Go pompous early
That's my advice for GRE-takers concerned about the analytical writing section. I laid it on with a trowel, and I'm holding an ETS report that arrived today that says I scored 6 out of 6 on that section. Woo-hoo! Sadly, this score is a necessity, not a luxury, as I need it to convince admissions committees that I am not just a giant walking Broca's area, but can, in fact, do logic...even if I (rather conspicuously, ouch) can't do math.
6 Comments:
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David Schraub said...
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- 12:01 AM
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esquiver said...
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- 9:08 PM
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David Schraub said...
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- 11:57 PM
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Anonymous said...
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- 3:39 PM
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esquiver said...
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- 7:29 PM
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Anonymous said...
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- 9:11 AM
Post a CommentCongrats. Way to drill.
David,
Er, thanks. I think. I'll ignore any hint of backhandedness, there.
But, context: I still remember, many years ago in grad school, getting the top marks on our statistics final, surprising my classmates, my prof, and, not least of all, me. The alpha male of our cohort immediately snarled at me, "yeah, but you study all the time," and this was instantly accepted by the general public as the controlling explanation and conventional wisdom.
I'm still angry about this, and angry I didn't say anything at the time, as:
(1) it was churlish,
(2) it was sexist,
(3) it totally harshed my euphoria, and
(4) it was laughably, scurrilously, and demonstrably false.
I have crappy study skills, and the attention span of a gnat on meth. I know what Big Ape was actually saying was "Attention, eligible females, listen to me: this small omega did not best me. She studied; I didn't. I could have, you know." But, truth? I didn't crack the book until the night before. I totally bested him.
And, you should be aware, David, of the copious psych literature on attribution that shows a marked tendency for people to explain men's successes in intrinsic person/personality terms ("he's gifted") and women's in situation/cause terms ("she studied a lot"). I know you didn't mean to do that.
Therefore, for the record:
(1) I did drill math like crazy, for all the fat lot of good that did me.
(2) I drilled verbal a little. Should have done much more, actually.
(3) For writing, my prep was one practice essay to gauge timing, and a helpful email discussion with a friend about the probable optimal level of pretentiousness.
Oh. Unless you meant that blogging counts as doing drills in pomposity. In which case: sure. Fair enough.
My apologies.
I (an ex-hockey player), use the word "drill", aka, a synonym for a crushing body check ("Wow, that player got drilled!"). Which was the analogy I meant for the test, you drilled it (knocked it flat out). It wasn't meant to be a reference (in either direction) to your study habits (I understand how "drilling" for a test could be a synonym for "cramming", though I don't think I'd have thought of it myself).
But certainly, I didn't mean to dredge up bad memories. Next time, maybe I'll switch to a boxing metaphor ("geez, way to KTFO that test!")?
Good job! This only confirms what we, your readers, already knew. You can write extremely well. Now all you have to do is find your niche.
David:
Oh, you kids and your slang today. Thanks for clarifying.
Anon:
Mumble, mumble, aw shucks.
Thanks! GRE date next Wednesday, and I'm off to the library for a book of "quotations for our time." The Italian suggests Oscar Wilde. I think I'll stick to Shakespeare.
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