Presented by Emily Borcherding Latricia Hylton Deanne Gute Demystifying the GRE Presented by Emily Borcherding Latricia Hylton Deanne Gute

GRE General Information Cost: $205 Allow 3.5 hours for the test Sign up at www.gre.org or 1-800-GRE-CALL or by mail The test adapts one section at a time

Scoring Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning Analytical Writing - scaled score 130-170 in 1 pt. increments Analytical Writing - score levels 0.0-6.0 in 0.5 pt. increments Scores are good for 5 years -4 free score reports -additional reports $27 each

Structure of the Test 6 Sections of the test Analytical Writing Always begins with writing and then from there sections are mixed Analytical Writing Verbal Reasoning Quantitative Reasoning One Experimental/Research section Not scored

GRE Preparation Courses Offered summer and fall each year Rotate course order of offerings Register distance.uni.edu/gre-prep/enroll. Deadline is the Friday before the course starts Take one or all 3

Fall 2016 GRE Preparation Courses Classes are scheduled to meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm in ITTC 035. Verbal Reasoning August 30th- September 20th (7 sessions) $250 Analytical Writing September 22nd – October 13th (7 sessions) Quantitative Reasoning- October 18th - November 17th (10 sessions) $375 Total for currently-enrolled UNI students taking all three courses together: $775 Total for general public: $1,550

Two GRE Analytical Writing Prompts Issue (construct an argument, 30 minutes) Argument (critique an argument, 30 minutes) Two GRE Analytical Writing Prompts

Manage Your Time. You have 30 minutes for each essay. Allocate time where you need it most: Planning Writing Reviewing Proofreading

Manage Your Content. Holistic scoring on 0-6 scale Based on 4 major factors: Focus (on topic, position, and prompt) Substance Structure Control of language Two readers, scores averaged If ratings are greater than 1 point apart, a 3rd reader reviews your essays Readers expect a solid rough draft

Importance of Following Directions: Issue Essay Example Topic: Educational institutions have a responsibility to dissuade students from pursuing field of study in which they are unlikely to succeed. See handout for instruction sets

Argument Essay Example Topic: The following appeared in a memorandum from the manager of WWAC radio station. "WWAC must change from its current rock-music format because the number of listeners has been declining, even though the population in our listening area has been growing. The population growth has resulted mainly from people moving to our area after their retirement, and we must make listeners of these new residents. But they seem to have limited interest in music: several local stores selling recorded music have recently closed. Therefore, just changing to another kind of music is not going to increase our audience. Instead, we should adopt a news-and-talk format, a form of radio that is increasingly popular in our area.” See handout for instruction sets

Verbal Reasoning Verbal Reasoning- Two 30-minute sections of approx. 20 questions each Text Completion- approximately 6 questions Reading Comprehension- approximately 10 questions Sentence Equivalence- approximately 4 questions Vocabulary is critical for all 3 components of the verbal reasoning section

Verbal Reasoning Flashcards Additional Resources for Vocabulary Root Words Word Groupings List of definitions (Kaplan text) Additional Resources for Vocabulary Reading passages from all disciplines for practice

(Retrieved from http://www.uhd.edu/)

Quantitative Reasoning

Overview Questions pertaining to arithmetic, algebra, geometry, statistics, and data interpretation Consists of two Quantitative Reasoning sections 20 questions per section Each section lasts 35 minutes Quantitative Comparison Problem Solving Data Interpretation

What to Expect Multiple Answer Numeric Entry Calculator Usage You are presented with multiple answer choices. You are then to pick which of those choices is the correct answers. Multiple choice-one answer Multiple choice-multiple answers Numeric Entry You are asked to type your answer into a box Calculator Usage Level of Difficulty based on the first test

Why does the quantitative reasoning portion of the GRE test students the way it does? The test is attempting to decipher how well a student can interpret and solve basic math concepts. The questions do not require lengthy calculations, therefore strategy is key when analyzing the given information. Although it contains basic math concepts, the test becomes challenging when a student hasn’t had much practice or review of these concepts in recent years. Students are not use to approaching mathematical concepts the way the GRE test presents them

2) Column A Column B 37,652 3(104) + 7(103) + 6(102) + 5(10) + 2 For problems 1 and 2: Choose A if the quantity in column A is larger, Choose B if the quantity in column B is larger. Choose C if the quantities are equal. Choose D if the answer can not be determined. 1) S R T Column A Column B RS RT 2) Column A Column B 37,652 3(104) + 7(103) + 6(102) + 5(10) + 2 x +1 x x

3) In a graduating class of 236 students, 142 took algebra and 121 took chemistry. What is the greatest possible number of students that could have taken both algebra and chemistry? 4) What will it cost to tile a kitchen floor that is 12 feet wide by 20 feet long if the tile cost $8.91 per square yard? $224.51 $237.60 $246.55 $271.38 $282.32 Answer:

CONTENT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE KNOW YOUR RESOURCES Review Books Princeton Review Kaplan ETS Review Course Your Peers (Study Group) DEVELOP A STUDY STRATEGY/PLAN

2016 GRE Preparation Courses Fall 2016: Classes are scheduled to meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm in ITTC 035. GRE Verbal Reasoning: August 30 to September 20 GRE Analytical Writing: September 22 to October 13  GRE Quantitative Reasoning: October 18 to November 17

Academic Learning Center Contact Information Academic Learning Center ITTC 008 319-273-2361 Deanne Gute, Writing Center Coordinator Emily Borcherding, College Reading and Learning Center Coordinator Latricia Hylton, Math and Science Coordinator

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