General Test-Taking Strategies Flashcards
5 Barron’s Math Tactics
- ) Draw a Diagram
- ) Don’t trust that a diagram has been drawn to scale.
- ) Exaggerate or change a diagram.
- ) Add a line to a diagram.
5) Subtract to find shaded regions.
Robust Notetaking Process
- ) In a long passage the first paragraph often has the most important content = “the defined skull”
- ) The limbs of the Skeletal Sketch are short headlines or one-sentence summaries of each of the remaining paragraphs. To write down the nitty gritty is counter productive in terms of time.
- ) Once you have finished the passage, identify the Point.
Timing for long passages
1:30
Using the Skeletal Sketch
Don’t look for general questions and one can use the skeletal sketch as a general sketch.
General Questions Examples…
- ) The primary purpose of the passage is…?
- ) The author is chiefly concerned with …?
- ) A good title for the passage would be…?
- ) The passage as a whole can best be characterized as which of the following?
Strategy for a General Question when stuck between two answer choices…
Use a SCORING SYSTEM to assign a value to each one, which is based on the presence of pertinent data in the selection.
Specific Question Examples…
- ) According to the passage…?
- ) It can be inferred from the passage that…?
- ) All of the following statements are supported by the passage EXCEPT…?
- ) Which of the following would weaken the assertion in the passage…?
Strategy for wording of specific questions?
JUSTIFY EVERY word in the answer choice
Strategy for strength of statement
AVOID EXTREME words if possible. The GRE prefers moderate language and ideas.
Strategy for interpretation..
INFER as LITTLE as possible. I should eliminate answer choices that require any logical stretch or leap. I must be able to prove the answer, just as if the question asked you to look it up in the passage.
What are the two types of GRE Essays?
There is one ISSUE essay and one ARGUMENT essay.
How to structure the essay -
I. Intro.
II. Body - Write 2 - 6 paragraphs
III. Conclusion
Don’t forget to strengthen the Argument & Just Flip the Flaw…
1.) Nothing is Quantified? - Quantify X,Y,Z…
2,) Possible Alternate Causes?
3.) Correlation does not equal causation?
4.) No control group, non-representative sample, too-small sample?
If a quadratic appears in one or both quantities of a quantitative comparison question then?
a. ) FOIL the quadratic,
b. ) eliminate common terms, and
c. ) compare the quantities.
If a quadratic appears in the common infrastructure:
a. ) factor the equation and find BOTH solutions, and
b. ) plug both solutions into the quantities.
Quantitative Comparison: How to try prove (D)
- ) use -1, 1, 0
- ) Use positive numbers greater than 1 and fractions between 0 and 1.
- ) Use negative numbers less than -1 and fractions between 0 and -1
Quantitative Comparison: Use the Invisible Inequality
a. ) Add or subtract to both quantities.
b. ) Multiply or divide both quantities by a positive number.
c. ) Square or square root both quantities if they are positive.
Quantitative Comparison: When to use Quantity B as a benchmark.
Use when Quantity B is a number (no variables.)
3 - step process for tackling Geometry QC ?’s
- ) Establish what you NEED TO KNOW
- ) Establish what you KNOW
- ) Establish what you DON”T KNOW
When should one pick a number?
In a Quantitative Comparison question when the variable in both A and B is within a defined range.
One thing that can help with symbolism math questions is to…
put the definition of the symbol into words.
The Units Digit is…
the number located in the ones digit location.
