Improving your English is a must because out of 195, 50 countries have English as their native language. The GRE is an examination which is an admission criteria for universities throughout throughout the world. Some countries like Canada, and the UK need TOEFL scores along with GRE scores to get into top grad schools. Also, some British countries need an IELTS score with the GRE. TOEFL and IELTS are the exams used for evaluating english proficiency.
Weightage of English in GRE
GRE consist of three sections that is
- Quantitative section,
- Verbal section
- Analytical writing
- Two sections are to test english proficiency. The Quantitative and Verbal sections consist of a 130-170 score while the analytical section consist of 0-6 in scores. Improving Vocabulary can get you high score in the verbal section. The AWA section consist of two essays which has 30 minutes each and its evaluation is on the basis of 0-6 scores.
How you can better your English to ace these sections :
For The Verbal Section
- Working on your vocabulary is important here. Vocab can be also used in the AWA section so it’s never a waste of time. We usually ignore the tough words that we come across when we read. Inculcate the habit of reading many books, magazines, news papers to expose yourself to terms and words that you haven’t heard of.
- Learn at least 50 words a day use it in sentences and then when you talk get used to these words. If 50 is a huge number then start with 10 first and increase learning day by day. Find easy way to remember these. One way
Make sentences with new words and use them with your friends and relatives. Write them! (the best way to memorize)
- Keep flashcards to know better. Many mobile applications have been introduced that has GRE specific flashcards to learn easily.
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Practice papers , Practice as much as you can.
- Learn from the root words. Many words can contain similar meanings. Root words will even help you to guess right choice if you don’t know the answer.
- Read english papers specially New york Times, The Hindu, and The Times of India
- Play word games.
- Watch videos with english subtitles.
- Make habit of reading novels.
- Write journal daily and use the words as much as you can that you have learnt today.
- You can also recite the words and make a conversation to act like monologue and record it for fun. And you can listen to it later in case you forgot what it meant.
For Analytics Section
- Dedicate at least one hour for AWA section daily.
- ETS has online pool take part in arguments and write an essay daily.
- Try to speak in english all the time. It’s never too late to get started!
- Many students skip AWA section when they solve practise papers so don’t practice essays as you practise other sections to increase efficiency and creativity.
- Do not write useless to increase words. Write creative and important points.
- Many people hurriedly start writing as soon as they receive the topic so take a minute and think then organise points and write. If one started doing this practice in practise papers then it will become a habit.
- Writing efficiently in AWA section will help you to write SOPs better.
- Build strong arguments.
- Read sample essays and create a structure in which they are written.
- Improve vocab and grammar.
- Write but manage time you just have 10 minutes to write while other to think and organise so make a habit to practice in 10 minutes.
- Write on online websites where you can get feedback on your essays from professional and discuss to write better. They are mentioned in websites section.
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Practice to write AWA section in continuous flow and clarity. Avoid ambiguous sentences.
- Use good quotes and lines to favour your argument.
- Format the outline of the essay with the sections like introduction, conclusions etc.
- Write at least three practice essays daily.
- Choose real world examples and statistics.
Ingredients to Perfection
Books
- Princeton Review’s Word Smart series 2. Magoosh Vocab ebook 3. 500 Essential Words: GRE Vocabulary Flash Cards 4. 500 Advanced Words: GRE Vocabulary Flash Cards 5. Essential Words for the GRE (Barron’s GRE) 6. Build Your Vocabulary Skills! A Quick and Easy Method 7. 50 Cool Stories 3000 Hot Words: Vocabulary Building for GRE/MBA/SAT 8. Word Power Made Easy’ by Norman Lewis 9. Kaplan 10. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction 11. The Elements of Style (4th Edition) 4th Edition
Websites
For Vocab
- https://magoosh.com/gre/2016/gre-word-lists/ 2. https://gre.magoosh.com/flashcards/vocabulary 3. https://quizlet.com/ 4. https://www.wordnik.com/ 5. https://mnemonicdictionary.com/ 6. https://www.vocabulary.com/ 7. https://www.dictionary.com/ 8. http://dailyvocab.com/
For AWA
- https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/sa
mple_responses 2. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzjKS7t9cqSybVROS0NZSEVsVE0/edit 3. https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/argument /sample_responses
For online forums
- https://www.urch.com/forums/
- https://forum.thegradcafe.com/
For info
https://greprepclub.com/forum/greprepclub-guide-to-awa-the-clear-cut-3426.html
Practise Papers
- ETS Official guide for GRE 2. Powerprep II software
Applications
- VoLT (Vocabulary Learning techniques) 2. Improve Vocabulary Offline: BuildMyVocab 3. My Word List – Offline Dictionary – Flashcards 4. Word Store: learn, save, practice vocabulary 5. TOEFL Vocabulary 6. RE word list practice app 7. VocabSmith
