Summary Of RC Questions

1.The order of the passage questions roughly corresponds to the order in which the issues are presented in the passage.

2. The six questions are
Main Idea
Description
Extension
Applicative
Tone

3. The main idea of a passage is usually stated in the first few sentences of the first paragraph. If it’s not there, it will probably be at the end of the entire passage.

4. If after the first reading, you don’t have a feel for the main idea, review the first and last paragraph.

5. The answer a description question must refer directly to a statement in the passage, not to something implied by it. Exact quotes are used with these questions to bait wrong answers.

6. When answering a description question, you must find the point in the passage from which thequestion is drawn.

7. If a description question refers to a particular line then the answer might be few lines before or after that line.

8. In extension questions, any answer choice which is exactly stated in the passage will mostly be incorrect.

9. Application questions are slightly different from extension questions. Entension questions ask you to apply what you have understood to a particular pasrt of the passage, while application questions ask you to apply the answer to a particular hypothetical situation.

10.Application questions are a bit tougher.

11. To answer an application question, take the perspective of the author. Ask yourself: What is the arguement about?

12. For tone questions, decide whether the writer’s tone is positive, negative, or neutral

13. Beware of answer-choices that contain extreme emotions they maybe detractors. If an author’s tone is negative, it may be disapproving. Or if her tone is positive, it may be approving.

14. The answers must be indisputable.A correct answer will always be in the passage.Do not assume.

5 Rules to Success in GRE

This is a 5 step guide which no 1 tells you about studying GRE

1. Don’t Be Scared
Everyone has their own experience regarding the GRE. Just because someone comes and says that it was very tough or its very easy does not mean the same applies for you. The GRE questions change every month atleast once every 15 days. All students giving the exam on the same day maybe having different questions. So for you to get intimidated by someone else’s experience is not right. Also don’t take it lightly because someone else says its easy. Maybe it was easy for him or he must have prepared really well for it.

2. Set Your Priorities
You know better than anyone where you are weak. Some people find verbal tough while some find Maths tough. The syllabus for GRE is posted on this blog. Check the syllabus and see where you feel you are weak. Do not directly jump to a decision. Practice some of the questions and see how much you are getting right. You should know what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are. To help you doing this you can also give diagnostic tests which also assist you.

3. Practice
This is a decision maker. The best way to do well in GRE is by practice. You cannot learn 3000 words from the vocabulary list in 1 or 2 months. You have to practice and revise each topic regularly. Make it a point to revise whatever you have studied during the day in the night. Revision is the best way to remember what you have studied.
Make a weekly schedule and stick to it. There is room for flexibility but try your best to stick to it. Don’t wait until test day to stat revising or practicing. You can start studying well before your test day or even before your tuitions begin.
During practice you should always concentrate on the process of solving or answering a question, not the performance. Getting a question right today is not the most important thing. What matters is wether you can get a similar question right on test day.

4. Focus On Your Weakness
To get a god score you should always give more attention to your weaknesses. Some students give the exam with the intention of score 800/800 in Maths but in the process neglect Verbal. On the whole, the students score comes down then. It is more important to practice verbal than to practice Maths. Although this should not be done if the student is very weak in Maths. If weak in Maths then practice Maths more.
You should focus on quality here. Don’t get excited if you have started getting many answers correct. You should focus on developing a strategic and productive approach here.

5. Give Practice Test
You should give practice tests usually 2-3 weeks before the day of your exam. Keep the ETS practice test CD for last. The idea of giving more practice test is to get mentally set for your actual exam. You should get yourself in the mood so on exam day your mentally prepared. Once that’s done, bring your attention to timing. Try solving each answer efficiently in the time allotted. Don’t be in a hurry and concentrate while solving.

Follow these 5-steps and your can easily expect a score of 1400 in your GRE exam.

GRE Syllabus

There is no declared syllabus for the GRE. This is a very big obstacle that makes studying the GRE difficult. Although there is no syllabus, ETS does state that the test makes up the following parts

The syllabus can be broke up as follows :

· Analytical Writing

· Verbal Sessions
1. Reading Comprehensions
2. Sentence Completions
3. Antonyms
4. Analogies

· Maths Sessions
1. Arithmatic
2. Algebra
3. Word Problems
4. Geometry
5. Data Interpretation
6. Quantitative Comparisons

Verbal and Maths syllabus will both be discussed in detail in separate posts.