What GRE format changes mean to you: A turn for the better?

While the GRE’s overall content breakdown will remain the same for the 2011 test change – that is, it’ll still consist of analytical writing, math, and verbal sections – the specific question types are undergoing quite the transformation. The most radical changes will be seen in the area of Reading Comprehension, where the testmakers are introducing two brand-new question types, both of which take fuller advantage of the computerized format than either the old GRE or the current GMAT ever have.

The first new type consists of multiple choice questions which have more than one possible answer. This is a variation on the traditional “Roman numeral question,” a perennial on the GMAT, in which you are handed three Roman numeral statements and one or more are correct, e.g. “III only”; “I and II only”; “I, II, and III.” The killer tactic for Roman numerals has always been to begin with the one that appears most often, so as to narrow down your options. If, for instance, incorrect statement “III” appears in every answer choice except for (A), then the correct answer must be (A) by definition, case closed.

But in the new type, “I,” “II,” and “III” will be replaced by “A,” “B,” and “C,” and any or all of them may be part of the answer. There will be no pre-set combinations to sort through. Moreover, there will be no partial credit offered; as the ingenue sings in “Oklahoma!,” “it’s all er nuthin’.” The examinee will have to give equal and due attention to all three statements, without Roman numeral shortcut tactics to lean on. Scary? Maybe. You be the judge.

The second new question type is Select-in-Passage, in which the examinee is to click on a specific passage sentence that matches up to a particular task. In other words, she’ll be asked to “Select the sentence that…” addresses a commonality between opposing views; or distinguishes between two phenomena; or shows why a hoped-for outcome won’t take place. This question type requires understanding not just a sentence’s content, but the author’s purpose in writing the sentence and placing it where she does. Both GRE and GMAT Reading Comprehension questions have always rewarded an examinee’s focus on author purpose, but never more so than now.

B-school aspirants who are thinking about going with the GRE will need to make sure they are fully prepared for these new question types. As should be pretty clear, these types require more complex thinking than the current tests’ questions, and are less vulnerable to test taking shortcuts.

Students worried about having to deal with question types that haven’t appeared on any previous standardized tests need to remember that they can still take the current GRE up until July 31, 2011, and a score so achieved will be valid for five years after taking the exam. Or they can go with GMAT and opt out of the whole revision to-do altogether.

Many people believe “the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.” Whether that devil is the GRE or the GMAT, that’s a proverb you’re likely to hear repeated quite often as opportunities to take the GRE in its current form begin to dwindle, and the choice between GRE and GMAT becomes more acute.

More on the GRE content changes, and how they affect you on your road to b-school, in future posts!

Let’s first note the two reasons why we read in everyday life:

1)    We read because we are required (for real-life purposes) to be knowledgeable about the content we are reading: studying for a history exam, delivering on a business proposal, etc.

2)    We read because we have a natural interest in the topic at hand, as in leisurely reading: a novel, an analysis of a favorite sports team, etc.

You may have already known that the GMAT does not use particularly “interesting” topics.  Most content of a passage deals with topics such as a biological process, a historical event, or a technological innovation.  It would be silly to simply hope that your passages on the GMAT will be about specific topics that interest you.

However, you should also not view the passages as a set of details and factoids to be memorized.  Any reading passage may have up to 350 words.  That would be a lot to memorize, especially for a timed test.  From this passage, you may be tested on as little as two different details.  This doesn’t seem very efficient.  Moreover, once you are done with a passage and its accompanying questions, you will never have to care about that passage and questions again.  So why put so much effort to memorize something that you’ll forget about eight minutes later?

Instead, you should keep a couple of different approaches in mind.  The first is to look for structural patterns.  For example, if you see any biographical passage, you’re likely to see a few sentences about the subject’s childhood and what led to that person becoming interested in what she is famous for now, and a few sentences dedicated to how she worked toward that interest.  A passage about contrasting theories almost always has one paragraph dedicated on one theory, and another dedicated to the other theory, and then some sort of conclusion — sometimes advocating one over the other.  Looking for structure will help streamline your reading.

In conjunction, when you start encountering specific details, think in the context of why the author mentions these things, as opposed to what those things actually are.  Again, there’s no need to memorize — the passage will remain on the screen as you’re answering the relevant questions.  “Why is this detail important?” or “What’s the purpose behind this paragraph?” are the questions you want to ask yourself as you’re reading; by keeping these questions in your mind, you also won’t think “this is boring”, because there’s purpose behind your reading.

Reading Comprehension, more than any other question type, tests your critical thinking and time management abilities, which are the real-life skills that business schools are looking for.  Mastering these will not only lead to success on the GMAT, but also through b-school.  Good luck!

Over the years, GMAT students usually fall into two camps:

1)    “I can read–I don’t have to worry about Reading Comp.”
2)    “Reading Comp is hard and I’ll be happy just to get whatever points I can.”

If you fall into the first camp, think bigger.  Yup, we all can read.  We graduated from college and are making our way through the business world.  However, can you read strategically?  Have you been reading strategically?  If you’re not, you’re giving up points on the GMAT.

If you fall into the second camp, I have news for you: you can improve your Reading Comprehension performance using straightforward methods in strategic reading.

“OK Brian, I got it.  Read strategically.”

Reading strategically involves three primary actions.

1)    Read for keywords and structural words
When we read newspapers, memos, and books, we are trying to consume the “content” of what’s being said.  Content on the GMAT is NOT our friend.  Yes, we have to understand what they are talking about; however, our reading is referent reading (i.e. we can refer back to the passage to find a specific statistic or quote).  Your job is to look for structural words that indicate the author’s opinion.  For example, “In 1922, New York City was the cultural equivalent of Western Europe; but struggled to find its own identity.”  I’ve bolded the structural words.  These words tell us 1) the time period, 2) the relationship between NYC and Western Europe, and 3) the author’s main conclusion.  All three of these points are likely to be targeted in a question on Test Day.

2)    Predict the passage
GMAT passages are predictable.  By using your key words above, you can figure out where the author is likely going in the rest of the passage.  When we predict what is going to happen in the future a couple things happen.  First, we start thinking critically about what the author is truly focusing on and what the author may not care much about.  Second, we get to confirm or reject our prediction.  When we confirm or reject our prediction, it helps to crystallize the concept in our head – an immensely important distinction as we evaluate the answer choices.

3)    Write an Outline on Your Note-board
As we are charg’in through the passage on test day, after each paragraph, we want to summarize our thoughts of the paragraphs based on the keywords above.  Keep in mind that in our outline, we want to include a little bit of structure along with a little bit on content.  This is part of the “passage mapping” method taught in the Kaplan Method for Reading Comprehension.

Applying a structured approach to reading comprehension will help ensure you not only increase your percentage correct on test day, it will always ensure you don’t just depend on luck.  You CAN read.  You can also improve your GMAT Reading Comprehension.