How to Study for the GRE Verbal Test

Take practice tests to help in your study for the GRE.

Acing the verbal section of the GRE is a sure-fire way to stand out from a pool of talented applicants in any field of study, and an absolute necessity if you're looking at a program in literature or writing. And even if you read Shakespeare for kicks, it's going to be tough. But there's no need to panic. Ultimately, the GRE is just another test. With the right approach, you'll nail it.

Things You'll Need

• Vocabulary lists
• Practice tests
• GRE prep books
• Index cards
• Pencils
• Quiet room

Instructions

Get oriented

1. 

   Call the admissions department

   Call the school to which you most want to be admitted and find out what score it looks for on the verbal section. This is also typically specified on the admissions section of every program's web site. Now you have your target score.

2. Learn the structure and design of the verbal section. You'll have 30 minutes to complete 30 questions that deal with analogies, antonyms, sentence completion and reading comprehension. The scoring is adaptive; every time you answer a question correctly the computer asks you a harder question, worth more points, to boost your score.

3. Take a timed verbal section practice test online. Remember, the scoring is adaptive, so focus hard on the first 10 questions. Now that you know where you stand, it's time to get you where you need to be.

Hit the books

1. 

   Make a schedule

   Develop a detailed, extended-study schedule and stick to it. Researchers Jan M. Miller, Ann Goodyear-Orwat and Richard W. Malott found that GRE test takers showed mean gains of 96 points when they used intense, structured study for 66 to 140 hours according to a study published in "The Journal of Behavioral Education." The same study concluded that cramming showed no gains.

2. 

   Study vocabulary

   Boost your vocabulary deliberately. According to a study published in "Language Learning: A Journal of Research in Language Studies," Yongqi Gu and Robert Keith found that Chinese students studying English showed the greatest gains in vocabulary through "skillful use of dictionaries, note-taking, paying attention to word formation, contextual encoding, and activation of newly learned words." You won't need to do this with every word, but when you meet a new one, take the time to look it up, contextualize it and incorporate it into your daily speech.

3. Practice, practice, practice. In looking at several studies for his "Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World Class Performers from Everyone Else," Fortune Magazine's senior editor-at-large Geoff Colvin concludes that there is no such thing as a born genius. In other words, Mozart became Mozart through hours of rigorous practice. So get your hands on practice tests and do as many as your schedule will allow.

The big day

1. Get a few good nights of sleep before the test. You want to be focused and sharp on the big day.

2. 

   Eat lightly

   Eat something light the morning of the test. Skipping breakfast might result in a distracting, growling stomach, and going overboard with a heavy, fatty meal might make you drowsy.

3. 

   Game time

   Relax, focus and know that you're prepared. Researchers from Harvard and the University of British Columbia found that relabeling performance anxiety as a "challenge response" produced higher scores before a big test, according to "The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology." So remind yourself--that feeling in the pit of your stomach is not insecurity, it's just anticipation.

Tips & Warnings

• Many prep books provide access to banks of practice tests online.

• Make flash cards to study vocabulary.

• A great way to study vocabulary in your spare time is to pick up a classic, such as "Moby Dick" or "Pride and Prejudice," and scan for unfamiliar words.

• There is a new version of the GRE coming in August 2011, in which the verbal section will be changed drastically.

• This advice applies specifically to the computer-based version of the GRE only. The scoring on the paper-based version differs.

References

• The Official ETS GRE Site
• "Journal of Behavioral Education"; The Effects of Intensive, Extensive, Structured Study on GRE Scores; Jan M. Miller PhD, Ann Goodyear-Orwat MA, and Richard W. Malott PhD; Vol. 6 No. 4 1996
• "Language Learning: A Journal of Research in Language Studies"; Vocabulary Learning Strategies and Language Learning Outcomes; Yongqi Gu and Robert Keith Johnson; December 1996
• "Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World Class Performers from Everyone Else"; Geoff Colvin; 2008
• "The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology"; Turning the Knots in Your Stomach Into Bows; Jeremy P. Jamieson, Wendy Berry Mendes, Erin Blackstock, Toni Schmader; July 2009

Resources

• Majortests.com GRE prep site
• Princeton Review Free Practice tools
• CalPoly Study Skills Library