Disregard What I Said About the Barron's Psychology Prep Book...

So I finally caved and bought a Psychology GRE prep book… and if you read the title of this post, then you would have figured out already which book I got. Yup: Barron's. Woo!

I know I wrote a scathing review of it earlier during the summer... but I think what I was most miffed about was the fact that I couldn't write in the book. It just set the tone for the rest of that first Barron's Psychology Prep Book experience, which ended up being a bad one. Now that I have my own that I can write in and mess up as much as I'd like and not have to worry about returning it to the library in time or else I get a ridonkulous fee... well, I'm as happy as a clam.

You are probably shaking your head at me, but that's okay. I am shaking my head at myself.

This is the 6th edition of the tome. It includes "5 full-length model tests" which include "2 diagnostics and 3 tests that reflect the most recent actual GRE Psychology tests." Apparently "all test questions are answered and explained," which is fabulous (and necessary), as well as "a brush-up subject review and scoring grids" which are supposed to help me "gauge [my] strengths and weaknesses in all subject areas."

I'm excited for this book. And this also probably means that I am going to update this blog more often because now I have something to talk about in regards to preparation… better late than never, right? By the way, I think that this book look gorgeous.

Hmm… I'm taking the test on October 9. That gives me *finger counting here* 17 days. Two weeks and three days. Haaawhoops!

It's okay, though. I know that I can succeed. I am going to really lay down my own law and bunker down. I'm finally feeling motivated and excited about this whole application process, including taking the GRE. I know, I know… I'm weird. I'm just a nerd, really.

I think that I can attribute my motivation to the fact that my Master's thesis experiment is *finally* up and running… I start running subjects tomorrow! Eee! (Hmm, lots of interesting sounds in this blog post apparently… I hope that you are enjoying them.) Before when I was working on the proposal paper for it I just feel so tired of it. Perhaps it was the fact that I worked on it over the summer and had encountered so many obstacles with it that I was feeling down. But no more of that!

IT'S GAME TIME. I'm going to hit them all out of the park.

This morning I starting asking people about recommendation letters. BAM.

I bought a Psychology GRE book. BAM.

My Master's thesis experiment is finally going somewhere. BAM.

Bring it, application process!

It's Been Over a Day...

So I figured that warrants a write-up of everything that happened!

Got into the city really early because otherwise I would have been worrying about not getting to the place fast enough and the like. Got off the F train at Bryant Park and walked eastbound. Stumbled upon a Jamba Juice and decided that it would be a good idea to get lunch in me before I went into the testing place because I know that there is no food or drink allowed in there. I was planning on having a "big lunch" but I was way too nervous so I had a Jamba Juice oatmeal and M&Ms and OH MY:

Jamba Juice oatmeal: AWESOME

For those of you keeping count, there is in existence three things that have so far gained the evasive AWESOME points.

Studied the beloved Barron's GRE book, especially the Master Word List. Then I decided to walk a little further, but it was so cold I went into Grand Central Station to warm up. While I was there I read over all of the Key Points in the Mathematics Review (Chapter 14) and felt even more prepared.

Then I walked in the frigid weather (I love gloves, man. Gloves are almost awesome. Almost because it's annoying when I can type stuff into my phone.) to the testing place. Had a little bit of a scare because I didn't know that it would not be labeled on the outside, but I found it just fine. I'm glad that I got information on the location before I left, though.

I had arrived an hour early, but when I went up to the desk, the man sitting there asked me if I would want to take it now. I was surprised and told him that I'd like to take a little time to relax and unwind a little bit, so he gave me ten minutes.

Got my items checked into a locker, went to the bathroom, looked at myself in the mirror and told myself that it'll be awesome, got all checked in (photo, procedures told to me, etc.).

Then I took the test!

Because I don't want to get in trouble I'm not going to write anything about the test other than that it took a while.

And then I finished, found out how I did on verbal and quantitative, had a mini-celebration in my chair, was really happy about it, and the guy who I talked to first asking if I wanted to take the test an hour early asked me if I wanted to sell my scores (as a joke). Huzzah!

I'm still waiting on the score I got on Analytical Writing, but I am very happy about my scores.

Just because I've taken the GRE doesn't mean that this blog is going to end, mind you! I still have to take the Psychology GRE! I think I'm going to take it in April, but I don't want to really think about it right now because I just want to relax while I can (two days max?)...

:)

Maybe God Made It Cold to Make Me Stay In and Study

It's freezing here! Anyways, cutting to the chase:

I stil haven't finished the Percent practice exercises in the Barron's book. I just kind of decided to move on from there. I'll get back to it...hopefully. Here's how I've done in other sections:

Ratios and Proportions Practice Exercises - 23/25
Averages Practice Exercises - 16/20
Polynomials Practice Exercises - 7/15 (eeeeww...)
Equations/Inequalities Practice Exercises - 16/20

I stopped at Word Problems for now.

Since my last update I've taken two addition practice tests: the GR90-16 and the GR91-17. I'll start with the former first:

On the GR90-16 I got a 660 on verbal and a 680 on quantitative! Together, that's a 1340, an 80-point improvement on the GR86-2! Woo! Remember that on the GR86-2 I got a 610 on verbal (so then, I improved 50 points) and a 650 on quantitative (that's plus 30 points). I took this test sitting at a small living room table and timed myself. It was nice to sit in a chair instead of my usual study spot: the bed. Here's a section breakdown:

Verbal Ability, Section 1: 31/38 (questions I got wrong: 7, 13, 18, 27, 30, 35, and 36)
Quantitative Ability, Section 2: 25/30 (questions I got wrong: 12, 14, 15, 18, and 25)
Quantitative Ability, Section 3: 26/30 (questions I got wrong: 15, 25, 26, and 28)
Verbal Ability, Section 4: 31/38 (questions I got wrong: 5, 23, 24, 25, 26, 34, and 36 [23-26...that was a rough reading comprehension!])

On the GR91-17 I got a 1380! That is a 40-point improvement on the GR90-16. On this one I got a 650 on verbal and a 730 on quantitative (whoa!). So, that is a 10-point drop for verbal (but that is still relatively consistent) and an improvement of 50 points on quantitative. This one I took on my bed like I did for the first one, but it was earlier in the day (afternoon) and I hadn't had very much to eat or drink yet. Go me. Here's a section breakdown:

Quantitative Ability, Section 1: 27/30 (questions I got wrong: 12, 29, and 30)
Verbal Ability, Section 2: 29/38 (questions I got wrong: 3, 5, 10, 14, 16, 22, 34, 35 and 38)
Quantitative Ability, Section 3: 25/30 (questions I got wrong: 9, 13, 17, 23, and 30)
Verbal Ability, Section 4: 31/38 (questions I got wrong: 21, 22, 23, 24, 34, 35, and 37 [21-24...again with the reading comprehension!])

On the quantitative sections I've been pacing myself almost perfectly, but I know that I will have a lot more time for less questions when I do the CBT, so I'm okay with that. On verbal I'm averaging 8 to 11 extra minutes, so I know that I need to slow down a little. Not to mention, on the CBT there won't be especially long reading comprehension, so I have time to really concentrate on it and read slower to get more information out of the readings. On the practice tests, the long reading comprehension seems to a place where I get the most questions wrong in the verbal sections.

I finished all of the word lists (800 words, 10 words per list... 80 word lists) and the little quizzes that follow each of them in Barron's Essential Words for the GRE. For that I'm proud of myself. I started on the root word lists and it's really interesting. I know that I have to go back and spend time studying the Master Word List, but yay. I think that I've mentioned this before, too, but I've been recognizing words that I've recently learned, and when that happens on the practice tests it's really exciting for me because (for the most part) I can figure out what the correct answer is easier.

So, I've been finding a few mistakes in my GRE books. There were a few in both the Barron's GRE prep book in the quantitative review section and in Essential Words for the GRE. I think that I found one in the Princeton Cracking the GRE book, too.

Now I'm HUNGRY.

Happy New Year!

Remember when I said that I was going to write while I was in North Carolina? Haha...didn't happy obviously! I was having too much fun with family. I did study though! I've been doing a lot of studying. The pile of GRE books at my feet really is incredible. I just carried it and my laptop downstairs and that has proven to be an arduous and onerous task indeed.

Dare I write New Year's resolutions?

"I'm going to study for the GRE more."

Okay!

Here's what I accomplished since I last wrote:

Completed the Princeton Review's Word Smart for the GRE 2nd Edition, one of the books that my friend had given me. She had done up to Quick Quiz 21, leaving 22 to 65 to be done. Finished the book in a couple of days. It was a long car ride, after all. The only things that I did not pay much attention to were the Final Exam Drills where the testee would have to make a sentence. This kind of exercise is supposed to help with analogies, but I didn't have much patience for them, I think because it wasn't going fast enough. I just might go back and do them.

Been working in Barron's Essential Words for the GRE, the very first GRE prep book I got (during the summer...barely worked on it) and I should be done by tomorrow. I've realized that through studying by vocabulary has definitely gone up and I recognize words that I recently learned. So, that's good!

Been working on the Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE 2010 Edition and I started on the Hit Parade, like I wrote about in a previous post, but I'm going to hold off for a little bit and do them all at once.

Stared at the Kaplan prep book, opened it for a few seconds, and decided not to use it yet.

Started working on the math sections in the Barron's book and realized that I hate math. I got a 12/15 on the General Math Strategies Practice Exercises and a 5/15 on the discrete quantitative practices exercises (YEAH...I know. Gross). So, respectively, those are Chapter 10 and 11. Chapter 12 is on quantitative comparison questions and I got a 12/15 on the practice exercises for it. Chapter 13 is about data interpretation questions and I got an 6/15 on it (gross as well...I need to work on these more).

Chapter 14 is "Mathematics Review" and I actually really like this chapter because it has these awesome things that they call "Key Facts", of which I've taken the liberty of starting to write them down. It would probably be easier to type them all up, but I like having them all on a few sheets of paper that I can study from instead of on a laptop. (Sure, I could print it. Leave me alone, I want to write them.) Here's how I've done on the practice exercises on specific subjects within the chapter:

Basic Arithmetic: 17/25
Fractions and Decimals: 22/25
Percents: unfinished.

The practice exercises on percents is unfinished as of right now because I sort of got frustrated in doing it and stopped.

So that's what I've done in addition to celebrating New Year's Eve, New Years, having family dinners, and generally having a good time.

I just realized that the CD-ROM that came with the book is missing...I'm wondering if my boyfriend has it.

This is exciting: I did an entire paper GRE practice test! I timed myself and everything...aren't you proud? It was General Test GR86-2 in ETS's Practicing to Take the GRE General Test 10th Edition. That means that I still haven't been able to do much practice on writing, but here are my scores for it:

Verbal Ability,Section 1: 30/38 (questions I got wrong: 6, 10, 12, 14, 16, 22, 24, and 35)
Verbal Ability,Section 3: 28/38 (questions I got wrong: 6, 7, 13, 21, 27, 33, 34, 36, 37, and 38)
Quantitative Ability, Section 2: 23/30 (questions I got wrong: 9, 11, 13, 20, 26, 29, and 30)
Quantitative Ability, Section 4: 24/30 (questions I got wrong: 11, 15, 18, 24, 25, and 30)

That means that I got a 610 on Verbal and 650 on Quantitative! That's a 1260, a significant improvement on the scores that I got on the Diagnostic Test that was in the Barron's book! Whoopee, this whole studying thing is working!

In consideration of the fact that I took the test in the comfort of my own room and know that I should get used to testing in any environment (so that what is happening around me affects me less), I'm going to test myself in various places. I'm considering asking friends if I could go to their houses so that I can take a practice test. You might think that I'm kidding...but I'm not.

In other news (that doesn't have to do with the GRE and what I feel like talking about because this is my blog...), the pipes are frozen and I can't go take a shower. I could go study more...but I don't want to right now!

It's My Birthday! Part II

Today I went out to lunch with my boyfriend and a two of my best friends to a Japanese restaurant and for dinner my parents made burgers, corn, and mushroom ravioli. That is my birthday.

And, on my birthday, I did a lot of GRE studying. Hooray and ugh at the same time.

I'm essentially done with the verbal section of the Barron's book. Here's how I did on the Reading Comprehension Exercises:
A: 17/20
B: 18/20
C: 15/20
D: 16/20
E: 17/20

Fairly consistent, I'd say. I also finished the Word Lists! Now that's an accomplishment in itself. 9 days and 3,500 words separated into 50 word lists containing 70 words each. Yep. Here's the results of the ones I finished late last night:
#47: 13/15
#48: 14/15
#49: 14/15
#50: 14/15

After doing a but of tallying, I figured that this is how I fared on the tests:
Number of tests where I got a certain score:
10/15: 2
11/15: 2
12/15: 4
13/15: 13
14/15: 21
15/15: 8

After doing a some math, I figured that the average of all of those tests is a 13.46 out of 15, which is equivalent to 89.73%, but it's important to keep in mind that the tests did not test every word that is in the Master Word List. Not bad, though, in consideration. And, though this isn't really reliable, it's just interesting to look at: 3160.55 words. That's the number of words I should know by now that was in the Master Word List, according to the percentage that I got for the tests.

I wonder if the headaches I've been getting recently have to do with any of this.

I skimmed quickly over the section in the Barron's book on "Basic Word Parts", including "Common Prefixes". "Common Roots and Stems", and "Common Suffixes". My thoughts are that it's a little precarious to try to apply this method to words I don't know because there is still a good chance that the word actually doesn't mean anything near what the parts of it says it means. I'll keep them in mind. Loosely.

Thought that I will elaborate on perhaps another day: the analytical writing section is FREAKIN ME OUT. That's all for now on that matter.

For now I can put the Barron's GRE prep book aside until I start up math work. It's resting on top of the ETS book right now. Oh, so many pages...

I started on the Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE right after I put aside the Barron's book. The Princeton book is pretty much what I expect it to be: wordy, a lot of examples almost to the point of being too much, concentrating on approach and "how to crack" questions, and a dash of humor. Why do I expect that from Princeton? Because I was thinking that in their attempt to teach a person of... hmmm... "lesser mind" (dare I say?) who bought the book because he or she must consider him or her self incapable of tackling the GRE straight on with no preparation, Princeton would "dumb it down" and teach slow. Still, it's Princeton and that almost requires over analyzing and wordiness. Whatever. The book is still useful.

I'm on page 134. I skipped a lot of the blahblahblah, even though I do know that I'm going to go back and read it because I'm that pathetic.

Here's how I fared on the "drills" which I finished already:
Analogies Drill, Page 39: 9/9
Analogies Drill, Page 45: 10/10 (one of them I was a little off on, but I knew there was a relationship, which was the point of the exercise)
Analogies Practice Set, Page 51: 9/10
Sentence Completion Drills, Pages 60-61: (Pg 61): 5/7 (I dislike the approach)
Text Completion Question Example, Page 72: 3/3
Sentence Completions Practice Set, Page 77: 9/10 (the one I got wrong is the one I changed last second) on the regular fill-ins, 7/10 on the text completion questions. 16/20 as a whole.

I also started working on "The Hit Parade" groups (ummm...word lists. That is just so much simpler, but okay). The answer keys to the GRE Hit Parade Exercises for Groups 1-4 is located on page 151, for those who are trying to find it. Following the Hit Parade is "Beyond the Hit Parade" which is composed of two groups of words with no practice exercises, but are apparently still important to know. Princeton. Just put them in with the others. Just. Duh.

77 words + 76 words + 78 words + 72 words = The Hit Parade Groups, respectively. Princeton, why are you randomly assigning words to unequal groups? I don't get it. It's not even separated alphabetically! It's just divided up bizarrely.

52 words + 78 words = Beyond the Hit Parade Groups 1 & 2.

All in all, the Princeton books offers 433 words and their definitions.

This is what the Princeton book says on the Hit Parade on Page 119:

"The Hit Parade
You should start your vocabulary work by studying the Hit Parade, which is a list we've compiled by some of the most frequently tested words on the GRE. We put together this list by analyzing released GREs with out computers, as we keep tabs on the test to make sure that these words are still popular with ETS. At the very least, answer choices that contain Hit Parade words make very good guesses on questions for which you don't know the answer.

Learning the Hit Parade will give you a feel for the level of vocabulary that ETS likes to test. Then it will be easier to spot other possible GRE words in your everyday life. Each word on the Hit Parade is followed by a part of speech and a brief definition for the word. Some of the words on this list may have other definitions as well, but the definitions we have given are the ones most likely to appear on the GRE.

We've broken the Hit Parade down into four groups of about 75 words each. Don't try to learn all four groups of words at once - word with one list at a time. Write the words and their definitions down in a notebook or on flashcards. it is very important to write them down yourself since this will help you remember them. Just glancing through the lists printed in this book won't be nearly as effective; you need to make these words your own. After each group of words, there is a set of exercises consisting of a definition quiz, a matching quiz, and some GRE questions utilizing words from that group. Don't do these right away. Spend some time studying and learning the words first, then use the exercises as a way to test yourself. If you still have difficulty with the questions, go back and work on those words some more before moving on to the next group.

Now get to work!"

I'll take Barron's 3,500-Word Master Work List. Thanks.

It's My Birthday!

Today is my 2nd palindrome birthday! Hooray! Yes, I will still be studying for the GRE. The birthday-related activities for today include going out to lunch with my boyfriend and one or two close friends and eating cheeseburgers/quesadillas made by my mom for dinner (I requested this as my birthday dinner, opposed to the usual pasta birthday dinner I like...craving burgers lately!). I already got my big present: this laptop. It's a combination Christmas-birthday-graduation present. And that's just fine with me! It's lovely and I love it.

Other activities planned for today arre studying for the GRE and packing for North Carolina. My family and I are driving down. Driving. It's a 12-hour drive. My dad has decided that we are leaving at 3AM. WHAT?

The reason why I am slightly irritated about leaving at that time shouldn't be because I want to spend the time on the road studying and leaving at 3AM cuts into major study time. It really shouldn't.

Anywho, today my boyfriend I am went to Barnes and Noble and not only did I get a present from him, which was Alton Brown's Good Eats: The Early Years (AMAZING), but I got to peek into Sparknotes' GRE prep book. It's not bad. I like that they inject humor into studying. I'd say that even though the 400-word pullout is helpful, I don't think it's as helpful as the 3,500 Master Word List I have in my lap right now (thanks, Barrons). I'm almost done studying it, too, or at least I'm almost done finishing studying it the first time. I do have to go back over words.

Here's a progress report:
On the Word Lists:
#30: 13/15 (Day 6)
#31: 13/15 (Day 6)
#32: 13/15 (Day 6)
#33: 14/15 (Day 6)
#34: 13/15 (Day 7)
#35: 14/15 (Day 7)
#36: 14/15 (Day 7)
#37: 14/15 (Day 8)
#38: 13/15 (Day 8)
#39: 11/15 (Day 8)
#40: 13/15 (Day 9)
#41: 15/15 (Day 9)
#42: 10/15 (Day 9)
#43: 13/15 (Day 9)
#44: 14/15 (Day 9)
#45: 13/15 (Day 9)
#46: 14/15 (Day 9)

Sentence Completion Exercises:
Exercise B: 14/20
Exercise C: 17/20

Analogy Exercises:
Exercise B: 18/20
Exercise C; 18/20
Exercise D: 17/20
Exercise E: 13/20

Antonym Exercises:
Exercise C: 13/20
Exercise D: 14/20
Exercise E: 13/20

I included all the finished Analogy and Antonym exercises because I can't remember if I mentioned them or not. I get the feeling that I did already, though.

Fun Days Coming Up...Studying Conflicts

It's the day after Christmas! Which means that tonight is my friend's graduation party, at which there will be much merriment. And then in three more days it's my birthday! Which means that there will be much merriment as well. The following day is when my family and I are heading down to North Carolina to spend time with extended family who live there. Then, the day after that is New Year's Eve, which means that the next day is New Year's. THEN my love is going back home to visit his family two days after that.

This means that I'm screwed for studying time for the next week.

I plan on getting major blocks of GRE cramming in while I'm trying to not go crazy in the car with my family. Maybe that will give me some good conditioning for sitting still in one spot. Practicing working in uncomfortable conditions is bound to be beneficial to me for the testing day.

Here's a little update on the Barron's book progress:
Did some more work on Word Lists, antonyms, analogies, and sentence completions. Improved on the antonyms and analogies. The sentence completions are taking a hit right now. Maybe it's because my brain is getting used to looking at one or two words rather than whole sentences. I'm thinking that a cure for this is real reading. And I think that I could kill two birds with one stone by doing some reading comprehension practice.

I'm going to go take a shower so that I feel like a real person again.

Christmas Updates - Barron's Book Escapades Part 3

In consideration of the fact that it's so loud in my house right now that it's basically pointless to study, I'm going to write in here. Since my last update I completed Word Lists 27 - 29. On the tests I got these scores, respectively: 14/15, 15/15, 10/15. I'm sure that you can discern that I'm getting a bit irritated from the noise. My older brother has the loudest man in the world over to visit. My boyfriend and younger brother are playing Modern Warfare 2. I had to ask for the volume to be turned down twice because they don't need sound to play the game and I need quiet to study. Icing on the cake: my mom asked me to put the Barron's GRE prep book away while we eat dessert (pun intended). Umm, hello? To cheer myself up I'm going to write about the words that I've come across so far that stand out, starting with the words that Barron's book fails to define in its own Master Word List:

"martinet N. No talking at meals! No mingling with the servants! Miss Minchin was a martinet who insisted that the schoolgirls in her charge observe each regulation to the letter." (pg. 218)

"erotic ADJ. Films with significant erotic content are rated R; pornographic films are rated X." (pg. 194) *Don't worry: the link is just the dictionary.com definition.

What Barron's did for the (... 70 x 29... - 2...) 2028 other words was give the emboldened vocabulary word, indicate what part of speech it was in abbreviated form, define the word, and then offer at least one example of a sentence that contains the word. The above two words were missing the key part of a definition: defining the word. Just, duh.

So far I've only come across one word that I was tested on that didn't have anything written about it at all: "candid" in the test for Word List 7 (pg. 175).

Now I'm going to write about the words that made me smile because I was channeling my inner-nerd:

"matrix N. point of origin; array of numbers or algebraic symbols; mold or die. Some historians claim the Nile Valley was the matrix of Western civilization." (pg. 218) Oh, The Matrix...

"gratuitous ADJ. given freely; unwarranted; uncalled for. Quit making gratuitous comments about my driving; no one asked you for your opinion." (pg. 204) "GRATUITOUS AMOUNTS OF ENERGY!" Thank you, Powerthirst.

"juggernaut N. irresistible crushing force. Nothing could survive in the path of the juggernaut." (pg. 214) "I'M THE JUGGERNAUT...!" (explicit content) Who doesn't love videos of dubbed episodes of X-Men?

"aperture N. opening; hole. She discovered a small aperture in the wall, through which the insects had entered the room." (pg. 166) This was possibly my favorite nerd-word because it has to do with the game Portal. I'm going to try not to go into too much detail here, but in the game the evil company doing experiments is called "Aperture Science" and the game has to do with making portals (holes that lead to other places). Here's the song you hear when you win the game: Still Alive by Jonathan Coultron, sung by Ellen McLaine.

I'm going to write more later on other fun words, but for now I'm going to stop writing and get back to studying because it's significantly quieter here and I'm feeling much better than when I started writing this post.

Hey, I didn't get to tell you yet!:

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Updates - Barron's Book Escapades Part 2

Within Barron's GRE prep book is "the 3,500-Word Master Word List". This is an incredible list, despite the fact that the double mentioning of the word "word" in the very name of it irks me. There are 50 word lists in this giant word list, each list containing 70 words. Barron's advises the reader to do one word list a day and dedicate about an hour to each list. It's obvious to me that I need to speed that up a jot in consideration of the fact that I registered for the test much less than 50 days before the test. Within the past six days I have studied Word Lists 1 to 26. Here are my grades that I've received on the Word Lists (Barron's suggests not moving on to study the next list until the student has got at least a 12/15 on the test that comes at the end of the word list.):

(Word List # - Score - Day)

1. 12/15 (Day 1)
   
2. 15/15 (Day 1)
3. 13/15 (Day 1)
4. 12/15 (Day 1)
5. 14/15 (Day 2)
6. 15/15 (Day 2)
7. 14/15 (Day 3)
8. 14/15 (Day 3)
9. 15/15 (Day 3)
10. 14/15 (Day 3)
11. 14/15 (Day 3)
12. 14/15 (Day 3)
13. 14/15 (Day 3)
14. 14/15 (Day 3)
15. 14/15 (Day 3)
16. 13/15 (Day 4)
17. 14/15 (Day 4)
18. 14/15 (Day 4)
19. 12/15 (Day 4)
20. 13/15 (Day 4)
21. 15/15 (Day 4)
22. 15/15 (Day 5 - Christmas Eve)
23. 15/15 (Day 5 - Christmas Eve)
24. 11/15 (Day 5 - Christmas Eve)
25. 13/15 (Day 6 - Christmas Day, today)
26. 12/15 (Day 6 - Christmas Day, today)

The only test that I got less than a 12/15 on was Word list 24 ("immaculate - incessant"), and my score for that was an 11/20. I plan on re-studying that list thoroughly when I'm finished with the rest of the lists. Day 3 was a good day. Got a lot of studying done. It's still Christmas (I've got about 4 hours until it's not anymore), and I plan to do some more of the Word Lists. I've almost completed Word List 27. My plan is to do 5 or more Word Lists a day, or at least catch up to what I should be at the following day if I decide not to do 5 lists one day (as you can see above). Back to studying!

Christmas Updates - Barron's Book Escapades Part 1

So I haven't updated in a little while. It's because I'm finally home for winter break, have been trying to get everything in order for Christmas, and actually been applying myself to this Barron's GRE prep book. Aren't you proud?

I've been doing some damage on this one.

I finished the diagnostic test before embarking on studying the information provided in the book and got something like a 450 on verbal and a 500 on math. Whoop-de-doo. Blegh. I've attributed this poor grade to my lack of vocabulary, not going over math enough yet, and the fact that I like to rush. All of these things must be remedied as soon as possible. Notice that I'm not blaming myself for not doing outstanding on the diagnostic test. It's because I know that I can do better.

I completed Chapter 4 on Antonyms. Here is a listing of of testing tactics that the book gives and my thoughts on each tactic:
1. "Think of a context for the capitalized word" - I like this, but it's hard for me to do.
2. "Before you look at the choices, think of antonyms for the capitalized word" - I like this one a lot.
3. "Read all the choices before you decide which is best" - Eeep...I need to work on this one because it's so obviously helpful.
4. "Look at the answer choices to determine the word's part of speech" - I like this one.
5. "Consider secondary meanings of the capitalized word as well as its primary meaning" - Eeep on this one, too. I like it, but it's difficult to do.
6. "Break down unfamiliar words into recognizable parts" - I like this one, but I need to be careful with it.
7. "Change unfamiliar words from one part of speech to another" - I like this one.
8. "In eliminating answer choices, test words for their positive or negative connotations" - Hmmm, I don't know about this one.
9. "Watch out for errors caused by eye-catchers" - Yikes because I've fallen into this trap. Need to work on it.

I bite at antonyms. These scores on the exercises will give you an idea how much so:
12/20, 12/20, 13/20, 14/20, and 13/20. Consistent, yes, but needs improvement!

I went over the tactics in Chapter 5, which is about Analogies, too:
1. "Before you look at the choices, try to state the relationship between the capitalized words in a clear sentence" - I love this tactic.
2. "If more than one answer fits the relationship in your sentence, look for a narrower approach" - Ok, will do, thank you sincerely! Good reminder to be careful.
3. "Consider secondary meanings of words as well as their primary meanings" - Eeep. Reminds me of the one that was in the antonyms section. It would be wonderful if words only had one meaning, but alas, English isn't like that.
4. "Watch out for errors caused by eye-catchers" - Good re-reminder.
5. "Look at the answer choices to determine a word's part of speech" - Good point. Like it.
6. "Familiarize yourself with common analogy types - Like a lot. Need to invest more time in this.

Here are the common analogy types, says the Barron's book:

• Definition
• Defining characteristic
• Class and member
• Antonyms
• Antonym variants
• Synonyms
• Synonym variants
• Degree of intensity
• Part to whole
• Function
• Manner
• Action and its significance
• Words and article created
• Worker and tool
• Worker and action
• Worker and workplace
• Tool and its action
• Cause and effect
• Sex
• Age
• Time sequence
• Spatial sequence
• Symbol and quality it represents

Wow...basically anyway that a word could possibly relate to another word. Okay.
I've only done one exercise for this section, but things are looking up: I got a 17/20 on the exercise! Also, when I was going over the tactics I was able to apply what they were teaching in the book to most of the practice questions that went with each tactic. Hooray!

Chapter 6 is on Sentence Completion questions. Love this kind of question. Maybe it's because I got all of the practice questions that went with each tactic correct. These are the testing tactics:
1. "Before you look at the choices, read the sentence and think of a word that makes sense" - Love this tactic a lot. It works the best for me.
2. "Look at all the possible answers before you make your final choice" - Like because I am still rushing when answering questions, I think.
3. "In double-blank sentences, go through the answers, testing one blank at a time, not two" - I actually never thought about doing this. I thought that I'd screw it up. But I tried it and I love this tactic.
4. "Watch for signal words that link one part of the sentence to another" - Good to keep in mind. The basic kinds of signals the book elaborates on are: "cause and effect signals", "support signals", "contrast signals (explicit)", and "contrast signals (implicit)".
5. "Use your knowledge of words parts and parts of speech to get at the meanings of unfamiliar words" - Makes sense. Suspiciously easy.
6. "Break down complex sentences into simpler components" - This is hard for me to do. I feel like it would take up too much time. I'll keep it in mind, though.
7. "If a sentence contains a metaphor, check to see whether that metaphot controls the writer's choice of words (and your answer choice)" - this totally makes sense and I'm going to use it when I recognize metaphors. Like it.

As for the one sentence completion exercise that I did, I got a 19/20! Woot for me.

Stay tuned for more Christmas updates!

Update on the Barron's CD-ROM

So... really all that is on the CD-ROM is the two tests that it says it has. No other perquisites. Bleh.

In addition to that, someone who wants to assess their strengths and weaknesses has to finish an entire test! Say for example I wanted to just see how I would do on the mathematics section. I wouldn't be able to do that on this CD-ROM! Boo that!

I guess that I'm going to have to hold off on working on the CD-ROM until I want to actually try taking a full test. What a waste of frikkin' time! Valuable study time! Grrrr, Barron's... already getting on my bad side.

Finished the ETS book

Just finished Practicing to Take the GRE by ETS. Or rather, I finished the section that deals with re-teaching information. I haven't taken any of the 7 practice tests, yet. I'm figuring that I should do that when I'm not at school in a lounge with four other people who are watching television or playing Wii.

Towards the end of the mathematics review my brain starting slipping a little. I definitely need to review the information about geometry and data analysis. There were a few things that I don't even remember ever learning in elementary, middle, or high school let alone college. That's okay, though, because I'll get back to it in future studying. Hooray!

As for the section that went over what the two essays in the GRE are all about, I'm really happy that the book went into what the test graders look for in the essays. I think that if I didn't know any better, I would have written the way that they don't want to see.

I've decided that the next book I'm going to get involved with is Barron's GRE 18th Edition. Sure, Barron's is the self-proclaimed "leader in test preparation", but Barron's and I go way back...maybe like to before this past summer when I got the GRE vocabulary prep book that I never finished. Where did I put that thing anyways?

Another awesome thing about this Barron's book is that it comes with a CD-ROM that houses "two additional computer-adaptive model tests on enclosed CD-ROM." I'm going to crack it open and see what happens.