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GRE Grammar Preparation: GRE Grammar Books, Resources, Tips and Tricks

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Kashyap Matani
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If you’re looking forward to taking the GRE general test, then verbal reasoning and analytical writing will be an important part of your test. While the verbal reasoning section analyses your understanding of the text and judges if you can truly interpret the content, the analytical writing section will be an essay that tests your argumentative, discussion, debating and observation skills.

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The GRE general test comprises the three most profound sections. Given how two of these three are related to grammar, your preparation for GRE grammar must be apt and more than enough. If you are a native English speaker, this section might not be difficult for you. However, GRE English grammar can be a little trickier for students from South Asia.

Wish to know more? Stay with us till the end as we will make you explore all about GRE English grammar! 

Table of Contents:

The GRE Analytical Writing: Proper Use of Grammar

The analytical writing section in your GRE exam will be graded on a score range of 0 to 6, where six stands for the best piece and zero stands for the worst. According to the ETS, the section comprises two entirely different and timed analytical writing tasks. This comprises tasks to analyze an issue and an argument for 30 minutes each.

  • For the "analyze an issue” part, you should expect a claim and a response, analyzing which you’ll have to write an essay signifying your position and stance and explaining in-depth about it. 
  • The "analyze an argument” portion generally has an excerpt from a newspaper, a guide, etc., presenting an argument or a headline. You’ll have to provide your views on the topic and answer specific questions about the portion.

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All in all, essay writing will test your ability to construct and carry out arguments, how well you can take forward discussions, and if you can support complex ideas. It won’t judge your content knowledge, so that portion isn’t to be worried over.

You should, either way, be extremely specific about your grammar usage. Using good grammar and idioms, proverbs, etc. can fetch you good marks. Try adding anecdotes if you can, make the essay easy and enjoyable to read, and make zero grammatical errors.

Here are a few things you should always keep in mind:

  1. Don’t drift away from the topic
  2. Use punctuation correctly
  3. Don’t add too many exclamation marks
  4. Make sentences short and easy to follow
  5. Segregate in paragraph
  6. Do not use the same words again and again, use synonyms
  7. Don’t repeat the same ideas again and again

Other than these, reading and practising essays daily can boost your analytical writing section.

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GRE Grammar: Syllabus Overview

The GRE Grammar section usually covers two: verbal reasoning and analytical writing. Both these sections have different syllabuses and approaches.

The analytical writing comprises two sections mentioned above: the analyze an issue and the analyze an argument portion. We have already gone through the details above. You need to have a strong command over your written grammar and should have enough practice in essay writing, particularly in the topics common to the GRE English grammar standards.

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The verbal reasoning section is more complicated and difficult. It has 40 questions, 20 in each section, and lasts one hour. The section will provide a comprehension, wherein you’ll have to interpret and answer questions. The topics covered under the GRE Grammar for verbal reasoning is:

  1. Nouns, or nouns, adjectives
  2. Tense
  3. Idioms
  4. Pronoun agreement
  5. Subject-verb agreement
  6. Modifiers
  7. Parallelism

You should have a good command over all of these to ace the paper. Practice is the key here.

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The 5 Best English Grammar Books for GRE: Free and Paid

The best way to prepare adequately for English grammar for GRE is by books. You could get concept-clearing books or go for mock tests and sample question booklets for your preparation. Let us look at the five best English grammar books for GRE.

  1. Official GRE Super Power Pack by ETS
  2. The Vocabulary Builder Workbook by Magoosh
  3. Barron's new GRE (19th Edition)
  4. Manhattan review
  5. George Washington University’s ESL Study Hall Grammar

These books have received good ratings online and have proved useful for students preparing for the GRE English grammar section. You could ask the Yocket community about their favourites if you still want an insight into which ones will be worth the investment.

Suggested: Best Books for GRE Preparation 2022! 

Mistakes you Should Avoid for GRE English Grammar

Coming to the most important portion, what mistakes should you avoid for the GRE grammar section? The new world concept of chatting and social media has led to so many unofficial words sweeping their way into our daily dictionary, not to forget the abbreviations. Make sure to leave your gen-z typing vocabulary behind while writing the grammar test. Look out for these mistakes to avoid:

  • Not following the correct subject-verb agreement
  • Using basic words too often (Use joy, pleasure, ecstasy instead of using happiness ten times)
  • Using too many and, buts, and so.
  • Not getting a creative, catchy introduction
  • Forgetting about the topic and drifting away to something else
  • Lengthening sentences to reach the word count by adding irrelevant words
  • Not keeping the content easy, crisp, and concise
  • Violating parallel structures and not taking care of modifiers
  • Not practising enough before the test
  • Not completing in time (Time your practice test before the final day several times)

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Students make many other silly mistakes, especially during their analytical writing sections, and they regret them later. Grammar is one of the most integral parts of the GRE paper. It is always better to gather the relevant resources that can help you ace the GRE grammar section. One such tool that can help you is Yocket GRE Prep. This free and basic tool lets you conduct multiple verbal tests under several categories, such as short passages, shift sentences, etc. 

If you wish to enhance your level in this, upgrading to our premium version of this tool will help, Yocket GRE Prep+. This premium tool lets you unlock more tests, such as medium passage, sentence equivalence, etc. You can even choose the type of level you wish to undertake the test for, like easy, medium and hard. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions about GRE Grammar Preparation

Is a 6-score possible in GRE analytical writing?

How many essays should I practice for the GRE analytical writing section?

How can I score better in the verbal section of the GRE exam?

What is the average score for the GRE grammar section?

How many days should I keep aside for GRE grammar preparation?

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