Taking the GRE?

What is the GRE?

The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is a standardised computer-adaptive test (CAT) required as part of the application process to most graduate school programs and some business school programs around the world. The GRE is now also accepted at some law schools such as The University of Arizona and Harvard Law School.

The GRE takes almost 4 hours to complete and is structured as follows:

1. Analytical Writing - 60 minutes: "Analyse an Issue" task (30 minutes) + "Analyze an Argument" task (30 minutes)

2. Verbal Reasoning - 60 minutes: Section I - 20 questions (30 minutes) + Section II - 20 questions (30 minutes)

10-minute break

3. Quantitative Reasoning - 70 minutes: Section I - 20 questions (35 minutes) + Section II - 20 questions (35 minutes)

4. Unscored *or* Research section - time varies: Note that this section will not necessarily be last.

Officially, the GRE measures skills in the fields of English, Mathematics and analytical writing. In actuality, while the GRE does indeed test certain English and math skills, what it mostly tests is your ability to use specific techniques and strategies for optimal performance on the GRE.

How the GRE is scored:

You’ll receive four scores on your GRE:

• A Verbal Reasoning score reported on a 130–170 score scale, in 1-point increments
• A Quantitative Reasoning score reported on a 130–170 score scale, in 1-point increments
• An Analytical Writing score reported on a 0–6 score scale, in half-point increments
• A percentile score showing how you fare in relation to others

The first two scores are for the multiple choice sections of the test, Verbal and Math; the third is for your essays.

For detailed information on how the GRE is scored, read our article on the subject.

Verbal Reasoning Section Overview

Depending on where the unscored section is placed in your exam, the Verbal Reasoning section is either the second or third section of the GRE, following the Analytical Writing section. The Verbal Reasoning section is divided into three question types: text completion, sentence equivalence and reading comprehension.

• Text completion: These questions will ask you to select the correct word to best complete a sentence. However, although this sounds simple, the GRE will often ask you to accurately fill in multiple blanks, sometimes over the course of an entire paragraph.
• Sentence equivalence: While these are a variation of text completion questions, they are a unique challenge. Rather than simply asking you to identify synonyms, the GRE will also test your ability to select the two sentences that are most closely related.
• Reading comprehension: This section will test your ability to read passages of varying length (anywhere between 100 and 450 words) and respond to a handful of corresponding questions based on pure reading study skills and critical reasoning skills. Be prepared to read materials from a variety of fields, including science, technology, literary critiques and social sciences.

For detailed information on how to navigate the GRE Verbal Reasoning section, read our article on the subject.

Quantitative Reasoning Section Overview

Depending on where the unscored section is placed in your exam, the Quantitative Reasoning section is either the third or fourth section of the GRE. It follows the Analytical Writing and Verbal Reasoning section. The Quantitative Reasoning section is divided into three question types: problem solving, quantitative comparison and data interpretation.

• Problem solving tests your understanding of common math concepts. This is where your knowledge of algebra, data analysis, arithmetic and geometry will especially come into play. These questions are fairly straightforward, multiple-choice questions that include five answer choices.
• Quantitative comparison questions will present you with two statements and ask you to determine the relationship between them. While you’ll be able to answer these questions with the basic math skills we discussed earlier, the challenge will be to correctly identify which of the following choices is correct, which will truly test your understanding of all concepts.
• Data interpretation questions will ask you to analyze one or two charts, graphs or tables and answer the corresponding multiple-choice questions. You should expect to see these questions in a split-screen format, with the graphs on one side and the question on the other. This format can be tricky, as the graphs will occasionally force the questions onto a second page, requiring you to scroll down to read all the answer choices.

For detailed information on how to navigate the GRE Quantitative Reasoning section, read our article on the subject.