Agenda:
Introductions
Syllabus
Lab Projects & Assignments
The GRE & the GMAT Exams
Diagnostic Test
Review
Introductions:
Name, Country of Origin, Languages, Field of Study, Degrees,
Hobbies, Plans
Ex: I’m Dr. Jennifer Lynn Hudgens. I was born in the U.S.,
in the state of Louisiana. I speak English as my first language, and Spanish,
German, and French as my other languages. I have studied Philosophy, Feminism,
and Race Theory among many other things, but I have a PhD in Philosophy, a
graduate certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies, and a TESOL certificate as
well. My hobbies include writing fiction and poetry, painting, knitting, and
singing. I plan to continue teaching at AEI while I also do administrative work
for Academic Affairs. (you might specify whether you plan to take the GRE or
GMAT and what schools you intend to attend)
Syllabus:
(go to document)
Note my contact information, the one holiday we have this
session, and the lab project and assignment schedules.
Lab Projects & Assignments:
(review on syllabus)
Note that students are required to clock in for these
additional hours as part of the class to be completed without the instructor. However,
we can review any questions you wish during class time.
The GRE & the GMAT exams:
The GRE has three primary measures, while the GMAT has four.
GRE
Analytical Writing
(2 essays)
(30 minutes each)
Math (Quantitative Reasoning)
(2 sections of 20 questions
each)
(35 minutes each)
Verbal
(2 sections of 20 questions
each)
(30 minutes each)
(no other official sections)
1 minute break between all sections except for a 10 minute
break after section 3
Labeled research section possible; unlabeled experimental
section possible
Onscreen calculator during Quantitative sections
You can change/edit/review answers, i.e. “Mark &
Review” feature
Visit ets.org/gre for news
Visit “Bulletins & Forms” section
Official information in the ETS guide
GMAT
Analytical Writing
(1 essay)
(30 minutes)
Math (Quantitative)
(1 section of 37 questions)
(75 minutes)
Verbal
(1 section of 41 questions)
(75 minutes)
Integrated Reasoning
(1 section of 12 multi-part
questions)
(30
minutes)
8-minute breaks after sections 2 & 3
1/4th of questions can be experimental
Onscreen calculator during Integrated Reasoning section
You cannot change/edit/review answers
Visit gmac.com for news
Visit the “User Guide” section
Official information in the GMAC guide
For both exams:
·
Review question types, answer types, scoring,
and skills.
·
An “endurance” test where you are tested for
hours.
·
Incorrect answers do NOT subtract but do not add
to scores either.
·
It is best to answer every question – at least
guess!
·
Once a section is completed, you may not go back
through it.
·
Scratch paper/noteboards are provided, and you
can always request more. Use them on all sections!
·
Verbal & Quantitative sections are adaptive;
the raw score ≈
number of correct answers; scaled scores are generated by equating questions
with difficulty levels and on comparison with the scores of other test-takers
in your cohort.
·
Scores are reported within 10-15 days after test
date. See each exam’s details to see more about how score reports work.
History of Standardized Testing:
Standardized tests are loosely based on the IQ
tests developed initially to determine the difference between officers and
infantry in the military. Questions that were “easy” should have been
answerable by everyone; questions that were “difficult” should have been
answerable only by the very intelligent.
However, where IQ tests are supposed to measure innate
abilities, standardized tests for university programs are supposed to measure
acquired skills. In reality, these tests measure one skill: your ability to
take a standardized test.
Schools use test results to distinguish between applicants
with similar GPAs. A high GPA tends to indicate a hard worker, while a high
test score tends to indicate someone with a lot of skills necessary for the
school programs.
Do not merely aim for your “best”! This is not a good goal.
Good goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and
time-based. In other words, aim to raise your current score by a certain number
of points within a specific amount of time, or to increase the number of
correct answers you have within the 8-week session we have.
The test makers:
ETS = Educational Testing Service & GMAC = Graduate
Management Admissions Council
The test customers:
Admissions departments and mailing lists!
The test writers & graders:
Computers and graduate students
To prepare for standardized tests:
·
Have a strategic plan
·
Practice regularly, methodically – cramming is
worse than useless!
·
Take simulated tests on the computer
·
Pick the order with the “easy” test first (try
the “classic” order on the GMAT)
·
Do NOT approach like a fact-based test
·
Learn to think like the test-maker so you can
avoid common errors
·
Remember that the test has to be predictable,
otherwise it would not be standardized, and this means you can improve your
test-taking strategies!
This is an adaptive test:
·
Questions will start with medium difficulty level
·
If you guess repeatedly, your score will drop
dramatically
·
Getting several questions right will increase
the difficulty level
·
Getting several questions wrong will decrease
the difficulty level
·
There is NOT a one-to-one correspondence between
right or wrong answers and changes in difficulty level
·
Do not waste time trying to figure out the
difficulty level of each question
·
Do NOT worry if the questions suddenly seem easier,
you will reach an equilibrium
·
DO take heart when the questions get more
difficult, because this means you are doing well!
·
Unanswered questions = WRONG every time
·
Pace yourself – never take more than 2 minutes
for any question
·
Practice at a higher difficulty level than you
are at currently to improve your overall level
·
Make educated guesses through Process of
Elimination (PoE) – this will improve your chances of guessing correctly
·
Every answer has an equal probability of being
the right answer – do NOT just guess C or the longest answer
·
Always check your answers before completing a
section
·
DO NOT CANCEL YOUR SCORES unless you are
extremely sick or the building catches fire
Math concepts included on both tests:
·
Arithmetic & number properties
·
Proportions, fractions, percents, & decimals
·
Algebra & coordinate geometry
·
Geometry of forms and solids
·
Probability & statistics
·
Word problems
·
Logic & critical thinking
Most basic strategies for all sections of both
tests:
·
Do the “easy” parts first
·
Educated guesses/PoE
·
USE the scratch paper
·
Double-check your answers
·
Leave NO question unanswered
·
Read ALL answer choices
·
Plug in the answers to test them
·
Try to come up with your own answers and test
them
·
Memorize (turn the memorization sheet into flash
cards) basic formulas and computations
·
Use the calculator as little as possible
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