GRE
Think Smarter, Score Better
Mastering Verbal, Quantitative Reasoning & Time Management
Format, sections, scoring.
Fill in the blank, find the pair, read for the point.
The maths topics, and a few quick tries.
Your time budget and the two-pass method.
What to use, and what to do each week.
The format, the sections and the score.
Master's and PhD programmes, many MBA programmes, and many funded places abroad.
At a test centre or at home, on a computer. Made by ETS.
Scores are valid for 5 years. Retake every 21 days, up to 5 times in 12 months.
| Part | What's in it | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analytical Writing | One essay: "Analyze an Issue" | 1 task | 30 min |
| Verbal Reasoning | Section 1 + Section 2 | 12 + 15 = 27 | 18 + 23 = 41 min |
| Quantitative Reasoning | Section 1 + Section 2 | 12 + 15 = 27 | 21 + 26 = 47 min |
| Total | Writing first, then Verbal and Quant in any order | 54 + essay | ≈ 1 hr 58 min |
In 1-point steps.
In 1-point steps. Together: 260 to 340.
In half-point steps, reported separately.
Do well in Section 1 and Section 2 gets harder, which is where the high scores are. Take Section 1 seriously.
A wrong answer costs nothing more than a blank. Never leave a question empty.
Three question types. One simple method for each.
A sentence or short paragraph with 1 to 3 blanks. Pick the word for each blank.
One blank, six choices. Pick the two words that give the sentence the same meaning.
Short and long passages with questions. About half of every Verbal section.
Hide the answer choices. Don't let them talk you into anything.
Find the words that describe the blank, and the signal word.
Write your own word for the blank. A simple one is fine.
Now uncover. Pick the choice closest to your word.
Although the critic was usually harsh, her review of the young writer's first novel was surprisingly ________.
Same as before: clue, signal, your own word.
Mark every choice that fits your word.
Pick the two that mean the same thing in the sentence.
Read the sentence with each. Same meaning both times?
The scientist's ________ approach (she checked every figure three times) made her results unusually reliable.
Slow down on the first line, any "but / however", and the last line.
A few words per paragraph: what is it doing?
For each question, find the line that answers it.
Too extreme, not in the passage, or only half right.
The main point of the passage is that bats
Learn words that mean the same thing together.
Learn each word in a sentence, not just a definition. That's how the test uses it.
10–15 words a day, and review old ones. 20 minutes daily beats 3 hours on Friday.
School maths, asked cleverly.
Which is bigger, A or B? Four fixed answers.
Five choices, one right answer.
Pick every right choice. No partial credit.
Type the number. No choices to help.
Integers: odd and even, primes, factors, multiples, remainders. Fractions, decimals, percents, ratios. Exponents and roots.
Simplifying expressions. Linear and quadratic equations, inequalities, absolute value. Functions. Lines and slopes on a graph.
Lines and angles. Triangles (Pythagoras, 30-60-90, 45-45-90). Quadrilaterals, polygons, circles. Area, volume, surface area.
Mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation. Graphs and tables. Counting, probability, Venn diagrams.
Percent change, rates and work, mixtures, interest, ages. Turn the words into one equation.
A set of questions around one chart or table. Read the title, units and axes before any number.
"Integer" or any number? Positive or could be negative? Read every word of the question.
Percents and ratios · exponents · linear equations · triangles and circles · averages. They show up again and again.
Know the basics cold, so the time goes on thinking, not on remembering formulas.
x > 0
A shirt's price goes up by 20%, and then the new price goes down by 20%. Compared with the original price, the final price is
The question asks for one number, and the choices are numbers.
Choices go in order. Test C first.
Too big? Try a smaller one. Too small? A bigger one.
The sum of three consecutive even numbers is 78. What is the largest of the three?
Use it for ugly arithmetic (like 37 × 48), not for everything. Estimate first, so you'll notice a typing mistake.
Before any numbers, read the title, the units and the axes. Most mistakes come from reading the wrong line.
+ − × ÷, square root √, ±, brackets, and memory (MR recall, MC clear, M+ add). C clears everything; CE clears the last entry.
2 + 3 × 4 gives 14, not 20. Use brackets when you mean otherwise.
Estimate 37 × 48 first (about 40 × 50 = 2,000), then press it: 1,776. Close to the estimate, so no typo.
On a type-the-number question, this button copies the result into the answer box. Check the rounding the question asks for.
Your budget, and how to never get stuck.
| Section | Time per question | Spend it like this |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal | ≈ 1.5 min | Blanks in about 1 min, to save time for reading passages |
| Quant | ≈ 1.75 min | Comparisons fast; save time for word problems and graphs |
Answer everything you can. Stuck after about 2 minutes? Pick your best guess, mark it, move on.
Use the time left on the marked questions, using the review screen.
Every question has an answer. No negative marking.
What to use, and what to do each week.
The Official Guide to the GRE General Test, plus the official Verbal and Quantitative practice books.
POWERPREP tests on ets.org: two are free. Take them like the real test.
A big question book (for example Manhattan's 5 lb Book), a vocab app, and a question bank for daily drills.
| Weeks | Focus | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Foundations | One free practice test to see your level. Learn the format. Daily vocab. Revise school maths. |
| 3–4 | Methods | One question type at a time, using tonight's methods. Untimed, then timed. |
| 5–6 | Mixed practice | Timed mixed sets. Start an error log. |
| 7 | Full tests | Two full practice tests. Fix the weakest areas. |
| 8 | Light week | Review the error log, one last test, rest before test day. |
10–15 new words in groups, plus a review of old ones.
Timed sets of fill-in-the-blank and pick-two. Predict before you look.
2–3 GRE passages, timed. Write the main point of each in one line.
30 min on one topic's basics, then 45 min of timed mixed questions.
Every wrong answer: question type, why you missed it, the fix.
Two or three real articles a day, on topics you'd never pick: science, history, economics, art. Try The Economist, Scientific American, Aeon, The Atlantic, The Guardian long reads. Read on the bus, at lunch, before bed.
After each article, say the main point in one line, and spot the turn ("however", "but"). That is exactly what Reading Comprehension asks.
Blanks: cover, clue, predict, match. Pairs: fit first, then same meaning. Reading: point to the line.
Compare, don't calculate (try 0, 1, −1, ½, 100). Pick numbers (100 for percents). Try the answers from C.
About 1.5 min a question. Two passes. Mark and move. Never blank.
Official material first. 8 weeks: foundations, methods, mixed, full tests. Keep an error log.
Thank you, Rajshahi University Education Club.
Free GRE practice: grett.net