Information about GRE
Image credit: publicbroadcasting.net
The Graduate Record Examinations or GRE is a standardized test that is one of the admissions requirements for most U.S. graduate schools. The GRE was created by Educational Testing Service (ETS) in 1949 and is administered by them still. It is intended to measure verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, analytical writing and critical thinking skills. Analytical writing consists of timed issue and argument tasks and is always the first of the six sections of the GRE to be administered. Issue and argument tasks are drawn from a pool of tasks that are available on the ETS website and available for practice. Write your boulder essay with us or create your own SoP for biotechnology.
How to write a GRE essay prompt
Shown here is a GRE essay prompt:
Issue task: “We learn through direct experience; to accept a theory without experiencing it is to learn nothing at all.”
It is a GRE issue task and a test taker given the task would have 30 minutes to write an essay on the issue. The following are some good tips for responding to GRE essay prompts:
- Plan first – Spend a few minutes outlining what your position will be and how you are going to present your position.
- Keep the introduction short – Write a short introduction and jump into the meat of your essay
- Structure the essay – A simple structure is 1)introduction 2)Body 3)Qualification ( Paragraph starting with “However” stating you could be wrong) and 4) Conclusion
- Provide examples– Use examples in your GRE personal statement to illustrate your points and support samples
- Proofread – Take the last couple of minutes to proofread the essay. Good grammar is expected – check error free grammar SoP writing tips.
Here is an essay written in response to the GRE essay prompt provided above:
Experience is the greatest teacher. Only direct experience fixes new knowledge in our mind. Having an experience of something teaches the concept better than learning virtually.
It is nature’s way of teaching animals and humans. A bird wouldn’t learn to fly if it didn’t flap its wings. A newborn baby knows nothing. As he grows he starts to observe and use things he sees. First he observers and then imitates, thus learning. Unless he touches something hot he wouldn’t know what getting burnt is. Unless cut by a sharp object or falling from a height, he won’t learn to avoid those things.
Without experiencing something one never knows the nature and extent of any theory. A person can’t answer whether a task is difficult or easy unless they have done it themselves. A student being tutored on solving problems, if going by only what they are told, can’t be sure of having learned how to solve the problem. However, if the student has practiced and solved the lesson themselves, they have experienced the problem first hand. They would solve on their own and find out their capabilities and weaknesses and have a chance to improve. That is learning in the real sense.
However, it is also true not everything can be experienced. You don’t have to go on the moon to learn about it and its nature. A common man can only learn about such far off things or imaginary theories when told about them. That means you may not have experienced being on the moon but can understand the idea. So experience isn’t the only teacher. Learning happens where the student is ready to learn from available sources. Thus the most important factor in learning is the student’s interest in the subject.
The first steps towards learning need the help of a guide. The importance of learning by getting inspired cannot be ignored. It would be extreme to say without experience there is no learning. Learning is a continuous process. It occurs subconsciously without one knowing it. As the mind constantly works and absorbs things, it has the ability to pick up ideas and develop them also. So, before you experience something, the mind has already worked on the issue and prepared a base for it.
Thus learning can’t be limited to one method. Learning involves the mind and body. Thus it is important to not only experience theories, but that a learner has a mindset for learning and grasping the things seen.
Want to get an attention grabbing statement of purpose? Hire SoP writer and get a document that will make a lasting impression on the reader!