Online GRE Test Preparation
- Study as many new words as you can. There are numerous books available that provide you with hundreds of words to study. These words are specially selected, as they are the words that have appeared the most on past GRE exams. Use these word banks to your advantage. There are online websites that allow you to make virtual flash cards. Many of these websites are free and allow you to make unlimited flash cards from which you can study. When you find several word banks, enter them as virtual flash cards and study them as much as you can. Vocabulary forms a large part of the verbal section of the GRE and the examiners that make the questions choose from a large bank of words, so it is crucial that you learn as many new words as you can using word banks of previously used words.
- For the Analytical Writing section of the GRE, you will be required to write a short essay on an "argument" and an "issue". Educating Testing Services (ETS), provides sample questions on their website for both topics. For $13, you can write a sample essay to one of the many example questions ETS provides you with on their website (www.ets.org/gre/) and then submit it to a service called "ScoreItNow" for grading. This will provide you with feedback on what aspects of your writing you need to improve before you tackle a similar question on the real exam.
- Offering a free practice book on their website, ETS has a downloadable version available online that anyone can download. This is an essential tool for anyone that wishes to achieve a high score on the GRE. The practice booklet offers many practice questions and study tips to help prepare you. If you have registered for the paper-based GRE, you will receive a free copy of the practice test in the mail. However, if you have registered for the computer-based GRE, you will need to go to www.ets.org/gre/ in order to view and download the practice exam.
- Study groups can be very helpful in that they allow you to ask questions and learn from others. While study groups are very beneficial, however, one may find it difficult to find study groups that are free. Many that are in-person study groups also have a tutor, who will likely charge participants of the group a flat rate per study session. The tutor-guided study groups are definitely worth looking into. However, if you are unable to join an in-person study group, there are online study groups that you can join. Websites such as: http://www.freewebs.com/greomatic/grehereandthere.htm provide visitors with a recommended study schedule, a forum to post GRE-related questions and study resources such as books and free GRE downloads that will help prepare you and better your chances at scoring a high mark.
