Jagdish's Page for international Education

Sunday, February 26, 2006

GRE Test - Taking Tips and Techniques

Be Aware
By the time you have finished your GRE preparation, you should be aware of the type of questions that will appear in the GRE Test. You should also be aware of how long each section is and the time limits. This will help you pace yourself through the test.

Know the directions
for each questionKnowing the directions for the questions beforehand will save you valuable time. But remember the directions for the questions in the GRE Test might be slightly different from the ones in your study material. So always read the instructions but do it quickly.

Don't stick to one question for too long
By the time you have finished your GRE preparation, you should have a good estimate of how much time you can give to a particular question. Don't get stuck on one particular question for too long. This might cause you to lose precious time and miss questions you could have easily done.

Don't Rush
The GRE Test is about optimizing. Finishing the paper first is not what is important. You should devote just the right amount of time to each question. Maximizing your marks in a given period of time is your aim. So don't rush it as that might cost you valuable marks.

The questions at the beginning are the most important
The questions at the beginning affect your score more than those towards the end. Take your time with those questions. It is vital that you get those questions right. Getting these correct will dramatically improve your score.

Selection by elimination
When you don't know the answers to some questions, try and use the method of elimination. You may have a very good idea of which option cannot be the answer. Eliminate such options. It narrows down your guess to just maybe two options and sometimes down to one.

Don't leave any question
The GRE Test does not penalize you for wrong answers. So never leave any question unanswered.

Be very sure of your answer before proceeding
With the Computer-Adaptive Test (CAT) for GRE, you cannot return to a question once you have attempted it. You cannot leave the difficult questions for later nor can you check your answers towards the end even if you have extra time. So pace yourself properly and be very certain of your answers.

Get adequate rest the night before
Before the test, relax. Research shows a person who is relaxed usually does much better than a person who is tense during an exam. Get enough sleep before the D-Day. Also if your GRE is in the morning, take a light breakfast. A heavy one might make you drowsy.

Do a test drive exactly a week before your tes
tGetting to the test center on time is vital. In fact you should try and get to the test center 15-30 minutes before time. Taking a test drive to your test center exactly a week before might be a good idea. This will give you a rough idea of the traffic conditions at the time and day of your GRE.

Wear Comfortable Clothes
Wear comfortable clothes to your GRE test center. It might be a good idea to carry a sweater or a jacket, in case you start feeling cold. Also make a check list well in advance of what all you need on the D-day and keep everything ready the night before. One of the things you need is a chronometer. (In case you don't know what that means, start preparing for the GRE vocabulary )

Use the scratch paper the test center provides

You are not allowed to bring any sheets of paper to the GRE test center but are provided scratch paper by the center. You should make effective use of this to make quick notes for yourself or for solving math questions.

And lastly DON'T PANIC

No matter what happens, DON'T PANIC. Keep your cool all the time, even when you don't know the answer. Once you panic, you might even answer the easiest questions wrongly. If you feel yourself getting tense, take a short break, ask for a glass of water, close your eyes, take deep breaths and calm yourself down.

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Crack the GRE,Manage your Time properly

To quote ETS, the makers of the GRE, "Time management is key." Your timing skills could add or subtract 100 points from your score. Timing skills are important because the CAT has unusual pacing constraints:

DOUBLE PENALTY - for any unfinished questions in each section. The penalty for unfinished questions is severe, worse than getting a question wrong. You should pace yourself to make sure that you finish all the questions in the allotted time.

NO DOUBLE CHECKING - If you finish a section early, you cannot go back to double check your earlier answers. For example, if you hurry and finish your section with 20 minutes left, you are stuck at the end of the test for 20 minutes.

NO SKIPPING - When you hit a tough question or get a mental block, you cannot skip the question without entering an answer. Instead, you have to trudge through it, guess, and hope you don't waste too much time. In addition, all answers are final and you have to answer the question in front of you.

GO FASTER AND FASTER - The value of each question decreases as the section progresses. The first few questions will determine most of your score, so you have to start slowly and carefully and then accelerate as the test progresses.

The proper pacing for the GRE is difficult to learn. You have to accelerate as the test progresses, you have to finish the test on time, and you can't get bogged down on questions. The CAT is engineered so that the early questions count MUCH more than the later questions. The result is that you should start off slowly to get the early questions right and then speed through the less important later questions. The problem is that the natural human reaction is to go quickly at the beginning (when you are nervous) and miss the most valuable questions.Avoid doing that ,I have already quoted in my book that it is not a test of your intelligence but your nerves.

The Standardized GRE

The GRE is now only available as a computerized test. Instead of having a predetermined mixture of easy, medium, and hard questions, the computer will select questions for you based on how well you are doing. The first question will be of medium difficulty (500 level questions are halfway between 200 and 800). If you get it right, the second question will be selected from a large group of questions that are a little harder; if you get the first question wrong, the second will be a little easier. The result is that the test is self-adjusting and self-correcting to your skill level.

Harder Questions Count More
A result of the CAT testing format is that the harder problems count more than easier ones. If one student does twenty easy questions, half of which he gets right and half of which he gets wrong, and then another student does twenty very difficult questions, half of which he gets right and half of which he gets wrong, the second student will get a higher score.The student who answered ten out of twenty very difficult questions incorrectly would still get a very high score on the GRE CAT because the harder questions are more heavily weighted. Simpler questions might be easier to answer, but they count much less. Your goal should be to get as many hard questions right because that will get you your highest possible score.

Start Off Strong
The CAT puts much more value on the earlier questions than the later questions. The computer has to make large jumps in the estimation of your score for each of the first few questions. The later questions are used to fine-tune your score. To get the best possible score, focus more time on the earlier questions than the later questions. A skilled GRE test taker focuses on getting early, hard questions correct. Therefore, the optimal strategy for the CAT is to go extremely slowly and carefully at the beginning of the test.

Friday, February 17, 2006

Curriculum for the GRE & GMAT Math section

Students usually prepare for GRE and GMAT within a short period of time.It is difficult to attain mastery in any subject in a short period of time but still some concepts are so integral to these exams that they can be marked as most important topics.Here is a list of some concepts to be known by GRE and GMAT aspirants.

Chapter 1: Arithmetic
1. Integers & Number Theory
2. Fractions
3. Decimals
4. Percent
5. Ratio and Proportion
6. Exponents & Roots
7. Sets
8. Permutation and Combination
9. Probability
10. Sequences

Chapter 2: Algebra
1. Simple Equation
2. Simultaneous Equations
3. Quadratic Equation
4. Defined Functions
5. Inequalities
6. Factoring

Chapter 3: Geometry
1. Lines and Angles
2. Triangles
3. Circles
4. Solids
5. Coordinate Geometry
6. Comprehensive Practice Questions

Chapter 4: Word Problem
1. Interest, Discount and Profit
2. Rate & Time
3. Work
4. Averages and Medians
5. Mixture
6. Age Problem
7. Doubling
8. Sales Commission
9. Decision Tree
10. Data Interpretation

Chapter 5 Quantitative Comparison

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Tackling GRE? Now your mobile phone can help

CHENNAI: Students will now probably have another reason to resist bans on mobile phone usage. Wizdom.in, a brand of Valued Epistemics Private Limited, is offering programs, which will enable students to study using their mobile phones. Making a presentation to students here on Sunday, Managing Director Anand Kannan claimed that the move would introduce m-learning (mobile learning) in India. He said Wizdom.in m-learning programs contained exhaustive study materials for students preparing for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

"Students of today have packed schedules. They spend considerable amounts of time commuting to their institutions. Most students own a mobile phone. Therefore, we thought converting it into a study tool would be useful to them," said Mr. Kannan. Besides providing a personalised learning experience, it would promote constructive use of the mobile phone, he added. Students with phone models that support the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and JAVA could have the software downloaded onto their phone.

GRE lessons would be offered in different sessions, designed to enhance the verbal, quantitative and reading abilities of students. Besides tests, clues and answers, they would also receive detailed personalised feedback on their performance through e-mail. Teachers would create the course material while a student facilitator would closely monitor each student's performance. Students' performance in each test would be recorded on Wizdom.in's server, enabling facilitators to keep track of the student's progress at different stages. "This system fills certain lacunae in classroom teaching. Not all students raise doubts in the classroom. Now, they can send us their question, no matter how trivial it is," said senior academician P.S. Krishnamurthy, who has compiled content for the course. He also spoke on the different aspects of preparing for the GRE. For details on packages available and cost, visit www.wizdom.in or call 98844 53276.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

General Format for GRE GMAT SAT Issue analysis

I am submitting a template that I feel was quite good. For the record I scored 5.5/6.0 in the GRE.

Instruction: What ever is in bold should be written in all arguments.

1 Para: The argument concludes that ...............mention the conclusion the author has drawn from the argument. Avoid spelling mistakes of pronouns. Make sure you mention all the premises and any assumption made by the author. The augument is full of gaps and loop holes since it presents fragmentary evidence. Neither are the premises convincing nor is the conclusion compelling. The argument is very evidently the result of a hasty generalization.

2 Para: Discuss the biggest fallacy in the argument. Mention all counter arguments like what the author should have taken into consideration or what he missed out.

3 Para: Same as above. Discuss second biggest fallacy.

4 Para: Mention other illogical assumtions. Do not state counter arguments.

5 Para: The argument is the result of a huge speculation in which the auhtor has comfortably assumed a considerable amount of data. Had the author taken the above discussed factors into view, it would have rendered the argument irrefutable. But whatever presented fails to provide a hololistic picture to the superfluous claims being made.

GRE Alert ......Breaking news !!

This is a current update from the official GRE site.No rumors.....

Changes to GRE General Test Being Investigated

The GRE Program is investigating changes to the verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing measures in order to increase the validity of the test, enhance security measures, provide faculty with better information on applicants' performance, and make better use of advances in technology and psychometric design. The GRE Program is currently planning to implement these changes in October 2007.

The changes planned for the verbal measure include: * Less reliance on vocabulary, more on higher cognitive skills * More text-based materials, such as reading passages * A broader selection of reading passages * Emphasis on skills related to graduate work, such as complex reasoning * Expansion of computer-enabled tasks

The changes planned for the quantitative measure include: * More depth of quantitative reasoning skills * More breadth of quantitative reasoning skills * Question types that require production, rather than selection, of answers * Expansion of computer-enabled tasks (e.g., producing an equation)

The changes planned for the analytical writing measure include: * New, more focused prompts that will reduce the possibility of reliance on memorized materials * Issue and Argument tasks, each 30 minutes in length .As the direction of the potential changes becomes clearer, information on the GRE Web site will be updated.