The GRE is broken down into six sections. It has a 60-minute essay section, which includes an argumentative writing task and an issue writing task. Two 30-minute Verbal Reasoning Sections, two 35 minute Quantitative Reasoning Sections, and one 30- or35-minute experimental/research section, which can be verbal or quantitative. Although the writing section is always in the first place, the remaining sections may be in any order. There are optional 1-minute and 10-minute breaks after each section. The computer test is approximately 3 hours 45 minutes long, while the paper exam takes 3 hours 30.

Critical Thinking Writing

The Analytical Section is always the section that opens on the GRE. It contains two independent essay-writing tasks. ETS provides a complete list with all essay prompts for each task that could be used in your GRE exam. This is a great resource for students trying to find out what writing tasks they will have to do during the test. ETS provides information on how essays will be scored. There are examples of essays from different quality and a reasoning for each level. It is essential to both write an essay that is long and well-structured to convey complex interpretations.

Reasoning with words

After the Analyitical writing section, three or four sections will be testing Verbal Reasoning. GRE is distinguished by its Verbal Reasoning and Analytical Writing sections. The GMAT is based on the ability to remember and implement grammar rules and spelling rules. The GRE, however, evaluates English comprehension in a more thorough manner. GRE is a great way to demonstrate your ability to learn language and have a variety of professional or academic backgrounds.

There are three types of questions in the Verbal Reasoning section: Reading Comprehension (text completion), and Sentence Equivalence (sentence equivalent). Reading comprehension questions require that you read a passage and then answer several questions. This is similar in format to other standardized tests. However, it may require you to read more than you’re used to.

Both the Sentence Equivalence and Text Completion questions can be used to assess vocabulary knowledge. Text completion passages are between one and five sentences long. Students must answer every blank correctly or lose the entire question.

Sentence equivalence questions require students to answer a set of sentences with one blank. They also have to list some vocabulary words. Students must choose two vocabulary terms that are equivalent to the sentences. It doesn’t matter which selections are “synonymous”, it does not matter that they are. However, it is crucial that the sentence completed is equivalent with both words. These questions are more than just memorizing vocabulary lists. You must understand sentence structure and be creative to answer them.

Applying numerical techniques to problem solving.

The remaining sections will include Quantitative reasoning. Quantitative Reasoning sections in the GRE can generally be considered easier than those on GMAT. They are less technical, require less time management and permit the use of a calculator.

Quantitative Analytic sections offer four types questions: Multiple Choice (select a single answer), Multiple Choice -select one or multiple answers) as well as Numeric Entry questions. Quantitative comparisons require students to evaluate the relative importance of two quantities. These questions can be compared to “data sufficiency”, but students must not only decide if the data are sufficient, but also show the relationship between their magnitudes. You will need to enter the exact value of the answer in the Numeric Entry question.

Multiple Choice questions can be self-explanatory. However, you need to know how to differentiate between questions with one correct answer and those that may have multiple correct responses. Computer-based practice tests are a great way to learn how to distinguish between correct answers and incorrect answers. Multiple Choice questions that allow only one answer will be presented in a bubble format. The answer changes if the bubble is selected. Multiple Choice questions that require multiple answers will be given a “checkbox” format, which allows multiple choices.

Section for Experimental and Research

The Experimental test section will be next after the Analytical writing section. You can present the five sections in any order. The Experimental section can be either Quantitative or Verbal Reasoning. It is not necessary to attempt to identify which section is experimental. This will distract you from the test. The Experimental sections will be used to update the test as well as to gauge test difficulty and collect data for ETS. Research sections, if present, will be displayed after the completion and will not be required.

Adaptation for Computers

Computer-based GRE adaptive by section is available for Quantitative Reasoning as well as Verbal Reasoning. Students who do well on the first section will “level down” to the more difficult section. Your test difficulty is considered when calculating your “scaled score” between 130-170. The writing assignment cannot be adaptive. The experimental or research section serves to assess and measure the difficulty of future questions. It does not contribute to adaptation or scaled scores.