GRE PREPARATION – SPRING 2014 (FEB 3 – APRIL 14)
SCHEDULE OF VERBAL TOPICS
Time/Location:
Mondays, 6:00-8:00pm
Instructor:
Katie O’Neill
Burke 203
Basic Course Structure
Practice Exams
 We will take mini practice exams in accordance with the schedule below unless
students ask otherwise.
Practice Books
 Practice books are not well suited for a classroom setting, and you do not need to
purchase one for this class. However, they can be very helpful for individual study,
so you might consider getting one for yourself.
Vocab Building
 Each class will contain a vocabulary-building session from majortests.com. We will
also work through the root word, and prefix exercises at wps.ablongman.com.
Quizzes
 Most classes will also consist of verbal reasoning quizzes from majortests.com.
Essays
 I am happy to look at any writing you do on your own and offer advice on how you
could improve, but I do not anticipate any in-class writing.
 Please type and double space anything you would like me to look over.
 We will discuss tools, strategies, and grammar for essay writing whenever students
ask, but I rarely plan lessons around essay writing.
GMAT
 Although this class was not created as GMAT preparation course, many students
preparing for the GMAT have found it quite useful. The knowledge and skills
required for the two exams are similar, so preparation for the GRE is helpful with
the GMAT. Nonetheless, if the students preparing to take the GMAT greatly
outnumber those preparing to take the GRE, I will adapt the course accordingly.
Course Schedule:
*The schedule is subject to change based on student request and progression but
will try to adhere to the following:
February 3: Intro & Text Completion/Sentence Equivalence Practice Exam
 Introduction to class and instructor
 GRE/GMAT question types overview
 Introduction to text completion and sentence equivalence
 Text completion and sentence equivalence practice exam
 Discuss results of the practice exams, what we need to focus on in the coming
weeks, and whether we need to alter the schedule
February 10: Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence Strategies
 Go over any questions you might have about the practice exams
 Vocab building: Beginner Root Words, Prefixes
 Strategies for text completion and sentence equivalence
 Quiz: Sentence Equivalence, Text Completion
February 17: Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence
 Vocab Building: Beginner Root Words, Prefixes
 Review strategies for text completion and sentence equivalence
 Quiz: Sentence Equivalence Text Completion
February 24: Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence
 Vocab Building: Beginner Root Words, Prefixes
 Quiz: Sentence Equivalence 4-5, Text Completion 6-8
March 3: Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence
 Vocab Building: Beginner and Intermediate Root Words
 Introduction to reading comprehension
 Reading comprehension practice exam
Quiz: Sentence Equivalence, or Text Completion
NO CLASS MARCH 10
March 17: Reading Comprehension Practice Exam
 Go over any questions you might have about the practice exams
 Vocab building: Beginner and Intermediate Root Words
 Strategies for reading comprehension
 Quiz: Reading Comprehension and Sentence Equivalence or Text Completion
March 24: Reading Comprehension Strategies
 Go over any questions you might have about the practice exams
 Vocab building: Beginner and Intermediate Root Words
 Review Question Types
 Quiz: Reading Comprehension and Text Completion
March 31: Reading Comprehension
 Vocab building: Intermediate Root Words,
 Quiz: Reading Comprehension, Text completion or Sentence Equivalence
April 7: Reading Comprehension
 Vocab Building: Advanced Root Words
 Quiz: Reading Comprehension, Text Completion, and Sentence Equivalence
April 14: Reading Comprehension
 Vocab Building: Advanced Root Words
 Review all types of questions
 Quiz: Reading Comprehension, Text Completion, and Sentence Equivalence