Essential Preparatory Guidelines for Best Results in GRE Verbal Section

The GRE exam has changed a lot over time. It is no more what it used to be a few years ago. The recent version is a radical departure from the earlier versions and also a bit difficult. Students really need to prepare effectively to show their mettle for the test.

One of the most insurmountable obstacles that students come face to face with come while preparing for the verbal section of the GRE is the vocabulary. The other obstacle is reading; students are put off by the content of the passages and have to struggle to actually survive them. While taking your GRE training in Dubai, it is essentially advisable that you make special efforts to identify an experienced training institute that provides innovative and effective training. If you have been mugging up all the word lists from various popular publications and online resources, the time has come when you need to give up rote learning the vocabulary and start handling it with more creativity and passion. Remember, a strong vocabulary is an asset and preparing for the GRE with the right spirit might just endow you with a lifelong skill.

To cover the verbal section without getting daunted by it, check the guidelines below.

Get hold of the Best Preparatory Material

You’ll find hundreds of publications boasting of offering the best study material.Caution. Some of this stuff is completely off the mark and can misguide you. The best thing to do is to follow the books and study materials that you can arrange from a GRE coaching centre of repute as these are systematically prepared and improvised from time to time in order to deliver quality and relevant instruction. In case, you aren’t associated with any GRE coaching centre, check the reviews before you decide to purchase a certain book. It is equally beneficial to ask your friends and take their idea about a book that you want to buy. Questioning on the internet book review forums will also guide you well.

But Books aren’t enough
So, you bought the best books in the market that your friends and tutor recommended? That’s good but do you know that reading books is not enough when you’re preparing for the GRE verbal section?

Yes, that’s true, simply reading books won’t enhance your vocabulary nor will it make you proficient in reading the long and esoteric passages that you’ll find on the test. Of course, your study material – the best ones in the market will offer you several reading passages for practice and mock tests, but  you will still  need to read some more.

Most importantly, reading for fun will improve your reading stamina. And if you don’t enjoy the process, handling the passages on the test will become a thing that frightens! Start reading beyond the course books; go beyond the material available to you. Also, go beyond your comfort zone! Stop reading murder mysteries, and those comic books on the table. Read something heavier from the areas of sciences and the social sciences. Now, this doesn’t mean you’ll start reading a crude research paper from a typical academic journal. Of course, this will bore you and you will not get yourself to read beyond a couple of sentences.Read something like the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker, or the Economist and the likes. Pick up the longer articles and write ups in these newspapers and magazines and read them with pleasure. Take interest in what you read and build up reading speed. Regular practice will not only improve your reading speed and stamina but will also enrich your vocabulary.

Learn Words the Right Way – Going beyond the Flash Cards and Word Lists

Learning a vocabulary words is not like learning biology or engineering terminologies that you’ll learn every word by heart and it will stay on your mind forever! Understand the words that you’re learning. It is good to have those word flash cards and to go through the word lists but this won’t suffice your test needs. Along with using these learning tools you need to be a bit conventional in approach by learning the words in their contexts instead of simply learning them; learn the words, as if they are individuals, complete entities and not for their definitions alone. For instance, Curmudgeon (n.) is a one of the frequently appearing word on the GRE test. Now when you are learning what Curmudgeon means, your learning should not be restricted to its dictionary meaning alone. Curmudgeon means -- An irascible, cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas. Well, when you have understood the word and learned it well, remember that in usage the word may not essentially be restricted to an old man with stubborn ideas. It can be used for any surly or grouchy person who keeps sulking or grumbling all the time.

So, it is the versatile connotations of a word that you should seek to learn and know so that when it appears on the test you can twist and turn its meaning accordingly and understand the concept behind it.

Keep these preparatory tips in mind while preparing for the GRE and you are sure to do justice to the test and to your plans post the GRE!

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There is more to TOEFL Test Preparation than just Academic Training

Here are some really helpful tips that will go a long way in making your preparation for the TOEFL easy and effective. Whether you plan on preparing for the TOEFL on your own or by joining a training institute do not ignore these tips.

Know the Format of the Test first

This works just the way anything else works. For instance, you are the part of your school’s soccer team and you have to play the finals on unexplored territory, say, on the ground of the rival team’s school. What is the first thing that you will need to know and be prepared for? Of course, it is the game but isn’t that something you have been preparing for years? Well, in this case, the first thing that you’ll need to know thoroughly will be the new play ground.

Similarly, before you start preparing for the real test, get familiar with the exam format and pattern first. Check if the centre where you’re planning to take the test offers the Internet based exam, iBT, or the paper based version, PBT. At present, most countries/centres offer iBT but certain countries/centres offer the PBT also. Check out the country where you’re planning to take the test. It can be really unsettling to prepare for the PBT only to find out that the test is not administered in you country nor in its vicinity!!

 Check the TOEFL Score requirements in the colleges/universities you want to apply to.

TOEFL is an application requirement for all students whose native language is not English. Contrary to common myth that only the US universities require this score, most universities round the world ask applicants for “proof of language proficiency” by submitting a TOEFL or IELTS score. In many universities, it is just a formality and you simply need to have it done with fairly decent scores. However, there are certain colleges that value a high score, especially when you’re applying for subjects that require more interaction in English or more than usual communication or writing skills. Do a bit of research and be sure that you get the score that the college or university of your choice will require you to secure.

The validity for your scores is two years. Each section carries equal marks- 30 points – and schools even stipulate what their minimum requirement in each section is. Check which sections are more preferable for the college of your choice and give extra time preparing for those sections. For instance, many journalism based courses require you to write splendidly well and thus, such colleges expect you to score your best in the writing skills section.

Get Preparatory Help from trainers and wherever possible

There are numerous TOEFL institutes in Dubai scattered in different locations and so it will not be a task finding one close to where you are based. But always zero down on a place that focuses on your performance and works hard to make you do your best. Select judiciously. Exercise the choice intelligently and only go for the best even if that involves commuting a bit.

Once you join the preparatory classes, participate diligently in the preparation process to be ready to face the test well. At the same time prepare on your own.  In the process you may be faced with doubts and problems. Do not hesitate to share your learning issues with your trainer. It is best to discuss your doubts and get instant help from this quarter. Read all kinds or literature available to you apart from the books that you have bought or the ones that your TOEFL coaching class has provided you with. In short, widen the platform of interaction with the test and seek whatever help and assistance you need from good sources.

Prepare each of the Sections Well

Give specific time to each of the sections separately. Be confident and practice well. Make sure you don’t skip preparing any of the sections even if you find them easy. You have been delivering speeches at school; that’s great but don’t stop preparing for the speaking section just because you have been doing well in it. Again, if you have been a regular contributor of your school/college magazine or have always got A+ in composition, it is not reason enough for you to be over confident. Instead keep preparing as this will help you secure the best. The best way to prepare is to keep taking mock tests from time to time. With constant tests, you’ll build up your speed and accuracy and this will ensure a satisfying outcome.

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4 Practices that ensure a High GMAT Score

Students start preparing for the GMAT once they have worked out a clear career plan and are sure that they need the test score to get admitted into their dream business schools. But all schools have a score requirement – mostly high – and this means serious pressure on preparation efforts. In fact, the crucial connection between getting a high GMAT score and securing admission is an intimidating one and, if not attended to with seriousness and sense of purpose, can jeopardize one’s career plans and result in waste of time and effort. As professional experts training students for the GMAT will vouch, the first and foremost thing to get in place for securing admission is to secure a high GMAT score. That sets the ball rolling and definitely makes the chances for admission brighter.

Here are 4 practices that go a long way in helping you make the most of the GMAT experience:

#1 Keep a learning notebook/diary

It is advisable to keep a small and handy learning diary or notebook to pen down every new trick for the quantitative and verbal so that you don’t have to go through all your notes and books over and over again. In fact, flash cards are a good idea too. They can be organized in topics and labeled to enumerate each trick. Though constructing this kind of study resource sounds cumbersome, the truth is that in the long run a ready reckoner is a handy tool for last minute revision.

#2 Learn a bit, practice a whole lot

Simply learning all the rules and tricks of the game isn’t enough for playing the real game. For playing the game well and coming out victorious you need to practice, practice and practice! So, learn what is essential but do not confine yourself to too much theory and learning and don’t burden yourself with too much information. Instead, practice a whole lot so that exposure to the test question types builds up in you a large reserve of resourcefulness. This allows you to think up intelligent ways to negotiate tricky questions and sometimes to take calculated risks when selecting an answer. Whether it is the critical reasoning part, the sentence corrections, the reading comprehension or the quantitative analysis, just don’t give up practicing.

#3 Take mock tests

Once the preparation modules are over and all the aspects of the test have been studied and practiced sufficiently, get down to evaluating yourself in terms of the whole test. Doing just math or verbal questions, or simply writing an essay requires a limited attention span and specific skills. But taking on the whole GMAT test requires the ability to be at your best for near to four hours and to exhibit a range of skills. So as soon as you are done with all the topics,  start taking tests to know how good you are at using the tricks you have learnt. With every test, speed and confidence levels will increase and scores too will improve till they plateau and a predictable outcome is reached.

#4 Do not fully depend on the GMAT prep test results

So, you took a test and got a really good score and now you think you’ll be doing exactly this in the real exam too? Hope so…but don’t be sure! Every test has a different level of difficulty. Besides, the conditions that you have in a typical classroom are always different from those in the test room. So, although practice test scores are a fair measure of your ability to perform on the real test, don’t depend on the results unrealistically. The best way is to observe performance over a series of tests and identify typical and atypical trends in the scoring and to take an average of all the scores - that should be close to what the real day outcome will be. It is also advisable that the tests are picked wisely and are from different sources so that you are exposed to different versions of the test. Take a mix of Kaplan ( the best yardstick to measure your readiness), Princeton and the OG tests.

So, no matter at what stage of the preparation you are, sum up the situation, plan the preparation and take the GMAT bull by the horns!!!!

Good luck!

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3 Quick GMAT Test Taking Tips to Avoid Blunders on the Exam Day

Students looking forward to getting admission into top B-schools are plagued by several doubts and confusions both about the GMAT test and their subsequent applications. Despite giving their best to studying the intricacies of the test and practicing mock tests, students often fall prey to stress and commit blunders on the exam day that wash out all the labor and planning that was put into the preparation.

A good training course is one that trains test takers to acquire not only academic prowess but also test taking skills. Such a course, imparted by an experienced faculty, is what test takers should seek to find. Good mentors are the single most effective tool for taking on the GMAT. When a trained faculty gives you tried and tested tips, doubts vanish and things go smooth!

Here are the some tips that trainers should focus on inculcating in test takers.

1.  Focus on getting the question in front of you right.

When you are writing the GMAT test, it is no use spending your time and energy in guessing the difficulty level of the question. Some students tend to do this; they simply waste time in trying to determine how difficult the question is and contemplate the loss or gain involved. This is very clearly a futile effort and a time consuming one too. Besides, it doesn’t really help and increases anxiety levels.

So, the tip here is to simply focus on the question in terms of doing it right. Don’t worry if the question looks difficult or terrifies you; simply be sure to give your BEST answer for it! And remember, an odd wrong answer releases the presure off the test! It acts as a safety valve and stops your questions level from spiralling out of control. In fact, when a test taker keeps doing all the questions right he can sense the difficulty level of the questions rising and becoming unmanageable. So relax and do not punish yourself to get everything right. 

2.  Pay equal attention to each section on the test

There are students who are really good at certain sections; they are confident about attempting some  questions but dread  handling  others. If you are one of these students, it’s time to change the way you approach the test. Start practicing those sections more where your “FEAR FACTOR” is working on you!

Remember – speeding through the sections or trying to skip out certain questions or simply clicking through the sections, just to do better in that particular section in which you’re comfortable will reflect in your score. Doing your best in every section will yield an impressive score sheet that will have a better impact on your application’s competitiveness.

So, the tip here is – do not speed through portions of the test just to do well in your favourite sections. Spend equal time in dealing with each of the sections and do not write the test with any biases.

3.  Start practicing to improve your pace for finishing the exam on time.

At the start of GMAT preparation, it is common to aim at just gathering as much information about the test as possible and on getting familiar with the contents of each section of the test but not on   improving your skills and acquiring the right attitude for the exam. However, with time it becomes important that you start focusing on cultivating skills, attitude and pace. If you aren’t fast enough to handle the questions on your test, you’ll not be able to finish the test on time, which will obviously lower your scores. It is fine to understand the question types and practice to handle them for a while but on the long run especially when the D-DAY – the test -  is near, say a month away, it is always advisable to focus on improving your pace. This is considerably acquired through knowledge, exposure to question types, and being resourceful.

The tip here is – do not spend a whole lot of time in trying to understand a particular question in case you get stuck on it during the test. It is better to take educated guesses and move on to questions that can be cracked quickly and that can boost your scores. In other words, avoid getting into the common ego trap! Do not insist to yourself that a particular question is not beyond you; there are questions on the GMAT that can be really tricky even for the most adept test taker.

On a happier note, here’s some good news for you - the GMAT exam works on an adaptive algorithm; so, even if you guess wrong, it will adjust accordingly!

Happy and productive learning!

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