TACTICS TO IMPROVE SCORES

In my previous post I mentioned "you will have to learn general test taking tactics". What does that mean?? Let me start by outlining no. of Tactics which you can implement right away to implement your scores. These techniques DO NOT require you to be thorough with your studies.

Strategy One - Start Strong : The first thing you need to know about GRE is that its a CAT. Computer Adaptive Test. It means that the computer adapts to your performance. As you give the question right the test gets harder and as you get questions wrong it gets easier. To illustrates this lets take an example. Suppose 2 students catA and catB give GRE. catA got first 3 question right, two questions wrong and gets 600 marks. catB gets first 2 quest wrong and next 3 right and ends up with a score of 540 marks. This happens because the computer adapts to your level at the beginning of the test. It looks for trend and tendencies in your performance. The questions worth less and less as you proceed. The questions at the beginning are worth more marks. So Always remember to Start Strong in your test. You can't change computer's mind. So if you get one or two incorrect at the first 10 question you are not likely to end up with the top score. Work on your accuracy so that you get as many right answers as you can and avoid making careless mistakes.

Strategy Two - POE : We can use the structure of GRE to our advantage. We know that one of the answers has to be CORRECT. For eg.
Whats the capital of Milowee ?
A. Paris
B. Cairo
C. Lilongwe
D. New York City
We know its not Paris or Cairo or New York City. Thus we eliminated them and concluded to the right answer i.e. Lilongwe. This process is called "Process Of Elimination" or POE. It is one of the most powerful tools you can use for GRE in order to improve your accuracy. The more wrong answers you get rid of the more accurate you will be and more questions you will get correct.

Strategy Three - Triage : You should know the art of knowing what to let go. Within 45 seconds of your first impression on the question you should be able to determine and say that if you can solve it or not. If you know exactly how to do it then Go For it. If you know how to do it but will take time you or if you don't know how to do it, dont try to skip. Decide whether the question is worth doing or not. C in the CAT stands for Computer that means it doesn't have paper. So you cannot go back to the previous question or skip a question. You HAVE to attempt the question. So guess the answer smartly. Use POE to eliminate all possible wrong answers thus you can improve accuracy.

Strategy Four - Pacing : If you don't finish a Section the Computer actually penalizes you by showing the scores at the end of the section. It thinks that you are bad enough and penalizes you for that. Thus you have to pace yourself. How do you do it? You know that the questions at the beginning carries more weight age then the questions at the end. So devote the most amount of time and attention at the beginning.Do not distribute your time equally that means you are not utilizing your efforts. Slow down where it counts the most.