Ann Arbour/ Indiana Bloomington/ George Washington/ Iowa

Hello! It's good to know that there are many like me worried about a big exam! It is certainly going to inspire me. Probably I'm the only person writing this exam from Bangladesh. It does really take courage to want to do something different. No one here thinks it's worth writing a GRE in English Lit. But I'm happy to know some how I'm connected to other people around the globe by the same kind of dream.

Hello there! This is my first visit @ tests magic. It's good to find many others like me. I want to write my exam in November. About study material I found a lot of information from your messages. I have just started reading the Nortons. There very little materials available where I live. I think for people like me the 4Norton volumes and the internet is a good source for GRE in Lit. I couldn't find not a single book on GRE in Lit. Though a lot of general GRE books are available. Can any one tell me if it's a good idea to write both the exams in November. Do you think it's going to be too hectic? I plan to write the general GRE by the end of November and subject GRE in the due time to be posted. What about following the undergrad syllabus of Princeton/Harvard/Yale university? I'll be very happy to receive some mails from any one.