GRE Subject Tests

[alissaroot]

Has anyone registered yet for the upcoming GRE Subject exams? I did, and I'm taking the GRE Literature again in October (because I'd like a higher score when I apply to grad school), and the GRE Biology in November (because I want to).

Any advice for the Biology one would be much appreciated. All I have so far the the PR Cracking the GRE Biology study guide and a college Biology textbook that is about three inches thick. I'm not sure if that's enough.

[barbeque22]

I am registered to take the gre psych and am thinking that i am going to register for the gre bio or biochem although i hear the bio is much easier. i am just not sure what credits the bio gre will duplicate. i have tried doing a search but have yet to really find anything. i am not enrolled with ec yet so I dont think I will get an answer from them until I enroll. My tear just ended with tesc but I haven't really enjoyed my studies there. I wish I would have gone with EC initially but it is too late for that.

[jadechow]

I am planning to follow in the excellent examples set by Perrik and Alissa and try my hand at the GRE Literature test. I haven't registered yet because I am really torn between taking it in October or November. My thoughts are that if I take it in October and am not happy with my score, I'll retake it in November. On the other hand, part of me says - just use the extra month studying and take it once in November. Any suggestions from you veterans out there?

Alissa, you are amazing and a glutton for punishment. I honestly do not know how you do it!! 2 GRE subject exams? Girl, I need some of whatever kind of coffee you drink!! But, knowing your track record -- you will do terrific on both of them. I am curious - with your most incredible Psychology GRE performance also, -- if this might be some kind of GRE-record of something. I wonder how many people end up taking multiple GRE subject tests (and doing as well on them as we all know you will do ). I think the folks at ETS should get on that!!

You're an inspiration, Alissa!

Best wishes,
Kelly

[perrik]

Keep an eye on the registration deadlines, which are about a month before the test date. If you're within a week of the October deadline and are still feeling a bit shaky on some aspects, register for the November test and give yourself the extra study time. If September rolls around and you're feeling good about the materials, sign up for October!

The bulk of the Lit GRE is analyzing and interpreting literature, albeit it at a much tougher level than the A&I CLEP. Get to know the greatest hits of the big-name novelists, poets, and (to a much lesser degree) essayists from the major literature eras. There will be a bit of Beowulf and Chaucer, and Shakespeare of course, but the focus is on the Brits from the mid 1700s to the late 1800s and the Americans from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s (plus Beat Generation and mega-major black authors from the second half of the 1900s - get familiar with Ginsburg, Kerouac, Burroughs, Morrison, Wright, Hughes, Ellison, and Baldwin).

[jadechow]

Keep an eye on the registration deadlines, which are about a month before the test date. If you're within a week of the October deadline and are still feeling a bit shaky on some aspects, register for the November test and give yourself the extra study time. If September rolls around and you're feeling good about the materials, sign up for October!

You are right, Perrik!! I just checked the ETS website and the registration dates for the subject exams are: 9/4/09 for the 10/10/09 test and 10/2/09 for the 11/07/09 test. Even with the late registration date of 10/9/09 for the November test, I still wouldn't be able to take the October test and then decide to retake it in November. I'm sure the smart folks at ETS plan it that way!

Your advice is terrific and sincerely appreciated. Coming from someone who aced the Lit GRE not once but twice (!!), you can bet I am going to pay special attention to the info in your post.

I think at this point my biggest problem is just keeping some of the "lesser known" folks straight in my head. Also, don't ask me why but Donne and Dryden -- I seem to have a mental block about which wrote what (hey, almost alliterative!). I know Dryden was HUGE in his day and that they are not similar at all, but I just have an easier time with the folks I enjoy reading. Give me some Marlowe, Shakespeare, Hawthorne, Austen, or Dickens any day! Love those authors.

Thanks for all of the help. If you ever are in the mood for a literary brain dump, I am always happy to hear it!!

Best wishes,
Kelly

[MaieJaie]

Good luck to everyone studying for the exams! I took the GRE Literature last fall. I enrolled in the test with a goal of 55%, which would fulfill the last of my credits for the Literature in English Major at EC, was scoring about 45% on practice tests the week before the test, and somehow managed to snag an 81% on the actual exam itself. In other words, I'm glad I took it!

I've posted some of my study materials elsewhere, but now that there's a Sticky for this, and an apparent interest in the exams again, I wanted to go ahead and post some study links again.

I highly, highly recommend the Vade Mecum: A GRE for Literature in English Study Guide. I used it as the outline of my studies. I probably based more than 80% of my studying on this guide. One note, though, the site has an error in naming Richard Lovelace as a Metaphysical poet, whereas he is generally considered to be a Cavalier poet instead.

Another helpful site is Literary Resources: Criticism, Research, and GRE Study Aids, found here: Literary Resources: Criticism, Research, and GRE Study Aids. In particular, the Literary Terms section contains a lot of words you'll want to know. Also, it does a nice job at placing the literature in historical perspective, which is very useful for the GRE Literature.

Another one I liked is the English Literature GRE Study Guide. The Oxford Guides section requires a subscription, but the links on the left side provide plenty of free and helpful information.

This site GRE Reading List contains a Recommended Reading List for GRE Subject Test in Literature. I'd recommend reading the shorter works. As for the novels and the epic poems, there's no way to read all of those before the test, but just having a familiarity with the plot, themes, major characters, and maybe a couple of well-known quotes should suffice. In fact, I actually prepared myself by watching the film versions of a lot of these books, and that proved sufficient to answer the questions on the exam.

If you're rusty on versification (poetic analysis terms), this site pretty much covers anything you'd encounter on the exam: Terms for Poetic Analysis.

This site is specific to American literature, in historical perspective: Brief Timeline of American Literature and Events, 1620-1920. This site is specific to British literature: The San Antonio College LitWeb British Literature Index


Some tips:

Buy the Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE Subject Test in Literature. Read it, live it, breathe it. I still my have my copy, if anybody needs one.

You're allowed to write in the test book. When asked to determine meter, identify rhyme scheme, or find the alexandrine, it can be helpful to just write along the poem. It saves time, too.

Try to answer most, if not all, questions on the first run-through. The time goes by faster than you'd expect. If I narrowed it down to two answer choices, or if I just "had a hunch," then I took a guess and moved on. If not, I left it blank and came back to it after I'd finished the rest of the test. I only had about ten minutes remaining once I'd made my first run through the test questions, so there wasn't much time left for the questions I wasn't sure of.

[LatinTea]

Buy the Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE Subject Test in Literature. Read it, live it, breathe it. I still my have my copy, if anybody needs one.

I checked Amazon. Before I buy it, is this the right book?

Cracking the GRE Literature Test, 5th Edition, ISBN 0375764909

Thanks!

[jadechow]

MaieJaie,
Thanks so much for posting all of that terrific info!! It is all so helpful and it is nice to have it available in one place and not spend precious study time searching things out on the web.

And, what a great score you got. That's amazing. Great job. How on earth did you go from your last pretest score of 45% to an 81% on the actual exam? Awesome!

Thanks again,
Kelly

[MaieJaie]

I checked Amazon. Before I buy it, is this the right book?

Cracking the GRE Literature Test, 5th Edition, ISBN 0375764909

Thanks!

Yes, that's the one. There are a couple of other study guides for the GRE Literature out there, but neither one gets great reviews. The ETS guide mostly covers general info about the test with little insight into how to do well on the exam. The REA guide, according to reviews, has several inaccuracies on its practice tests. The Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE Literature Test has great reviews; it's accurate and provides valuable insight into the test and how to maximize your score. Plus, the Princeton Review guide is usually also the least expensive of the study guides!!!

[MaieJaie]

MaieJaie,
Thanks so much for posting all of that terrific info!! It is all so helpful and it is nice to have it available in one place and not spend precious study time searching things out on the web.

And, what a great score you got. That's amazing. Great job. How on earth did you go from your last pretest score of 45% to an 81% on the actual exam? Awesome!

Thanks again,
Kelly

You're welcome! I should probably have included Wikipedia, since that came in handy, too. "Literary Theory" and "List of Literary Movements," along with "English Literature" and, more specifically, "English Poetry" were all articles viewed on Wikipedia.

As far as how I raised my score, well, it was mostly just a matter of paying attention to what I didn't know. After taking the practice tests, I reviewed my answers and discovered some patterns. I'd missed pretty much every question about certain topics. Essayists, African American literature, and Modernist poetry were clearly areas in which I needed to improve. So, that's what I spent most of the last week before the test studying. Also, taking the practice tests, I encountered a lot of literary terms that were unfamiliar, so I spent time studying those, as well. Furthermore, any author, writing, character, or quote that was unfamiliar to me was plugged into Wikipedia for an overview.