GRE Prep: Verbal Study Plan Overview

Dilip Oak's Academy

Here from Dilip Oak’s Academy are the GRE Prep highlights. As the graphic above indicates the basic plan for verbal preparation for the GRE is as follows:

  • at least 3-5 months before your GRE, begin vocabulary preparation and preliminary reading practice
  • 2 months before your GRE, begin going through the practice material
  • 1 month before your GRE, begin your practice on the Computer-Based Tests (CBTS)

This is explained below: As you can see there are four aspects of preparation that you have to cover:

  1. Vocabulary Learning and Revision
  2. Preliminary Reading Practice
  3. Covering the Practice Material
  4. Practice on the Computer-Based Tests (CBTs)

Each of the sections below gives you a brief idea of how to handle one aspect of preparation. Each section also contains links (in red) which give you further important details about the aspect of preparation that it deals with. Before you read through the sections below read through the post on ‘some principles’ for GRE Preparation. This will give you important guidelines on how to work through the material described in each of the sections.

  • 1. Vocabulary Learning – 4,000 words to be covered: preferably begin 3-5 months before your GRE, use the following:
    • VaiVocabulary – most important: sincerely go through all quizzes, the rapid revision and the difficulty-based revision sessions
    • FlashCards and FlashCard Companion – the FlashCard Companion booklet gives you a sample phrase for every meaning of every word in the FlashCards.

Click here for the detailed post on Vocabulary Preparation and Revision

 

  • 2. Preliminary Reading:

Begin your preparatory reading preferably a minimum of 3-5 months before your GRE, so that before you begin work on the Oak’s practice material you have already developed some basic reading skills and have some exposure to areas outside your academy specialization. The preliminary reading consists of:

    • Paper-based reading – newspaper editorials
    • Online reading – websites containing articles with higher-level language
    • Easy reading comprehension – e.g. TOEFL material

Once you have finished the preliminary reading, go on to the reading comprehension material in the practice material (see 3. Practice Material immediately below).

Click here for the detailed blog on Preliminary Reading

 

  • 3. Practice Material (paper-based) – This is the material in your Home Work packets. Begin approximately 2 months before your GRE

Click here for the detailed blog on working through the Practice Material

 

  • 4. Computer Based Tests– begin 1 month before your GRE, take 1 test every 2-3 days. There are 7 tests (see below), so working at this pace will take you a month or so to complete them.
    • 5 Oak’s online CBTs
    • 2 full-length tests in the ETS PowerPrep II software

Click here for more on going through the Computer-Based Tests

 

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