Hi Sandy ,

I have been working lately on RC using Manhattan 5 LB book and i have realised that the biggest problem of mine is not comprehending the passage.

I took to reading the passage a little slowly and carefully scrutinizing my answers after which i noticed my accuracy had gone up . However timing still poses a big problem for me.

I took 15 mins for a passage with 5 questions. Asny advice on how to improve timing ?

Thanks and Regards ,
Shelrod007

Hi Sandy ,

I took your advise and gave the Kaplan test 2 weeks later , perused the words carefully and guess wat my score did improve .

I scored a 317 ( 162 Q , 155 V ) for the Kaplan test .

Though i still need some help here in Verbal i am never able to finish all the questions . I end up doing 17 questions at the max .

Any tips on how to improve my speed ?

I will be giving my first ETS practice test this week so i would really like to hone my weak areas .

P.S : I try to read at least 10 articles from WSJ , Atlantic , NY times , Economist .

Thanks and Regards ,
shelrod007

Hi Shelrod,

Great to know that you have made progress.Unfortunately, you have to commit your self to timed practice there is no other way! The best way to do this is try taking the tests differently. For example if your RC are taking the most amount of time try doing them first and make sure you finish by a specified self determined timeline like 10 mins or so then move on to other question types. If it doesn't work try ding the other questions first.


See what work out!


Tell me if you register any improvement.

Regards,

Hi Sandy ,

I just took the ETS Prep 1 and my verbal yet again turned out to be dismal .
Score : 315 ( Q 167 , V 148 ) .

I screwed up the timing badly , did not complete on time and was boomed .

I really do not understand what to do , I have two weeks more for my exam . I am freaking out !!

When i am running out of time i rush through questions and inevitably end up with wrong answers .

I take more time on RC , So i try to complete my SC and TC within 12 - 14 minutes but convoluted passages just freak me out .The result is i end up answering verbal badly even though i know i speak and write good english .

Any suggestions ?

Thanks and Regards ,
shelrod007

Calm down you have come far and will improve further in the next few weeks. Keep up with your current practice regimen and you will do fine.

Don't worry relax you are doing good. Try and brush up your word meanings a bit more.

Sandy

Hey Shelrod007!

Just to let you know, the verbal section is quite challenging even for an excellent native speaker. But the key to the GRE (which applies to both the quant and verbal sections) is familiarity. Continuing to practice from a variety of sources will get you there eventually. I suggest you read the National Geographic and Scientific American. Their articles will help you become much more familiar with the RC passages. Also, when you come across a sentence with an interesting word, try to see if you can replace that word with other synonyms. It's great vocab practice.

Best of luck!

Hope it helps!

Hi Shelrod007,

You need to make sure that you are doing the following things:
1. Timing yourself while practicing - You need to ask yourself whether your reading speed is an issue.

2. Maintaining an error log - This will help you identify patterns in the kinds of mistakes you are making.

3. Have a strategy in place to be able to answer each question type and are able to execute it.
RC questions on GRE mostly fall into 3 different buckets:
i. Big Picture - These don't require you to read the passage in depth. Try to cut through the crux of the passage by reading actively.Focus on the transition words,
structure and tone of the passage. Try mapping/doodling to achieve that.
ii. Anchor Phrase - This requires you to revisit the passage and locate the specific word or phrase. Read only relevant information related and stop where the train of thought
shifts to a different topic. In other words you should consciously make an effort to stop reading at the right time.
iii. Inference - These require you to revisit the passage for each answer option and are based on figuring out the complementary information and that which is implied.

4. Preparing regularly - Devoting 30 minutes everyday will turn out to be more effective than preparing at a stretch on the weekends after long breaks.

Hope this helps you improve. All the best !

Hi Shelrod,

Can you please share your GRE word lists on this thread ? I can review them and cross check them with my word list, and possibly suggest gaps in the words that you might be memorizing!

I have a fairly decent idea of the kind of tricky words the GRE uses.

-kanav

Kanav,

Try the 1000 word lists by Magoosh and Manhattan. They should be sufficient.

Hi @bfarooq

Can you please post the link to both those word lists? I'm asking because I have seen multiple versions of these word lists float around. I would be indebted if you (or anyone) could share the authentic version of both these word lists.

Thanks

Kanav,

Here you go! two are from Manhattan and the other one is from Magoosh. Also, it can get quite boring to memorize on the computer so I would download the Magoosh app which is free where they give you the words etc. Its nice.

Remember dont memorize the words, but understand them and try to make sense of it by making your own sentences!

I just started prep as well. :D

Have you taken either of the official ETS PowerPrep tests yet? Taking real GRE CATs is a much better way to judge how your verbal score is doing. Our free verbal explanations to the first 40 questions of test #1 should be helpful; the explanations also include definitions/mnemonics for 45 GRE vocabulary words.

If you like those 45 vocab mnemonics, then you may want to consider GRE Vocab Capacity, which I co-wrote with Vince as well.

Also keep in mind that Kaplan's verbal sections are rather shoddy imitations of the real test, in my opinion. I would suggest that you use real GRE questions only during the last month of your preparation, if possible.

That means:

1) PowerPrep tests 1 and 2 (320 free questions)
2) The paper-based PDFs (new and old): about 60 unique questions that do not overlap with Powerprep
3) The Official Guide the GRE (OG)
4) OG Verbal and Quant Practice Questions.

Also helpful: How to Navigate the Free GRE PowerPrep software

GRE Action Plan