•4/13/2010 09:20:00 PM
Well, I survived. I spent three and a half hours in a testing center this morning fighting to focus and not vomit. It was quite interesting. I have never been so nervous over something before that I thought I would throw up. I didn't think I was that nervous, but apparently my stomach did.
Do you want to hear what kinda sorta turned out to be the hardest part? Before I took the test I had to sign a confidentiality thing where I had to write out a paragraph/pledge IN CURSIVE. I felt like an idiot because I haven't had to write in cursive since elementary school, and I didn't remember how. I can sign my name, and that's it. I really struggled to get that paragraph written, and it looked awful. Not like my usual careful printing. I was so embarrassed to hand that paper back to the test proctor.
Not that it was cake after that, but still. Yikes. But I got through the GRE and now I can stop obsessing over it and move on to the rest of the application. And then on to school. OK, there is still plenty to obsess over. But more important things than some standardized test.
More to come as I get caught up with BEDA. I have to take a look at our calendar and see what I missed.
Do you want to hear what kinda sorta turned out to be the hardest part? Before I took the test I had to sign a confidentiality thing where I had to write out a paragraph/pledge IN CURSIVE. I felt like an idiot because I haven't had to write in cursive since elementary school, and I didn't remember how. I can sign my name, and that's it. I really struggled to get that paragraph written, and it looked awful. Not like my usual careful printing. I was so embarrassed to hand that paper back to the test proctor.
Not that it was cake after that, but still. Yikes. But I got through the GRE and now I can stop obsessing over it and move on to the rest of the application. And then on to school. OK, there is still plenty to obsess over. But more important things than some standardized test.
More to come as I get caught up with BEDA. I have to take a look at our calendar and see what I missed.
|
5 comments:
About your cursive dilemma, you're not alone! SAT-takers have to do it as well, and I guess they don't teach cursive in schools anymore, so when I proctor the test I have to write the pledge out on the board for them to copy. Takes almost as long as some of the test portions!
Am I the only person who writes in cursive anymore?
Hooray! Must be such a relief to be done. And writing in cursive??? I'd be done for. Seriously done for.
That's exciting you're done. I hope you did WONDERFUL; I'm sure you did though.
I have to tell my mom about your cursive experience. My mom teaches it to her third graders and she always has parents come in and complain that their kids don't need to learn that. So now she will have something to tell them in response.
CONGRATS! I bet it feels so good to be done with this phase of the process. I'm sure you did excellent. Congrats again and best wishes that every part of your career choice will go by fantastically. You deserve only the best!
Let me tell you some secrets:
/1/
When the GRE/LSAT/SAT and similar exams (from the Educational Testing Service) tell you to write out their "I swear I did not cheat" paragraph in cursive, that paragraph is not graded in any way for cursive or for anything else. It is considered "OK cursive" and 100% acceptable at headquarters as long as the writing has SOME noticeable degree of joining in it -- even if the writing is otherwise purely printing. (Research shows that semi-joined print-like style is a more efficient way to write anyway -- faster than pure cursive, and clearer at speed than pure printing: I have some info on that in the "Handwriting Rebels" section of my web-site at http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com )
/2/
The reason that they want you to write this paragraph is so that they have a handwriting sample on file in case they later suspect you cheated and sent someone else into the exam room to take the test in your place. If they ever suspect you of cheating (which has happened sometimes), soon after the exam they will call you back in for an "investigative interview" -- really, an interrogation -- during which they will require you to write out the same "I did not cheat" paragraph while they watch. Then, they will take that paragraph you just wrote, and compare it with other documents: /a/ the paragraph you wrote when you took the test, and /b/ other existing samples of your handwriting which they can get from your school or elsewhere as part of the investigation. If the exam included an essay or essays (which most ETS exams now include), they will also look at the handwriting on the essay[s].
So ...
/3/ If you're investigated for possible cheating, and if the handwriting on the paragraph you wrote under investigation doesn't look like their other samples of your handwriting (from the exam, or from whatever other writing of yours they were able to get hold of), they will assume you cheated by sending someone else in to take the exam in your place.
Therefore,
/4/ if you do not normally write in cursive, it is probably to your disadvantage to write in cursive for the exam -- because then your handwriting on the exam won't look like your handwriting anywhere else, and this may be used against you if they suspect you might have cheated.
Kate Gladstone
handwriting instruction/remediation consultant
Founder, Handwriting Repair/Handwriting That Works
Director, the World Handwriting Contest
Co-Developer, Better Letters handwriting instruction/remediation app for the iPhone, iPodTouch, and iPad
http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com