GRE-O-Matic 1600

So you want to be an expert in analogies, or you at least would like to do fairly well on that portion of the test.

Here's my theory: If you don't learn your vocabulary, you're screwing yourself off the bat. Look: most of the words in the big vocab lists are words you already know (but be careful to check the definitions, since I've discovered that some words mean something entirely different from what I thought they did). So go through the vocab list and find the words you need to learn and learn them. You'll thank yourself later.

Here's what a few of the experts have to say (but only in part. I wouldn't want to give away the big secrets for which they charge us poor pre-grad students):

• The Princeton Review suggests finding a relationship between the first two words, then trying to find the same relationship between the second two words.
• gre-secrets.com (who will send tips directly to your e-mail, by the ways) also suggests looking for a relationship, or looking for a relationship backwards, meaning start with the answer and find out if it matches the question.
• The people that write the GRE suggest the same, but remind us NOT TO FORGET that words can have multiple meanings.
• The people at a site called "examcram2.com" also say to find the relationship.
  

• Test Magic's practice analogies
  
• 10 minute test by Arco
  
• A few practice analogies by Kaplan
  

Cartoon by Dr. Wieslaw Krawcewicz, a math professor at the University of Alberta, Canada. See more of Dr. Krawcewicz's cartoons at his Web site or at the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences/Pi in the Sky Magazine online.

So just what is this quantitative stuff anyway? ETS tells us:
"Quantitative Reasoning — The skills measured include the test taker's ability to understand basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis; reason quantitatively; and solve problems in a quantitative setting."

Thanks, ETS. That clears it up. Thankfully, Graduateshotline.com is not a dating service, but a GRE help site. They break down the quantitative section of the test as:

1. Arithmetic
2. Algebra
3. Geometry
4. Data analysis

This means that for all of us that can add, subtract, multiply and divide numbers together in only the most basic ways, we still have a fighting chance! Most of this section is going to be devoted to mathematical comparisons. Secondary will be problem solving. And they'll also be tossing a few chart problems our way.

Here's what the comparisons are going to look like:

3 apples, each cut into quarters, divided among 4 children.

Column A
The number of slices given
to each child if each child
is given the same amount
of slices.

Column B
The number of slices cut from
each apple.

A. The number is Column A is greater
B. The number in Column B is greater
C. The number in Column A is equal to Column B
D. The relationship cannot be determined

Okay, so on the GRE, the question isn't going to be so simple. (You should have chosen answer B. If you didn't, try the Kaplan Practice Questions hosted by Yahoo.)

So in the end, these quantitative comparisons require us to take the information given and figure out what Column A and Column B are in terms of the information provided, and how they relate to each other.

Piece o' cake, right? Wrong. To get all of this, we really do have to go back and review all those algebraic terms from high school. Unless you're taking the Math GRE (which is a subject specific GRE, not the plain old GRE for which the rest of us are studying), it's not going to be much more than that, from what I understand. So if you missed taking calculus in college, don't worry. No imaginary numbers should show up.

Since math isn't my strong suit, I've been looking for a book focused on the math portion of the general GRE. So far, here's what I've found:

• The Ultimate Math Refresher for the GRE, GMAT, and SAT
• Math Review For Standardized Tests (Cliffs Test Prep)

Finishing out week one, here's a note on grammar.

So there are transitive verbs and intransitive verbs. What's the difference?

A transitive verb needs a direct object, which is the noun or pronoun which is acted upon though the action of the verb.

The professor flayed the term paper, pointing out every grammatical and spelling error she made.

• The term paper is the object which was acted upon by the professor.
• The action? Being criticized harshly, also known as flaying.

An intransitive verb doesn't need and shouldn't have a direct object. It's happy all by itself. It's an action that stands alone. Intransitive verbs don't do something to someone or something else. They just do. Moreover, they CANNOT take a direct object.

When spring arrives, one can often see shadows of birds flitting in the woods.

• The action is flitting.
  
• The birds aren't flitting anything. They just flit. Fair enough.