http://learnwordlist.com/blog/join-your-dream-grad-school-give-yourself-the-analytical-writing-awa-edge-in-gre/

We will now recapitulate what we learned from that blog.

Writer’s Grammar

• There comes a time in every writer’s life when grammar and mechanics become important.
• Concerns such as correct sentence structure, spelling, and mechanics reveal the seriousness with which you took your writing and the creditability with which you wrote.

Logically Organized

• You need to make sure that your paper is logically organized, correctly formatted, clearly on topic, grammatically correct, stylistically sound, and mechanically error free.

Purpose of Communication

• Essay Writing
• Taking a systematic approach to essay writing ensures that you thoroughly develop the necessary skills for a meaningful and well-balanced piece of writing. Practise the following steps outlined here. Examples are provided for better comprehension.
• Preparing:
• What is the general subject?
• What is the specific purpose of the essay?
• Formulate a preliminary thesis statement

Brainstorming

• Write down all the ideas related to your topic, including seemingly bizarre or outlandish ones.
• Allow your thoughts free range – you can include sketches, diagrams, and tables if necessary.

Organizing and Adapting

• Choose the elements relevant to the specific purpose of your essay and arrange them in thematic groups and these in turn in logical steps. Discard those ideas which do not relate to your purpose.
• Adapt the subject to your own sphere of interest and knowledge.

Gather Material

• Information on your subject.
• Quotes, examples that illustrate certain points, references.

Make a logical outline

• Plan the structure of your essay, keeping in mind the main purpose. Your outline will serve as a kind of check-list to consult while you are writing.
• Note the sub-elements under each particular section heading.
• Modify the outline so that it indicates thesis statement, topic sentences and supporting points

Check outline

• Check topic sentences against thesis statement.
• Topic Sentence is the first sentence of a paragraph.
• It is normally a compound and complex sentence.
• It contains more than two ideas.

Topic Sentence

• Topic sentence contains the central idea.
• The central idea of the topic sentence is expanded further in the paragraph.
• Choose the aspect you would like to discuss. Education -
• For example – Sentence on ‘education’
• The present day education scenario offers various branches of study leading to an age of specialization.

Content and Organization

· Paragraph One: Introduces the subject, uses a thesis sentence that mentions the subject and three points that will be developed in the body paragraphs.

· Paragraph Two: Begins with some kind of transition, states the first supporting point, discusses and explains the point with at least two developed examples.

· Paragraph Three: Begins with some kind of transition, states the second supporting point, discusses and explains the point with at least two developed examples.

· Paragraph Four: Begins with some kind of transition, states the third supporting point, discusses and explains the point with at least two developed examples.

· Paragraph Five: Begins with some kind of transition, then rounds out and concludes the essay with some summarizing statements.

Major Errors

· Check for sentence fragments.

· Check for comma splices.

· Check for fused or run-on sentences.

· Check for subject-verb disagreements.

· Check for consistency of point of view; use the same point of view throughout the essay.

That is all about effective writing. Read this blog more than once to thoroughly comprehend all the aspects.

I am now sure that you will do very well in the Analytical Writing Segment. For further queries on the topic kindly communicate with us. You can make all your comments here itself or post some valuable information pertaining to the topic in the forum. I am eagerly awaiting your responses.

Wishing you Success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

Powerful Techniques that help you remember all the 3500 words of GRE:

These are some proven Vocabulary learning techniques. Research says that many students have benefited from them. We have mentioned these techniques many a time in our blogs. We now feel the need for discussing them here, exclusively! For convenience let us call Vocabulary Technique as VT.

VT 1: Work with the Word

A word is not just something that has to be seen from an examination perspective. You need to work with the word. The word has to become a tool in your hand. You need to apply it at the right time and right situation. You need to get into a relationship with it. Spend some considerable time with it. Only then will it be retained in your memory. Owing to a commitment like this you need to plan your GRE preparation well in advance.

Fact 1: You can never memorize the high frequency GRE words in 1 month’s time. You need a ‘minimum’ 6 month’s time frame.

VT 2: Expand its meaning into a suitable context

A word exists only in context. The beauty of the word is realized in context alone. So whenever you learn/memorize a new word use it in context immediately. Not a single context. Use it in all possible contexts and situations. Paint your imagination deeper and darker. Think where all the word can be applicable. Believe me when you use a word in multiple contexts like these you will never forget it.

Fact 2: ‘Mugging up’ GRE High Frequency words vaguely is a very bad thing to do!

VT 3: Relate it to the person or situation you know

Adjectives are best learned this way. Adjectives generally suggest a person’s trait. When you look at a word like ‘loquacious’, which means ‘talkative’ you can immediately think of a relative/friend/colleague/neighbor who is loquacious. Relate the word to that person and you will never forget it. And whenever you see that person you will instantly remember the word too. Isn’t that great?!

Fact 3: The actual GRE Verbal test has ‘only’ adjectives/nouns/verbs!

VT 4: Share the word with your friends, colleagues

Sharing doubles the knowledge! When you know a word, its context the next best thing is sharing it with your buddies. I strongly suggest until the day of your GRE test organize weekly ‘Vocabulary Review Meets’. During these meets share all the new words that you learned and let your friends share their words with you. This way you will be unendingly adding to your long list of Vocabulary. Great once again! Isn’t it?

Fact 4: Never prepare for GRE in isolation. You will never know where you stand in competition!

VT 5: Try to pronounce the word aloud at least five times

A word’s pronunciation is as important as its meaning. Some words are not pronounced the way they are written. For example consider the word ‘ennui’ which means ‘boredom’. Ennui is pronounced as ‘Onwee’. Now is that not interesting? Keep handy a good dictionary that also suggests pronunciation. When you learn a new word, look at the pronunciation aspect immediately. Jot that down in your notebook in the way you can easily understand it. Talk about pronunciation too during your weekly ‘Vocabulary Review Meets’. This will keep the meets interesting and happening.

Fact 5: Knowing the word Pronunciation is as important as knowing its meaning!

Learning Vocabulary is fun. Do not make it a stressful process. Do not get intimidated looking at the exhaustive word list that is quintessential for your GRE preparation. Practicing the above mentioned techniques will certainly help you memorize many words. A few diligent students have already shared with us some powerful techniques to memorize GRE Vocabulary. You can share your techniques too. Share them here with us. And do leave your valuable comment when you complete reading this blog on Vocabulary Learning.

Wishing you Success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

I do realize that it’s not lesser than a Herculean task to memorize all these high frequency words. A proper planning for the exam will certainly help us out though. This day I am going to share with you a few secret mantras that will help you catapult your learning potential for the GRE test.

There are a few very important things a student should remember while preparing for GRE. These are the magic formulae without which your GRE gear is incomplete.

GRE Magic Number 1: Know your learning potential

It is very important for a student to know about himself/herself. Am I a fast learner? Do I grasp things quickly? How good is my memory? …are a few basic questions every aspirant should ask himself/herself. Once you get answers to these questions you will get the required morale and confidence to take the exam. If you are a slow learner a substantial time for preparation is highly recommended. Don’t book your examination slot not considering your preparation time.

GRE Magic Number 2: Plan a stepwise preparation

Too many cooks spoil the broth, this saying holds good for your GRE Preparation. If you consider all the segments at a time you will be thoroughly perplexed. Instead, work on one segment at a time. Only then you can prepare completely and rightfully. Don’t set for yourself unrealistic goals. Something like, ‘I am going to learn 20 new words a day!’ It is a target that can never be achieved. And moreover you cannot clog your mind like that.

GRE Magic Number 3: Learn the meaning of word by the root, prefix and suffix

A good hold on prefixes, suffixes and roots certainly helps you to learn better and faster. By knowing the word roots, prefixes and suffixes you can intelligently guess the meanings of the words that are alien to you.

GRE Magic Number 4: Trust the previous GRE Papers

If you can lay hands on the previous GRE Questions, nothing like it! Practicing these model papers will give you the hang of the real exam. The real GRE becomes a cakewalk for you.

GRE Magic Number 5: Believe in auto-suggestions

Research proves the potential of the subconscious. If the Conscious mind is an ant the subconscious is an elephant. You can train your subconscious mind in order to achieve anything you desire. It means that you can train your subconscious mind to crack GRE, get an awesome score! Give yourselves the following auto-suggestions at least 10 times daily, early in the morning:

1. I am a fast learner
2. I am confident

I am sure all these suggestions will certainly help you out in preparing for GRE. Above all magic is the magic of ‘hard work’. A planned preparation and a bit of hard work will certainly help you get an awesome score. Cast away all apprehensions and confusions and prepare diligently for the test.

You can make a comment either here or start a new topic on the forum. You can also post relevant questions there and seek participation.

Awaiting your responses on this.

Wishing you success in abundance!!

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

Well, I guess you all belong to the group 1. Underneath are enumerated some proven high-voltage techniques that will help you escalate your performance in GRE drastically.

Technique no 1: Hey do you all know the in and out of GRE exam? The sections, the type of questions, the scoring pattern and all. Ahem! I guess you are rather depending on some second hand information. Do some work, pull up your socks, go out there and know the exam you are taking. Knowing alone is not important, knowing it thoroughly is.

Technique no 2: Do you have great career goals and ambitions? Are you passionate about becoming highly successful as a professional? Do you want to study in one of the best Universities of the world? A University that will give you an edge over others? A name that shimmers in your Resume?? Then what are you waiting for? Become passionate about GRE! In simpler words fall deeply in love with it!!

Technique no 3: You have now gotten into the right gear. It’s now the right time for you to know the pros and cons of the exam. It is simple. Just shut yourself from the world for a while. Consider a few GRE Model Papers. Scan, skim one paper thoroughly.

Analyze your strengths and weaknesses. After jotting down your strengths and weaknesses, concentrate more on your negatives. I will now whisper a secret mantra: ‘Convert all your weaknesses into strengths’. Success will be yours.

Technique no 4: Practice, practice and practice! This alone will see you navigate through the ocean of tasks effortlessly. Please do not wait for miracles to happen. They will not! Unless you practice a lot many papers and get a hang of GRE, you will never be able to get a decent score.

Technique no 5: We all know GRE is a Computer Adaptive Test. Although there are a few paper based tests conducted around the world in some centers, majority of the student community go for the Computer based GRE.

Get used to working on the keyboard. Practicing this is equally important. See for yourself how a Computer Adaptive Test works. If you do not do this and appear for the exam for the first time, you will have to blame yourself for many things and for nothing!

Technique no 6: Have faith in yourself only then can you crack GRE. If you constantly fall a prey to apprehensions and worries you will gain nothing. Positive thinking gives you the necessary impetus to pass through the examination both mellifluously and successfully.

Technique no 7: Don’t become an island. This is very very important. Isolated preparation will never make you realize where you stand in the competition. It is very important to form study groups and discuss all the matters pertaining to the exam. In fact brainstorm! This way you might sometimes stop by information that is immensely useful to you. Make some study groups and make it a point to interact with them at least once a week!

Technique no 8: Don’t feel shy. Not knowing something is not a sin. Get your doubts clarified by experts in the subject. Holding a doubt could be disastrous for your GRE preparation. Have it clarified then and there.

Technique no 9: Give yourself some effective auto-suggestions. Well…like: I am confident, I take GRE in my stride, I get a wonderful score in GRE and so on. Give yourself these suggestions at least until the day you take GRE. Become both confident and optimistic by all means. You can see the results for yourself!

Technique no 10: Do some intelligent guessing. Yes, sometimes despite all the diligent effort and enterprise, you may not get an answer to a specific question. In a Computer Adaptive Test you cannot skip a specific question and go to the next one. You cannot go back too.

So if you find yourself stuck, do some intelligent guess work. In a catch-22 like this, you can in the verbal segment think perhaps about similar sounding words, roots, prefixes and suffixes in order to guess the meaning of a particular word.

I am sure practicing these techniques and bearing them in mind all the time until you appear for GRE will give you rich results. If you know some more techniques please do share with us. In fact you can put them all here. You can also post some effective learning techniques you follow in our GRE Discussion Forum.

It is an interactive, learning forum exclusively designed for diligent students like you. Register now and start posting all your doubts, experiences there. I am sure we all will get to gain some rich knowledge.

Wishing you success!!

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

Start teaching GRE Vocabulary, you learned enough!

Hi this is an article that exclusively deals with learning GRE Vocabulary faster and better. After reading this blog you will not only be able to crack the exam like a tornado or tycoon but will also be able to train fellow aspirants. You will help them by sharing all these wonderful vocabulary learning techniques that will help you memorize a huge, huge, huge number of words effectively.

Are you ready for the challenge? Ok get, set, go!!

You better start reading! Reading maketh a man! We all need to remember and re-implement this proverb by making it a regular habit. A well read person has lot may words at his/her disposal. He not only knows the words but can effectively put them into context while writing and speaking. Does he not have an edge that way? Many of us do not read. Leave alone reading when we find a tough word we close the book/newspaper/window and walk away! That’s really bad!

When you find a tough word acquaint yourself with that then and there. Don’t wait for the most opportune moment to dawn upon you. Just get that dictionary lying in your closet and hunt for the meaning. Spend some time with the word, trying to establish a relation between the word and the context.

Mind-blowing results: Are you feckless about new words?? Hmmm what do you do when you hear a new word from your teacher/boss? Feel guilty that you do not know it? Or fall a prey to inferiority complex? Well, do not let those two things effect you. I mean guilt and inferiority complex.

If you do not know the meaning of a particular word you have not committed a sin. Just know the meaning right away and put it in different contexts at least 5 times. The word dares not leave your memory. Try it and see, the results will astonish you.

Pamper and pet the words you learned: Human memory is more volatile than any other chemical. You need to keep visiting and revisiting the new words you learned. Spend sometime with them, understand them, pamper them, and pet them. This you need to do in order to keep your relation with the word in tact.

Fall in love with the words you learned: What do you do to impress your beloved? Get gifts? Write poems? Do stunts? That’s what words want you to do for them. Use them in different contexts. Blast your imagination thinking where all you can use this word. Talk about the word with family and friends (you will hardly spend 5-10 seconds doing that) and the word becomes your faithful accompanist. I can already see you gasping there!!

You are a magician!! Hey did anyone tell you that you are a magician. There is a small world of magic within your brain. You can many a time create wonderful things in your brain to remember words. Words that actually trouble you; I mean words that are tough to remember.

Let me give an example: There’s a word hermetic which means airtight, sealed. You may have some difficulty remembering it. What you can do is relate the word to a word close to its spelling. You can think of ‘hermit’. A hermit is a saint an ascetic who abandons worldly pleasures and stays far away from mankind meditating and contemplating. Is he not closed away, shut away from the rest of the world? Is airtight just not that?

You can paint a cute little scenery of woods, a small wooden cottage and a hermit meditating, on the canvas of your mind. Just imagine that for a while. I swear you will never forget these two words.

Become an archeologist! Ahem! Well only then you will start exploring for words that you never knew so far. Tell yourself that you are going to learn 5 new words this week and use all the skills that are mentioned above this paragraph. I wish you success in your new endeavor as an archeologist (smiles!!)

Party with words! What you can do is organize some weekly get-togethers with your study groups and play games like word building, scrabble, etc. You can also organize word quizzes and share with your friends the words you learned and vice-versa.

Practice makes perfect: This is the mantra to success. There is no shortcut to the kingdom of success. Once you reach, there is no returning either. You can learn from various resources. Books, online support, libraries and tests cater to your requirement eternally. The sources available for practice are just unlimited. You can keep chiseling and refining your skills perpetually, reasonably there is no end to a process like that.

What I suggest is read all these articles on our blog and keep updating your vocabulary running through our word lists (there are a dozens of them on the site). Icing on the cake is the tests segment. Take tests on a daily basis. These tests help you score your performance. Best thing is you can take these tests in complete isolation. No mortal soul will comment negatively on you performance. Great it sounds, doesn’t it?

‘I am unable to remember words’, ‘I can’t do this’, I can’t do that!’ well we are no agony aunts to pamper you and your weaknesses with some ineffective counseling.

We are globally recognized goal-oriented trainers and expect the same level of commitment from you. We don’t propound endless theories, we make you all learn effective methods and implement them even more effectively. If you have the stamina we desire then you have stopped at the right place. Let’s call it a mutual success then!

If you are aspiring for a perfect 800/800 in GRE Verbal, this article is for you. Implementing all the above said techniques will land you on your destination for sure.

Wishing you success as always!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

Let us also see how these words leave an indelible impact over a person’s heart and soul. And more than all that how these words keep appearing in GRE and how jubilant a student feels to see them during the exam. In a situation where in he/she is thoroughly prepared. As I keep telling these words will not only enable you get a high score in GRE but also make you speak effectively. Then why delay? Here we go once again!!

• Fulminate: The Verb ‘Fulminate’ takes it birth from the Latin word ‘Fulminatus’ which means a thundered explosion. To fulminate is to show vehement denunciation of something. It is condemning something from your gut. A deep rooted emotion indeed!

• Enthralled: What will your state of mind be, when some one walks in holding air tickets for you to go on a world-tour all of a sudden, out of blue??!! Won’t you feel heavenly? Will there not be a permanent glee on your face. And a feeling of some fountain of mirth pouring inside your heart. In simpler words you feel ‘enthralled’ to the hilt! To enthrall is to captivate, mesmerize, engross and grip.

• Harangue: In better words, I mean understandable words ‘Harangue is a long, boring speech’. Usually politicians make such speeches during campaigns before elections. These speeches generate perpetual boredom for they go on and on and on.

• Acclaim: The word acclaim also has its roots in Latin. Acclamos in Latin means to ‘call out’. To acclaim is to compliment, praise and approve.

• Abominate: To abominate something is to hate it from gut. Some people detest the sight of lizards. Some hate the smell of eggs. Abominate is a deep rooted feeling of hatred.

• Adulate: When a person is adulated he is praised excessively. It is not a simple praise. The Adulator does that subserviently, slavishly. This makes everything a murky deal/affair. To adulate someone is to praise someone without any limits and bounds. ( Some synonyms for the word are lionize, revere, adore, flatter)

• Expostulate: To expostulate is to deny something earnestly. Well consider a situation wherein your friend proposes to you a theory which he/she firmly believes in. You do not object totally, however you try to deny some things in the theory which you find not very rational. You explain your denial step-wise.

• Obsessed: Being obsessed is being preoccupied in thought that keeps haunting us unendingly. Obsession is domination of one’s feelings by a persistent idea, image or desire. Obsession can be both good and bad. If obsession is channeled into action, constructive that too you will be successful. On the other hand your thoughts alone are obsessed then you will be labeled a ‘day dreamer’ shortly. Smiles!!

Work on the words of deep emotion a little longer to have them deeply rooted in your memory. These words keep appearing in GRE exam. Try to recollect many visuals that relate to a specific word from the above list, link them to situations, people that you know. Activate your imagination. When you do all these you will have them recorded permanently in your memory.

Words of Wisdom:

Do not just read but work on these words. Use a notebook to jot them down and a dictionary to understand the meaning and the context better. As I always tell: Utter the words aloud- each word five times!!

Some effective techniques to memorize words:

1. Work with the word.

2. Expand its meaning into a suitable context.

3. Relate it to the person or situation you know.

4. Share the word with your friends, colleagues

5. Try to pronounce the word aloud at least five times

You ought to read this blog more than once to understand the meanings of the words thoroughly. You can share some words of deep emotion with us right away!

Wishing you all a great success in GRE!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

The four sections pertaining to Verbal Ability in GRE are:

1. Antonyms
2. Analogies
3. Sentence Completion
4. Reading Comprehension

Antonyms: You all would love to know that Antonyms are generally restricted to Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives. This lessens your burden of preparation for quite an extent. In GRE you will never find an exact answer. You will always find an answer choice that is very close an option. So here lies your challenge. You have to judiciously sift the options for the right answer choice. This sifting requires elimination of irrelevant, inappropriate or wrong answer choices. Sometimes it might happen that you suddenly forget the meaning of a word. You can then try to define that word by using it in a sentence. Try that way. This will help you in establishing the meaning of a word. Questions sometimes might be indirect. In a situation like that also try deriving the ‘secondary meaning’ of a particular word. If you are unaware of the meaning of a word, try guessing the meaning considering the root, prefix and suffix of the word.

Analogies are slightly tougher, for the fact that you need to precisely establish the relationship between word pairs. Analogies measure your ability to recognize

• Relationships among words and concepts they represent
• Parallel relationships

Things you should never forget while answering Analogies:

1. Read the question and ‘all’ the answer choices at least once thoroughly

2. Do not jump to conclusion

3. Try to draw a connecting link between the two words given as question

4. Apply the same connecting link to all the answer choices

5. The word pair that takes the connecting link perfectly is your answer choice

Read more: GRE: Analogy Segment (Strategies and Techniques)

Sentence Completions

ETS Says:

Sentence completions measure your ability to recognize words or phrases that both logically and stylistically complete the meaning of a sentence.

Important points to remember while answering the Sentence Completion questions

1. Read the incomplete sentence completely, once or twice to understand the meaning better

2. Identify the tone of the sentence. The tone of the sentence could be neutral, acerbic, ironic, descriptive or critical

3. Your answer choices are in harmony with the tone of the sentence. For example a critical tone will never take neutral options as answers.

4. When a sentence has conjunctions like ‘and’ your answer choices are usually synonymous

5. When a sentence has words like but, however, yet, in spite of, nevertheless, the answer choices are usually antonymous. These words also indicate a change of thought, a twist of thought rather

6. Do not jump to hazardous conclusions while answering

7. See that both the options fit into the sentence mellifluously. Sometimes only one option fits into and students hastily select that, without realizing that it was a trap laid by the ETS. Beware!!

8. Please do not be in a haste to complete the segment and jump to the next!

Read more: Sense and Sentence Completion: Crack GRE Verbal with a Bang!

Reading Comprehension Questions

The ETS says:

Reading comprehension questions measure your ability to

• Read with understanding, insight, and discrimination
• Analyze a written passage from several perspectives

The passages for Reading Comprehension are mainly taken from humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

Some Effective reading techniques for GRE- RC:

1. Lip-sync while reading

2. Read with a sense of inquiry

3. Predict the future of the passage

4. Remember the 5 Ws

5. Guess the meanings of the words ( you don’t know) in broader context

6. Do a progressive reading not a regressive one

7. Jot down the important dates/data on a rough paper

Read more: http://learnwordlist.com/blog/gre-reading-comprehension/2009/08/gre-word-list-test-blog-barrons-vocabulary

With the GRE Verbal Ability Blueprint in your hand you can now aim for an inspiring score. Please do read the strategies once again to perform well in the exam. Once you have grip over the fundamentals try practicing some model GRE questions. This will help you evaluate your performance. And do take all the tests designed exclusively for you on the site. These tests help you gauge your performance.

In case you have queries please do get back to us without apprehensions.

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

An Introduction:

The Analogies Segment of GRE is one very challenging. Unlike the antonyms segment this segment doesn’t allow the student do some intelligent guessing. The student has to perfectly establish the relationship between the word pair given as the question, and select an answer that confirms a similar relationship.

You will have around 7 analogy questions on the CAT. The more questions you answer correctly, the harder the questions become.

What’s an Analogy?

Many types of relationships are possible in GRE analogies. The stem words may be related as above.

Analogy is the study of similarity existing between a word pair. For example there exists a similarity between a human hand and a whale’s flipper, a pump and a heart. A study of such similarity is Analogy.

Once you establish the similarity or understand the relationship between the word pair, identifying an answer choice showing an identical relationship is not a tough task at all. The only impediment for the student is to establish and understand an authentic relationship of the word pair given as the question. As any other GRE segment, the Analogy segment too has nine questions and each question is followed by five answer options.

Let us deal with the GRE Analogy questions and learn the way to crack them effectively in the subsequent blog. Let us for now comprehend a few very important Analogy types.

Types of Analogies and their relationships

As I already suggested that there are a few established word pair relations that will help us navigate through and succeed in the Analogy segment effortlessly. The only challenge for you is to commit these Analogy types to your memory infallibly. Once you do this, the Analogy segment no longer remains a tough nut to crack.

Definition

An Analogy type like this focuses on the definition of a particular word. Mostly a word that you are aware of or you at least came across once in your sixteen years of academic sojourn. For example:

Metamorphosis: Transforms

By definition, Metamorphosis is a scientific process that transforms the shape of an organism. This is how we establish a relationship between a word pair.

Defining the Character

An Analogy type like this focuses on the personality trait of an animal/man. For example

Lamb: Herbivorous

The character of Lamb is that it is mild and herbivorous (plant-eating). So now your challenge lies in identifying the option, a word pair that establishes a similar relationship. An ideal answer choice could be Tiger: Carnivorous (flesh-eating).

Class and Member

This is an easier relationship to identify. For example:

Amphibia: Frog

A frog (member) belongs to the phylum Amphibia (class)

You have to select a word pair confirming similar relationship. It could be

Aves: Bird

Antonym Relationship

The easiest of all Analogy types is the Antonym relationship

The question pair appears like this:

Loquacious: Taciturn

Obviously the opposite of the word loquacious (talkative) is taciturn (reserved). You need to identify a similar antonymous pair from the given options. It could be

Extravagant: Parsimonious

Synonym Relationship:

Once again it is the simplest of Analogy types. In this Analogy type there exists a synonymous relationship between the words. It means the second word in the word pair is the meaning of the first word. An illustration will make the explanation simpler:

Loquacious: Talkative

Talkative is the meaning of the word loquacious. You just need to identify an option that also has a synonymous relationship of words. Something like:

Opulent: Wealthy

Degree of intensity

This Analogy type has a word pair showing relationship between a more intense and less intense word or vice versa

For example:

Plead: Request

‘Plead’ is a more intense form of ‘Request’.

Part to Whole:

This is an Analogy type that shows a relationship between a part of a thing and its relation with the whole.

Stanza: Poem

Stanza is just a part of the whole Poem.

Function

An Analogy type like this shows the relationship between a person and a process/place. For example:

Rehabilitation: Addict

Asylum: Refugee

(An addict undergoes rehabilitation; a refugee seeks shelter in an asylum)

Manner

An Analogy type such as this suggests on the manner of speech, gait or any other thing.

Stammer: Talk

Fumble: Walk

Action and its importance

This is an interesting Analogy type. The first word in the word pair shows the effect caused by the second word. For example

Grimace: Pain (Grimace is facial distortion caused due to extreme pain)

Worker and Article Created

This is an Analogy type that shows the relationship between the worker and his/her creation.

Example: Ode: Poet (An Ode is the creation of a Poet)

Worker and Tool

Sculptor: Chisel

A sculptor (worker) uses a chisel (tool)

Worker and Workplace

Actor: Theater

An actor (worker) performs in a theater (workplace)

Tool and its Action

Drill: Bore

A drill is a tool used to bore holes.

These are the major Analogy types that you encounter in GRE (Graduate Record Examination). Besides these, there are some miscellaneous word pair relations too. I quickly enumerate them underneath.

Cause and Effect

Eg: Rain (cause): Dampness (effect)

Gender

Eg: Horse (male): Mare (female)

Age

Eg: Calf (the little one): Cow (the adult form)

Symbol and its meaning

Eg: Mace (symbol): Authority (meaning)

Read this blog pertaining to Analogies more than once. One reading will not help! Jot down all the Analogy types and try to comprehend them, imbibe their essence thoroughly. Underneath each Analogy type, try framing at least five word pairs having a similar relationship. You are suggested to share your Analogy types with us and all the other students who follow this blog. We all will be benefited immensely.

We are awaiting meaningful responses from you.

Wishing you Success!!

Anu Veluri
Manager- learnwordlist.com

An Antonym is the ‘opposite’ of the given word. In the GRE exam you are expected to read the word aloud in your mind and once you comprehend its meaning, look for a word from the five given answer options that is ‘nearly’ the opposite of the given word. For example if the given word is ‘Beautiful’, the option that is ‘nearly’ the opposite of the word will be ‘Ugly’. Hope this elucidates the above mentioned point.

LearnWordlist.com has GRE antonym and synonyms.

Tests of Antonym-Synonyms
GRE Synonym Vocabulary

You will find 13 questions on Antonyms Section in the GRE Computer Based Test. This is how the question appears in the actual GRE:

Directions: Each sample question in this section consists of a word printed in capital letters followed by five lettered words or phrases. Choose the lettered word or phrase that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the word in capital letters. Since some of the questions require you to distinguish fine shades of meaning, be sure to consider all the choices before deciding which one is best. (There are 13 questions in this section.)

Let us now work on a sample GRE Antonyms question. This will explain the question type and the ways to answer it better.

1. Loquacious ( That is the Question)

Now let us look at the answer choices

1. whimsical
2. gloomy
3. taciturn
4. gregarious
5. vociferous

If you had gone through all the word lists at Learnwordlist.com you would instantly know the opposite of the word. Now that’s an ideal situation isn’t it? So let us imagine a situation where in you (the student) are unaware of the meaning of the word. This is the time to pool up all your learning tools and strategies for gaining points for that question. Look at the word closely. Can you relate this word to any other word that has the part of the given word ‘loq’? And ‘acious’ suggests that it is a person’s character. The word is an adjective, describing a person or the quality of a person. Now technically speaking that is the ‘root’ of the word. The words that most of us remember at this juncture are: eloquent, grandiloquent, magniloquent etc…so obviously the meanings of these words relate to speech, talk etc, don’t they? Apparently a person who talks (more at that) is loquacious. How intelligently you guessed the meaning of the word! Congratulations! Now you need to identify the ‘opposite’ of the word. Let us now consider the options: Option A: Whimsical…whimsical, an adjective suggests a person full of whimsy (peculiarity, fancy). Can that be opposite of the word ‘Loquacious’? Obviously NO! Option B: gloomy…the word gloomy means sad, dull…. well again it is the wrong option. Let us go to the Option C: taciturn. Taciturn means reserved, recluse, silent…can that be the answer choice for the given word? Is it nearly the opposite of the word? Well do not jump to conclusions, it could prove risky. The word could possibly be the opposite of the given word. Let us hold it for a while. We have two more options to consider, haven’t we? Option D: the word gregarious means highly sociable and outgoing. This cannot be the opposite of the given word. So we can strike it off coolly. The last option choice has some thing to do with voice, talk, speech…Vociferous; ( think of other words like vocal etc that mean sound) the meaning of this word is close to vocalization a vehement vocalization that too… so it is something close to the given word but not the opposite. So what’s the right answer choice? C…and no doubt in that!

Dear Students, you are supposed to intelligently guess the opposites of the words that you are not familiar with. The Process of eliminating (POE) close options, synonyms and irrelevant options will help you reach the right answer choice that is nearly the opposite of the given word. Underneath are mentioned a few strategies as stated by the ETS. Please do run through, and register them in your mind!

**(Here are some approaches that may be helpful in answering antonym questions:

• Remember that you are looking for the word that is the most nearly opposite to the given word; you are not looking for a synonym (meaning). Many words do not have a precise opposite, so you must look for the answer choice that expresses a concept most nearly opposite to that of the given word.
• In some cases, more than one of the answer choices may appear at first to be opposite to the given word. When this happens, try to define more precisely or in greater detail the meaning of the given word.
• In weighing answer choices, it is often useful to make up a sentence using the given word or words. Substitute the answer choices in the phrase or sentence and see which best fits. The best answer will be the one that reverses the meaning or tone of the sentence or phrase.
• Remember that a particular word may have more than one meaning.
• Use your knowledge of root, prefix, and suffix meanings to help you determine the meanings of unfamiliar words.))**

It doesn’t mean you spend a chunk of time guessing. You should be smart and brisk at that. Do you realize you have only half-a-minute to answer one question in GRE? Can you keep guessing then? What do you understand from this?

1. Start preparing for your GRE well in advance.
2. Familiarize yourself with most of the roots, prefixes and suffixes
3. Please do not mug up. Instead spend some time with the word.
4. Dissect a word to understand the word root, prefix and suffix
5. Relate the word you ‘kind of know’ or ‘don’t know’ to words having similar roots, sounds, prefixes, suffixes etc

You can now use these strategies and take the Antonyms’ Tests displayed on the website. Get back to me in case you could not determine the opposite of the word using the above mentioned techniques.

Wishing you great success!!

Anu Veluri

Learnwordlist.com

(** these lines are taken from the site www.ets.org)

The General GRE Test has three main testing components (and one unidentified pretest section pertaining to either Verbal or Quantitative reasoning for a period of 30 minutes).

1. Verbal Reasoning
2. Quantitative Aptitude
3. Analytical Writing

The scores for the components are 800 each for Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude and for Analytical Writing the score is over a scale of Six points. Students who score more than 4 points are stated to have done well in the exam. A good score in GRE assures a good university (also taking a student’s academic performance into consideration!)

The skills measured in GRE as stated by the ETS:

**(Verbal Reasoning — The skills measured include the test taker’s ability to:

• analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it
• analyze relationships among component parts of sentences
• recognize relationships between words and concepts

Quantitative Reasoning — The skills measured include the test taker’s ability to:

• understand basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis
• reason quantitatively
• solve problems in a quantitative setting

Analytical Writing — The skills measured include the test taker’s ability to:

• articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively
• examine claims and accompanying evidence
• support ideas with relevant reasons and examples
• sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion
• control the elements of standard written English)**

Coming to the Verbal Reasoning Section, there are five important components that are tested:

1. Antonyms ( opposite of a given word)
2. Analogies ( word pair relation)
3. Sentence Completion ( single, double blanks)
4. Text completion with two or three blanks (A new section that was introduced in the year 2007)
5. Reading Comprehension Passages (generally 3 in number, containing500-750 words each)

The total time given for both Verbal and Quantitative Sections is 30 minutes each, and there are precisely 38 questions in each section to answer. The Analytical Writing segment has two tasks: 1 Issue task (45 minutes) and 1 Argument task (30 minutes). An unidentified Quantitative or Verbal pretest section may be included and may appear in any order after the analytical writing section (as commented by the ETS). And the time given for the pretest section is 30 minutes. The total time taken for a GRE test is 3 hours approximately (with a 15 minutes break)!

Dear students, this is all about GRE. From next week onwards we will deal with the test components one by one. To begin with let’s discuss ‘Antonyms’ from the GRE perspective- the sample questions, the strategies etc.

In case you have anything to add, please do comment. We shall be extremely grateful for your contribution.

Regards,

Team- Learnwordlist.com

(** these lines are taken from the site www.ets.org)