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得勝GRE考試與研究所：關鍵是寫作

GRE and Graduate School Success: The Key is in the Writing

Posted March 18, 2014 by Rebecca Marton in The Student Blog

What is the remainder when 14^16 + 16^14 is divided by 10? Do you know what sinecure, plutonian, and interregnum mean? If not, you’re probably like the rest of us applying to graduate school and beginning to prepare for the GRE.

14的16次方加上16的14次方除以十的餘數是？你知道「掛名職務、冥王的、（國家）空位期」的意思嗎？如果不知道，你可能像我們一樣正在申請研究所，剛開始準備GRE。

The general GRE consists of three sections. The verbal section, in addition to reading comprehension, largely consists of vocabulary-based questions, testing your knowledge of archaic English words, many of which are likely never to appear in a scientific context. The math sections contain problems relating to topics covered in high school, ranging from geometry and algebra to probability and statistics.

一般GRE包含3部分，口語部分和閱讀理解是包含大量單字的考試，測試你對古老英文單字的理解，有些單字可能從未出現在科學文章中。數學部分包含高中的主題章題，範圍從幾何到代數、機率和統計。

Do these types of questions really fairly assess your ability to be a successful graduate student in the sciences? Does the exam analyze your capability to interpret data, think creatively, be innovative in your research, or solve real world problems?

這些題型真的能公正的評量你能否成為一個理科研究生的能力？GRE能分析你是否能詮釋資料、創意思維、研究是否有獨創性或是是否有解決現實生活問題的能力？

I, like most frustrated students hastily attempting to memorize antiquated words and math tricks, would argue that it does not. Instead, I argue that the third section, the analytical writing portion of the exam, is best able to indicate potential for success in graduate school in the sciences.

我就像其他困惑的考生一樣急切的背過時的單字、算數學，但我要反駁這兩項無法評量！我認為第三個考科分析寫作是最夠顯示理組研究生是否有潛力的考試。

Common sense tells us that being familiar with the number of degrees in each interior angle of a polygon or knowing 10 different obsolete synonyms for an everyday word will in no way contribute to success in a graduate program. Many studies have focused on the relationship between general GRE scores and graduate achievement. While the results have varied greatly based on the metrics used for success, most are far from encouraging.

常識告訴我們多邊形的內角角度或是一個常用字的十個過時的同義字對研究計畫沒什麼幫助。許多學生專注於GRE成績跟研究所的關係。但GRE分數的結果代表著是否成功而非鼓勵向學。

 One study found that there was no statistical difference between GRE scores of students who succeeded in graduate school and those who did not (Nelson and Nelson).

一項研究發現GRE分數高低與學生是否在研究所成功沒有關聯。

The same study even found that in graduate programs in the life sciences, students that did better on the GRE were more likely to fail in graduate school (Nelson and Nelson). A more recent study found that students in the top 25% of GRE scores were 3 to 5 times more likely to have a 4.0 GPA after their first year of graduate school, but also conceded that variation in the data was so great that attempting to draw conclusions based on GRE scores about graduate school success was nearly impossible (Bridgeman et al.).

同一個研究發現生命科學的研究生中，GRE考的好在研究所中反而容易失敗。而另一個近期研究發現分數在前25%的GRE考生在入學的第一年比較會拿GPA 4.0，但也坦承收集的資料差異很大，這樣要下GRE分數與研究所是否成功的結論有點不可能。

In the general GRE, the essay section consists of two components.

The first asks you to identify flaws in a given argument. When considered in a broader context, isn’t this a large part of what is done as a student in science? Identifying flaws in logic and assessing whether claims are backed up by the evidence presented are essential skills for students to master. The second essay evaluates your ability to form and defend your own coherent argument. These skills are directly relevant to the production of a body of work sufficient to complete a graduate school thesis.

GRE寫作分為兩個部分，第一問你文章的缺點，考慮更廣，這不就是研究生在做研究的一大部分？指出邏輯缺點和評估論點是否有證據支持是研究生要掌握的基本技能。第二篇文章評估你是否有建構並捍衛你論點的能力。這些技能與是否能完成研究所的論文作品有直接相關。

Some students argue that the writing samples do not accurately reflect their abilities and that their undergraduate scientific training did not focus on the types of writing measured by the general GRE. However, whether you have an outstanding vocabulary and ornamental writing style or your approach is to be simple and to the point, you should be able to cogently express your ideas in writing. Like it or not, writing is the medium through which scientific discoveries are shared. What is the good in having brilliant ideas and remarkable data if you cannot relate your findings to others?

學生認為寫作範例無法確實反映他們的能力，而且他們大學中的科學訓練並沒有專注在GRE想測量的寫作上，然而，不論你有傑出的單字造詣、修辭技巧，或是你只是簡單地描述，你應該要中肯的在作文中表達你的想法。不管你喜歡或不喜歡，寫作是科學發現可以分享出去的媒介。即使有優秀的點子如果你無法敘述讓人知道，有什麼好的呢？

In the future, the graduate school admissions process for programs in the sciences would benefit from emphasizing a student’s writing score above their math and verbal scores.

未來，理科研究所申請會更重視學生的寫作成績多於數學和口語成績。

A student’s ability to analyze the arguments of others and to defend their own in writing is likely to be a better indicator of success in scientific fields than their knowledge of geometry or the size of their vocabulary.

學生分析其他文章的能力和捍衛他們自己觀點的能力會比幾何和單字庫更能顯示他們在科學領域的成就。

While other standardized exams are moving away from required essay sections, doing the same in relation to the GRE will eliminate an opportunity for scientific graduate programs to gain insight into their applicants’ abilities to synthesize and express their findings as a graduate student.

當其他標準化考試要捨棄必要的寫作項目，GRE這麼做會削弱理科研究所了解其申請者是否有綜合、表達科學發現之能力的機會。

原文連結：http://blogs.plos.org/thestudentblog/2014/03/18/gre-graduate-school-success-key-writing/