I'm looking to supplement my studying (reviewing each and every Manhattan GRE Subject Guide) with practice "sections". I am particularly looking to practice different questions types (particularly math) so as to test my cumulative knowledge (so closest to the actual mix of test questions). I find that when I do questions knowing what "section" they're from I'm more "focused" on the formulas I know for that section and am not testing how I adapt to different problems.
Does anyone have any suggestions for how to practice this? I do not want to use the Manhattan GRE practice tests as I want to save those for when I'm doing full length practice tests. I'm looking more for sections to supplement my current practice (so A LOT of sections).
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- lab1219
- Course Students
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 6:58 am
- tommywallach
- Manhattan Prep Staff
- Posts: 1917
- Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:18 am
Re: Quant and Verbal Section Practice
Hey Lab,
As far as I know, such things don't really exist. You'd have to purchase stuff from other companies, which is totally fine, but also unnecessary. I don't mean that in the way of "You have to buy OUR materials," but more in the way of, "One decent company worth of materials is PLENTY for the GRE."
Also, I'm not quite sure what the benefit is (if you've already been through the curriculum) of doing questions "purely" (i.e. making it so that you already know what's coming). If anything, as you get closer to being finished studying, you want to be as realistic as possible. This means that your pacing NEEDS to include the time it takes for you to orient yourself on the question type.
If you're new to a category, it's fine to do topic-focused work. But it sounds to me like you're past that stage. Now, you really should be doing questions in a way that mimics the actual test.
My two cents anyway! Good luck!
-t
As far as I know, such things don't really exist. You'd have to purchase stuff from other companies, which is totally fine, but also unnecessary. I don't mean that in the way of "You have to buy OUR materials," but more in the way of, "One decent company worth of materials is PLENTY for the GRE."
Also, I'm not quite sure what the benefit is (if you've already been through the curriculum) of doing questions "purely" (i.e. making it so that you already know what's coming). If anything, as you get closer to being finished studying, you want to be as realistic as possible. This means that your pacing NEEDS to include the time it takes for you to orient yourself on the question type.
If you're new to a category, it's fine to do topic-focused work. But it sounds to me like you're past that stage. Now, you really should be doing questions in a way that mimics the actual test.
My two cents anyway! Good luck!
-t
- lab1219
- Course Students
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 6:58 am
Re: Quant and Verbal Section Practice
Hi Tommy!
Thanks for the reply. I do feel I need better "timed" preparation and am integrating practice tests. In addition to going over missed problems, what would you say is the best way to integrate practice tests with review? Going over questions in the topic specific books? 5 lb book? My score is still very low and I do feel I can get it much higher (and need to get it higher). Would you suggest going over problems from specific weak areas during the week and then doing a practice exam every week or every other week? I do need to work on stamina as well as familiarity with the test but do not want to "sacrifice" my tests. I am also in no rush to take the test so am under no time crunch but want to pace my practice tests in order to continue to improve (rather than not utilizing the material).
Thanks!
Lauren
Thanks for the reply. I do feel I need better "timed" preparation and am integrating practice tests. In addition to going over missed problems, what would you say is the best way to integrate practice tests with review? Going over questions in the topic specific books? 5 lb book? My score is still very low and I do feel I can get it much higher (and need to get it higher). Would you suggest going over problems from specific weak areas during the week and then doing a practice exam every week or every other week? I do need to work on stamina as well as familiarity with the test but do not want to "sacrifice" my tests. I am also in no rush to take the test so am under no time crunch but want to pace my practice tests in order to continue to improve (rather than not utilizing the material).
Thanks!
Lauren
- tommywallach
- Manhattan Prep Staff
- Posts: 1917
- Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:18 am
Re: Quant and Verbal Section Practice
Hey Lauren,
The most important takeaway is this: if you've been through the curriculum/questions and your score still hasn't gone up enough, the problem is that you aren't changing your process. Pay less attention to whether you get things right or wrong, and more attention to whether you're going about the question the right way. Once your processes are down, you can feel confident that just running questions will be helpful, as you familiarize yourself with more and more ways that the GRE presents the same old information. But if your process isn't solid, a lot of questions won't help you, because you're not changing anything.
Hope that makes sense. Good luck!
-t
The most important takeaway is this: if you've been through the curriculum/questions and your score still hasn't gone up enough, the problem is that you aren't changing your process. Pay less attention to whether you get things right or wrong, and more attention to whether you're going about the question the right way. Once your processes are down, you can feel confident that just running questions will be helpful, as you familiarize yourself with more and more ways that the GRE presents the same old information. But if your process isn't solid, a lot of questions won't help you, because you're not changing anything.
Hope that makes sense. Good luck!
-t
4 posts Page 1 of 1