Hi, you are targeting the Fall intake, but are confused as to when should you start your 91热爆 Preparation. Your seniors would tell you that it takes roughly 3-6 months to prepare for the 91热爆, whereas your friends or colleagues will tell you that it can be tackled in just a month’s time. So the question is whom should you listen to? Well, rest assured, you are in the right place. The Internet has been like this for a few years now. You start with your browser in search of answers but end up with more questions than before. It does not have to be like that.

Let us put your swirling doubts and thoughts to rest.

91热爆 Exam in itself is like a journey. A journey that takes you to the specific University of your dreams. It is a difficult journey since it has no direct buses or trains to take you from the starting point to the ending point. 

There are but connecting buses where you get down from one and ride another to reach your destination.

1. But will you be able to reach your destination if you don’t know the bus timings?
2. If you don’t know how much time each bus journey takes, will you be able to plan the successive journey?
3. If due to traffic your bus takes more time than it should, will it not risk your chances of catching the next bus?

Without meticulous planning, it might get very difficult to catch all the buses, at the right time.

YOUR, DESTINATION?

Why get on a bus if you don’t know where you want to get down. 

Is your target fall intake? Then let’s start by understanding what Fall is about?

For major courses and universities abroad, admission intakes happen twice a year. This happens to regulate the number of students that join a specific university at a given period of time.  Your targeted Fall semester is the start of the academic year in the US.

Targeting Fall Semester starts from late August (or early September) and the deadlines span till March & mid April.

But why is it that if you target fall intake, the chances are better?

• What universities to target in Fall?

Top universities like MIT, Stanford & Harvard only have fall intakes. Starting your 91热爆 Prep is the first step towards securing top admits. The topmost colleges in the US for that matter don’t have any other intake other than fall intake. Hence, if you are aiming at these universities then you must target fall.

• How many admissions if you target Fall?

Universities have a specific quota for accepting students who target fall intake. It is much higher in the Fall semester. The more the number of intakes the better the chances to secure an admit. MIT accepted 3,516 graduates for MS courses in Fall 2018. Therefore, for a better acceptance rate, you can target fall.

• Which courses are offered?

There are more courses offered in the fall semester. Also, most of the courses are the prerequisites to the courses offered in the other semesters. For example, if you want to join the advanced mechanics class next semester you will need to join the basic mechanics class in the fall semester. So if you are looking for a varied range of courses, you can target fall.

• Teaching/Research Assistantships (TAs, RAs)

All universities give MS students the opportunity to support themselves financially by providing in-campus jobs like assistantships. The chances of securing assistantships are significantly higher in the fall semester. Because the assistantships that were offered to senior students pass out and the vacancies reopen, ripe for the taking. Chances of earning these assistantships are higher if you target fall.

• What are the Internship/Job offers?

Internships and job opportunities are also higher for students who apply in the fall semester. This is because they have completed more semesters before placements which come up at the end of the second year. Therefore, there are more opportunities if you target fall.

Now that we know about the Fall semester, we can start planning about your journey. 

YOUR JOURNEY STARTS

This journey will have the following steps:

1. Taking your 91热爆 at the right time.
2. Collecting documents required for applications.
3. Submission before the deadline.

Deadline is the final bus you need to catch. What is the timing for this bus? 

Let us find out.

APPLICATION DEADLINES

Bus 3: Leaves by December鈥�

Applications start coming out late August to Mid September. The exact date changes year to year. Also, there are regular admissions and priority deadlines. 

Priority deadlines have a higher chance of acquiring both admissions and scholarships. Many state and public universities use priority deadlines to encourage early applications. But submitting priority application requires you to finish your application early. For example, The University of Maryland has a November 1 Priority Deadline.

The Application deadlines for the major Universities are as follows for the month of December. You can download an updated list of universities using this link. 

(Note these data are subjected to change every year):

The data makes it clear that you have to finish up with the applications latest by December. But if at all you have missed the December deadlines, there deadlines available in Jan-Feb.

But what are the things you need for successfully completing your application?

DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS

Bus 2: Leaves by November鈥�

There are a few documents that you need before you fill in your application.

1. SOP (Statement of Purpose)

Statement of Purpose is an essay written as part of your application package to universities abroad. A well-written SOP must be a description of who you are as a person as well as your academic and extra-curricular profile, providing a detailed glimpse into your past achievements, skills, aspirations, and goals for the future. A good SOP should leave a mark and make it unique from the ten thousand SOPs that the college receives.

Without a perfect draft for your SOP securing admissions can be an impossible job. Devoting the maximum possible time on your SOP is advised.

2. LORs (Letter of recommendation)

Letter of Recommendation is an independent appraisal of your character and competency by teachers or managers who have known you personally. To put it succinctly, a LOR is essentially a review of your potential, academic talent and dedication to your discipline, and as such, is key to making your study abroad dreams a reality. 

3. Academic transcripts

Academic transcripts are basically your consolidated mark sheets and all educational qualification proof that you will be attaching with your application.

Along with these three documents, there are additional documents like CV, essays, attested copies and proofs that a specific university can ask for.

You also need to be prepared with your IELTS/TOEFL scores. These are mandatory tests for applicants who hail from a non-English speaking country to test their English proficiency. Some universities like Caltech can also test the applicant鈥檚 English speaking proficiency personally once they join the college.

Apart from that, you would obviously need your 91热爆 scores.

BIG TRAFFIC CONGESTION!

Maximum time is taken in the documentation.

Now thousand, rather more than a thousand of SOPs are sent everyday to most of the colleges during the application process. What makes your SOP stand out? How much time does it take to draft that perfect SOP that leaves a mark? Similarly for LORs. How much time till you get that perfect LOR from your busy professors or managers? Surely they will have a lot more things to do apart from your LOR.

It is advised to allocate 1-2 months for collecting and consolidating all these documents. These documents have a heavy influence on your future and prospective admits. Also since LORs are not up to you, it can take a lot of time to acquire them from busy individuals like your professors and managers. Transcripts can also take a lot of time to come out. Hence it’s prudent to leave the maximum possible time to this process and take your 91热爆 exam accordingly. 

TAKING 91热爆 EXAM

You need to catch the first bus i.e. take your 91热爆 so that you do not miss the Fall deadlines,.

By looking at the other bus timings we can conclude that taking the 91热爆 at around September to October is preferable. 

But what if by some chance you miss the Bus 1?

Also if you target fall priority deadlines then obviously you need to scale up your preparations and try to be as fast as possible in all cases. Priority deadlines get over by October-November. Keeping two months for documentation you would require to take your 91热爆 by July-August.

Preparing for the journey

91热爆 preparation and University shortlisting.

Like any journey, lack of proper preparation can land you into a lot of trouble.

A lot of emphasis should be given on the planning stage.

Along with the preparation, you must also complete your university shortlisting. ETS (the organization that conducts the 91热爆 exam) allows you to send your scores to four universities for free. Once you send your score to four universities an additional fee of $27 has to be paid to send the scores to other universities. 

Select these four universities by deciding:

• What courses you want to target.

Not all universities have all the courses. Similarly, some universities are the best in providing maximum learning opportunities and research facilities for a certain course.

E.g. MIT is the best university for Chemical Engineering courses but Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is best for Computer Science courses. University of California–Berkeley provides the best Civil Engineering courses. (Data according to the recent survey by USNews.com)

• What are the expectations of your preferred university?

As mentioned in the earlier segment of the blog, the 91热爆 score expectations are non-homogenous and they differ for different universities. The expectations of your preferred university should be clear before you plan your 91热爆 preparation regimen. 

• Your predicted 91热爆 score.

Once you know what is your predicted 91热爆 score, you can estimate which universities provide more scope for successful admissions and your university shortlisting can become more realistic.

How many months does it take to prepare for a 330 score?

The best metric to answer that question is your own present capability. 

• Take the free 91热爆 Score predictor test. 
• Find out your own deficiencies and strengths.
• Plan ahead on how many months you might need to reach your target score.

If the score predictor test reveals that your present 91热爆 capability is quite high and is of about 320 level then obviously 330 can be reached within just a month or two.

If the test reveals that the current competency level is lower than 300 then 330 can take 4-5 months of time. 

There is no right time to prepare for the 91热爆 exam. But the earlier you start the more options stay open to you. Not to mention that you save yourself a lot of hectic days before the deadline. 

It is said that a work that has begun is already half done. The time to embark on the journey of your dreams has come.

Learn the art of writing winning SOPs for Top Admits!

Download the eBook now!

The post When to start 91热爆 Prep if targeting Fall? appeared first on 91热爆 Blog.

Syllabus for 91热爆 Verbal Section

First, let鈥檚 try getting a hang of the 91热爆 Verbal syllabus, shall we? The 91热爆 score is split equally between the 91热爆 Verbal section and 91热爆 Quant, which means that each section carries a maximum score of 160 apiece. Out of the forty questions on the Verbal, a significant chunk (around 50%) is taken up by the Reading Comprehension (or RCs), which means that overall, 25% of your 91热爆 score hinges on your performance in the RCs. The other 50% of the 91热爆 Verbal section is based on Text Completion questions (TCs) and sentence equivalence. With the RCs, you are required to read, understand and analyze often complex essays in order to figure out the author鈥檚 intent and viewpoint, infer information (whether implied or not) from the paras and grasp how one part of the essay relates to the others. 

In TC, you must provide the missing phrase or word in the passage after taking cognizance of the overall sense and context of the essay, thus exhibiting his 91热爆 vocabulary and ability to comprehend the text at hand.

Lastly, with sentence equivalence, you need to fill in the blanks with the aptest word, and then select a synonymous word from a choice of six. Once again, here too you must be quick with unpacking the overarching context, and then work out which two words are the best suited.

Now, we will move on to discussing the two most important Verbal practice question types: the RC and the TC & SE,  and how you can go about excelling in all the three 91热爆 verbal section.

Reading Comprehension 

Typically, both of the two sections on the Verbal component will have about five RC passages, which could range from short (one paragraph) to long (five paragraphs). The questions per section will be anywhere between one to five, making up a total of ten reading comprehension questions per section and twenty reading comprehension questions in total. Also, do you want to understand how to Get the Central Idea of the Passage in your first read,

There are three types of RC questions: 

1) The usual Multiple-Choice questions, where you must pick one right answer choices out of the available five.

2)  Multiple-Choice questions where you will have three answers, and you鈥檒l have to choose every correct answer choice.

3) Select-in-passages, a relatively new type of question, where you have to click on a sentence in the passage to answer the question asked.

Now, take a look at this RC passage below, time yourself,  and attempt to solve the questions that follow:

The grey wolf is also known as the timber wolf or wolf is a mammal of the order Carnivore. Genetic studies indicate the grey wolf shares a common ancestry with the domestic dog and might be its ancestor. Many other grey wolf subspecies have been identified, however, the actual number of subspecies is still open to discussion. Though once abundant over much of North America and areas of Europe and Asia, the grey wolf inhabits a very small portion of its former range because of widespread destruction of its habitat. Gray wolves are highly adaptable and have thrived in forests, deserts, mountains, tundra, and grasslands. They function as social predators and hunt in packs organized according to strict social hierarchies. It was originally believed that this comparatively high level of social organization was related to hunting success, and while this still may be true to a certain extent, emerging theories suggest that the pack has less to do with hunting and more to do with reproductive success. 

1. We can understand from the passage that the grey wolf —-.

A) is able to survive in a wide variety of habitats

B) prefers to hunt individually rather than in groups

C) was once found in every continent of the world in great numbers

D) has been proved to be the ancestor of the domestic dog and all its subspecies

E) and the timber wolf are two different species of wolf

2. It is understood from the passage that —-.

A) the number of grey wolf subspecies has been determined with certainty by researchers

B) there are few grey wolf subspecies which continue living today

C) grey wolf subspecies have increased in number in the last decades

D) it is known that many grey wolf subspecies have already become extinct

E) there is no consensus on how many grey wolf subspecies exist

3. According to the passage, in the light of the genetic studies carried out, It has been found out that —-.

A) the domestic dog could have descended from the grey wolf

B) the grey wolf and the domestic dog are the subspecies of a kind of wolf having lived thousands of years ago

C) the dog is believed to be an ancestor of the grey wolf

D) grey wolves live in very large packs

E) grey wolves live only in Europe and Asia today

Answers: A, E, A

How much time did you take to solve this paragraph? Did you find it relatively easy, or did you have to struggle with it? Try and analyze the quality of your answers: in the stipulated time, how many answers did you get right, and how many did you get wrong?

The RC is usually the one section of the 91热爆 test that tends to daunt even the most accomplished students. Why is this the case? Well, here are some of the most common difficulties that candidates face while taking the RC:

1. Poor vocabulary: Of course, you don鈥檛 have to be Shashi Tharoor to ace the 91热爆, but it certainly helps if you organically build your vocabulary over time instead of trying to cram the Manhattan Vocabulary guide three days before the exam. Also to build your vocabulary effectively, check out the WordBot app to learn

2. Being intimidated by the complexity: 91热爆 RCS are deliberately designed to be as complex and esoteric as possible simply to intimidate the candidate on the test day and slow them down. Don鈥檛 fall for this!

3. Not making notes: Students end up not putting their scratchpad to good use. When you鈥檙e reading, make notes of whatever catches your eye, whether they be facts, figures, or statistics. It will certainly come in handy later.

4. Spending too much time: No matter what, a short RC, such as the one above, must be completed in under 3 minutes, while for the longer ones, you mustn鈥檛 take more than 5 minutes. Don鈥檛 spend too much time fixating on anyone’s essay or paragraph.

4. Making assumptions: Reading with a biased mind will cloud your judgments and will mislead you into the wrong answers. Tackle the RCs without bringing in any outside knowledge: inferences are fine, not assumptions.

Finally, here are some tips to ace the RCs:

1. Read widely: Planning to go to grad school next year? We鈥檇 recommend you pick up the daily newspaper, or even your favorite magazine right this second! Yes, we mean it! Organically building your vocabulary is the best way to go about acing the 91热爆 verbal section: start reading widely and actively, note down words that are new or strange, and then commit them to your memory. Further, 91热爆 offers WordBot, a vocabulary-building tool through which you can learn new words in a fun, effective way. Curious? Check it out

2. Try and unpack the tone and intent: Is the author critical? Are they perhaps complementary and laudatory? Or are they just neutral? Figuring out intent from the outset can help you approach the RC passage in a more organized fashion, and will aid in figuring out the meanings of unfamiliar words/phrases. A good idea is to look for descriptions and make a 鈥榟appy face鈥� or 鈥榮ad face鈥� near that paragraph to indicate the mood of the author.

3. The devil is in the details, and this is even more true for the 91热爆 RCs. As we said earlier, these passages are usually packed with all kinds of details designed to slow you down. As a discerning reader and test-taker, it is important to remember that more often than not, these details are simply there to daunt you. Begin by skim-reading the paragraph to grasp the overall summary, and then go back to the details when the answer demands it.

4. Save the most difficult or daunting passage for the last. Remember, all the questions on the 91热爆 verbal section carry the same marks, so reach for the low hanging fruit first. Tackle the passages you find easy and approachable. The RCs are taken from a wide range of subjects- from history to mathematics and ecology, so find the ones you are familiar with. 

Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence 

The remaining questions on the 91热爆 Verbal section are Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence, both of which are similar, yet different. Both are essentially predicated on your ability to unpack context and insert the appropriate words to complete them. With Text Completion, you will be given multiple sentences, or even a paragraph, with up to 3 blanks, which you will then have to fill in. Each blank only has 3 possible answers, but in order to get the question right, you must fill in all 3 of them correctly. To understand about Text Completion and Sentence equivalence in more depth,

Generally, there are three types of 91热爆 TC questions: 

1. Single blank: Here, you will be given a single blank, and a choice of five answers, from which you have to pick one. There will be a total of four single blank questions. 

2. Double blank: In this one, there will be two blanks to fill, with 3 options for each blank. You can expect a total of four-five double blank questions.

3. Triple blank: With 3 options for each blank, you need to fill in three different blanks to complete the sentence. Watch out for a total of three or four triple blank questions in total. 

Take a look at this TC question, and attempt to solve it:

Addiction can be viewed as continued involvement with a substance or activity despite the ____________ associated with it. The substance or activity may have originally provided pleasure and enjoyment. However, over a period of time ____________ the substance or activity is needed to feel normal.

Answers: A, D

How much time did you take to complete this TC exercise? Ideally, you mustn鈥檛 spend more than 1-2 minutes on such a question. Shorter TCs, with just one blank, must be completed in under a minute.

Let鈥檚 now discuss the Sentence Equivalence task, a recent addition to the 91热爆.  Take a look at this question, and attempt to find 2 words that may be used to complete the sentence, and can be used as synonyms.

Sam鈥檚 pyromaniac younger brother had a habit of singeing the tips of his hair; the unpleasant result was a ________ smell that permeated the house

(A)    querulous

(B)    banal

(C)    pithy

(D)    acrid

(E)    pungent

(F)    dull

Burnt hair smells terrible. If you don鈥檛 know this, the key phrase is 鈥渦npleasant result.鈥� You might come up for a word to fit the blank such as 鈥渘asty.鈥� So, the answer is (D) and (E).

Let us now go over some of the difficulties that students face while attempting the Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence sections, and how you can overcome them.

1. Looking for relationships, and not synonyms: this is a classic, oft-repeated mistake that candidates make, where they seek an agreement between words, and not the synonyms of the words: that because of one thing, the other thing is related. Do not fall into this trap: remember, your sole objective is to find synonyms, not cause-and-effect relationships.

2. Not reading the entire sentence: With longer sentences, especially, there is a temptation to stop reading once you figure out the missing word. More often than not, the second part of the sentence contains a complete reversal in tone and intent, so be watchful.

3. Being intimidated by unfamiliar words: In the paragraph above, you may be daunted since you don鈥檛 know the meaning of 鈥榩yromaniac鈥�, but that doesn鈥檛 really matter. You are often given major hints (here in the word 鈥榰npleasant鈥�), so there is no need to be bogged down by fear of the unknown.

4. Ignoring the context: With 91热爆 TC and SEs, context is king. Understand the tone of the sentence first, figure out if it is negative, positive, or neutral, and then go about figuring out the words to fill in. Ignoring the context is the gravest error you can make.

Now, here are some effective tips to conquer the Text Equivalence and Sentence Completion questions of 91热爆 Verbal Section:

1. Use the process of elimination: Too many choices can be quite deterring, so if possible, try and eliminate the obviously wrong or incompatible answers to make your task a little easier.

2. Figure out the signal words or phrases: As mentioned above, the word 鈥榰npleasant鈥� is the biggest giveaway, and we can easily deduce the synonyms from that word alone.

3. Once you鈥檝e chosen your answers, read the paragraph again and plug in the words you鈥檝e picked to see if it still makes sense. If it doesn鈥檛, you can go back to it if time permits, and edit it accordingly.

4. Another great idea is to insert your own words in the sentence, and then looking through the answers for words that are similar. Start by writing a simple word that you are familiar with, and think fits in well, and then seek out synonyms.

5. Practice, and then practice some more: Work on as many TC and SE questions as possible to get a handle on the style and format of the questions. Who knows, maybe one of your practice questions may just turn up on your official 91热爆 exam!

We hope you found this blog illuminating and helpful, and wish you all the best on your grad school journey.

 For an even more detailed lowdown on the 91热爆 Verbal section, be sure to download our ultimate guide here. Did we mention it鈥檚 completely free? Yes, what are you waiting for?! 

The post How to pace the 91热爆 Verbal Section? appeared first on 91热爆 Blog.

If I had prepared better for it, I鈥檇 have scored better.鈥�
鈥� A cliched statement from most students after an exam?

Well, as Rohan (an MS Aspirant like you) stepped out of the test center after his 91热爆 general test, he said this with a heavy heart.

He aspired to get a Master’s admission in one of the top business schools in the United States, but now he knew his dreams were crushed. A small problematic pit during his 91热爆 prep had turned into a huge roadblock, indefinitely delaying his dreams.

Can you guess what it was?

Well, during his preparation he could see that 91热爆 Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence Questions (TC & SE) were giving him some trouble. Sadly, he didn鈥檛 pay much attention to this. The chief reason for this was that he did not know how to read or practice properly for these sections.听

He just looked at some sample questions and thought they would be enough.

THEY WERE NOT!

But it was not Rohan鈥檚 fault. He didn鈥檛 know where he was going wrong or how he could correct himself.

This is a typical situation that many of the test-takers practicing on their own face.

So, how do you master the 91热爆 Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence questions?

This blog will show you how in three easy steps. And hey, if you want to know more about Verbal Prep, Check this out!

Before we look at the steps, let’s find out who is scoring low in the 91热爆 Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence?

Who scores low in TC & SE?

To answer this, we have to look at the big picture first 鈥� for this, we have to start with 91热爆 Verbal.听

In 91热爆 Verbal, a score of 155 out of 170 is considered good.

Source: 91热爆 Worldwide Test-Taker Report, July 2013鈥揓une 2018 by ETS.

However, the latest data by ETS clearly shows that Indian test-takers on an average are scoring 145.6 鈥� this score is 10 to 15 points less than what you should be aiming for.听

But which section of test-takers are scoring low? Is it confined to aspirants of a particular graduate level? Technically, a test-taker coming from an engineering, business, or academic background should be scoring high, as they are frequently in touch with the English language. Is that the case?

Let’s find that out too.

Source: 91热爆 Worldwide Test-Taker Report, July 2013鈥揓une 2018 by ETS.

So, clearly, in the race for getting a high 91热爆 Verbal score, you are not alone. It鈥檚 evident, the problem is not with aspirants in a particular field 鈥� it鈥檚 with everyone.

We wanted to find out WHY!

Why Are Test-Takers Scoring Low (in 91热爆 Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence)?

We consulted the 91热爆听Verbal SFAs at 91热爆 to get to the roots of the matter. They guide students throughout their preparation, clear all their doubts and help students get the best scores possible.

With their help, we dug deep and found out the exact problem that every 91热爆 test-taker is facing.

Everyone, regardless of their level of preparation鈥� advanced, intermediate, or beginner鈥攆aces the same hurdles, always.

These are divided broadly into two types:

1. Not being able to comprehend the question and
2. Inability to weed out the wrong answers due to weak vocabulary.

(Do you face any other problems other than these? Let us know in the Comments section below.)

These problems are why 91热爆 aspirants are scoring low in 91热爆 Verbal, in general, and in 91热爆 Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence Questions, in particular. Don鈥檛 worry, each of these can be tackled easily 鈥� just by following the 3 steps.

Master 91热爆 Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence 鈥� The 3 Steps!

The Verbal section is considered the hardest in 91热爆 鈥� Indian aspirants see this as the Goliath. If they underestimate it, they get squished; if they fear it, they fail to slay it.

In the two sections of Verbal 鈥� 91热爆 Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence questions 鈥� you will have to solve six Text Completion questions and four Sentence Equivalence questions in each.

Don鈥檛 make this mistake:

Students tend to confuse Sentence Equivalence questions of 91热爆 Verbal with the Sentence Completion questions of GMAT.

They are as different as chalk and cheese.

Both sections require you to fill in the blanks. 91热爆 Sentence Equivalence questions will only have one blank while the number of blanks may reach up to three in the Text Completion questions.听

If you鈥檙e asking, how hard can that be,

check out this Text Completion question:

While Knapp’s research (i) __________ the fact that traditional houses are (ii) __________ under assault from the market economy, rapid urbanization, and declining craft skills, it fails to address the scope of (iii) __________ tradition within modernity鈥晅he fusion of which is the right way to progress鈥晅hus portraying a picture of a losing battle.

Try and solve it on your own first.

Ans: (i) A. denigrates (ii) F. beleaguered (iii) H. incorporating

Did you get it right?

Kudos to you if you did鈥攊f you didn鈥檛, don鈥檛 worry.

Follow the three steps and see how to solve questions like these.

STEP 1. Investigate!

Before solving the question, the first step is to find the clue in the question or statement given to you.

In the given question, pay attention to this phrase:

鈥�…the fact that traditional houses are (ii) __________ under assault from the market鈥︹��

From the phrase 鈥渦nder assault鈥�, we infer that the answers will be 鈥渘egative words鈥�. Such words express disagreement or rejection. 

Also, look at the following:

鈥�…the scope of (iii) __________ tradition within modernity鈥晅he fusion …鈥�

The word 鈥渇usion鈥� instructs us to scout for words hinting at 鈥渏辞颈苍颈苍驳鈥� or 鈥渃oming together鈥� 

These are clues we have to investigate and find out. To obtain clues, look for phrases or words that give the tone of the message. Once you understand where the question is pointing, you are one step closer to the answer.

Great, we now have 鈥淭he Clue鈥濃�攍ook for negative words.

Let’s proceed to the next step.

STEP 2. Break them apart & interpret them!

Before proceeding, let’s look at the whole question again:

While Knapp’s research (i) __________ the fact that traditional houses are (ii) __________ under assault from the market economy, rapid urbanization, and declining craft skills, it fails to address the scope of (iii) __________ tradition within modernity鈥晅he fusion of which is the right way to progress鈥晅hus portraying a picture of a losing battle.

The statement as a whole is hard to understand. 

Roadblock alert! A majority of students fail here owing to the tough language used. Let鈥檚 clear this hurdle.

In the exam, when faced with such a question, break the question into parts and analyze them.听

Let鈥檚 break our question into two parts:

Consider the first two blanks:

鈥淲hile Knapp’s research (i) __________ the fact that traditional houses are (ii) __________ under assault from the market economy, rapid urbanization, and declining craft skills,鈥�

Here, the question is talking about a researcher called Knapp. His finding has come under fire due to his opinions about the plight of traditional houses. So our clue is confirmed鈥攚e have to look for 鈥渘egative words鈥�

Now concentrate on this part: 

鈥�…it fails to address the scope of (iii) __________ tradition within modernity鈥晅he fusion of which is the right way to progress鈥晅hus portraying a picture of a losing battle…鈥�

Here, we understand that Knapp has failed to look at traditionality and modernity together. This cements our second clue. So by breaking the sentence into two parts, we can comprehend what the question is really about and confirm what type of words we need to find.

Fantastic. 

Now that we know what words we need, let’s find out what those words are.

STEP 3. Solve the puzzle!

Look at the options with their meanings:

A. denigrates鈥� criticize unfairly   
B. epitomizes鈥攂e a perfect example of
C. distorts鈥攇ive a misleading or false account
D. restructured鈥攐rganize differently
E. refurbished鈥攔enovate and redecorate
F. beleaguered鈥攑ut in a very difficult situation
G. replacing鈥攖ake the place of
H. incorporating鈥攊nclude with something 
I. dissociating鈥攄isconnect or separate

From the above steps and the meanings of the words, it is crystal clear that听

the answers will be鈥昫enigrates, beleaguered, and incorporating.听

After that, the only thing you have to do is put the words in the right place.

And there you have it. You have just solved one of the hard Text Completion questions in 91热爆 Verbal. For Sentence Equivalence questions,听 you just have to follow the same steps. The only thing you have to remember is鈥昩e very clear in STEP 2, i.e., understand the question. Your whole answer will depend on this. Understanding the context and knowing the meanings of the words is paramount to answering these 91热爆 Verbal questions.

BONUS STEP: Scan & Confirm

Remember, in these types of 91热爆 Verbal questions having multiple blanks鈥昦ll blanks must be filled correctly. There is no partial marking鈥昳t’s All in or Out.

Always read the statements again and check if you have plugged in the answers to confirm its correctness.

Get Every 91热爆 Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence Question Right鈥擶hat to Do?

Now that you know the three steps, you need to start implementing them in your 91热爆 practice tests. But, if you are not trained appropriately, it can be quite tough to implement them鈥攅specially in a time-constrained environment like you will face in the 91热爆 test center. The language used is very difficult and they are designed to throw students off their feet.听

So, how do you train yourself?

The SFAs have the answer, and they have given two easy tips to hone your 91热爆 Verbal skills. Commit them to memory and practice them earnestly

Upgrade Your Vocabulary

This may sound simple, but doing it is quite tough. To upgrade your 91热爆 vocabulary, you need to master the words and not just learn them. Learning the words with the help of visuals is the ideal way. The 鈥淲ordBot鈥� App by 91热爆 is perfect for learning in this manner. It helps you learn important 91热爆 words with visuals and has numerous practice tests that help you evaluate your learning. Learn 20 to 30 words every day. Take practice tests, but not right after learning the words. Take them after a day or two; this will ensure you remember the 91热爆 Verbal words you have learned. If you don鈥檛, revise them again. Revision of the words learned is also very vital for improving your vocabulary.听

To know what words to prioritize, check out this ebook on 鈥�High priority 91热爆 Words鈥�

Enhance Your Comprehension

Read the newspaper editorial to familiarize yourself with the tough language used in 91热爆 Verbal. Publications like The Hindu, The Times of India, etc. are suggested as they use similar language and vocabulary to the 91热爆 Verbal test. This will make sure that you get used to the level of language and vocabulary used in various questions of 91热爆 Verbal.听

In Conclusion

If you utilize these two tips and implement the three steps in your practice and exam, you will gradually see yourself finding the 91热爆 Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence hurdles vanishing.听

If Rohan knew these steps and tips he could have got his dream-admit.

It may be too late for Rohan, but if you follow these, it is not so for you!

Training yourself for the main stage or test day is the need of the hour. 

Remember your 91热爆 prep will be a marathon and not a sprint.

And, if you have any doubts, leave a comment below and we will surely get back to you.

Happy Learning

The post 3 Rules to Master the 91热爆 Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence appeared first on 91热爆 Blog.

Do you want to know in-depth about the TOEFL exam?

Are you aware of the new changes in TOEFL that have been incorporated?

If you are unsure of any of the above questions, then you鈥檝e landed in the right place. Here, we will take you through what the TOEFL really is about, who conducts it, why it is important, and what you can do to best prepare for it. Moreover, since the 1^st of August 2019, there have been some changes in the TOEFL exam, and we will guide you through those as well!

What is the TOEFL?

Devised and conducted by the Educational Testing Service (), the 鈥�Test of English as a Foreign Language鈥� 鈥� or TOEFL as it is commonly known 鈥� is a very popular exam that tests students鈥� proficiency in the English language. Accepted by American universities, this test forms a mandatory prerequisite for most schools abroad. 

The ETS states that 鈥渢he TOEFL tests an international student鈥檚 usage and understanding of English as it is spoken, written, and heard in college and university surroundings鈥�. The sole proprietary of this exam rests with the ETS, and thus the responsibility for setting the TOEFL questions, its conduction, and correction is in their hands.听

The TOEFL is a year-round exam, which means that students are given the freedom to choose from multiple TOEFL test dates across the span of a year, and can even select their preferred test centers to appear in for their exam. This test can also be attempted as many times as the candidate chooses to, but to take a re-test the student must wait for a 12-day period after their previous attempt. There are two kinds of TOEFL exams 鈥� Internet-based (TOEFL iBT) and paper-based. Both are priced at US$180.听

The scoring ranges are as follows:

• Reading: 0鈥�30
• Listening: 0鈥�30
• Speaking: 0鈥�30
• Writing: 0鈥�30

What are the changes in the TOEFL exam?

Earlier in the year, the governing body ETS announced that from the 1^st of August 2019 there would be significant changes in the format and pattern of this exam. These major changes will be in the Reading, Listening, as well as Speaking sections. The table below shows the comparison between the 2018 format and the updated 2019 format:

Other Changes

The primary reason behind these changes is to help reduce fatigue and lower stress levels in students, invariably helping them to achieve higher scores overall.

The table above shows the major changes in the Listening, Reading, and Speaking sections, while the Writing Section remains majorly untouched. Candidates will still have to complete two writing tasks in 50 minutes or under on one integrated and one independent topic.

However, one other aspect that the ETS has decided to change is their scoring policies. That鈥檚 right! The TOEFL exam 2019 (and henceforth) will contain a separate section in your score report, referred to as “MyBest Scores“.  

This section will combine the best result from each section over all the attempts you have given in the last two years. The IBT MyBest score works similar to the SAT scoring system. ETS will automatically pick your best sections (from your previous 2 years) and then combine them to create your highest score possible. So, if you had a wonderful TOEFL exam, but your overall scored was hampered due to one bad section 鈥� this will have you covered! 

Let鈥檚 look at an example. Imagine you took your TOEFL 4 times in the last 2 years. Hence:

Using this scoring system, your overall changes a dramatic 12 points! This has been put in place by the ETS to help candidates achieve their target scores and reduce the damaging effects of one bad section that could have otherwise cost you admission into the program of your choice.

To Summarize the Changes

To quickly summarize, there are seven major changes to keep in mind for your TOEFL 2019 exam. They are:

1. Independent Writing questions are slightly longer.
2. Students will also now find a warning that renders “used memorized examples” null and void for the independent Writing section.
3. In multiple-choice questions, candidates can now pick more than one option per question.
4. The Speaking questions are slightly longer than before
5. It is now possible to score 25 points in the Speaking section.
6. The 鈥淢yBest Score鈥� section is added from August 2019.

How to Prepare for the New TOEFL Format?

Well, since there are all these changes 鈥� the most common question that arises is:

鈥淲hat do I do to prepare for the changes in TOEFL?鈥�

The simple answer is nothing!

This is because of the systematic and comprehensive way in which the ETS has conducted these changes to augment the test-taking experience. Since no question types are added or removed from the Reading and Listening sections, your preparations will continue unhampered. Your question types all remain the same, and the difficulty, as well as weightage, aren鈥檛 doctored. In fact, your overall time of the exam has decreased by 30 minutes, so that it鈥檚 easier to build up the stamina for this exam! 

These changes are great for everyone and will help you score higher as well!

We hope this article helps you in your preparation for your TOEFL. If you have any more questions, don鈥檛 hesitate to reach out to us. For more information, you can contact us directly at 91热爆.com! 

Good day and good luck!

The post Changes in TOEFL Exam from August 1st, 2019 appeared first on 91热爆 Blog.

Are you having difficulty with the Quant section?

Do you want to know how to ace Data Interpretation in 91热爆?

If your answer to any of the above questions is 鈥榊es鈥�, then you鈥檝e come to the right place! But to understand how to tackle Data Interpretation in 91热爆, we must first have a comprehensive idea of what it is in the first place.

What Is DI 91热爆?

Data Interpretation in 91热爆, or DI for short, is one of the 5 types of questions falling under the Quantitative syllabus. They require you to analyze and interpret data that is often in a pictorial form and subsequently answer questions based on them. This could be in the form of a table, a graph, or a chart and is followed by either multiple choice or numeric entry questions.

For example:

In which year was the imports to the exports of the company greater than 0.3 and less than 1.1? Indicate all such years.

While some questions on Data Interpretation in 91热爆 are straightforward, others might be a little trickier 鈥� this is because it is also possible that you may be asked to determine if the diagram you鈥檝e been given has enough information to answer the question (鈥�Not enough information鈥� is sometimes an option, and occasionally, the correct one)!

Why Is DI 91热爆 Important?

DI is a crucial part of the Quant section on the 91热爆 because it assesses a different set of skills. It tests your ability to understand, visualize, and extrapolate information; a skill that is of grave importance in Grad school, especially if you wish to enter the STEM stream.

Data Interpretation in 91热爆 doesn鈥檛 require an understanding of some of the more academically complex math concepts that are needed to tackle other parts of the exam; rather it measures a more cognitive aspect of your profile. For instance, pictures speak a thousand words, and figures/graphs/charts, all allow you to understand what鈥檚 going on without the tediousness of reading a long passage. Graphs help you learn a lot of information in a shorter amount of time, but the chances of error also increases. There are no pre-learned formulas that you can apply, but rather have to rely on your wits to get it accurately. This is where the 91热爆 exam measures your interpretation skills.

Thus, if you aspire to achieve a score of 160+ in the Quant section, then is important to spend enough time learning and practicing Data Interpretation in 91热爆. On average, you can expect a minimum of 4 to 5 questions in each Quant section.

This means that DI 91热爆 carries a weightage of 20% in the Quant section!

Download our eBOOK to score 170 in Quants

听Some Common Mistakes to Look for!

While attempting DI questions, we have noticed that most students tend to make similar kinds of errors. While there are only 4 or 5 DI questions per section, attempting them successfully is pivotal if you wish to achieve a score of 160+. We have made a list of the most common types of errors students are liable to make in DI:

• Misinterpreting data due to impatience or over-confidence

Remember how at the start we mentioned that Data Interpretation in 91热爆 are really tricky? Well, this is why. More often than not, most students tend to get DI questions incorrect,听not because they don鈥檛 know how to solve them, but rather, because they know how to solve them a little too well鈥�

That鈥檚 right! Most students tend to see a DI question that may seem pretty simple at first glance and get carried away; not giving it a second thought. This is a mistake. Being overconfident and trying to solve such questions in a hurry in an attempt to perhaps save a precious few seconds can leave you vulnerable to errors. In DI 91热爆 questions, the answer may not always be what meets the eye. So, take your time, reason out what the question asks and then attempt it.

• Time management

Speaking of saving a few precious seconds, misjudging the time is another type of error most students commit. While time-management isn鈥檛 strictly a DI-related error in 91热爆, it plays a significant role in it. As per our student data, these questions usually take a little longer to solve. This point is important to keep in mind so that you can equally balance your time in the Quant section.

• Lack of practice

Since these questions don鈥檛 test memory or any pre-learnt skills, but rather measure your interpretation and extrapolation abilities, they won鈥檛 come easy, especially to newcomers. Data Interpretation in 91热爆 requires repeated practice to gain mastery. Practice makes perfect!

• Overlooking details

It is also pretty common for students to overlook certain details in the figure when faced with these types of questions. Because this question doesn鈥檛 offer any elaborate textual data but relies on your ability to understand and analyze the figure, it could be possible that students overlook minute details that might hold the key to finding the right answer.

Different Types of DI Questions

On the 91热爆, Data Interpretation questions can come in a plethora of forms.

If you wish to ace Data Interpretation in 91热爆 questions, then it is imperative to understand the different types of questions that constitute this category, so that you can familiarize yourself with them. This will help you approach DIs with confidence on your test day!

There are 4 principal types:

1. Pie Charts
2. Column Charts
3. Line Graphs
4. Box and Scatter Plots

Pie Chart

The most popular, and perhaps also the easiest, pie charts are circular graphs divided into sectors; each of which holds some significant data that when put together form a whole. The sectors demonstrate percentages or proportions of a quantity that is demarcated in the question alongside.

The beauty of the pie charts is that they convey a lot of information easily. You must be able to then extrapolate the information from the chart to answer any question given to you. An example of a pie chart DI 91热爆 question follows:

听

Q) If the turnover in the year 2008 is decreased by 15% and the ratio of the profit and operating cost remains the same, what will be the profit in the year 2008?

Note: Turnover 鈥� Operating Cost = Profit

1. 0.48
2. 0.408
3. 1.28
4. 1.088

Given data: Total turnover, Total profit, Ratio of profit & Operating costs are the same and Turnover 鈥� Operating Cost = Profit

Ans: The correct answer is Option B, 0.408.

Column Chart

Column charts are the second most common type of questions based on data interpretation in 91热爆. Also known as bar graphs, these figures showcase rectangles or 鈥榗olumns鈥� with varying lengths. These lengths highlight different data; that is, their measurements are proportional to the values they represent.

While most column charts are plotted vertically, don鈥檛 be surprised if they are presented to you in a horizontal fashion as well. The basic concept and premise remain the same: the length of the bars is proportional to their value!

An example is given below:

The column chart above represents a few countries and their respective oil reserves. An increase in the height (in this case) implies an increase in the value, and vice-versa. Therefore, we can extrapolate that Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, pegged at just under 300,000 million barrels of oil. Conversely, the USA and China have the least with 20,000 barrels of oil each.

However, your DI 91热爆 questions won鈥檛 always be this straightforward. You should be able to investigate deeper into this chart. For instance, with the help of the data given along Y-axis, you can also quantify the differences between countries in terms of ratios. Since China has 20,000 barrels of oil, you can say that UAE (with exact 100,000 barrels) has approximately 5 times as much oil as China, or that the ratio of their oil reserves is 5:1.

Similarly, the ratio between Venezuela and Iran is at approximately 2:1, and so on. Keep in mind that DI in 91热爆 will often feature questions related to ratios, proportions, and percentages; especially with bar graphs of quantifiable lengths.

Line Graphs

Another type of DI 91热爆 question that is bound to come at least a few times in your exam is line charts. You must have already seen these types of graphs feature on TVs and newspapers often. This is because they are the most common type of chart used to compare progress between two or more quantities.

For example, the GDP growth rates of two countries over time can be plotted using line graphs, or the performance of two stocks over the last quarter.

So, what is a line graph? A line graph demonstrates information in the form of a series of data points which are connected by a straight line called the trendline.

The most significant aspect to understand this type of data is that line graphs help you understand movement or growth!

Look at the example below:

The picture above illustrates what a common line graph looks like. On the Y-axis you find the data of all registered voters, while on the X-axis you are given the data of each 4-year term through the secretary of state reports. But that鈥檚 not all. You will also see two other pieces of information; namely, the data points of the Republicans as well as Democrats.

Line graphs can thus be tricky!

Here, in this example, we potentially see 4 different data sources. Having to deduce from the given graph could sometimes become unnerving and time-consuming, so it鈥檚 important to maintain your focus. From graphs like these, you will be asked questions along the lines of these: Which year saw the maximum percentage change in the share of voters for the Democratic party? Or, what is the average percentage share of the voters for the Republican party from 1980 to 2010?

Box and Scatter Plots

And last but not least is the box and scatter plot graphs. Now, while such graphs are only occasionally given on the 91热爆, it is our duty to stay prepared for any such contingencies.

A scatter plot is a way of displaying bivariate data. This means that it examines two separate variables for a common subject or set of subjects. A simple example of a scatter plot is a relationship between two variables such as age and weight of several people and plotting the data on the same graph. Another example could be the relationship between their annual income and the number of kids.

As shown in the scatter plot above, the number of hours studied by students is pitted in correspondence against their 91热爆 Quant score. Now, based on this graph you could be asked to extrapolate information such as: Who scored score the highest in their 91热爆 Quant section among those who studied for less than 30 hours?

All 91热爆 questions may not be this simple as the once we looked at above, but the manner in which they come will be similar. Acquainting yourself with these DI 91热爆 questions will allow you to approach them with far more confidence.

Moreover, according to data from our students, DI 91热爆 questions usually take up more time and mental power than other categories. Since there are 20 questions in each Quant section and you are allotted only 35 minutes per section, you cannot afford to spend more than 2 minutes per听question on data interpretation in 91热爆.

Tick Tock!

Within 2 minutes, you will need to assimilate information, interpret this correctly, and accurately answer the questions that follow. If you are not familiar with reading data, then it can quickly turn out to be a daunting task鈥�

So, how do you pick out the relevant information and work it out in 2 minutes?

Tips to Ace Data Interpretation in 91热爆

Here are some special tips and tricks to help you ace the DI 91热爆!

1. Develop a Strong Conceptual Understanding
2. The Art of Being Approximately Accurate
3. Watch Out for Keywords
4. Two is Better than One

• Develop a Strong Conceptual Understanding

As mentioned above, DI 91热爆 isn鈥檛 a test of your memory or rote-learning skills, but rather, it is a measure of your understanding and extrapolating abilities. It examines how well you have understood and internalized the concepts you are taught, rather than testing your ability to recall certain formulae.

Thus, it is important to be well-prepared and thoroughly clear in your notions regarding topics, such as:

• Fractions
• Decimals
• Percentages & Ratio
• Statistics
• Probability

Building a strong conceptual base especially in these topics ensures that you proceed with the correct methods, despite traps in the question.

• The Art of Being Approximately Accurate

We have spoken at length about how DI 91热爆 questions can sometimes cost you more time than its counterparts. Thus, this technique will help you limit the time you spend on such questions, without the cost of losing out on accuracy.

Firstly, it is important to understand that the 91热爆 is designed to test your presence of mind! This means that you will encounter some challenging numbers and calculations. But it鈥檚 possible that this perception can also work against you sometimes.

Unless a question has multiple steps, we suggest that you round off your values and proceed with your calculations. If your answer is closest to any of the options, mark it and move on! This will save you time as well as unnecessary effort.

However, beware! Don鈥檛 use this tip if the answer choices are too close to one another. They could be traps. This is a trick that works often, but not always. Your forethought is required before you choose to mark an answer.

• Watch Out for Keywords

Another DI 91热爆 hack is utilizing keywords. Read the question carefully and understand clearly what you鈥檝e been asked to answer. What the creators of the 91热爆 love doing is presenting you with two correct answer choices, but to two different questions!

They do this by presenting you with excess data; useless information to bait you into including that in your calculations. The final value of this calculation will then be given as one of your answer choices. While your calculations may be correct, you would have been lured into getting the answer for the wrong question.

This is once again to test your focus and presence of mind. If you haven鈥檛 read the question 鈥� the actual question 鈥� correctly because you were in a time crunch, or simply overconfident, then you will end up choosing the wrong answer and hence lose out on the score in a silly manner.

Common things to look for are units of measurement in the axes, decimal points, and other such smaller details in the fineprint.

• Two is Better than One

Interpreting data quickly is a skill that comes with practice. You need to cultivate it, just as you would hone any other talent. Make sure you practice different kinds of charts and questions. This will help you overcome most of the problems mentioned above. And since DI 91热爆 is a sure-shot question carrying 20% of the Quant section weightage, it pays to perfect your techniques.

A recommendation from us would be to practice questions with more than one type of chart, requiring you to correlate data. This will help you understand the relationships between different types of information and the variables connecting them better.

Additionally, and perhaps luckily for you,听DI 91热爆 questions don鈥檛 usually reflect the same level of difficulty as questions from other categories, such as Algebra or Arithmetic for example. That is to say, 91热爆 understands the nature of such questions and therefore doesn鈥檛 set the difficulty of these too high. If you make yourself aware of the strategies needed to address such questions, then you should be in a safe spot.

Before we leave you, here are some pro-tips from our Quant SFAs to keep in mind:

Keep in Mind

• The questions are to be answered only on the basis of the data presented, everyday facts (such as the number of days in a year) and your knowledge of mathematics. Do not make use of specialized information you may recall from other sources about the particular context in which the questions are based, unless the information can be derived from the data presented.
• Think beyond formulae: understand the concept, don鈥檛 just take the formula approach
• Solve a lot of questions so that on the exam day you get that 鈥淥h I have done this before!鈥� feeling for most of the questions.
• Understand when to skip a question for the greater good of your test. Look at the bigger picture. If you feel like you are spending too much time on any particular question, skip it and finish the rest of the section 鈥� you can always come back to the unfinished question later.
• Questions are relatively easy, but tricky. You need to pay attention to the language, or how it is worded.
• Spend only 15 to 30 seconds analyzing the graph and jotting down key information. Then, proceed with your calculations. Remember, you only have 2 minutes for each question.
• And lastly, there is no negative marking on the 91热爆. If you find yourself absolutely stuck for any reason, make an intelligent guess, but make sure you answer. You may be lucky! You miss 100% of the shots that you don鈥檛 take.

This is a comprehensive article on how to ace the Data Interpretation questions on the 91热爆. Follow these tricks, and you are bound to ace it!

The post How to Ace Data Interpretation in 91热爆? appeared first on 91热爆 Blog.

Download our eBOOK on “How to craft a winning SOP“

What Is AWA?

As the very first section of the 91热爆, Analytical Writing consists of two tasks: an 鈥楢nalyze an Issue鈥� task and an 鈥楢nalyze an Argument鈥� task. The time allotted is one hour, with 30 minutes for each task. In the 91热爆 Issue essay task, you will be given a general issue and asked to evaluate and analyze it. You are required to essentially develop a sound argument for the issue and support it with examples, while the Argument task expects you to evaluate a given argument for the correctness of the logic assumed. In other words, the Issue essay seeks to examine your ability to take a stance on a certain subject by developing an argument with reasons and examples to support your views about why you favor a side of the argument. On the other hand, in the Argument task, you are expected to critique and take apart the views that the author promotes in the topic.

In this blog, we will be taking a closer look at the Issue essay to better understand what it really entails, as well as the kind of topics that could be asked of you in this section from the ETS issue pool. Finally, we will be examining some 91热爆 issue essay samples to grasp what a well-written, high-scoring essay looks like.

All About the 91热爆 Issue Essay

A well-written issue essay is basically one that establishes and strongly sustains a particular point of view and gives sufficient justification for the choice of that perspective. Remember, in this section, as we had briefly discussed before, you are expected to understand a given issue and provide ample reasons and examples to support your point of view on the issue. While the examiner will have access to your assessment question, your argument must be clear and strong enough to be understood in a vacuum. In other words, it must be written well enough to rule out the necessity of checking the question at hand. The 91热爆 issue essay task question has two parts: first is a thesis statement (or a claim) and the second is a small paragraph outlining the instructions on how to respond to that thesis. Sometimes, there can be yet another part: a brief reason that explains the claim in more detail.

While there is no ironclad minimum word requirement to meet, most students average around 500鈥�600 words in the 30 minutes allotted to them. Remember, writing more words doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean your essay is going to be more persuasive or better. In fact, quite the opposite: many test-takers seem to think that writing more is a good substitute to an essay that is otherwise lacking in sound argument and logic, leading examiners to be wary of overly lengthy essays. Always keep it simple and concise, and you鈥檙e good to go.

Let us now take a look at some key elements of a 91热爆 issue essay task, and how it is different from the argument essay:

1. Nature of topic:

   Generally, the topics and ideas that need to be probed in the issue essay will be of broad, general nature, and are drawn from everyday life, requiring you to rely on your own experiences for your answer. Issue prompts are taken from a wide variety of domains, such as education, politics, art, technology, etc. As such, it is not necessary to possess a very deep knowledge of the issue at hand, although it certainly helps if your general knowledge is up a notch!

2. Type of writing:

   The issue essay is less about critical analysis and more about logical reasoning and justification. Just make sure that your reasoning and justifications are sound, and you should be good to go! Because the issue essay hinges so much on reasoning, it is a great idea to draw on real-life examples to support your position and overall stance on the matter: this will portray you as someone who is well-read and in touch with the world around her. Remember, this is not a section in which you can spin examples out of thin air, so use that wild story that your uncle told you, if you need to!

3. Agreeing and disagreeing:

   While the argument essay contains a problematic thesis statement that needs to be disagreed upon and taken apart by you, the issue essay will generally conclude with a mention of the opposing point of view and stating a few instances in which that view may hold true. Doing so will both showcase you as a well-read, aware person, who is able to understand and appreciate opposing viewpoints. Moreover, in the issue essay, it is much easier to agree with the stance than it is to disagree, since you will usually find a lot more argument points in favor of than against. Although, of course, you are free to disagree if you wish: just be convincing about it!

4. Perspectives:

   The 91热爆 issue essay is, at the heart of it, a matter of perspective, and what you really think about the question at hand. There鈥檚 no real, unequivocal 鈥榬ight鈥� or 鈥榳rong鈥� answer, because really it is two sides of the same coin, with both sides being amenable to argument and support. The quality of the essay will be wholly judged by your ability to pick one side of the coin, and how well you develop and support that choice. So, an issue question is a claim that needs to be analyzed and critiqued. This is unlike the argument essay, where the thesis statement itself is deliberately portrayed negatively or controversially so as to provoke your counter-argument.

5. Reasoning versus exposing:

   The argument essay is all about you dismantling the author鈥檚 claims by exposing the flaws in their arguments, while the issue task is notably about reasoning and building your argument from the ground up by using examples and logic.

6. Liberty to express:

   Last but not least, the issue task is defined by the freedom of scope it affords you. While the argument essay mandates you to work entirely with the evidence and arguments that lead up to the conclusion, the issue task is far more liberal because you are free of any authorial interference. Because of this, you can draw on any and every resource in your arsenal to deliver a powerful defense of your perspective.

What kind of topics can I expect on the issue task?

One of the things that daunt 91热爆 test takers is essay writing: specifically, the fear of being tested on a topic or concept they may have no idea or knowledge about. Well, fear not! The 91热爆 issue essay task is known for its supremely approachable and general nature and is broad enough to be attempted by anyone with basic general knowledge. Confused? Cast your mind back to all those family dinners, and your father arguing how mobile phones are destroying creativity and intelligence, or your uncle claiming that higher education should be free for all, and you鈥檒l know what we are talking about. The 91热爆 issue essay is something like those discussions, but with just a bit more sophistication, of course!

Let鈥檚 take a peek at some sample issue questions from the previous years鈥� 91热爆 to better understand the kind of prompts you can expect. Do note that these are directly taken from the ETS (Educational Testing Service) website, and because ETS is the official administrator of the 91热爆, you can be rest assured that this information is straight from the horse鈥檚 mouth.

Sample issue tasks:

1. Governments should place few if any, restrictions on scientific research and development.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.

2. Claim: It is no longer possible for a society to regard any living man or woman as a hero.

听听听听Reason: The reputation of anyone who is subjected to media scrutiny will eventually be diminished.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.

3. 听College students should base their choice of a field of study on the availability of jobs in that field.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

4. Young people should be encouraged to pursue long-term, realistic goals rather than seek immediate fame and recognition.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

Well, there you have it! You now have a general idea of what kind of questions you could expect in the issue task, and the structure of the issue prompts. As you can see, these are questions of a sweeping, unspecified nature, and usually, students find their own experiences, opinions, and awareness sufficient to write a satisfactory essay. Topics like education, healthcare, R&D, art, politics, social media, and gender are usually hot favorites for the ETS, so reading up on these areas and writing a few practice essays can prove to be immensely helpful. If you want the complete low-down on the exhaustive list of topics that make an appearance in the issue essay section, you can download our ebook听to get a better idea

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Now, we have seen the kind of topics and questions you could expect on the d-day, but what about the essay itself? What does a persuasive, well-written, high-scoring issue essay look and sound like? 听We鈥檙e sure we鈥檝e piqued your curiosity, so why not head over to our ebook consisting of a gamut of sample essays?

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We hope you found this article helpful and illuminating and opened your eyes to the intricacies of the 91热爆 issue essay. If you have any questions that are not answered in this article, please drop us a comment below and we will get back to you soon. We wish you all the very best in your graduate school dreams!

The post 91热爆 Issue Essay: Samples appeared first on 91热爆 Blog.

Let鈥檚 find out!

Why Take the 91热爆

91热爆 stands for Graduate Record Examination and is owned and administered by Education Testing Services, an educational testing and assessment organization headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey. Depending on the course that a student wishes to pursue as well as the admissions requirements of the desired program, a student can either choose to take the 91热爆 General Test or the 91热爆 Subject Test. The 91热爆 Subject Test is offered in six distinct subjects which are听 Biology, Chemistry, 听Mathematics, Literature in English, Physics, and Psychology.

Now, we will be focusing on the 91热爆 scoring system of the General Test, given that it is the most popular option both for universities as well as test takers.

The 91热爆 (General) tests a student鈥檚 abilities in three areas:

• Analytical Writing
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Verbal Reasoning

Coming to why 91热爆 plays an important role in graduate admissions, the reason is that the student鈥檚 score in each of these areas gives a picture of how likely he/she is to succeed at a graduate program. All these things are considered in the 91热爆 scoring system.

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To go a bit more in detail, we have to understand what graduate study entails. At a graduate level, students study subjects at a specialized level and usually partake in research, which means they must possess an ability to read, understand, and analyze the content of academic texts and long-form research papers. This ability is gauged by the student鈥檚 performance on the 91热爆鈥檚 Verbal Reasoning section. Graduate students not only have to read complex academic texts but must also be capable of writing reports and research papers based on a given problem statement. The AWA section of the 91热爆 tests this skill. Similarly, most graduate programs in the fields of science, mathematics, and economics require students to read, grasp, and apply complicated mathematical and statistical concepts during the course of their study. For this purpose, the Quantitative Reasoning section tests the student鈥檚 competency in basic mathematics through questions in areas like algebra, data analysis, statistics, and geometry.

Format of the 91热爆

With an understanding of why students are required to take the 91热爆, let us move forward and get an idea of the format & 91热爆 scoring system of the 2011 (revised) version of the 91热爆.

As mentioned above, the 91热爆 tests three skills 鈥� analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning.

The test consists of six sections, namely:

• Analytical Writing Assessment 鈥� 1 section (always the first section of the test)
• Verbal Reasoning 鈥� 2 sections
• Quantitative Reasoning 鈥� 2 sections
• Experimental/Research Section 鈥� Can either be Quantitative Reasoning or Verbal Reasoning (This section doesn鈥檛 count towards the final score. Also, the test taker will not be made aware if a section is experimental or not.)

Level of Difficulty

Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning have two sections each, which contribute towards the test taker鈥檚 final score. The first section of each of these areas consists of questions with a level of difficulty ranging from easy to difficult. For the subsequent section of the respective area (verbal/quantitative), the level of difficulty is determined by the test taker’s performance in the initial section. This style of testing is called section-based adaptivity, wherein the performance on one section decides the level of difficulty on the next.

91热爆 Scoring System

A test taker鈥檚 91热爆 score has three components which correspond to their performance in the three areas of analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning. This is how the 91热爆 scoring system is carried out.

The scale for the verbal and quantitative reasoning sections is the same wherein it ranges from 130鈥�170 with 1-point increments. The total 91热爆 score is the sum of the scores obtained on the verbal and quantitative sections respectively and ranges from 260 to 340.

As for the AWA section, the score scale is 0鈥�6 with 0.5-point increments. The AWA score is considered separately and doesn鈥檛 contribute towards the total 91热爆 score.

91热爆 Verbal Reasoning Section:

The test has two verbal reasoning sections which count towards the overall verbal score. While the level of difficulty between both sections may vary, the type of questions will be the same. A typical verbal reasoning section constitutes 20 questions, which can be of the following types:

• Text Completion (around 6)
• Sentence Equivalence (around 4)
• Questions based on reading comprehension passages (around 10)

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91热爆 Quantitative Reasoning Section:

Similar to the verbal reasoning sections, the quantitative sections have 20 questions each and the level of difficulty of the second section is based on the performance in the first. The questions are based on the following topics:

• Arithmetic
• Algebra
• Geometry
• Data Analysis and Interpretation

Additionally, the questions are asked in the following ways:

• Quantitative Comparison (around 8)
• Problem Solving Items (around 9)
• Data Interpretation (around 3)

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How the Quantitative/Verbal Sections Are Scored

The 91热爆 scoring system for both quantitative and verbal reasoning sections are similar since the number of questions and sections are the same. The final score in verbal/quantitative sections is a result of a two-step process.

Step 1 鈥� Raw Score

Verbal/Quantitative Reasoning has two sections of 20 questions each. In the first step, a raw score is calculated by giving one point to all the questions which the test taker got right on the exam, irrespective of the first or second section. So, one score for verbal reasoning and one score for quantitative reasoning is computed on a scale of 0 to 40 since the student answers 2 sets of 20 questions each for verbal and quantitative respectively.

Step 2 鈥� Final/Scaled Score

The raw score is calculated by giving a point to all the questions which were answered correctly by the test taker. However, factors like the level of difficulty and the given topic are also to be taken into consideration when determining the score. Therefore, the final score is obtained by scaling the raw score with respect to the level of difficulty, topic, and type of each question that was answered correctly by the test taker. Specifically, since there is an overall difference in the level of difficulty between the questions in first and second sections of quantitative/verbal reasoning, the section-based difficulty levels also weigh in for the calculation of the final score. The 91热爆 scoring system is different from other exams.听

For example, in verbal reasoning, questions based on reading comprehension are relatively more difficult when compared to single-blank text completion questions. Similarly, triple-blank text completion questions are more challenging than double-blank text completion questions.

91热爆 Analytical Writing Section:

In the 91热爆, Analytical Writing is tested in a single section and is made up of two tasks, which are:

• Issue Task 鈥� Here, the test taker must comment on a specific issue which is provided in the question.
• Argument Task 鈥� The test taker is provided with a set of facts and an argument; The task is for the test taker to analyze the information provided and provide critique on the argument.

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How the AWA Section Is Scored

Each task is scored on a 0鈥�6 scale with 1-point increments. The score is assigned based on a careful evaluation by a human grader. The final AWA score is an average of the scores obtained on both the tasks. Since the final score is an average of two whole numbers, it is on a scale of 0鈥�6 with 0.5-point increments.

What Is a Good Score on the AWA Section?

While we have a general awareness on the range of scores preferred in the quantitative and verbal reasoning sections, let the numbers do the talking about what kind of score is preferred by some of the reputed universities in the US.

What Is a Score Percentile?

We now know how scores are computed for all the three sections of 91热爆. But there is still one concept that often appears to confuse students who wish to apply to grad schools.

If you have taken a look at the admission statistics of some programs offered by popular grad schools in the US, you might have come across statements which go along these lines:

On an average, we admit students with quantitative scores above the 85th percentile.

Students who have been previously admitted to this program have scores above the 50th percentile in the verbal, quantitative, and AWA sections of the 91热爆.

Well, to explain this, it is important to be acquainted with the concept of percentile ranks in statistics. As Google says,

A percentile rank of a score is the percentage of scores in the overall frequency distribution which is equal to or lower than it.

So, the score percentile for any given score is based on the scores obtained by all the test takers in a specific time period.

Therefore, a score above the 85th percentile means that the score is higher than what was obtained by 85% of the test takers.

To get a better idea of the score percentile as well as other 91热爆-related information, ETS has collated the data and statistics based on the tests taken between the years, 2014 and 2017 which can be found . Each score is mapped to a specific percentile for all the three sections of the 91热爆. It can help the test taker to understand where he/she stands with respect to all the others who took the test in the last few years.

Alright! Has this article helped in giving you a better understanding of why grad schools want 91热爆 scores and how the 91热爆 scoring system works? If you have any doubts, leave a comment and we will get back to you.

听

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Truth be told, there are more than a few ways to go about it. Most students targeting a high 91热爆 score usually either opt to prepare on their own from 91热爆 books or go for some kind of coaching, which may be a traditional classroom program, or online.

If you too are confused about which of these methods you should be choosing, read on to find out!

If you鈥檙e the type of student who has always studying independently to being taught, you might feel a natural affinity towards preparing for your 91热爆 yourself. Some of the most common books used by students who prepare on their own include Barron鈥檚 91热爆 and their Math and Verbal workbooks along with Word Power Made Easy for vocabulary building, and the official guide to the 91热爆, published by the ETS (Educational Testing Service – the organization that conducts the 91热爆). If you鈥檙e already completely acquainted with the structure of the 91热爆 听online test and have taken it earlier, this might be a pretty decent way to prepare, however, if you鈥檙e a first-time test taker and haven鈥檛 taken an adaptive style exam like the 91热爆 before, it might lead to a few hiccups and the risk of your test prep being left incomplete.

What preparing from 91热爆 books alone cannot help you with:

1. Time Management:

Time management – 91热爆 Books

The 91热爆 (General) comprises 3 sections – namely the AWA, Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning. Barring the AWA section, in which students get an hour to write 2 essays of approximately 500 words each, there鈥檚 only about a minute and a half to devote to each of the other questions. This includes the time taken for reading and understanding the questions. Undoubtedly, it is a race against time that requires not just knowing the concepts behind each question, but also being able to apply them instantly. With sufficient experience of solving online practice tests in the same pattern as that of the 91热爆, you can hope to increase both – your accuracy as well as time management skills. You鈥檒l also know just what to expect on test day, and well-equipped to tackle a mixed bag of questions together, rather than just going through the section-wise practice questions you鈥檙e likely to find in most books.

Want to know how much you鈥檇 score on your 91热爆 if you took it today? Try out the free 91热爆 score predictor now!

2. Using online tools:

Using online tools

On the 91热爆, test takers are only allowed the use of an online, on-screen calculator and timer. Familiarising yourself with features like these is an important part of effective 91热爆 prep, so you鈥檙e completely comfortable with using them on D-day. You鈥檒l also get to understand how an adaptive test really works (where your performance in the first section determines the difficulty level of the second section), and the effect it has on your final score. None of these are possible when you practice offline through 91热爆 books, either through books or through coaching classes. Live online mock tests in the same style as the 91热爆 that incorporate these tools are undoubtedly more effective in this regard.

3. Doubt Solving:

Doubt Solving

Though most questions on the 91热爆 are drawn from concepts you鈥檝e learned in high school, the way they are presented can often be a grueling test of your logical and analytical thinking abilities. Now, while the best books or study material for 91热爆 preparation might do a commendable job at explaining concepts, they can do little to solve any obstacles or doubts you might run into on the way. Personalized online training, on the other hand, ensures that you not only have a solid understanding of the concepts but also receive one-on-one assistance from a trainer, who can help you out with nifty tips to identify and solve tricky questions and save time while you鈥檙e at it.听

4. Feedback:

Feedback

How do you know when you鈥檙e ready for the score that can get you to your dream graduate schools? While most of the best online 91热爆 preparation programs include detailed feedback of your performance and progress, when preparing from 91热爆 books, you can only guess how far you鈥檝e come along. Personalized feedback is a crucial component of highly effective 91热爆 prep, as it鈥檚 only then, that students can get clarity on what their strengths and weaknesses are where exactly to focus on! At 91热爆, each test undergoes thorough evaluation and analysis to point out how much time students have spent on each question and the concepts that are most likely to trip them up on the test. This method of testing and evaluation has proved to be so effective that the scores obtained by most students on the 91热爆 range between +/- 3 points of their score on the standardized tests they take. This way, it鈥檚 easy to know just when to take the 91热爆 in order to be able to hit your dream score in your first attempt!

5. Fast vocabulary building:

Fast vocabulary building

A significant part of your 91热爆 practice is probably going to be devoted to mastering the expansive 91热爆 vocabulary, consisting of nearly 3500 words. So what is the best way to go about this – is mugging up the dictionary the best option? It has been shown several times that the brain processes images faster, as well as remembers visual content much more vividly than text. Remember the brightly colored picture books that we all learned the alphabet from? Free word learning apps like WordBot, too, use mnemonics (learning tools) to ensure that you remember each word faster, and don鈥檛 forget what you learn. Each word is accompanied by a relevant image that will help you associate the word with its meaning, along with its synonyms, antonyms, usage in a sentence and pronunciation. What all of this ensures, is that you are able to build a holistic understanding of each word, and not just memorize them mindlessly.

Try our Wordbot App for free Now!听to start experiencing the wonders it can work for your vocabulary!

Setting up the right study plans:

Most test takers don鈥檛 have the luxury of devoting their complete attention towards 91热爆 preparation. With working professionals and final year college students already saddled with work or projects and other commitments, time is often at a premium; which is exactly why their study plan has to be one that doesn鈥檛 interfere with their schedule, while still getting them ready for their target score! In a situation like this, it makes all the more sense to opt for online coaching as it negates the need to travel to coaching classes allowing one to prepare at a time and pace that is ideally suited to their schedule, current preparation levels, and target score.
Since all of the above factors are bound to vary from one student to another, it鈥檚 extremely imperative that your study plan is one that is completely personalized – tailored to your current skill levels, target score, and your time availability!

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Among all the various methods to prepare for the 91热爆, online coaching, if done right is a unique combination of convenience, personalization, and speed. It identifies just where you need help, how you should ideally tackle your areas of weakness, and keep an eye on time management all along. It is only befitting that the best way to prepare for an online exam is, well, online practice.

Don鈥檛 get me wrong here, it鈥檚 not that you shouldn’t refer to books to prepare for your 91热爆. In fact, they can really help you out with building your concepts and exposing you to the different types of questions on the 91热爆. However, getting a 320 and above requires more than just knowledge of the concepts – time-management, the practice of taking full-length tests and customized feedback and doubt resolution all play key roles at ensuring that you鈥檙e completely primed to take on the 91热爆 and perform to your full potential. Preparing solely from books or at a classroom coaching program where students don鈥檛 receive individual, personalized guidance, there鈥檚 always the risk of certain gaps being left in one鈥檚 preparation, which might come in the way of a high score. All said and done, the best way to prepare for the 91热爆 depends on which mode of learning you feel the most comfortable with, how much time you allocate to your preparation every day and your level of exposure to the 91热爆 test pattern. Our take, based on the experience of having guided over 40,000 students with their 91热爆, is that online prep, supported by a few good books is an approach that has the potential to yield the best results.

Ideally, if you haven鈥檛 started 91热爆 Preparation, you could start off by taking a diagnostic test.

No, it鈥檚 not the kind of scary diagnostic test involving needles and doctors that you鈥檙e thinking about!

Your 91热爆 diagnostic test is one that will tell you:

1. All about what your strengths and weaknesses are,
2. How much time you spend on each question and topic.
3. Suggest where exactly you need to work on, and the time you鈥檒l need to reach your target score.

Take your Free diagnostic test today and find out exactly how prepared you are for your 91热爆!

If you鈥檝e already taken your diagnostic test before and are looking for some additional help with preparing for either Verbal or Quants, then we believe you could benefit from some of these eBooks.

Check out our eBOOKS on Quants and Verbal to score 330+ in 91热爆

We hope you now know how exactly online preparation differs from learning from books and will be able to make an informed decision. Have more questions? Leave them in the comments below, and we鈥檒l get back to you in a jiffy! Happy learning!

The post 91热爆 Books Vs Online Coaching – 91热爆 Preparation appeared first on 91热爆 Blog.

Introduction to 91热爆 Probability

The Quants section of 91热爆 assesses you across four broad areas- arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis. Probability is one of the concepts tested in the data analysis section. However, Probability is just a small part of data analysis and you may expect hardly two to three questions on probability.

Now, you might be asking why to study probability if it forms such an insignificant part of 91热爆 Quants? Well, if you are aiming for a high score in the quantitative section and have already mastered the algebra, arithmetic, and geometry; then two or three questions can make a world of difference in your scores. It is therefore important that you familiarize yourself with the basics of probability thereby raising your chances for a higher and a better 91热爆 Quants score.

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Probability questions can take on many different forms such as multiple choice questions, quantitative comparison, and numeric entry. In case of multiple choice questions, you will be asked to select only one answer from a list of five choices. Quantitative comparison questions consist of two quantities, let鈥檚 say A and B, which are accompanied by a description. Your task is to compare the quantities and select one of the four possible choices. Numeric entry questions, as the name suggests, ask you to enter your answer either as an integer or as a decimal in an answer box or enter a fraction in two separate boxes.

Concepts tested in 91热爆 Probability

Now that you have a fair idea about the number and kind of questions to expect, let us have a look at the concepts tested by these probability questions. All 91热爆 probability questions will test your knowledge of two basic concepts- simple probability and permutation and combination.

Simple probability:

Probability is a way to describe uncertainty and the possible outcomes of an experiment using numbers. Simple probability determines the likelihood that an event will happen. Let us look at an example to understand simple probability better.

When we perform an experiment, then the set of all the possible outcomes is called the sample space (S). When we roll a die, the possible outcomes are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Here, in our example of rolling a die the sample space is-

S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

Any subset of the sample space is called an event. So, let鈥檚 say 鈥渞olling an even number鈥� is an event which corresponds to the outcome of {2, 4, 6}. Now, the probability of rolling an even number is the number of outcomes that constitute the event divided by the total number of possible outcomes. We call the outcomes in an event its 鈥榝avourable outcomes鈥�. So, the probability of an event is determined using the following formula-

Probability = Favourable number of events / total number of events

or, 听听听听听P(E) =n(E) /听n(S)

Therefore, the probability of getting an even number when we roll a die is-

Probability of getting an even number = {2,4,6} /听{1,2,3,4,5,6}

= 3/6 听听

= 1/2 听听

Thus, the probability of getting an even number while rolling a die is half. Or in other words, the probability of getting an even number when we roll a die is fifty percent.

Permutation and combination:

Apart from simple probability, the 91热爆 probability section also tests your knowledge of permutation and combinations. In very simple words, permutation refers to sequences and combination refers to groups. In a sequence order is important. Therefore, permutations are sequences where order is important, whereas in case of combinations, the order is not important. Let us understand both these concepts with the help of an example.

Consider the following question:-

In how many different ways can five people sit in a row?

In this question, we have to arrange five people in a sequence. However, the order is important in solving this problem. Now, for the first spot in the row, we have five people to choose from. As we go down the line, the number of people we have to choose from will decrease by one. Therefore, we have 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 120 ways in which five people can sit in a row.

Now, consider this question:-

Steven drew 13 portraits for his art project. He wants to choose 8 of them for his studio art final. How many different groups of photos are possible?

If you observe carefully, this question asks about groups and not the order in which the portraits will be chosen. Therefore, this is a combination problem. Therefore, using the formula-

nCk = n! /听k! * (n–k)!

= 13! /听8! * (13–8)!

= 1287 different groups

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Tips to master 91热爆 Probability questions

Tip 1- Confirm that the question is on probability:

In 91热爆 questions don鈥檛 come labeled or tagged as arithmetic or probability. It is therefore important to determine whether the problem involves probability or not. So, look for the word 鈥榩robability鈥� in the questions. If you cannot find the word 鈥榩robability鈥� embedded in the question description then look for other important and related key terms such as- event, outcome, random selection.

Consider the following example-

1) A fair dice is tossed. Event A is defined as getting a prime number and event B is defined as getting an even number. Which one of the following is/ are true?

(i) P(B)= 1/2

(ii) P(A n B)= 0

(iii) P(A) + P(B)= 1

(iv) P(A n B)= 1/6

(v) P(A)= 4/6

Notice in this example question that the word probability has not been used. But as you can observe the word event appears in the question. This means that the question involves probability.

Tip 2- Memorize the formulas:

If you want to have a good Quants score then memorizing the key formulas in probability is important. You should not be wasting time trying to figure out what the formula was as you don鈥檛 get a lot of time to solve the questions. Our experience with 91热爆 aspirants shows that top scorers actually spend more time learning formulas and concepts rather than practicing sums.

These are some of the important probability formulas you can memorize and keep in handy-

The probability of an event = Favourable number of event number of total outcomes

Odds in favor of an event = Number of favorable outcomesNumber of total outcomes

Odds against an event = Number of unfavorable outcomesNumber of total outcomes

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Tip 3- Practice a lot:

There is no shortcut to success. And that is true even for 91热爆 Quants. If you are dreaming of higher Quants score, your dream will come true with thorough practice. Data shows that difficulty level of questions on probability is usually medium to high. So, make sure that you practice 91热爆 questions which are a little tough. You must practice advanced 91热爆 questions of level 4 and level 5.

In order to secure a higher percentile in 91热爆 Quants, it is important that you gain enough understanding of probability concepts. In fact, achieving a perfect 170 in Quants is not a very difficult task. What you need is some advice and guidance regarding how to prepare and avoid some common mistakes that 91热爆 test takers often make. You can check out our video on Quant Shortcuts! (Probability)

We hope this article provided you with smart ways to crack 91热爆 Probability questions. All the best!

The post 91热爆 Probability Questions: How to Tackle appeared first on 91热爆 Blog.

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All about 91热爆 Text Completion:

The 91热爆 text completion section assesses how you interpret and evaluate information presented to you based on your reasoning skills. They do this by omitting critical words from short passages which you need to fill up by using the remaining information in the passage as a basis to create a logical and meaningful whole.

A typical 91热爆 text completion question features a sentence or short passage where one, two or three words are left blank. Your task is to pick the right word from the choices given and make the passage meaningful.

You can expect approximately 12 text-completion questions in total with roughly 6 text-completion questions in each sub-section of the 91热爆 Verbal.

91热爆 text-completion questions can be of three types:

• Single-blank: These questions have a single blank to be filled up. For sentences or passages with a single blank, you will have to choose the right option from five given words. You can expect four single blank questions in total (2 per section)
• Double-blank: Double blank text completion questions have two blanks to be filled up. You will have to choose the right answer from three given options. You may expect around four to five double blank questions. (2-3 per section)
• Triple-blank: Triple blank text completion passages have three blanks which need to be filled. Three options will be given from which you will have to pick up the right word and you can expect roughly three to four triple blank questions. (1-2 per section)

It is important for you to remember that you have to choose the right answer for every blank for questions with either a double blank or a triple blank to earn a credit. You do not earn any credit for partially correct answers. Also, a double and a triple blank question counts as a single question even though the question passage has multiple blanks.

Tips to crack 91热爆 Text Completion:

One of the most common mistakes candidates make on this section is to focus only on vocabulary building. Now don鈥檛 get me wrong here – a great vocabulary is, in fact, one of the pillars of your 91热爆 verbal prep; but it鈥檚 not the only one! There鈥檚 quite a lot of critical thinking involved in answering Text Completion questions with respect to which word (or words) make the passage meaningful and rational, i.e., contextual usage of words.

Let us consider the following examples for a better understanding:

91热爆 Text Completion: example 3

Now, the tendency of test takers is to link the first two blanks and then find out the right word for the third blank. So, you might think that because the author is so 鈥榲erbose鈥� that his work becomes 鈥榠naccessible鈥�. And then, therefore you quickly link that to 鈥榣ack of coherence and lucidity鈥�. However, this is the point where you need to use your critical thinking and reasoning skills.

If you notice that there is a 鈥榖ut鈥� in the middle of the sentence, that鈥檚 your clue that it鈥檚 a turning point for the sentence, and the second part of the sentence is likely to take on a different tone from the first. Also, the term 鈥榢nowledgeable critics鈥� appear and you need to think about why and what critics would point out in the author鈥檚 work. Hence, if you logically analyze this sentence, you will find that because of the author鈥檚 鈥榲erbosity鈥� people, in general, find his work 鈥榠naccessible鈥�, but critics, because they are experts and know the topic really well, find this to be the most 鈥榮uccinct鈥� piece of work in the field鈥�.

Thus, the answer to this question goes like this:

Because of the author鈥檚 (i) verbosity, many readers consider his latest work (ii) inaccessible but, in reality, as many knowledgeable critics point out the piece (iii) is the most succinct on the subject.

Therefore, do not jump into conclusions and make the wrong choices! But what must you do to identify the correct answers? Well, there are some tips and tricks to master text completion questions and handle them like a pro.

Tip 1- Break the sentence:

Text completions passages can be lengthy and are difficult to assimilate at one go. You might as well get lost in the maze of words by looking at the whole passage and attempting to answer the question. 听One of the ways to handle a text completion question is to break the text into parts in a way that is easy for you to understand. So, before you consider any of the choices given, break the passage into smaller, easily understandable parts and consider each part at a time. You will then find it easy to link these smaller parts to get the bigger picture.

In order to understand this, let us consider an example:

91热爆 Text Completion: example 2 (Break the sentence)

In order to solve this, break this passage into smaller parts in your own words. Doing so will make it easier for you to find the right word for each blank.

(i) Let鈥檚 take a look at the first part of the sentence:

鈥淔or centuries now, cancer has (i) ___________ scientists.鈥�

Since confused would be the right word here, look for the option that is closest in meaning to confused, which in this case is confounded.

Great! We now know the answer to one of the blanks!

(ii) Let鈥檚 move on to the second part of the passage now:

鈥淯nlike most microbes, cancer can spread to the (ii) __________ organism.鈥�

If 鈥榳hole鈥� is the word you have in mind, you鈥檙e absolutely on the right track! Now, look for the option that is closest in meaning to 鈥榳hole鈥�. This is an easy one – entire!

(iii) Now for the 3rd and final part of the passage:

鈥渕aking it very difficult for scientists to find a way to attack the cancer without (iii) _________ any of the affected organs.鈥�

What words are you thinking of? Damaging? Harming? Destroying? Locate the 91热爆 word for that and you鈥檒l have successfully answered all three blanks correctly and earned your score

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In this case, the word you鈥檙e looking for is 鈥榠mpairing鈥� which essentially means the same as harming or damaging. Hence, here鈥檚 what the completed passage should look like:

For centuries now, cancer has (i) confounded scientists. Unlike most microbes, cancer can spread to the (ii) entire organism, making it very difficult for scientists to find a way to attack the cancer without (iii) impairing the functions of any of the affected organs.

If you would have tried to choose the right words without breaking down the sentence into smaller parts, you were very likely to choose 鈥榠ntrigued鈥� instead of 鈥榗onfounded鈥� for the first blank. The word ‘intrigued鈥� means 鈥榯o arouse curiosity or to fascinate鈥� and considering that the passage talks about scientists finding it difficult to figure out how to attack the cancer cells, the word 鈥榗onfounded鈥� fits the blank better. The word 鈥榗orrupted鈥� means 鈥榯o act dishonestly for personal or monetary gains鈥�. This word does not fit the blank because cancer being a disease cannot corrupt scientists.

On the same lines, you were very likely to choose 鈥榚radicating鈥� for the third blank which means to destroy completely. 听However, we need to understand that the passage talks about the scientists trying to eliminate cancer and not the organs. The word 鈥榚radicating鈥� therefore, changes the context of the passage completely. The right word choice is, therefore, 鈥榠mpairing鈥�, which translates to 鈥榟aving an adverse effect鈥� on the organs.

Tip2- Check for word use and idiom problems:

91热爆 Text Completion uses words as well as idioms to express ideas which may sound and appear very tricky. You must make sure you understand how ideas have been expressed as phrases and eliminate the options or choices that result in the sentence appearing puzzling or awkward. Read the complete sentence and if it sounds wrong to your ear then maybe it is not the right answer.

Let us consider an example:

91热爆 Text Completion: example 1

In the case of the second blank, we can take a hint from the last line of the passage 鈥�sometimes the petty differences end up fatally鈥�. This indicates that even though the social bonding in crows, bees, and humans is strong, sometimes they also quarrel amongst themselves and this sometimes can lead to loss of life. The word 鈥榗riticism鈥� means 鈥榚xpression of disapproval鈥� which does not lead to any fatalistic outcome and therefore does not fit the bill. The answer choice 鈥榩rejudice鈥� means 鈥榩reconceived notion not based on any reason鈥�. Since the comparison is made between humans and animals, this word will not fit because prejudices exist only in humans and not in animals. This leads us to the answer 鈥�quibble鈥� which refers to an argument. So, the passage with the correct words goes like this: In this passage, the phrase 鈥�creatures who bond, such as the crows and bees, humans too have 听…鈥� provides a vital clue regarding social behavior of these species for the first blank. The word 鈥榚nthusiastic鈥� means showing interest and does not really relate to social behavior. Also, the other option 鈥榳arm-blooded鈥� refers to birds and mammals and therefore does not fit the context, as the passage includes bees, too. This leads us to answer choice 鈥�gregarious鈥� which means being sociable.

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Humans too, like all (i) gregarious creatures who bond together, such as the crows and bees, have their (ii) quibbles. Sometimes the petty differences end up fatally.

Tip 3- Consider all the answer choices:

Always read the entire passage and don鈥檛 choose options in haste. Most of the times the difference between the options might be very subtle and you might end up choosing a weaker option when a stronger one is already provided.

91热爆 Text Completion: example

Now, in the options鈥榠nsincere鈥�, 鈥榝acetious鈥�, and 鈥榤istaken鈥� all indicate a general sense of falseness; however, it is the word insincere which directly relates with the idea of trust and belief.If you examine this sentence carefully, then three keywords emerge from the passage which provides us a clue about the answer. The words 鈥榮ince鈥�, 鈥榖elieved鈥� and 鈥榬efused鈥� give us an idea that because of her belief, she refused to think that he might be lying or something that is false.

So, we hope these examples helped you to understand how critical thinking skills paired with knowledge of vocabulary can go a long way in selecting the right answer choice. By practicing text completion questions using these techniques, you can easily achieve a 160+ in the 91热爆鈥檚 Verbal section.

91热爆 Text Completion versus Sentence Equivalence:

Now that you have a fair idea on how to go about answering text completion questions, you must be wondering about the difference between text completion and sentence equivalence. Text completion and sentence equivalence are both types of fill-in-the-blank questions. However, apart from that similarity, there are significant differences between the two. Let us have a look at them:

91热爆 Text Completion versus Sentence Equivalence

Effective Vocabulary building techniques:

By now you must have understood that the keys to cracking 91热爆 Verbal are developing critical thinking skills and a strong vocabulary with about 3,500 91热爆 words, their usage and application to learn! You can start off with reading different articles and pick up words which are unfamiliar to you and check their meanings.听

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Memorizing is one thing and usage is another. You may memorize a whole lot of words but you may not really be aware of the context in which these words are used. Therefore, while learning words you must also learn where to use them. In order to do this, construct your own sentences using the words you have just learned. This is where WordBot can really help you out! Try it out now – it鈥檚 completely free to use!

We hope this article provided you with smart ways to crack 91热爆 Text Completion questions. All the Best!

The post 91热爆 Text Completion: Tips & Strategies appeared first on 91热爆 Blog.