THE CHALLENGE BEFORE YOU
GRE & GMAT are not very tough tests for students to get a good score on their own. Hence in our opinion, they can avoid any specialised training, which costs a lot of money, and prepare themselves. Here we are explaining how this can be achieved by yourselves.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEST PATTERN
What else you can do inside qs leap ?
A TEST OF REASONING
First of all, you need to understand that these are primarily tests of Reasoning where you need the knowledge of English and Mathematics. But contrary to popular perception, these are not language or numerical questions.
FAST REFLEXES REQUIRED
And the questions asked are not of very high difficulty levels. But they are twisted and turned and ETS sets you in a trap with very enticing answer choices, where you have to work extremely fast, without the option of looking at the question text twice. It is more to test how fast you can reason and logically deduce things.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
Let us see the English and Mathematics sections respectively.
THE ENGLISH SECTION
Analogies :-
CLOY: PALATE
Sniff: nose
Slit: tongue
Surfeit: appetite
Cling: touch
Refine: taste
What you may notice here is that although it is a test of reasoning, it is your word power that holds the key to the answer. Unless you know all the word meanings, you can’t reason.
Sentence Completion :-
Whereas Off-Broadway theatre over the past several seasons has clearly ——— a talent for experimentation and improvisation, one deficiency in the commercial stage of late has been its marked incapacity for ————-.
Manifested…. spontaneity
Lampooned….theatricality
Cultivated…. orthodoxy
Disavowed….histrionics
Betrayed …..burlesque
Here again, your Word Power plays the key role, even when you have to reason to complete the sentence.
WORD POWER
This being the primary requirement of the English section, you have to really work hard for it.
ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT
To know more, please go to the link….ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT
THE MATHEMATICS SECTION
George bought two cameras. This year he sold them for $2000 each. On one he made a 25% profit, and on the other he made a 25% loss. What was his net profit or loss?
He broke even.
He lost less than $100.
He lost more than $100.
He earned less than $100.
He earned more than $100.
As you may see here, it is not at all tough Maths, but what is challenging is that you have to reason things very fast.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
PRACTICE
A lot of practice of similar exercises is required, which enables you to get accustomed to the process. This will help you in alerting your mind, and help you keep excellent track of how the question knots unwind to confuse you. Gradually, you would find even after reading the first line of the question, what is in the next line would start ringing in your ears. This would help you in understanding the theme with a single reading, and hence increase your speeds.
KEY IS IN YOUR HANDS
You have to realise that it is ‘you’ who has to toil to acquire proficiency in taking these tests. A few tricks or some unique exam taking techniques can’t get you a good score.
HOW TO PREPARE
BUY A GUIDE
Buy a Kaplan’s or Barron’s Guide from the market and take a diagnostic test given in the book. By doing so, you get acquainted with the system. You come to know how the test is like and also get a score of your test, i.e. where you stand without any preparation.
ACQUAINT YOURSELF
Now start practising all exercises in the book. You see gradually you are improving. Say, after a month’s hard work, take another diagnostic test. You would notice this time your scores have improved.
MONITOR YOUR PROGRESS
Take at least six such diagnostic tests at periodic intervals and watch your progress. But you must ensure that you take the test in exactly time-bound manner without any interruption or external disturbances to get a correct evaluation of your preparedness for the test. Timing yourself correctly is of utmost importance, as time is the most important factor of the test.
TAKE CD BASED TESTS
Finally, you should take at least two CD based tests from the ones that are available in the market. This is more to give you a feel of the kind of templates that you would get in the actual test.
BOOK YOUR DATE
And when you feel comfortable, you may book your test date with the Educational Testing Services.
