what is the ideal plan for preparing for GRE?

Question

I have got one year ahead of me before i take GRE. I can devote 2 - 2.5 hours a day. My vocabulary is not very good but i have good quantitative skills. I am also looking for improving my writing skills. Please tell me a preparation plan for GRE based on this. I am looking for doing MS from a top US university.

please suggest what should i start with and tell me a 'step by step plan' which takes me to GRE considering i have one year and on the basis of details mentioned above.

Answer 1

This will satisfy all your questions about the GRE:

http://www.greguide.com/

Answer 2

You have bad verbal and other English skills.. I suggest you watch tons of cartoons (pre school stuff) because they tend to teach you many many infos and it will help you practice well.. it is better to start from the beginning .. As you may be done with beginning level within a week or so.. Then go to the next level.. If you have access to the caption enable VCR.. I suggest you turn it on and watch their talking and also read the words on captions.. You can write down the stuff which you don't understand.. Its also a good intermediate practice.. After that you can start reading English novels (something interesting like Harry potters) and if you are done understanding that.. You take the GRE pre test and see where you stand.. Then you start GRE vocabulary / English studies.. The whole thing may take you 2.5 months but its worth it.. Its better to start from the beginning.. It will give you more insider info and help you understand and remember things a lot better.

Answer 3

GRE Essay Section & E-Rater Guide



The GRE is composed of Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing Assessment sections. In 2003, the old Analytical section consisting of logical reasoning and logic "games" questions was replaced with the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA).

This Writing Assessment is used by graduate schools to evaluate your writing skills. The AWA section has two essay questions. Each of the two essays require a completely different strategy.

Present Your Perspective on an Issue (45 minutes)
Here you present your opinion on a controversial issue.


Analysis of Argument (30 minutes)
Here you analyze the reasoning in an argument and find its logical flaws.

The GRE used to use two human graders to grade your essays. If they disagreed, it went to a third grader. Under the new system, a human and the "E-rater" (a computer program that scan essays) will grade your essay. If the human and E-rater agree on a score, that's the grade your essay will receive. If they disagree, a second human will grade the essay to resolve any differences.

The computerized grading system pressures human graders to follow the E-rater's strict standards. Human graders are aware that there is a computer double-checking their work, and they are more likely to follow the E-rater's strict grading parameters.




How to Tackle the Analytical Writing Assessment


Students tend to be unprepared for the AWA section. This is ironic because it is the one GRE section where a small amount of preparation can make a large difference on test day. You don't want an embarrassing AWA grade coming up in a graduate school interview.

To beat the AWA, you must learn how to write in a highly disciplined and concise manner.

Be particularly concerned with structure. Clearly divide your essay into the introductory paragraph, two to three content paragraphs, and a conclusion. Take time out before you start writing to set up an organizational structure. Our Essay Guide includes sample essay templates for both the Issue and Argument essays.


Use transitional phrases such as "first", "therefore" and "because" to help the computer identify concepts between and within the paragraphs. Make sure you spell these transition words correctly so that the computer may identify them. The E-rater does not have a spell-checker built in.


Be a conformist.The E-rater is not programmed to appreciate individuality, humor, or poetic inspiration; it will be comparing the style and structure of your essay to that of other high-scoring essays. If your essay looks like the high-scoring essays in the E-rater's memory banks, you will get a high grade; if not, you will get a low grade. Our Essay Guide has 20 sample high score essays to give you a sense of the proper writing style for the AWA.


Clearly state your critique in the Analysis of Argument essay. The Analysis of Argument question will show you an essay loaded with logical fallacies, such as the unwarranted assumption or fallacy of equivocation. These are buzzwords that the E-rater detects to see if you have correctly identified the argument's logical flaws.


Know the essays and how to answer them. The Essay Section Guide shows you all of the 275 actual GRE essay questions and 20 selected sample answers to those essay questions. This will give you a feel for the essay questions and how they should be answered.


Write in effective American style. Both the human and the E-rater will detect poor writing style. The E-rater's memory banks have essays written in American grammar/style, which is slightly distinct from the English used outside of the United States.


Practice, Practice, Practice. Try to do the essays in the 30-minute time frame. That is half of the challenge. Always practice under timed conditions on a computer or take our practice essays for grading.

Answer 4

Take the General Test in November. This will ensure that your scores will be available to meet any admissions deadline. Also, if you do poorly on your first try, you should have enough time to re-take the test in December to try to improve your scores.
You must register for Subject Test approximately six weeks before it is given
http://www.edufive.com/GRE%20.html

if you are not planning to attend graduate school immediately upon graduation, you should still take the GRE sometime during your senior year. Scores are good for five years, and you will never be as prepared for it as you are now.

For more info regarding GRE plz see http://www.edufive.com/GRE%20.html

Answer 5

There are plenty of test preparation classes and books and software out there. Personally I used a book that came with software for timed practice tests. You can find these in any bookstore ( I got mine at Barnes and Noble). The most important thing is to practice.