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Preparing for the GRE

Get ready for the GRE Verbal Section with this comprehensive guide that covers analogies, sentence completions, antonyms, and reading comprehension. Learn essential tips and strategies to improve your performance.

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Preparing for the GRE

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  1. Preparing for the GRE Verbal Section October 2008

  2. Geography of the Verbal Section • 30 minutes • 30 questions (in no particular order) • 6-8 analogies • 5-7 sentence completions • 8-10 antonyms • 2-4 reading comprehension passages (6-8 questions) • 0-1 text completion questions (starting Nov 2007) • Typically starts with a few antonyms

  3. Analogies • What is an analogy? • light : dark :: pleasure : pain • Looking for a clear and necessary relationship between the word pairs • Create a sentence to describe the relationship • Examples: • stone : sculptor • aviary : birds

  4. Analogy Tips • Clear and necessary relationship • Form a simple sentence between the stem words • Plug in all of the choices • Eliminate answers with: • Triangular relationships • Words that don’t have C & N relationship • Work backward

  5. Analogies – common relationships • Type of • elation : emotion (i.e. elation is a “type of” emotion) • Used to • ultimatum : coerce • Degree • abhorrence : dislike (i.e. abhorrence is a strong degree of dislike) • Characterized by • bigot : intolerance • Without / Lacking • courageous : fear

  6. Analogy question • Tile : mosaic Form a basic sentence with the two words

  7. Analogy question (with the 5 choices) • tile : mosaic :: “A tile is a basic unit of a mosaic.” wood : totem stitch : sampler ink : scroll pedestal : column tapestry : rug

  8. Reading Comprehension Tips • Read quickly; main ideas, topic sentence • Locate trigger words (although, but, however, yet) • Use general knowledge & common sense • Avoid answers that have: • Disputable choices • Direct quotes and repetitions

  9. Antonyms – “opposites” • When you can define the stem word: • Make your own opposite • Use POE • Down to two? Make opposites and work backward • Read all choices to avoid careless errors

  10. Antonyms • When you “sort of” know the word • Use positive/negative • Work backward on choices • Guess? Choose the most extreme choice remaining • Don’t know the stem word • Make opposites for all choices – eliminate those that don’t have an opposite • Avoid words that “sound like” the stem word • Guess? Choose the most extreme choice remaining

  11. Antonyms – no clear opposites • Exhume • Breathe • Inter • Approve • Assess • Facilitate

  12. Antonyms – when you “sort of” know the stem word • Positive/Negative connotation • What is the “stem”? • Debilitate • discharge • strengthen • undermine • squelch • Delete • Example (de – away, off, down, reversal)

  13. Sentence completions (“fill in the blanks”) • Anticipate the word(s) in the blank(s) • Find the clue that restricts the meaning • Look for trigger words (although, but) • A fair AND ______ judge • A fair BUT ______ judge • Positive or negative? • Two blanks: solve one and eliminate

  14. Text Completions with 2 or 3 Blanks • New Verbal Question (added in Nov 07) • Passage of 1 to 5 sentences • Questions have 2 or 3 blanks • Three answer choices per blank

  15. Text Completion example • Of course anyone who has ever perused an unmodernized text of Captain Clark’s journals knows that the Captain was one of the most _____(i)___ spellers ever to write in English, but despite this ____(ii)____ orthographical rules, Clark is never unclear.

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