In this second edition of GREat Five-Minute Reads, we present to you an eclectic mix of topics to whet your appetite for reading! From historic Moors to futuristic genetic studies, from hot-blooded activists to the cool-headed polar residents, munch on these thought-provoking titbits to make the most of your weekend.
- “A woman should have the right to be in the home as a wife and mother”
- Fittest or Fattest? It is all the same for these polar bears!
- The Moors: Islamic art in ancient Spain.
- One Man’s Rebel is Another Man’s Hero!
- If you think you may go mad when you are old, think again…or read this:
Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!
As you are aware, most classes have been temporarily suspended and tests like GRE, TOEFL, and IELTS have been postponed due to Coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown. Also, there is no clarity on when the classes will resume and situations will normalize.
To help you make optimum use of this lockdown time, we discussed in our last blog, a few tips that can help you to prepare for the GRE while at home. When it comes to TOEFL and IELTS, most of you are used to classroom practice and find it difficult to manage it at home. In this blog, we shall discuss a few easy strategies that will help you to overcome this hurdle and boost your prep even when at home:
TOEFL
- Read news articles, story archives or any other interesting article for about 30 minutes every day and reflect on your understanding of it. While doing this, underline new words, write them down in a book, memorize them and try to use them while speaking. Some of the recommended reading sources are New Yorker, NY Times, Huffington Post, and TOI.
- Listen more to native English speakers for getting a grip on pronunciations and speed. You can listen to FluentU videos, TED Talks, YouTube videos and podcasts, BBC Radio and NPR. Pause the audio clip after every few seconds and try to see if you are able to understand well and where you are falling short. For good lectures and conversations, go to Gothica on Youtube and practice.
- For the writing section, pick the topics of your choice and practice timed writing for the essays. For Dilip Oak’s students, you can practice topics on Page 38 of the TOEFL book thoroughly.
- For the speaking section, speak on any topic of your choice (timed for 45 seconds as per TOEFL requirement) and record it on your phone. For Oak’s Academy students, practice topics from Page 123 of the book, others can browse any topics online. Go back to the recording and check for fluency, grammar, pronunciations, clarity etc. Ask your friends or family to listen to your recording and get feedback. This will help you to improve more.
- You can take a free practice test on the ETS official website.
IELTS
- Read news articles, story archives or any other interesting article for about 30 minutes every day and reflect on your understanding of it. Read the National Geographic more since many IELTS passages are Science passages. For Oak’s Academy students, you can practice from IELTS Book 2.
- For listening practice, go for TED Talks, FluentU videos etc. You can also access a lot of listening practice material on https://allieltsmaterial.blogspot.com/
- For speaking practice, record a timed response (11-14 minutes) on your phone on any topic of your choice, go back and listen to it to know your mistakes and assess your performance. For Oak’s students, you can practice topics from Book 1.
- or writing essays, Academy students can refer to Book 1 which has a pool of topics for task 1 and task 2. You can also write on any other relevant topic. For the initial one or two attempts, you may write an untimed essay. Once you get a hang of writing strategies, go for timed practice only.
Tired of studying all the time? Instead of binge-watching the latest sitcom online, why not try some reading for fun?
Starting this week, we present to you GREat Five-Minute Reads, curated and compiled by faculty members to ensure that you augment your critical reasoning skills by understanding complex sentence structures and recognizing tricky context clues.
Need more incentive? Well, these articles will also boost your comprehension of tough vocabulary: since the ETS opts for words that can be broadly used in many contexts across many academic disciplines, these words are almost non-existent in everyday conversations or TV scripts. This makes grasping the vocabulary in Reading Comprehension passages or Sentence Completion texts like tackling a behemoth. A simple solution? Read a lot to find out how these words behave in their “natural habitat”, so you can tame the leviathans easily!
This Week’s Reading List:
1] Dinosaurs weren’t the only ones!
3] Oh Mummy! Old Egyptians, New Curses!
4] From Socialite to Novelist: Edith Wharton’s journey
Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!
The looming uncertainties about visa processes and admissions to US universities due to ongoing lockdown have put the long term plans on hold for many students who have already secured university admits. Meanwhile, many of you, who are currently preparing for the GRE and have joined GRE coaching, are also finding it difficult to plan and manage their studies due to suspension of classes and postponement of tests.
As of now, there is no clarity by when these situations will improve and classes will resume. Therefore, to help you make the best use of this lockdown time without being affected by the mounting pressure, we have come up with a few tips that will help you continue your studies at home, in a smart way!
Verbal Reasoning Section
- Keep reading. Not losing touch with the syllabus is most crucial at this point. Revise and practice whatever has been covered in your class till now.
- Solve at least five to six passages for Reading Comprehension and 10-15 questions for Sentence Equivalence, Text Completion and Sentence Completion every day. Understand where you are going wrong and improvise accordingly.
- Learn and memorize at least 20 to 25 GRE words every day. Mark the ones you find difficult and practice them more.
- Brainstorm two to three Issue and Argument topics each, every alternate day to cover different topics.
- Practice writing at least two Issue and Argument essays each in 30 minutes, every week, to become comfortable with timed writing.
Quantitative Reasoning Section
- Make sure to revise and be thorough with basic concepts and formulae.
- Focus more on quantitative comparison questions since they are trickier than other question types and constitute around 40 percent of the total 20 questions.
- Solve one set (minimum of 20 questions) every day.
- The Data Interpretation section is relatively easy to study and score, so make sure you practice that section well.
- Most engineering students are good with basic concepts but make silly mistakes during calculations and lose marks. To avoid this, practice manually, using a pen and paper so you become more attentive.
- For those who are students of Dilip Oak’s Academy, solve Book 4 thoroughly. It will help you to understand the exact requirement of every problem and use the concepts correctly. If you do this, you can manage to score 160+ easily.
GRE Material and Prep Tools for Quick Study
If you are a Dilip Oak’s Academy student, you have a suite of online features that you can make maximum use of to practice:
Focused Practice – Reinforce your understanding by testing yourself on:
- Topic-wise questions for the Quantitative Reasoning section
- Specific question types for the Verbal Reasoning section
- 400+ on Verbal and Quantitative sections combined
Test Prep
- Customized Practice Sessions: choose question types and difficulty levels and practice using timed and untimed modes
- In-depth Explanatory Answers: view detailed explanations for every question
- Instant Review: view your results immediately after each practice session
Full-length Tests
- AWM Essays: graded on ETS’s 6-point scale with feedback from the experts
- Explanatory Review: details explanatory answers for every single question
- Detailed Analysis: question-wise analysis of your performance to enable you to gauge your strengths and weaknesses
Vocabulary App – Covers 1500 high-frequency words
- Images illustrating word meaning
- Sample sentences and roots
- Test mode to help you master the word list.
Note: All the above-mentioned facilities can be availed fully only if you have enrolled for GRE coaching at Dilip Oak’s Academy. If you are not an academy student, you can still purchase our online practice packages. View our Plans & Pricing HERE
Taking the GRE® General Test at Home: Equipment and Environment Checks
With the current lockdown, the ETS has made it possible from April 2, 2020, in India for students to take the GRE General Test online at home! This opportunity is will not be available for long and the number of test-at-home sessions is limited. To register for the test, visit ets.org/gre/at-home today!
There are a few criteria that you must keep in mind while applying to take the test at home. Firstly, your computer must meet the equipment requirements for the test. This will mean you have to install the ETS Test Browser and the ProctorU Systems Check on your machine (desktop/laptop). During the test, a human proctor, via video camera, will monitor you and your computer screen to ensure you follow procedures: the entire test will be recorded and your photo will be taken, which will be made available as part of your score record to the institutions you designated. Additionally, there are certain environmental parameters you must follow.
Here are the Equipment and Environment criteria in detail:
EQUIPMENT:
1] Computer:
- Must be a desktop or laptop computer, not a tablet or mobile device
- Cannot be a Mac® computer or use an iOS® operating system
- Must use Windows® operating system, versions 10, 8, or 7
2] Speaker
- Must use an internal or external speaker to hear the proctor
- Headsets or wireless earphones are not allowed
- Recording devices of any kind are strictly prohibited
3] Microphone
- Must use an internal or external microphone to communicate with the proctor
- Must not be a part of a headset
- Recording devices of any kind are strictly prohibited
4] Camera
- Can be a built-in camera in the computer or a separate webcam
- The camera must be able to be moved to show the proctor a 360-degree view of the room, including your tabletop surface, before the test
5] Note-taking Materials
- You CANNOT take notes on regular paper
- You can take notes using a whiteboard with erasable marker or a plastic transparency sheet and erasable marker
- You will be asked to erase all notes in view of the proctor at the end of the test
Once your equipment and systems checks are complete:
- Download and install the ETS Test Browser on the computer you will use for the test
- Run the ProctorU® System Check from the computer you will use for the test
ENVIRONMENT:
1] Privacy
- You must be alone in a quiet, well-lit room
- You cannot communicate with anyone else; no one else can enter the room during the test
- Make sure you can be seen on camera by the proctor: DO NOT MOVE during the test as suspicious movements could invalidate your test
- Testing in a public space such as a park, internet cafe or restaurant is not allowed
2] Tabletop and seating
- Your computer and keyboard must be on a desk or other tabletop surface
- The tabletop and surrounding area must be clear of all items not approved for use during the test: MOBILE PHONES, RECORDING DEVICES, HEADPHONES, EARPHONES are NOT ALLOWED
- You must sit in a standard chair; you may not sit or lie on a bed, couch, or an overstuffed chair
- Food and drink are not allowed during the test
3] Clothing and appearance
- Your face must be visible: DO NOT wear sunglasses or other accessories
- Your ears must remain visible throughout the test: DO NOT cover your hair with a hat or other items
- DO NOT wear jewelry, tie clips, cuff links, ornate clips, combs, barrettes, headbands, and other hair accessories
- You must be dressed appropriately for your test: you will be monitored via camera by the proctor, and your photo will be shared with institutions that receive your scores
Important links to be followed step by step:
1] Primary link: https://www.ets.org/gre/at-home
2] Equipment and Environment Checklist: https://www.ets.org/s/cv/gre/at-home/equipment/
3] Registration with ETS: https://www.ets.org/s/cv/gre/at-home/ets-account/
4] Registration with ProctorU: https://www.ets.org/s/cv/gre/at-home/proctoru-account/
5] Testing Experience: https://www.ets.org/s/cv/gre/at-home/test-day/
Taking the GRE® General Test at Home: On Test Day
The GRE General Test at home is the same as the GRE General Test you take at a test center. It will cost the same as taking the exam at a test center. The score delivery timing and acceptance of the scores by university programs are also the same. Once you have registered for the GRE General Test at home, on the day of the test, you must ensure the following:
Before the Test:
- Log in to your ProctorU account at your appointment time
- You will have up to 15 minutes after your scheduled time to begin your check in: if you have not checked in by that time, your test will be canceled and your fee will not be refunded
- Select “Start Session”
- Complete the authentication steps, which include showing your ID to the proctor: the name on your ID must match the name on your ETS account
- The proctor will review the exam rules and request access to your computer screen for monitoring purposes
- The proctor will ask you to use either a hand-held mirror or cell phone to show your computer screen
- The proctor will ask you to use the camera on your computer to show a 360-degree view of the room, including your tabletop surface
- When directed by the proctor, you will launch the ETS secure web browser: the password to access the test will be provided by the proctor
During the Test:
- The test has six sections with a 10-minute break following the third section and one-minute breaks between the remaining sections
- You are required to remain in your seat for the one-minute breaks
- You are allowed to leave your seat during the 10-minute break: if you do not return on time, your test will be canceled and your fee will not be refunded
- Unscheduled breaks during the at home test are not allowed
After the Test is Completed:
- At the end of the test, you will be given the option to report or cancel your scores
- If you choose to report your scores, you will be able to view unofficial Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores
- You will not be able to view your Analytical Writing scores at the end of your test
- If you elect to report your scores, you will be asked to choose up to four score recipients as part of your test fee
To register for the test, visit https://www.ets.org/gre/at-home today!