Transcript PPS Slideshow - SUNY College of Environmental Science and

The GRE General Test
Academic Success Center
109 Moon Library
SUNY-ESF
Agenda
• Overview
• Content
• Scoring
• Retaking the GRE
• Registration
• What to Expect on Test Day
• Test Preparation
Overview
• The Graduate Record Exam General Test is
a graduate school admissions test.
• It measures verbal reasoning, quantitative
reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical
writing skills that have been acquired over
a long period of time. It is not related to any
specific field of study.
• Computerized test
*You can’t skip a question and come back!
• Takes approximately 3 hours.
Content
Three Sections:
1. Verbal Reasoning
2. Quantitative Reasoning
3. Analytical Writing
Score:
Verbal and Quantitative: Score reported on a
200-800 score scale, in 10-point increments
Writing: Score reported on a 0-6 score scale, in
half-point increments
Content
Test Format:
• Optional 30 Minute Tutorial
• Analytical Writing Section
• Optional 10 Minute Break
• Verbal Section
• Quantitative Section
• Possible Unidentified Pretest Section
*May occur in any order after the writing section.
• Optional Research Section
Content
Analytical Writing Tests Your:
• Ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and
effectively.
• Ability to examine claims and accompanying
evidence.
• Ability to support ideas with relevant reasons and
examples.
• Ability to sustain a well-focused, coherent
discussion.
• Ability to control the elements of standard written
English.
Analytical Writing
Two separately-timed sections:
• “Present Your Perspective on an Issue”
• 45 minutes
• Choice between two topics
• You must discuss the issue from any
perspective(s) you wish using reasoning and
examples to explain and support your views.
• “Analyze an Argument”
• 30 minutes
• No choice in topic
• You must critique a given argument by
discussing how well reasoned you find it.
“Present Your Perspective
on an Issue”
Questions to Think About:
• What does the statement mean? What does it imply? What
precisely is the central issue?
• Do I agree with all or with any part of the statement? Why or
why not?
• Is the statement valid only in certain circumstances?
• Do I need to explain how I interpret certain terms or concepts
used in the statement?
• If I take a certain position on the issue, what reasons support
my position?
• What examples — either hypothetical or drawn from my
readings or direct experiences — could I use to illustrate
those reasons and advance my point of view? Which
examples are most compelling?
• What reasons might someone use to refute or undermine my
position? How should I acknowledge or defend against those
views?
“Present Your Perspective
on an Issue”
Sample Issue Topics:
• “The well-being of a society is enhanced when
many of its people question authority.”
• “People who are the most deeply committed to an
idea or policy are the most critical of it.”
• “Tradition and modernization are incompatible.
One must choose between them.”
• “High-speed electronic communications media,
such as electronic mail and television, tend to
prevent meaningful and thoughtful communication.”
• “The human mind will always be superior to
machines because machines are only tools of human
minds.”
“Analyze an Argument”
Questions to Think About:
• What claims, conclusions, and underlying
assumptions does the argument make?
• Can I think of alternative explanations and
counterexamples?
• What additional evidence might weaken or
strengthen the claims?
• What changes in the argument would make
the reasoning more sound?
“Analyze an Argument”
Sample Argument Topic:
The following is a letter to the editor of an environmental
magazine:
"The decline in the numbers of amphibians worldwide
clearly indicates the global pollution of water and air. Two
studies of amphibians in Yosemite National Park in
California confirm my conclusion. In 1915 there were seven
species of amphibians in the park, and there were abundant
numbers of each species. However, in 1992 there were only
four species of amphibians observed in the park, and the
numbers of each species were drastically reduced. The
decline in Yosemite has been blamed on the introduction of
trout into the park's waters, which began in 1920 (trout are
known to eat amphibian eggs). But the introduction of trout
cannot be the real reason for the Yosemite decline because
it does not explain the worldwide decline."
Analytical Writing
• Budget your time!
• Allow time to:
• Think about the issue/analyze the argument
• Plan a response
• Write your response
• Proofread your response
• The test uses a basic notepad program. Be through No grammar or spell check!
• There are no “right” answers. However, you should
have a sound argument, using examples, that
support your position.
Analytical Writing
•
The Educational Testing Service reserves the right to
cancel test scores of any test taker when there is
substantial evidence that an essay response includes, but
is not limited to, any of the following:
• Text that is substantially similar to that found in one or
more other GRE essay responses.
• Quoting or paraphrasing, without attribution, language
or ideas that appear in published or unpublished
sources.
• Unacknowledged use of work that has been produced
through collaboration with others without citation of
the contribution of others.
• Essays that are submitted as work of the examinee
when the ideas or words have, in fact, been borrowed
from elsewhere or prepared by another person.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning:
• 30 Questions
• 30 Minutes
• Tests your 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.
Verbal Reasoning
Four Question Types:
• Analogies
• Antonyms
• Sentence Completion
• Reading Comprehension
Verbal Reasoning
1. Analogies: Tests your ability to recognize
the relationship that exists between the
words in a word pair and then pick a pair
with a parallel relationships.
Example:
COLOR : SPECTRUM : :
(A) tone : scale
(B) sound : waves
(C) verse : poem
(D) dimension : space
(E) cell : organism
Verbal Reasoning
2. Antonyms: Tests the strength of your
vocabulary and your ability to pick a word
that is most nearly opposite in meaning to
the given word.
Example:
DIFFUSE :
(A) contend
(B) concentrate
(C) imply
(D) pretend
(E) rebel
Verbal Reasoning
3. Sentence Completions: Tests your ability
to choose a word or set of words that best
fit the meaning, syntax, and grammar to
complete the sentence.
Verbal Reasoning
Example:
The ----- science of seismology has grown
just enough so that the first overly bold
theories have been ----.
(A) magnetic .. accepted
(B) fledgling .. refuted
(C) tentative .. analyzed
(D) predictive .. protected
(E) exploratory .. recalled
Verbal Reasoning
4. Reading Comprehension:
• Tests your ability to comprehend and
analyze what you read in a passage.
• Each test has 3 or more passages with 2 or
more questions each.
• Passages contain a variety of disciplines
including humanities, the social sciences,
the biological sciences, and the physical
sciences.
Reading Comprehension
Questions Focus On:
1. The main idea or primary purpose of the passage.
2. Information explicitly stated in the passage.
3. Information or ideas implied or suggested by the
author.
4. Possible applications of the author’s ideas to other
situations, including the identification of situations or
processes analogous to those described in the
passage.
5. The author’s logic, reasoning, or persuasive
techniques.
6. The tone of the passage or the author’s attitude as it is
revealed in the language used.
Quantitative Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning:
• 28 Questions
• 45 Minutes
• No calculator!
• Tests your ability to:
• Understand basic concepts of arithmetic,
algebra, geometry, and data analysis.
• Reason quantitatively.
• Solve problems in a quantitative setting.
Quantitative Reasoning
Arithmetic Skills:
• Arithmetic operations (+, - , x , /, and ^)
with real numbers.
• Operations on radical expressions.
• The number line, estimations, percents,
and absolute value.
• Properties of integers (divisibility,
factoring, prime numbers, and odd and
even integers).
Quantitative Reasoning
Algebra Skills:
•
Rules of exponents.
•
Factoring and simplifying algebraic expressions.
•
Concepts of relations and functions.
•
Equations and inequalities.
•
Coordinate geometry (slope, intercepts, and graphs of
equations and inequalities).
•
Your ability to solve linear and quadratic equations and
inequalities and simultaneous equations.
•
Your ability to read a word problem and set up the
necessary equations or inequalities to solve it.
•
Your ability to apply basic algebraic skills to solve
problems.
Quantitative Reasoning
Geometry Skills:
• Properties associated with parallel lines,
circles, triangles (including isosceles,
equilateral, and 30-60-90 triangles),
rectangles, other polygons, area,
perimeter, and volume.
• The Pythagorean Theorem.
• Angle measure in degrees.
Quantitative Reasoning
Data Analysis Questions:
• Basic descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode,
range, standard deviation, and percentiles).
• Interpretation of data given in graphs and tables (bar
and circle graphs, and frequency distributions).
• Elementary probability.
• Your ability to synthesize information, to select
appropriate data for answering a question, and to
determine whether or not the data provided are
sufficient to answer a given question.
• Emphasis is on understanding of basic principles and
reasoning within the context of given information.
Quantitative Reasoning
Quantitative Comparison Questions:
• Tests your ability to reason quickly and accurately
about the relative sizes of two quantities or to
perceive that not enough information is provided to
make such a comparison.
• Question asks you to compare the quantities in
column A and column B to determine which is
greater than the other, whether the two quantities
are equal, or whether the relationship cannot be
determined from the information given.
Quantitative Reasoning
Example:
Column A
23
Column B
32
(A) The quantity in Column A is greater
(B) The quantity in Column B is greater
(C) The two quantities are equal
(D) The relationship cannot be determined from the
information given.
Quantitative Reasoning
Example:
Column A
Column B
m is an integer
3m +7
7
(A) The quantity in Column A is greater
(B) The quantity in Column B is greater
(C) The two quantities are equal
(D) The relationship cannot be determined from the
information given.
Quantitative Reasoning
Basic Problem Solving Questions:
• 5-choice multiple choice questions.
• Involves scenarios, graphs, shapes, etc.
Example:
The operation denoted by the symbol @ is defined
for all real numbers p and r as follows.
p @ r = pr – p + r
What is the value of (-4) @ 5 ?
(A) -9
(B) -11
(C) -19
(D) 19
E (21)
Scoring
Verbal and Quantitative Sections:
• Your verbal and quantitative scores will depend on
your performance on the questions given and on the
number of questions answered in the time allotted.
• Both sections are computer adaptive, meaning that the
computer selects questions based on your
performance on preceding questions and on the
requirements of the test design.
• Test design factors that influence which questions are
presented to you include:
• The statistical characteristics (including difficulty
level) of the questions already answered
• The required variety of question types
• The appropriate coverage of content
Scoring
Analytical Writing Section:
•
The primary emphasis in scoring is on the test taker's critical thinking
and analytical writing skills rather than on grammar and mechanics.
•
A single writing score is reported for the test taker's performance.
•
The essay score is the average of scores from two trained readers,
using a 6-point holistic scale. The scores from the two readings of an
essay are averaged and rounded up to the nearest half-point interval
(e.g., 3.0, 3.5).
•
If the two assigned scores differ by more than one point on the scale,
the discrepancy is adjudicated by a third GRE reader.
•
An NS (No Score) is reported if the test taker does not write a
response for either of the two tasks in the analytical writing section. If
the test taker writes an essay for only one of the two tasks, he/she
receives a score of zero on the task for which no response was
provided.
•
During the scoring process, the test taker's essay responses are
reviewed by ETS essay-similarity-detection software.
Scoring
Analytical Writing Section:
SCORES 6 and 5.5 – Sustains insightful, indepth analysis of complex ideas; develops
and supports main points with logically
compelling reasons and/or highly
persuasive examples; is well focused and
well organized; skillfully uses sentence
variety and precise vocabulary to convey
meaning effectively; demonstrates superior
facility with sentence structure and
language usage but may have minor errors
that do not interfere with meaning.
Scoring
Analytical Writing Section:
SCORES 5 and 4.5 – Provides generally
thoughtful analysis of complex ideas;
develops and supports main points with
logically sound reasons and/or well-chosen
examples; is generally focused and well
organized; uses sentence variety and
vocabulary to convey meaning clearly;
demonstrates good control of sentence
structure and language usage but may have
minor errors that do not interfere with
meaning.
Scoring
Analytical Writing Section:
SCORES 4 and 3.5 – Provides competent
analysis of complex ideas; develops and
supports main points with relevant reasons
and/or examples; is adequately organized;
conveys meaning with reasonable clarity;
demonstrates satisfactory control of
sentence structure and language usage but
may have some errors that affect clarity.
Scoring
Analytical Writing Section:
SCORES 3 and 2.5 – Displays some
competence in analytical writing, although
the writing is flawed in at least one of the
following ways: limited analysis or
development; weak organization; weak
control of sentence structure or language
usage, with errors that often result in
vagueness or lack of clarity.
Scoring
Analytical Writing Section:
SCORES 2 and 1.5 – Displays serious
weaknesses in analytical writing. The
writing is seriously flawed in at least one of
the following ways: serious lack of analysis
or development; lack of organization;
serious and frequent problems in sentence
structure or language usage, with errors
that obscure meaning.
Scoring
Analytical Writing Section:
SCORES 1 and .5 – Displays fundamental
deficiencies in analytical writing. The
writing is fundamentally flawed in at least
one of the following ways: content that is
extremely confusing or mostly irrelevant to
the assigned tasks; little or no development;
severe and pervasive errors that result in
incoherence.
Scoring
Analytical Writing Section:
SCORE 0 – The examinee's analytical
writing skills cannot be evaluated because
the responses do not address any part of the
assigned tasks, are merely attempts to copy
the assignments, are in a foreign language,
or display only indecipherable text.
SCORE NS – The examinee produced no
text whatsoever.
Retaking the GRE
• You may take the GRE only once per
calendar month and no more than 5 times
within any 12-month period.
• This applies even if you canceled your
scores on a test taken previously.
• If you retake, don’t expect extremely large
score increases.
• Score reports sent to schools will include
test results obtained within the past fiveyear period.
Registration
• To register for the test, go to www.gre.com.
• Current fee: $130
• Register early! Convenient test days and times fill
up fast!
• Closest test center to ESF is the Thomson Prometric
Test Center in East Syracuse.
• Test is generally offered Monday through Saturday.
• Remember, it takes a minimum of three weeks after
you take the test for your scores to be sent to your
selected schools.
What to Expect on Test Day
• You must arrive 30 minutes before your assigned start
time.
• Dress comfortably.
• Don’t bring friends or relatives.
• Bring a valid driver’s license and know the names of
the schools to where you want your scores to be sent.
• All personal items will be stored in an assigned locker
at the test center.
• You can only bring your id to your test computer. Scrap
paper and pencils will be provided.
• Keep an eye on your computer’s clock. You will be told
when you have five minutes remaining.
What to Expect on Test Day
• Don’t spend too much time on a question.
Keep moving!
• If you are running out of time at the end of a
section, make every effort to complete the
test. Leave no question unanswered!
• After you select an answer and choose
“next,” you will be asked to confirm the
answer before the next question appears.
• If you exit a section, you will not be able to
return.
• If you need to leave or need help, raise your
hand and the administrator will assist you.
Test Preparation
• Practice!
• Know the format and directions.
• Know the rules.
• Download and use the official free GRE
PowerPrep Software. This will allow you to
practice under the same conditions that you
take the test.
• Utilize the free materials at www.gre.com.
• Utilize the materials in the Academic
Success Center (109 Moon).
Good Luck!