The Verbal Progression Timeline

From Beginner to 170

There’s a Big Difference with the Verbal Timeline compared to the Quant timeline

In verbal, you start learning vocabulary and strategies simultaneously, whereas in quant we first learn foundation and then strategies.

Vocabulary

Get familiar with the vocab mountain and how it works and how you should use it
1. https://www.gregmat.com/class/how-to-properly-do-the-vocab-mountain
Simple definitions. Once you master these, you naturally…(move to step 3)
1. I don’t really care how you learn the words – I care that you RETAIN them.
2. Remember – the vocab mountain’s main purpose is as a retention tool, not a vocabulary learning tool. But it can be both.
Start learning GRE synonyms
1. Rapacious - greedy
2. Covetous - greedy
3. Mercenary - greedy
4. Acquisitive – greedy
5. Venal – greedy (second meaning)
6. Avaricious - greedy
7. Grasping – greedy
Start doing the vocab mountain using synonyms
1. Audacious – brazen, impertinent
2. Intimate – insinuate, suggest
3. Bucolic – pastoral, idyllic, rustic
Pairing Strategy
1. The bridge from vocabulary to strategy
2. https://www.gregmat.com/quizzes/quiz-group/se-pairing-quizzes

Vocabulary Frequently Asked Questions

How many words should I learn?
1. For most people, we recommend about 1,000.
2. Do you need to learn 2,000 words? No.
I’ve learned 1,000 words that are NOT GregMat words. What should I do?
1. Did you really learn these words?
  1. Yes, and I can prove it. You don’t necessarily need to learn the GregMat words. But it still might be a good idea. In that sense, you will get MORE out of the resources on GregMat if you learn the GregMat words. There will be synergy.
  2. Nah, not really. Learn the GregMat words.
How many words do I need to learn to score ____?
1. This question doesn’t really make sense.
2. If you learn 3,000 words via the Kill You Again 3,000 App, but no strategies, the score will probably be around 150ish.
If I simply learn vocabulary, will I get a good verbal score?
1. Only if you’re verbally inclined already. Nobody forces you to read, and, in your free time, you read. Certain majors are strongly indicative of high verbal scores with almost ZERO prep. Philosophy, literature, creative writing…
Should I learn more words…
1. Only if you can prove to me that your strategies are really good. Learn as many extra words you want. I don’t care.
2. Be aware of the Law of Diminishing Returns.
3. Think of it as a bell curve. You really start to see “vocab gains” around the 400 or 500 word mark.
What do I do if I don’t know a vocabulary word on the test?
1. It doesn’t matter how many words you learn. You WILL encounter words you don’t know.
2. This is another bridge to strategy.
3. https://www.gregmat.com/class/dealing-with-unknown-vocab-what-the-hell-do-i-do

What do we do simultaneously with vocab? Obviously the answer is “strategies…”

Actually, that’s NOT obvious. What mistake do a lot of people make? They just do practice questions. They just solve questions.

General Timeline of Strategies

Awareness
1. People are trained. They’re not Mozarts.
2. You’re NOT going to magically learn the strategies just by solving a lot of verbal problems.
3. You have to actually learn the strategies from someone who is better at the test than you are RIGHT NOW.
4. How do you know if you’re aware?
  1. List them. All of them. Routinely. Treat them like vocab.
  2. Define them.
Start putting them into practice, in isolation.
1. Why in isolation?
  1. To not overwhelm you.
  2. Common saying – jack of all trades, master of none
  3. The only way to master a strategy is to work on it in isolation.
2. This will be messy. You will be frustrated.
  1. Think of this as going into a gym the first time ever. You will feel like a fraud. You will feel like “this sucks.” You will feel like these strategies don’t even work.
  2. You have to fight through that stuff.
Start deliberately using them, with a degree of competence.
1. Get to a point where you can teach me how the strategy works for a specific question or passage, rather than you simply absorbing my teaching or somebody else’ teaching
The Verbal toolkit
1. Have to start making choices as you solve problems.
  1. “Am I going to simplify this passage or rephrase it?”
  2. “Am I going to break down each sentence by function or am I simply going to rephrase the sentences?”
  3. “For this particular question, let’s say it’s an inference question, what strategy am I going to use?”
  4. You have to demonstrate a level of flexibility.
  5. You can only get comfortable with this kind of flexible uncertainty if you practice it.
  6. You can resolve questions using different strategies.
  7. Don’t be so eager to always get new verbal material.

The Specific Strategy Timeline

Logic: You want to obviously master strategies that are WIDELY applicable. You can almost always use them.

Text Completion:

The Math Strategy
1. Also known as “support/contrast”
2. This strategy is SOOO ubiquitous that you almost don’t need anything else.
3. If you’re not good at this, you shouldn’t move on to any other TC strategies.

Sentence Equivalence:

The Pairing Strategy
1. This is just non-negotiable. You have to learn this.
2. 7 out of 27 of the questions are Sentence Equivalence.
3. This strategy ALWAYS works. (at least 99% of the time)
The math strategy
1. Also known as support contrast

Reading (academic):

Reading strategies are divided into THREE major categories

Passage:

Identify Main Idea
Identify the Primary Purpose
1. This has a VERB component – the author is doing something.
(Sentence level) – Rephrasing sentences
(Sentence level) – Simplifying Sentences
(Sentence level) – Identify the function of every sentence

Questions:

Identify the question type.
1. Some questions require you to find the main idea.
2. Some questions require you to identify a detail from the passage.
3. Some questions want you to make an inference.
4. Some questions want you to identify the primary purpose.
5. Some questions want you to identify the purpose of a specific sentence.
Rephrase the question. You have to be able to demonstrate you actually understand what it’s asking you.
Scanning
1. This is when you identify a specific word or phrase in the question itself that allows you to find the evidence in the passage quickly.
2. India
3. 19^th century
(somewhat important) Answer before looking at the choices
1. A strategy you use in deliberate practice, not necessarily on test day

Choices:

Justify the correct answer WITH EVIDENCE from the passage.
1. Not feeling. Not a guess. Not “it seems right.” Not I think. Not an aura. Not a vibe.
2. This always works.
Eliminate wrong answers
1. Every answer is wrong OBJECTIVELY.
2. Not wrong for a vibe. Not wrong because “you think it’s wrong.” It’s not wrong because it “sounds weird.”
3. Wrong Reason #1: It literally contradicts something in the passage.
4. Wrong Reason #2: No evidence. I don’t know.
  1. Another way to say this is “it’s irrelevant…” “it’s out of scope”
  2. It just doesn’t apply
The combination of the two in a beautiful medley that we call Attack from Two Sides.
1. This is how you get a 170.
2. I wouldn’t tell a 150 or 155 verbal to do this. Not even a 160.
3. But if you’re at like a 163 and you’re like bro, how do I get a 170? Boom. Attack from Two Sides – non-negotiable.
4. It works for TC too.

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