So I took the GRE® today

[Dakini]

Hi please see my take on some of the the analogies for now. There's a lot, so I'll do some of them.

1. quatrain:stanza
A X is a type of Y

2. bootless:futile
If sth is X, it will be Y

3. fustian:bombastic
Y is a DC (defining characteristic) of X

4. infinitude:measure
If sth is X, it cannot be Y

5. cistern:liquid
X is used to store Y - agree

6. lock:secure
lock is used to keep things secure - or "the purpose of X is to keep things Y"

7. vivid:intensity
If sth is X it will have Y

8. debase:status
if you are X, you will lose your Y

9. glacier:ice
This one I had trouble with but I would say make it simpler (simplicity is KEY in the analogies else you will confuse yourself) and say perhaps X is a type of Y

10. resonant:sound
amplification of Y is X - agree

11. judge:laws
The job of X is to [decide] Y - there's actually a lot of choices for the relationship btw a judge and the law and I think I would keep those in mind to see if there's a bridge that fits in the answer choices

12. unswerving:vacillate
I wouldn't use "antonyms" as a bridge; remember, you need to make a sentence; that's the most accurate way.
My take; if someone is Y, they won't be X

13. cajoling:reluctance
This was another weird one. I thought maybe "X is sth negative one does if another person shows Y"

14. slothful:assiduity
Again, make a sentence. If s'one is X, they won't be Y.

15. fence: livestock
The PURPOSE of X is to keep in/house Y.

16. reliable:fail
Another strange one - I had "if s'one is X, they won't Y you"

17. frill:superfluity
X is a kind of Y - agree, but perhaps also "Y is a DC of X"

18. obsequious:toady
X is a DC of Y

19. allay:relieve
The PURPOSE of X is to Y

20. exhaust:energy
If s'one is X, they will have no Y

21. dissembler:forthright
Y is NOT a DC of a X

22. mirror:reflectivity
function of X is to provide Y - agree

23. bolster:support
X is a maximized version of Y (where Y is the neutral term)

24. book:appendix
supplementary material of X is Y - agree; or "Y can be found at the end of a X"

25. still:movement
If sth is X it will have no Y

26. stolid:impassive
Synonyms - yes, but I would use "if s'one is X, they will be Y"

27. martinet:lenient
Y is NOT a DC of a X

28. school:learn
The purpose of going to X is to Y

29. overture:introduction
X is a type of Y (here, remember that X is found in an opera)

30. futon:bed
No, the correct one has to be "X is a TYPE of Y"

31. miscreant:wretched
Y is a DC of X

32. epic:poem
X is long & great TYPE OF Y

33. saga:anecdote
No, they are opposite, actually. So ... "A X will NOT be a Y"

34. raucous:harsh
X is a maximized version of Y

35. orchestra:musician
Y is a member of X; or perhaps "A X is made up of many Ys"

36. bumptious:assertive
X is maximize form of Y

37. daguerreotype:photograph
X is an obsolete type of Y

38. mirror:reflective
purpose of X is to provide Y

39. miscreant:criminal
Synonyms or Y is maximize term of X; this was another tricky one; I thought "Y is a DC of X" or "a X acts in a Y way"

40. anachronistic:time
X is lack of Y - I thought "X is sth out of place in time" (please see my vocab list)

41. fervor:zealot
X is a DC of Y

42. terseness:superfluous
If sth is X, it will not be Y

43. disinfectant:germ
The PURPOSE of X is to destroy Y

44. percipient:discernment
If s'one is X, they will display Y

45. envelope:enclose
X is used to enclose sth - agree

46. obliterate:unnecessary
If sth is Y, we can perform X on that - another weird one; yours make sense to me

47. nimble:clumsiness
If s'one is X, they will not be Y

48. fluvial:river
X is pertaining to Y; or perhaps "X is a DC of a Y"

49. soothe:calm
X is max version of Y (where Y is the neutral term)

50. enfeeble:strength
If s'one is X, they won't have Y

51. lock:secure
The PURPOSE X is used to keep things Y

52. sedulous:diligent
X is of higher intensity than Y - agree

53. allay:relief
see No 49

54. vault:valuables
X is an enclosure to keep Y - agree

55. stature:tall
I had "X is a type of Y"

56. toady: flatter
Y is a DC of X

57. pique:assuage
Y reduces X (a wierd one; please see the thread in the group)

58. piquant:insipid
If s'th is X, it won't be Y

59. dormant:vigor
if s'one is X, they won't have Y

60. reticent:garrulous
If s'one is X, they won't be Y

61. bumptious:assertive
X is higher intensity of Y or "Y is a DC of X"

62. saga:narrative
No, X is a type of Y

63. lucid:understand
If s'th is X, it can be easily Y

64. abate:status
X means to reduce Y

65. firefly:insect
X is a kind of Y

66. brute:urbanity
Y is not a DC of a X

67. car:chrome
X is also made up of Y - I'm not sure about this one

68. indolent:vivify
If s'one is Y, they won't be X.

69. querulous:complain
The one who is X always tend to Y - agree

Sugeni, keep it simple; think about the type of antonym it is. After practice, you'll see the patterns. Hopefully my take will help you somewhat. Are you also doing the questions in the ETS book? The blog is great, but you need to also learn how to match up the Question w/ the answer choices which can also be tricky cos some may look very alike.

[Dakini]

Haha, I got carried away and did them all! ;P

[Sugeni]

Hi Dakini,

Again, thanks a lot for your time.
However, I haven't bought the ETS book yet. Can you please tell me whether ETS-10th edition has older version of exams like 38 questions , 30 minutes or it has newer version like 30 questions 30 minutes.

I am asking you because I already have 9th edition of ETS book and it has 38 question in verbal exam and its pattern is different than real exam.

Thanks,
Sugeni

[Dakini]

Sugeni, the 10th Ed. has 38 questions. The pattern is the same. I don't have the 9th, but I would imagine its very similar. Does it have tests from sth like 1987-92 in it? Are there 7 tests?

[Sugeni]

Yes, it has seven tests.

All are in this order
First 7 are sc, Next up to 16 are analogies and then RC and at the end it has antonyms.
If the 10th edition is similar to the 9th, then I think I don't need to buy new book. However I was hoping the new edition will be according to the pattern. Anyway, Please confirm if it is similar.

Thanks,
Sugeni

[Dakini]

yes, that is the same format but bear in mind that the real thing will not have such an order and it is possible to get 3 RCs (like I did); I have heard some test takers say that they got a lot of antonyms too. If you are comfortable w/ the 9th ed., then go ahead w/ that. Use those as practice. Practice is the most important thing.

[Sugeni]

All right,
Thanks a lot,
Sugeni

[Poojavet]

hello
i am taking the test in oct,started my preparation since a few days
i've been reading the posts by all three here...sugeni,dakini,and suchi..its grt to see Dakini being so helpful..thank u
i have a question,which yahoo forum are you all refering to?
secondly,isnt it important to finish learning the words first and then start taking the practice tests???
thank u

[Dakini]

Hi poojavet,

Just stumbled across your msg; don't know why I didn't get a notification in my inbox? Anyways, for the yahoo group, please see DYNAMITE's post; there is a link to a blog, very helpful, and then a link to the yahoo group.

I think you should learn as you go. There are so many words to learn, and some will be totally unexpected. For example, even 2 days before the test there were a couple I didn't know! If you have a wordlist of around 200 words or so (like Kaplan, Barron's) you can for sure study for a bit first and then attempt the questions. I guess it would just depend on your study style! Try different ways and see what works for you!

Take care and good luck!

[Poojavet]

hello dakini
thanks a lot for getting back so soon.am preparing from the barrons.i assumed that it was best to first finish the wordlist n the maths from there n then to attempt the tests.i am very bad at the quant section,have been going through all your posts..very helpful..thank u
i found the post by dynamite,found both the link n the forum..thank u
there is another thing that i wanted to know..how did u prepare for the analytical writing?
take care

[Dakini]

hi poojavet;

Now the notification works! I am really happy that my posts are helping you and others! I want everyone to beat the GRE/ETS at their own game!

Analytical writing is another "beast" altogether. I learned the Kaplan template for essay writing; basically you need to know what they are asking and what they are looking for.

Briefly, in the Issue essay, you need to argue ONE side only; don't sit on the fence. List 2-4 reasons why you agree/disagree, then put in a rhetorical question/answer for extra points. A conclusion to wrap up and that's it.

In the Argument, you just have to critique the awfully one-dimensional argument that they give you. There will be obvious flaws in the author's arguments and its your job to locate those and also to provide helpful suggestions as to how the argument could be improved. That's really it!

I didn't do much prep - when I felt like it during mock tests, I'd write the outline out and that's it. I am pretty confident in my writing skills - I am a literature major - so I thought it would be enough prep for me. Your case could be different from mine, and I would say if you are not so confident then you need to practice more. Getting advice from Ms Prachi on the group could be useful for you. It seems like she is willing to read essays too.

What other information I can give you is as follows:

1. the AW section was originally intended to assess the English level of English 2nd Language students. If you are one such student, then you may want to impress.

2. sometimes schools just don't really care about this section so please contact your school to check; also ask for what score they want - they are obliged to tell you apparently.

3. if you can write well and even if your arguments aren't that great, I have heard that you will get at least a 4. Ms. Prachi has said that 3, however, is no good.

I actually haven't gotten my scores for AW yet. They should be here Friday. I wonder how I did - let me share my funny (?) experience with you. When I was writing the essay, I felt awfully bored, no joke. I was just going along, following the template and it was just not challenging at all. So I ended up giving these outlandish examples - Issue essay I had dealt w/ the necessity of technology and I started writing about rice cookers and comparing that to the hand made process which I learned from my grandma; I also started to pun a lot - my argument essay was about a town called Clearview and the argument was written so badly that I started talking about how the author had "muddied" Clearview's name. I don't know if you found these things funny but it sure was funny for me! What was great about what happened though was that the essays calmed me down a lot before the real "meat" of the GRE. After laughing to myself I was pretty relaxed when I began the next section! Of course, I panicked halfway into that next section but at least I had 15 mins of calm, rational thinking!

I hope the above helps you! Good luck!

[Poojavet]

hello dakini,
judging by the way you write ,u definately didnt need any prep for the essay writing!
i did find the information useful.
about your experience with the essay..i think it was very practical approach to mention about the rice cooker..
abt the argument essay...i wish i could think of such a brilliant idea n relate the whole essay to the name of the essay !!!
i am from india ,so i guess i belong to the group who definately need to impress
i definately need to work on all 3 sections..am waiting for the notification from the yahoo grp...will then start posting my essays there..have also posted my 1st essay here...
thank you again for your time n effort
regards

[Dakini]

Poojavet,

I didn't realize you had an essay up here. Tell you what, after I get my score and if I do decent I'll try to help you - I mean, if I end up getting a decent score I would feel like I am somewhat "qualified" (?) to give you an opinion that could actually help you with your prep. If I messed up, then my opinion wouldn't be worth anything anyways. What do you say? I'll contact you again after I get my score. There may be a slight delay though, since I am moving cross country next week but I'll really try my best!

Take care for now!

[Poojavet]

hello Dakini,
my name is Pooja,u can call me that
its nice of u to offer to help by reviewing my essay...though at this stage i feel it would be a torture for any one to read it
am sure you will get a grt score n the score is not something that would qualify you to judge n rate my essay or any ones for that matter.
i understand you r buzy now...you go through it when ever you have time
thank you again

[Suchibansal]

Hi Pooja,

another good resource for AWA is the ETS prep material for AWA. They have given examples of the different kinds of essays based on how they would score. Its a good way of finding out what an essay that scored 6 or a 5 reads like.

also i found it more useful to do tests along with learning the words. its a great way of testing yourself on words that you have learnt. also, it helps to test the words in an actual test format, so for instance, you may know the meaning of a word in islolation but its important to be able to take its meaning and build a relationship with another word for analogies.

hope this helps:))