Graduate Record Exam (GRE) workshop II

Dr. Steve Alas Science Educational

Enhancement Services (SEES) Cal Poly Pomona

GRE Verbal section

•  Designed to measure the skills required to read and understand sentences and passages in standard written English.

•  It is an exercise in active reading, so take notes as you go.

•  When reading a passage, imagination helps. Don�t SEE the words. Make a movie in your head.

•  20 questions, 30 minutes

Question types

•  Sentence equivalence •  Text completion •  Reading comprehension

- Antonyms and analogies are gone!

Building your vocabulary •  Read, Read, Read •  GRE Word books not as useful as

roots, suffixes and prefixes •  Flashcards

– On one side - the word – Opposite side - concise definition (2-3

words) – No longer as useful as roots

•  Work through cards (subdivide stack, set aside, introduce, reshuffle)

Word of the Day

Use it that day even if you get weird looks!

United Nations World Food Programme

freerice.com

Vocabulary.com Use prefixes, suffixes, roots

and cognates

•  Prefixes (multi), Suffixes (less) •  Root: �gen� - birth, class or kin; congenital •  Cognates: word that means the same in

multiple languages; �ami� – friend •  Practice it DAILY while standing everywhere

Sentence Equivalence (SE) and Text Completions (TC)

are “Fill-in” questions

Text completions are multi-blank versions of Sentence Equivalence

Sentence Equivalence

For Questions 1 to 4, select the two answer choices that when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of the sentence as a whole and produce completed sentences that are alike in meaning

Text Completions

For Questions 5 to 8, select one entry for each blank from the corresponding column of choices. Fill all the blanks in the way that best completes the text.

Strategies •  Cover the answers •  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

•  Use process of elimination •  When you don’t know the words -> Is

the word Positive or negative?

Sentence Equivalence Questions

1.  With the departure of the long-time artistic director, the theater company was ____ able to alter the downward trend of ticket sales by attracting new audience members.

(A)  momentarily (B)  finally (C)  concisely (D)  ultimately (E)  frankly (F)  succinctly

Physically cover the answer choices on the screen, read the sentence, and write down your own words for the blank(s).

Clue and Trigger Words 2.  Although the institute was famous for producing

creative risk-takers, it was precisely the ____ of the program that allowed students to achieve the mastery of their field necessary to be able to experiment.

A.  mediation B.  complicity C.  regularity D.  arbitration E.  manifestation F.  uniformity

Where is your clue? Where is your trigger?

Ignore the fluff 3.  Never perturbed, the bus driver took the lesser

peccadilloes of traffic as a necessary but ____ feature of the job.

A.  unwelcome B.  grievous C.  blatant D.  pleasant E.  dangerous F.  disagreeable

Where is your clue? Where is your trigger?

Positive/Negative

•  In some cases, you may think of several words that could go in the blanks, or perhaps not any.

•  If so, don�t look for the perfect word. Ask yourself if the missing word is a positive or negative word. This may allow you to narrow down the choices or even identify the correct answer.

Descriptive Words: Positive/Negative

4.  Adjustments to the train schedule left commuters bewildered and angry, and as more passengers were left stranded on the platform the collective level of ____ rose quickly.

(A)  foreboding (B)  ire (C)  passiveness (D)  alacrity (E)  velocity

Where is your clue? Where is your trigger?

Text Completion Questions

1.  As long as we have music, no language barriers, whether deliberate or accidental, can prevent children from sharing ____ .

(A)  a forgotten dream (B)  a common emotion (C)  a new word (D)  an official goal (E)  an ancient discovery

(C) sacrosanct .. reexamined (D) modern .. modified

Look for the big picture

Multiple fill-ins 2.  When going into a negotiation, it is important to

prepare (i) ___. Without properly projecting all contingencies and outcomes of the exchange, it is too easy to be lured into a false sense of confidence and to overlook (ii) ___ details that could (iii) ___ affect the case.

(A)  quietly (B)  harmoniously (C)  adequately

(D)  cognizant (E)  vital (F)  existing

(G)  barely (H)  adversely (I)  judiciously

Blank (i) Blank (ii) Blank (iii)

Concentrate on the blank with the better clue FIRST.

3.  I find the music of Manhoff and Tweedy to be surprisingly (i) ___ for the genre. In a field crowded by strong beats and aggressive, almost dehumanized bass lines, they have created an almost (ii) ___ experience for the listener.

(A)  austere (B)  subtle (C)  wan

(D)  energetic (E)  puzzling (F)  ephemeral

Blank (i) Blank (ii)

Where is your clue? Where is your trigger?

Reading Comprehension

•  Short passage sets •  Long passage sets •  Argument passage sets (all short)

The Passages •  Structure:

–  Introductory sentence/paragraph – Supporting sentences/paragraph(s) – Concluding sentence/paragraph

•  After reading, know: – The main idea of the essay – The main idea of each paragraph

•  The items (questions) will deal with main idea, details, tone, inference and point of view

The items (questions) •  The Main Idea: what is it all about? •  Details: hunting mode; go find “these words”

in the passage •  Tone: the writer’s attitude toward the subject;

look for word choices surrounding the subject (noun)

•  Inferences: assumption very close to a known fact; it MUST be true, which helps choose the answer

•  Point of view: from whose perspective a point is being made

Short & Long Passages •  Do not read the passage for detail. Read rapidly

for understanding. •  If passage has 1-3 questions, read questions

FIRST then read passage so you know what you're looking for and read/skim passage

•  If 4-6 questions, read questions and read passage

•  For a long passage –  Read the first paragraph –  Read the first and last sentences of each subsequent

paragraph, skimming the rest •  Skimming vs. Scanning

Short & Long Passages •  Try to determine the subtopic for each paragraph

quickly. Focus on the general content of each paragraph, so you can determine the purpose of each paragraph. The first paragraph usually provides the main idea of the entire passage.

•  Ignore outside information and own opinion (delete familiarity)

•  Regardless of content, extremes are often wrong. An answer with "might" is generally better than an answer with "will.”

•  Identify the sentence that corresponds to the question you're answering. That let’s you narrow down to 2 options. You have 50% shot.

Reading Comprehension Question Questions 1 and 2 are based on the following reading passage.

Scientists know very little about the eating habits of our ancestors who lived over 2.5 million years ago. To solve this problem, scientists have started examining chimpanzees� hunting behavior and diet to find clues about our own prehistoric past. It is not difficult to determine why studying chimpanzees might be beneficial. Modern humans and chimpanzees are actually very closely related. Experts believe that chimpanzees share about 98.5 percent of our DNA sequence. If this is true, humans are more closely related to chimpanzees than they are to any other animal species.

Question and Answers The primary purpose of the passage is to (A)  explore biological and physiological similarities

between humans and chimpanzees (B)  discuss the health benefits of eating and hunting

while simultaneously predicting the effect of this behavior on chimpanzees

(C)  examine the hunting behavior and diet of chimpanzees and compare them to human activity

(D)  bring attention to the pioneering research of Dr. Jane Goodall in Tanzania

(E)  educate the public on the impact that DNA sequence analysis has on human studies

The ubiquity of social media in the urban areas of the United States may give the false impression that the vast majority of the country’s citizens primarily communicate through this form. In fact, it is the very characteristics that define urban living – including large populations, the physical location of news organizations, and the reality of mass transit – that create the need for social media. In less populated areas, a car radio is often sufficient entertainment for the commuter, and the idea of chatting online seems laughable when one’s neighbor waits across the street with a fresh pot of coffee and homemade cookies. Most telling, however, is the difference in the pace of life. City dwellers are used to a breakneck lifestyle, in which the most commodious means of communication with one’s community is a tweet; in the country, however, such rapid updates are preposterous. No one needs a tweet to alert them that the grass is growing.

The argument presented by the author of the passage

A.  Makes a factual case for a slow-paced lifestyle. B.  Asserts that the presence of national news

organizations is obtrusive to rural life. C.  Is limited by overgeneralizations about residents of

urban and rural areas, indulging in stereotypes of both.

D.  Specifies the locations depicted to create a specific argument.

E.  Provides support of the notion that most social media is inherently feverish.

Which of the following statements about urban life is supported by the passage

A.  Urban dwellers live in a chaotic lifestyle in which social communities must be built ad hoc.

B.  Urban dwellers benefit from having the major news outlets located in their proximate location, allowing them an insider’s perspective.

C.  The necessary commutes on mass transit for most urban dwellers has given rise to the popularity of social media that can be pursued during that time

In the context in which it appears, “preposterous” most newly means

A.  Ludicrous B.  Impossible C.  Incredible D.  Irrational E.  Needless