₦airaland Forum

4gunners:
Verba Prep.

I read almost all the available text books for the verbal prep. I started with Barron moved to Kaplan, Manhattan, Princeton and concluded with ETS textbook. Magoosh also helped with some strategy. Using this variant sources allowed me to get used to the way SC and TC are asked. Understanding the shifting in the sentences became natural after practicing so many question. For example, a sentence which begins with 'Though' tells you that the second part of the sentence is opposite to the first part. You can't build this intuition overnight, it takes practice, practice and practice. Besides, I practiced lot of questions, came across tons of words. During the review of any practice questions I did, my phone was always handy to check the meaning of words. I also made u of magoosh vocabulary app. I became so accustomed with sc and TC that they became my friends. Building ur vocabulary is very Important. Almost all the words I saw on my test were the ones av come across one way or the other.

For the RC, understanding the strategy in Kaplan and Princeton is key. For example, avoiding extreme answers. GRE loves to use that as bait in their answer choices. Pls, practice, practice and practice. The RC are most times abstruse. However, by the time you practice a lot, you become accustomed to the RC.
On the test day, just like my Oga's have said. I think it was Quoran. I quickly attacked the TC and SC part. Because Av gotten so used to them, it took me 10 min even less than to answer all. This gave me ample time to answer the the RC.

The importance of PRACTICE cannot be overemphasized. I used princeton online, Kaplan, magoosh, powerprep for my simulation test.

For the AWs, practice the essay prompt on the ETS website. As many as u could. Who knows, you can be as lucky as me on your test day to be given the essays you've practiced before.

Abeg, pardon my errors

Thank you.

Quoran:
GRE QUANT TIPS
1.In Quantitative Comparison questions, try numbers in this order: 0,1,2,-2,1/2. I learned this from NOVA GRE book. It works just fine.
2.Quantitative Comparison questions are half of a GRE Quant section (10 in number).
3.In Quantitative Comparison questions, before you select an answer, try at least two numbers.
4.Know the rules of divisibility. It will help.
5.Pay special attention to words like ‘the greatest possible’ in quantitative comparison questions. For instance, the greatest possible number of points common to a triangle and a circle is ____? It is more likely than many of us will pick three. Six points is also possible. Just remember that the triangle must not be inscribed in the circle. Six points will pass through the circumference.
6.Do not assume more than what is given especially in Quantitative Comparison questions.
7.Special triangles: 30-60-90 :1:√3:2;45-45-90:1:1:√2 ; The longer the side, the larger the angle opposite it and vice versa.
8.Supplementary angles 180, Complementary angles 90. Parallel lines have the same slope. Perpendicular lines – Negative reciprocal of the original line. (This appeared on my GRE). Know the equation of a line in different forms.
9.Learn all those Mensuration stuff.
10.Once a calculation is going on for too long, check your method again. There might be something wrong.
11.Be careful when multiplying or dividing by a negative number in inequality problems. Never do this in a Quantitative Comparison question.
12. PEMDAS – Parentheses-Exponents-Division-Mulitplication-Addition-Subtraction.
13.Integer 0 is neither positive nor negative.
14. 0 to 9 inclusive is 10 integers.
15. If a is even, b is odd, then a+2b is even, 2a+b is odd, ab is even etc. These kinds of questions are common.
16.P(A or B) =P(A) + P(B) Mutually exclusive ; P(A or B) =P(A) + P(B) –P(A and B) Independent
17.Know Mean, mode and median and how numbers can affect them.
18.In word problems, use 100 for percentages. Do not use a number if the word problem has a fraction. I think Princeton Review covers this.
19.How many multiples of 7 are there between 100 and 150? 7 not 6. 147-105=42. 42/7 =6. 6+1 =7.
20.10 evenly spaced tick marks on a number line is 9 intervals not 10.
21.Any three consecutive integers will always contain a multiple of 3.
22. Rate x Time = Distance. Draw a table and solve all rate questions like this. Manhattan covers this well.
23. Pay attention to units, scales and values along the X and Y axes in graphs.
24. Average degree per side = (180(n-2))/n.
25.0 is a number.
26.How many square pieces can you get from a board of 18 by 30 inches without wasting any of the board? Answer: 15. Greatest divisor of 18 and 30 is 6. 18/6=3; 30/6=5; 3X5 =15. (Simple questions like this can waste your time).
27.Increase something by 250% is 3.5 times the number not 2.5 times the number.
28.Standard deviation questions are not usually difficult. Just know how it affects the mean.
29.Study the Official GRE test guide. You will not go wrong if you follow it strictly. Use other books (Magoosh, Manhattan, Princeton) for more tips , tricks and sample questions.
30.The key to scoring well on the GRE is to do well in the first section. The first section is usually easy (Assuming you prepared really well). This section is easy but tricky. If you practice well enough, you will observe that this is the section were you will finish with time to spare. On your sketch paper, I will advise that you solve your questions sequentially. Peradventure you need to go back to a question or review it, you can easily track your mistakes.
31. Pace well. Do not spend too much time on a particular question. I finished with some minutes to spare. I was able to review up to 10 questions and I can remember changing my mind on two answers I had previously selected. I did score 20/20 in that section.
32.Do not waste time on any question. This is very easy to say really. I made the same mistake in my second section. I wasted time on the first few questions as they were difficult. This affected my score. I noticed the easier questions were at the bottom.
33. The GRE is section adaptive. If you do well in the first section, you get a more difficult second section and vice-versa. This is aimed at making test takers get at least 150 marks. It follows a normal distribution. Those doing well are ‘dragged’ to 150. Those not scoring well are ‘helped’ to 150. (Additional probably unnecessary information lol).
34.From proven research, for you to get a more difficult second section, you need to score at least 14 in the Quant and 12 in the Verbal. The more difficult section carries more weight than a normal section. The more difficult questions you get correctly in the second section, you more points you have.
35.The scoring is not linear. I had 20 in the first section and 15 in the second section yet I had 166. In my Verbal, I had 14/20 in both sections yet I scored 161. Same thing I noticed with my friends and in my first attempt.
36.If you score 10/20 in the first Quant section and 16/20 in the next section, you will score 153. If you score 16/20 in the first section and 10/20 in the section, you will score 156. DO YOUR BEST IN THE FIRST SECTION. Verbal is more difficult than the Quant.
37.Peradventure you do not do well in the first section (You will know because the questions will be easy; It happened to me during my first attempt), you can still blast the second section. Just take it easy and do you best.
38.The on screen calculator can slow you down. Use it only if you really need it.
39.You can learn to back-solve questions. It helps when you are clueless on how to solve certain questions. I think Princeton covers this a lot.
40.I make mistakes more when I rush and do not take time to read the question well. Do not also try to solve questions mentally. Write it down to avoid errors.
41. Do a lot of practice tests. Under normal conditions, we will all score well. A timed practice test is the real deal. PowerPrep, Manhattan, Kaplan are good in this regard.
42. The GRE has a structure: For the Quant, you get 4 easy questions, 12 medium questions and 4 hard questions on your first section. Look at the Official GRE guide for more on question difficulty.
43.Some people are that good that some tips did not work for them. If you are like me that needed to retake the test, you have to pay attention to many things to avoid getting the same poor score.
44.By the way, there is nothing like a bad score. It all depends on what you want to use it for.
All the best folks. Pardon my errors.

Thank you sir.

4gunners:
I eventually wrote the 'almighty' Gre at Galaxy Uniprep today. Got to the venue around 9 :00am , after every, every which took about an hour. I and other test takers were ushered in.

The AWS popped up on the screen like play. I tot I was hallucinating when I read the essay prompt. Na wetin I don practice before. It really calmed my nerves, without having to think much I got over it. The argument essay also popped up, na wetin I don practice too. Down within me, I got excited. These were propitious sign.

To keep my long story short, for the real thing, na VQVQV. At the end of the day, got 313. Verbal-159 Quant.-154. I was surprised cos maths na where my strength lies. I hope it will not ciously affect my applicationsince I'm from Engineering background. My first quant section was bad, had to struggle with some question. I noticed the second quant was quite easy, I already knew it will be difficult to reach 160.
As regard the verbal part, I knew the meaning of almost the words I encountered, some of the RC were even familiar. It was as if I've seen them before.

My advice for future test takers is for them to practice, practice, practice and practice.

Really want to appreciate everyone on this thread. Bosses in the house, Quoran, Ponpon et al. I sent my scores to Tamuc, University of Arizona, Washington and Arkansas. Am I on the right track??

Thank you.

The deadlines are approaching...Take those tests...........

pronto543:
Hello friends,

I am sorry I am just posting my GRE experience after a week. I have actually been on the road since then. Besides, on two occasions the anti-spam bot on Nairaland have banned me.I'll just summarize the whole stuff.

The test date was Monday, Aug 6th in JKK, Lagos - the same venue I wrote my TOEFL October last year. By 9:30, I was seated for the exam but niggling network issues prevented us from starting until around 11am. I was almost discombobulated since I was planning to travel back to Ilorin on that same day.

The AWA section was quite straightforward. I was surprised when I got the same question I was responding initially before the network issue for the Issue Task popped up the second time. The Argumentative Essay was a bit tough but I later spotted some flaws and fired on.

The pattern was VQVQ and V. In my opinion, the 2 Quant section were of the same difficulty level. I had to make like 2 guesses in the 1st Quant's. The 2nd Quant's was equally tough with some unfamiliar questions I never came across in all my preparation with Magoosh,Manhattan,Princeton Review and Official Guides. In short, I made like 3-4 guesses in the 2nd guesses. The 3rd Verbal section was very easy and I finished with some few minutes to spare. By the time I was completing it I was just eager to hit the "Report Scores" tab and be on the next bus heading home.

Great.

pronto543:
... when I reported scores, I saw 155 and 160. I already anticipated the former was Verbal and the latter Quant's. On a closer look, my guess was right.

I sent my score to these schools:

1. UMBC
2. NCSU
3. TEMPLE
4. NEU

The other 4 I plan to apply to are

1. Purdue/UMass Amherst
2. Michigan Tech (free application)
3. Colarado Mines
4. USF

Here is a summary of my profile:

B.Eng Agric & Bioresources Engr (4.06/5.00)-Best Graduating Student
M.Sc Environmental.Engr (5.4/7.0)
GRE: 315
AWA: N/A. I expect at least 4/6
TOEFL:101
Publication: 1 (first author in an Int'l Journal). It was my M.Sc thesis together with my project supervisior
Work Experience: 1.5 yrs (teaching) - Not related to Ph.D program.

Intended course of study: Ph.D in Environmental Engineering.

Proposed Entry Term: 2019 Fall

Congrats

Hisvoice:
That was a very good observation. It is unfortunate that students - undergraduate, M.Sc and even Ph.D - find ourselves in this 'Referee issh'.
From my observation, reference letters, arguably in some situations, carries much weight than GRE itself in application packet. But, some lecturers are either not apt in writing or 'too busy' or don't even understand the implication of the letters. If you see the letters some lecturer writes, uhmmmmm .....It took me days to get a checklist assessed for a sound reference letter (available if you need a copy).

Possible Solution.
1. As an applicant, get a sample copy of a good reference letter and revamp it aptly.
2. Do not just pick Prof. as your referee, ask for their availability to assist before filling their names on your application (some schools may not alter it)
3. After persistent call and no response, take a time and travel down to meet the Prof. (remembering 'if Muhammed story ....) with your laptop, modem or a phone with hotspot.
4. If none works, make a request to the school for a change on your application.

As regards using 'fabricated e-mail account', it may be difficult because those schools might be aware of that possibility and some may even require official e-mail e.g successg@oau.edu. I believe those tips would yield a good response

ciao.

Thank you sir. Please i need a copy.

shakaz:
I have a link with all the videos on google doc. If you are interested drop your contact and I would share you the link on whatsapp.

Please sir i am also interested. I am sending a mail across. Thank you.

Spotlighte:
Gosh! Finally got to the page 396 of this thread and boy, am I glad I did?

I looked back at the two questions I asked here and it's hard not to feel embarrassed. I mean, all of the answers were just lying everywhere on the thread.

I literally feel like I know most of you already by following your stories from the days of your GRE and TOEFL, your test days, expectations, disappointments, your acceptance in various schools, visa interviews and how you're coping in the country of study. Like I already said, I am very glad for the experience.

I am writing the GRE in October, and I haven't read jack. I will start classes on Monday that'll run six weeks for the GRE and four weeks for the TOEFL (all done together). I already went through the materials I got from B.Y Mafit and I don't know how to feel - confused? scared? worried? I don't know.

Please, I need as much encouragement as possible. If there are other people who are applying for Fall 2019 who haven't written the GRE yet, please say something as I'd need as much motivation as possible. In fact, let's motivate each other.

My profile:
Undergraduate GPA: 4.11/5
Course studied: Mass Communication
Intended course for Fall 2019: Advertising
GRE: -
TOEFL: -


I can't wait to give my testimony on here also.

P.S. If there is anyone going for an Advertising course in any US school, please holler. I'm yet to see anybody who is currently studying or wants to study Adverstising in the US (both here and the USA visa thread). All I see are tons of STEM courses and few communication courses.

Team #fall19

...and at the end Ours' will be a story that brought GLORY to his name�
Let's connect i sent a mail.

jamanuka:
Hi People,

So I was waiting to get my official scores to ensure any info I was putting out won’t be incorrect.

I took my GRE on Aug 10th at JKK house and scored a 326 ( V167, Q159), AWA 4/6.

The following materials helped with my study;
Verbal
- Magoosh GRE flashcards ( I used this while in the bus, boring meeting, toilet, intact any free time I had)
- Manhattan 5lb. The RC is really damn good and exposes you to all the tricks you will need on tests day. The RC and TC are good too.
- Official materials. The other books focus on heavily on vocabulary but the official materials helps you learn usage of words. Keep an eye on the tips in the sentences so as to know the right word to use in that context.

Quant
- Manhattan 5lbs. Go through all the questions here. It pays to review thoroughly any question you got wrong.
- Official materials. The questions here are good too.

It will also be good to point out that I was already studying for GMAT before switching to GRE. That helped with the quant and RC in verbal.

Practice tests are quite important. I took the two powerprep tests and also bought Manhattan practice tests (has about 6 tests).

Finally I will love to say something about registration. I know it saves money to register with the guys that do it at a low price but again consider this what if you run into problems with that and your account gets blocked. Between the trouble of having your account blocked which means you might no longer realize your American dream and the extra naira you might pay for registration, which is worth it.

Let’s keep sharing our experiences so others can learn. The things I read on this thread greatly aided with my preparations.

Thank you.

Mikkyboy:
Hi all,
I'm a silent but ardent follower and reader of this thread.
i'm a very busy person so I didnt have all the time to prepare for my GRE and TOEFL.
GRE:
Preparation time : almost 3 months off and on
Scores:Q :152 V : 152 : AW :3.0\
Materials Used : All materials from nairaland.
Lesson Learnt: I didn't devote time for practice.I did only two PowerPrep tests,(not full tests).In summary my prep was awful.
TOEFL :
Preparation time: 1 week
SCORES :Reading:26 Listening: 28 Speaking : 26 Writing : 28
Materials Used : Notefull Videos
Lesson Learnt : No need to Study too much for TOEFL if you actually graduated from university and earned your degree.Just understand the exam setup.

GPA: UG: 3.3/4.0
PG (Msc): about 3.68/4.0

On Applications:
I cannot over emphasis what I've gained from this forum.It has been said time without number contact Profs that you hope to do research with.
With this in mind I contacted profs,some replied while some didn't. But fortunately for me even before applying, I can say I already have two profs that have accepted me already with funding I hope.(because this is the koko, and we discussed about it already).
On this note I wish all 2019 hopefulls all the best in this application round.

I hope to comment in the future that one of our veterans here came to pick me up at JFK..(winks)

(Make Una no vex oooo, before people go bombard me say i no come post here since..lol...I no get time ni o...and i dont have excuse to give for not posting......so my apologies.Thanks for accepting my apologies in advance)

Thanks to : PonPon,Quoran,Drhopeful,cutemorgan,thegrandchemist,ndawe and all of you who have commented or given useful advise on this thread.
For future readers: if this thread gets to 1000 pages, please and please read all pages and you will never regret you did.You will be in a position to advise others.

Thanks bro.

Epithet:
The GRE approach would be to look critically at the second premise because it's easier to correlate with the initial premise.

Positive integer N divided by 5 with remainder of 1 ends with a 1 or a 6. So 1,6,11,16,21,26...

For the least possible value just test with the first premise N divided by 3 with generated values from the second premise. Looking through the values 1/3 has R =1 and 6/3 has R=0, 11/3 has R = 2. So 11 is the answer.

I think the simple trick is recognizing the importance and simplicity of the second premise as opposed to the first and using the generated values to test a priori the first premise.

Did they really ask for greatest value of N. That's easily infinity because there would always be a value greater than the greatest value you find out some of the few values I could look through are 56,116.

I'm assuming the question had options in finding the greatest value amongst the option just test the initial generated values with the second premise.
If the options were say
a)1
b)6
c)11
d)21
e)26

To test for least possible value start from the smallest option in ascending order. Likewise for the greatest value start from the greatest value in descending order.

So in that case 11 and 26 would be your answers.

Just recognize the pattern that positive integers N divided by 5 with remainder 1 always end with a 1 or a 6, I think that's what you get to take away from the question.

Thanks for the break down.

Mikkyboy:
Hi all,
I'm a silent but ardent follower and reader of this thread.
i'm a very busy person so I didnt have all the time to prepare for my GRE and TOEFL.
GRE:
Preparation time : almost 3 months off and on
Scores:Q :152 V : 152 : AW :3.0\
Materials Used : All materials from nairaland.
Lesson Learnt: I didn't devote time for practice.I did only two PowerPrep tests,(not full tests).In summary my prep was awful.
TOEFL :
Preparation time: 1 week
SCORES :Reading:26 Listening: 28 Speaking : 26 Writing : 28
Materials Used : Notefull Videos
Lesson Learnt : No need to Study too much for TOEFL if you actually graduated from university and earned your degree.Just understand the exam setup.

GPA: UG: 3.3/4.0
PG (Msc): about 3.68/4.0

On Applications:
I cannot over emphasis what I've gained from this forum.It has been said time without number contact Profs that you hope to do research with.
With this in mind I contacted profs,some replied while some didn't. But fortunately for me even before applying, I can say I already have two profs that have accepted me already with funding I hope.(because this is the koko, and we discussed about it already).
On this note I wish all 2019 hopefulls all the best in this application round.

I hope to comment in the future that one of our veterans here came to pick me up at JFK..(winks)

(Make Una no vex oooo, before people go bombard me say i no come post here since..lol...I no get time ni o...and i dont have excuse to give for not posting......so my apologies.Thanks for accepting my apologies in advance)

Thanks to : PonPon,Quoran,Drhopeful,cutemorgan,thegrandchemist,ndawe and all of you who have commented or given useful advise on this thread.
For future readers: if this thread gets to 1000 pages, please and please read all pages and you will never regret you did.You will be in a position to advise others.

Congrats.....


"Like I'll always say TOEFL is JS3 english. Learn question types, as a Nigerian practice speaking and leave like 3-7 days on everything...GRE crumbs can be used to ace the exam."

Thank you.

Good day all,

Please I have a little info on how to contact prof.

I use google scholar site and search for the research area of my interest. I check on the profile of people conducting research in the area. Usually on their google scholar profile page there will be a list of research interests. If you click on any one it will take you to a page with list of people with similar research interest and their number of citation. That way you can then see all of people from different school and countries with similar interest as yours.

Thanks

Yildiz:
Good day all,

Please I have a little info on how to contact prof.

I use google scholar site and search for the research area of my interest. I check on the profile of people conducting research in the area. Usually on their google scholar profile page there will be a list of research interests. If you click on any one it will take you to a page with list of people with similar research interest and their number of citation. That way you can then see all of people from different school and countries with similar interest as yours.

Thanks

You should also check these researchers' profiles on their university websites. You might even get links to their personal websites which has more details or links to their research groups.

All the best!!!

lolokike:
Hello, please hope University at Buffalo is not on the embassy blacklist?

UB is a great school.

[quote author=Mikkyboy post=70960674][/quote]Congratulations dear and all the best with everything!

manlikegb:
Please I need your help concerning your contact for Lautech MBA transcript for my spouse. I've just sent you a PM. Thanks!

please i need help in processsing Lautech's transcript. Kindly assist with a contact person please. Thank you.

ponpon:
Waste your time not sir... x greater than 2 points CGPA gets fully funded on this end sir!!!!

can you be more explicit here sir? Did you mean any CGPA greater than 2.0 can get funding?[color=#770077][/color]

TheZed:
UB is a great school.

Okay, thanks.

BukTenny01:
please i need help in processsing Lautech's transcript. Kindly assist with a contact person please. Thank you.

Send PM

Patrick2go:
Team #fall19

...and at the end Ours' will be a story that brought GLORY to his name�
Let's connect i sent a mail.

I didn't see any mail hun. Please resend.

ponpon:
Congrats man! keep mailing connecting and be application smart!!!

Like I'll always say TOEFL is JS3 english. Learn question types, as a Nigerian practice speaking and leave like 3-7 days on everything...GRE crumbs can be used to ace the exam.

Mr Ponpon, is your TOEFL service still available at the reduce rate ?

And do you pay for IELTS too ?

DanjaNinja:
My GRE Experience: Lessons Learnt - J.

General Tips
#Tip 1: Don’t rely on any one single book.

Each book has its strength and weakness. Combine them all for maximum impact.

#Tip 2: What books do I need?

1. Grubber 2015
2. Barron’s GRE
3. Nova GRE Math Bible
4. Kaplan
5. Princeton Review

#Tip 3: How can I get these books?

[b][color=#990000]UPDATE : January 2017:
As of this moment, the GRE materials have been deleted from both accounts by google due to Copyright violations. Nonetheless, these materials are widely available through a simple google search.

[/color][/b]
If you can afford physical copies of these books – Sweet, go head and buy them all. But If you can’t afford any or you’re a ijebu madam like the lovely,intelligent MsNas or like myself, simply send a blank mail to selfstudy360@gmail.com or selfstudy.version2@gmail.com for soft copies (Pdf’s). #MoneyMustNotWaste

(a) selfstudy360@gmail.com contains:

• Barron's New GRE 19th Edition
• Cracking the GRE 2013
• Gruber's Complete GRE Guide 2012

While

(b) Selfstudy.version2@gmail.com (New*) contains:

• Gruber's Complete GRE Guide (2015)
• Mahanttan Prep - 5* lb. Book of GRE® Practice Problems (2013)
• Nova’s GRE Math Bible (2008)

#Tip 4: When should I take the GRE?

Take the exam at least 4 months before you plan to send your admission applications. That way, if you don’t meet your targeted score (not your portion…Oya say Amen!), you would still have enough time to retake the exam without duress. For example, if the deadline for admission application is September 15th, the ideal time for taking the GRE should be by May. The reason for this is simple: If you don’t meet ur target score, you can retake the GRE by June thereby providing ample time for sending your application. This is not a rule but a suggestion.


#Tip 5: How much time would it take to prepare for the GRE?

Minimum: 2months @ 4-5hours per day.
Note: The number of hours do not really matter, it’s the amount of problem solving skills learnt per unit time that counts. Some people learn quickly while for others, it might take longer to read and understand new concepts. So remember, 4-5hours are just recommendations, whether u spend more or less time – ultimately, it doesn’t matter. What matters is how much u learn and how fast you can correctly answer questions. If it takes u 4-5hours per day to achieve this goal, so be it. If it takes u less time, so be it. If it takes you more time, so be it. No one cares. Ultimately it’s your scores that matters.

#Tip 6: Can I prepare within a month?

Yes u can, but it’s not advisable. You need time to internalize and completely memorizes the GRE strategies.

And lastly,

#Tip 7: Don’t be deceived by your score on POWERPREP II.

You took the sample test on PowerPrep II, you had an average of 160-165, you feel good and cant wait to take the actual test. Truth is Powerprep II does not compare to the actual test. On a scale of one to ten, one being very easy and ten being very difficult, Powerprep is a 4.5 and the actual test is an 8.5. #OkBye

Now for the part you’ve been waiting for: My GRE Experience.

This is a summary of lesson learnt from my personal experience, please feel free to add your insights and contributions. Sharing is caring.

You probably know this already but just to refresh your memory - The GRE is made up of three parts: Analytical writing, Verbal and Quantitative.
1. Analytical Writing
2. Verbal
3. Quantitative

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO ACHIEVE HIGH SCORES.

FOR ANALYTICAL WRITING:

Books and Resources needed for Analytical Writing:
Official GRE Topic List (30%) + Kaplan (60%) + Barron (10%).

(a) Official GRE Topic List: GRE maintains a list of every possible topic that you will find on the actual test date!!!!!! It’s totally legal and you can find the list here:
Pool of Argument Topics: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/argument/pool

Pool of Issue Topics: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool

The list is quite exhaustive: 200 issue task topics and 200 argument task topics. Once you have the list, group the topics into categories and proceed to (b). I believe if u know the possible questions, your chances of success should be up 30%.

(b) Get a copy of Kaplan’s New GRE Premiere and head to the Analytical Writing Section. Read, digest and understand the essay development template for both the issue task and the argument task as discussed on chapter 15 – Chapter 21 (New GRE Premiere - Kaplan 2011-2012 edition. Newer editions should be better). Don’t bother reading anything else on Kaplan, the rest of the book is useless. With the Kaplan template, you can begin to draw up possible responses to each topic category from the GRE topic list that you obtained from the GRE website. That way, on the test day, coming up with responses won’t be all that difficult because you’ve seen it all – abi how una see am?

(c) Get a copy of Barron: While this may not be compulsory, it will help you in paragraph development. Read and understand the “Claim, Grounds and Warrants” development on chapter 6 (Barron’s New GRE 19th Edition).

The last and most important step is to PRACTISE, PRACTISE AND PRACTISE. Practice using the available topics from the GRE list in a timed mode – your practice should mimic the real test. For the GRE, its 30minutes per writing task but for you, its 22 minutes. Why? It’s always better to practice with less time – It makes you stronger.

Practice with POWERPREP writing platform or Notepad to get a feel of the nature of the typing platform. Don’t practice with Microsoft Word.

One Again, PRACTISE AND PRACTISE. It’s ultra-important you do so. You can only write well by constant practice.

My Experience: I didn’t practice enough. Truth be told I practiced only once and the end result was abysmal. I could only manage one sensible paragraph for the issue task – Big Poo. The way time flies when ur messing up is simply amazing. The argument task was much better, I wrote 4 sensible paragraphs –all within 23 minutes.
Score: Surprisingly,I scored a 3 on the writing section. since the total score is the average of both scores, I assume I made a 5 on argument and a 1 on issue…lol..just my opinion.

Generally, Argument tasks are easier than issue tasks – for Argument tasks, an essay or issue with faulty premises is given; your job is to identify and logically explain them while for the Issue writing Task, you have to develop your own argument from scratch. Finding faults is easy (argument task), writing from scratch is less easy (issue essay). But for you reading this right now, a minimum of 4.5/6 should be perfectly achievable. Why? Cos you know every possible topic, you have pre-planned responses and your “hand dey hot” due to constant writing practice.

One last tip: As soon as you are done with a particular section, whether you performed well or not, it’s best to completely ignore that section, it belongs to the past - it doesn’t matter anymore. Whether you did well or not, does not matter and if you believe you didn’t perform well, it still doesn’t matter. Focus completely on the next section – You have seven (7) more sections to deal with and you need a focused, optimistic mindset to proceed successfully. There’s no use crying over spilt milk. [/b]

FOR QUANTITATIVE

Books You Need for Quantitative:

Grubber (25%) + Barron’s (25%) + Nova GRE Math Bible (25%) + Mahanttan (25%).

Do you have to read them all from cover to cover? Not really. Each book has its strength and weakness’s. You want to be prepared for every possibility. Better you write the GRE once than write it twice. Think of the cash - $200. Think of the time spent on preparation – weeks, even months and finally, think of your Goals. So grab does books and study like mad. The end justify the means.

Lesson 1: Study each question category and solve the most difficult questions you can find on that category to re-enforce your understanding of that category.

For example, if you had prepared with Grubber like I did, you will find the data interpretation, graphical and statistical questions difficult. Why? Grubber does not really delve into these sections. Barron in addition with Manhattan and Nova does a better job. So read and understand the underlying principles and skim all books for difficult questions on all topics.
Likewise, if u ignore Grubber’s Data Comparison and algebra strategies, you might not do so well. But then, there are notable exceptions. Individuals with an engineering, mathematical and statistical background would generally do better in the Quantitative section – they’ve been doing these problems for years. Also those with an aptitude for numbers would better. Does that mean those with little mathematically backgrounds would end up with low scores? – Nope. Just read up and practice, you might end up doing better than the so called Math wizards.

The GRE Quantitative consists of two sections made up of 25 questions each. Each section runs for 40minutes – that’s an average of 96 seconds per question – which leads to lesson 2.

Lesson 2: When studying and solving quantitative questions, set a time limit of 50 seconds per question and stick to it. Like previously stated, practicing with less time makes you stronger and faster.

Lesson 3: Solve lots of Quanttitative questions.

Manhanttan and Nova Math Bible offer a huge collection of quality quantitative questions. Solve as much questions as you can on both books. Luckily, if you don’t know the answers, solutions and explanations are provided in both books.

My Experience: I studied solely with grubber. Algebra and data comparison were a walk in the park but “I hear “ween” for Data interpretation/Statistics, Combinations and Graphs. On the actual test, I saw 6 hefty graphical and data interpretation problems and some others I can’t recall @ the moment. Were they super hard? – Not really but “them hard small o”. To answer them, you need to understand the question (30secs), solve for solutions (30-40secs) and compare possible answers (10secs). If u get it wrong, u start all over again. But as you start over, remember Time dey go ooooo!
That’s why you need Lesson 4.


Lesson 4:Someone on this thread advised - if you find any question difficult, simply mark that question and move on to others.. You may return to that question later. Don’t waste time trying to solve one question for over 1 minute, skip and return later. This is so true!.

FOR VERBAL

Books you need: Grubber (90%) + Barron (10%).

Honestly, You can actually survive by using only grubber. The verbal section seems like the easiest section on the GRE but don’t be complacent o! This section is pretty tricky. I remember one particular essay with about seven (7) paragraphs. It was so dense that you could barely understand the content of a single paragraph; It also felt like it was written in another language. It was that difficult.

Also,the verbal section is made up of several subsections all mixed into one. You will find sentence completion (synonyms and antonyms) and essay comprehension all packed into one.
My Experience: I scored a 157/170 – Not bad @ all given that Grubber was the sole book I used. I won’t lie, am an avid reader – I guess that helped. However, if you study the Grubber Verbal Strategies: Latin and Greek Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes; the Most Important/Frequently Used GRE Words and Reading Comprehension Strategies – You should have no problem with the Verbal section. Grubber does an excellent job by building ur vocabulary, teaching new words and providing some interesting strategies for essay comprehension.
There are other books like Princeton Review but since I didn’t use it, I can’t say much about it. This is where external input is advisable. Those who used Princeton, oya speak up.

Final Advice:
Unlike Jamb (wicked people) that provides a single opportunity to write the exam per year, the GRE gives you 5 chances per year to write the exam (better people). But because you can doesn’t mean you should. Prepare well and write it once. A score of 160 per section is totally achievable. Just read and solve a huge collection of difficult questions in a timed mode.

Oya it haff do, una bye bye, I don try.


UPDATE 1: If you had to choose one Book for Quantitative Analysis, Barron's should be it. That Book is the truth. The best GRE Quantitative prep book ever.

UPDATE 2: Added Kaplan New GRE to "selfstudy.version2@gmail.com". If you want a copy of the Kaplan GRE book, send a blank mail to selfstudy.version2@gmail.com" .

DOWNLOAD GRE BOOKS AND STUDY GUIDE HERE

Is the powerprep simulator an application or a book?..and is there any other words for preparation

DanjaNinja:
I found a standalone simulator for the GRE...Turns out its way better than POWERPREP. Holla me if you need a copy.

How do I get both simulators?...are they applications?..can u send them to me or something

I'm new in this thread, and I've been following it from the beginning. I do not really have anything to offer at the moment, but I pray God would continue to bless those that are always here to make sure we get the desired assistance. I pray God would also give me the grace to do same to others here, and in any place I find myself.
I intend to write GRE and TOEFL soon. Please, gurus in the house help me with useful materials that'll enhance my performance.
My mail is: johnsbright92@yahoo.ca

isangjohnson:
I'm new in this thread, and I've been following it from the beginning. I do not really have anything to offer at the moment, but I pray God would continue to bless those that are always here to make sure we get the desired assistance. I pray God would also give me the grace to do same to others here, and in any place I find myself.
I intend to write GRE and TOEFL soon. Please, gurus in the house help me with useful materials that'll enhance my performance.
My mail is: johnsbright92@yahoo.ca

Go to the front page of this thread and download the required books. Asides that, try to cover more than 100 pages because in there lies information required for you to ace the GRE.

The magoosh materials are also useful.
Link to download magoosh videos: https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1EuWmvy3lr5eIEeyDouZOekjAKpL36kbX

opash82:
This is what I am thinking. From ETS it is $220 (#80k approx) but from other centre it is 50k... Price different is damn much

Hi there, please which center(s) charge 50k?

Let come together on whatsapp n rob mind. Drop your number for you to be added on to the group.

Sss2:
Let come together on whatsapp n rob mind. Drop your number for you to be added on to the group.

This thread was created for others to learn from. If you create a WhatsApp group, how would others who are coming learn? If the original founders of this thread decided to go the WhatsApp way, would you have found anything like this?

Sss2:
Let come together on whatsapp n rob mind. Drop your number for you to be added on to the group.

Please take your whatsapp elsewhere we dont want.