GRE Exam Structure
The GRE General Test mirrors the cognitive demands of contemporary graduate school programs, encompassing areas like business and law. It evaluates your skills in verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing—abilities cultivated over time, not tied to a specific field of study, but universally significant.
Verbal Reasoning: Your proficiency is assessed in tasks such as analyzing discourse, drawing conclusions, identifying assumptions, and comprehending various levels of meaning in text. This includes discerning important points, summarizing text, and grasping word, sentence, and overall text meanings.
Within the Verbal Reasoning measure, three question types are presented: Reading Comprehension, Text Completion, and Sentence Equivalence.
The Reasoning Section in the GRE General Test evaluates your capacity to:
- Analyze and assess written material, synthesizing information derived from it.
- Examine relationships among the constituent parts of sentences.
- Identify connections among words and concepts.
These questions manifest in various formats, each extensively discussed in the linked sections below. Approximately half of the assessment involves reading passages and answering related questions, while the remaining portion entails reading, interpreting, and completing existing sentences, groups of sentences, or paragraphs.
Text Completion: Skilled readers don’t just passively absorb information; instead, they constantly interpret and evaluate, reasoning from the material they’ve read to construct an evolving understanding. Text Completion questions assess this ability by intentionally omitting crucial words from short passages. Your task is to utilize the remaining information to select words or short phrases that fit into the blanks, creating a coherent and meaningful whole.
Structure of Questions:
Each passage consists of one to five sentences with one to three blanks per sentence.
- For two or three blanks, each blank has three answer choices.
- For a single blank, there are five answer choices.
- Each blank has a single correct answer.
- Answer choices for different blanks are independent, meaning selecting an answer for one blank doesn’t affect choices for another.
- Partially correct answers don’t receive credit.
Tips for Answering:
- Avoid considering every possible answer combination, as it’s time-consuming and prone to errors.
- Approach the passage methodically:
- Read through to grasp the overall sense.
- Identify significant words or phrases, emphasizing structural elements or central themes.
- Attempt to fill in blanks with words that complete the sentence, checking if similar words are among the choices.
- Don’t assume a fixed order for filling blanks; start where it’s easier and adjust as needed.
- Ensure logical, grammatical, and stylistic coherence after making selections.
Sentence Equivalence: Much like Text Completion questions, assess your ability to determine how a passage should be completed based on partial information. However, these questions emphasize the meaning of the completed sentence to a greater extent. They present a single sentence with one blank and task you with identifying two choices that lead to a complete, coherent sentence with the same meaning.
Structure of Questions:
- Each question comprises a single sentence with one blank and six answer choices.
- Select two answer choices.
- Partially correct answers do not receive credit.
Tips for Answering:
- Avoid simply seeking two words with the same meaning among the choices, as this can be misleading.
- The pairs may have synonymous words but may not fit coherently into the sentence.
- The correct pair may not have words that mean exactly the same; the focus is on sentences with equivalent meanings.
- Methodically approach the question:
- Read the sentence for an overall understanding.
- Identify significant words or phrases, emphasizing structural elements or central themes.
- Fill in the blank with a suitable word and check if two similar words are among the choices.
- If one word aligns with your expectation but the second is missing, explore other choices that can coherently fill the blank.
- Confirm that the selected pair produces logically, grammatically, and stylistically coherent sentences with the same meaning.
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The Quantitative Reasoning section evaluates your capacity to understand, interpret, and analyze quantitative information. It tests your problem-solving using mathematical models and application of basic skills in arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis. The Quantitative Reasoning section in the GRE General Test evaluates your:
- Fundamental mathematical skills
- Comprehension of elementary mathematical concepts
- Capacity for quantitative reasoning, as well as modeling and solving problems using quantitative methods.
Content Areas Covered: The Quantitative Reasoning measure includes questions in real-life and mathematical contexts. Topics cover:
Arithmetic:
- Properties and types of integers
- Arithmetic operations, exponents, and roots
- Concepts like estimation, percent, ratio, rate, absolute value, and sequences of numbers
Algebra:
Operations with exponents
- Factoring and simplifying algebraic expressions
- Relations, functions, equations, and inequalities
- Coordinate geometry, including graphs and slopes
Geometry:
- Parallel and perpendicular lines
- Circles, triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons
- 3-dimensional figures, area, perimeter, volume
- The Pythagorean theorem
Data Analysis:
- Descriptive statistics
- Interpretation of data in tables and graphs
- Probability and probability distributions
- Counting methods like combinations and permutations
Note: The content is at a high school level, generally no higher than a second course in algebra. Trigonometry, calculus, and higher-level mathematics are not included. The ability to construct proofs and inferential statistics are not tested.
In the Quantitative Reasoning section, the directions outline crucial assumptions regarding numbers and figures. Here’s a summary:
- Real Numbers: All numbers used in the questions are considered real numbers.
- Plane Geometry: Unless specified otherwise, all figures are assumed to lie in a plane.
- Scale of Geometric Figures: Geometric figures (lines, circles, triangles, quadrilaterals) may not be drawn to scale. It’s important not to assume that quantities like lengths and angle measures are accurately represented. However, certain assumptions can be made:
- Lines shown as straight are indeed straight.
- Points on a line follow the order depicted.
- Geometric objects maintain the relative positions shown.
- Geometric Reasoning vs. Estimation: For questions involving geometric figures, answers should be based on geometric reasoning rather than estimating or comparing quantities visually or through measurement.
- Scale Drawings: Some figures are explicitly noted to be drawn to scale. In such cases, you can read, estimate, or compare quantities and data values by sight or measurement. This applies to coordinate systems (like xy-planes and number lines) and graphical data presentations (bar graphs, circle graphs, line graphs).
Understanding these assumptions is vital for approaching Quantitative Reasoning questions accurately and effectively.
In the Quantitative Reasoning, you’ll encounter four types of questions:
- Quantitative Comparison Questions: Evaluate and compare two quantities.
These questions ask you to compare two quantities — Quantity A and Quantity B — and then determine which of the following statements describes the comparison.
- Quantity A is greater.
- Quantity B is greater.
- The two quantities are equal.
- The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
- Multiple-choice Questions — Select One Answer Choice: Choose the correct answer from the provided options.
When tackling multiple-choice questions where you need to select only one answer from five choices, keep these tips in mind:
The Answer is There: If your answer doesn’t match any of the provided choices, consider it incorrect. Take the following steps:
- Reread the question carefully to catch any missed details or misinterpretations.
- Double-check your computations for errors, such as mistyping numbers on the calculator.
- Reevaluate your solution method for any flaws in reasoning.
Examine Answer Choices: Some questions explicitly ask about the properties of the choices. Consider each choice individually, or identify relationships between choices to expedite finding the correct answer. Alternatively, try working backward from the choices, substituting them into an equation or inequality to find the suitable one. Be cautious, as this method might take more time than direct reasoning.
Approximations: For questions requiring approximations, scan the answer choices to gauge the level of precision needed. This can provide insight into the question’s requirements. For some questions, perform exact computations and round the final answer only, while for others, estimation may suffice, saving time on lengthy calculations.
Applying these strategies can enhance your efficiency and accuracy when dealing with multiple-choice questions in the Quantitative Reasoning section.
- Multiple-choice Questions — Select One or More Answer Choices: Choose one or more correct answers from the options.
When faced with multiple-choice questions requiring you to select one or more answer choices, consider these tips:
Specify the Number of Choices: Note whether the question specifies the number of choices to select. If not, be diligent in evaluating all choices. Determine the correct ones and select them exclusively. Keep in mind that there might be only one correct choice.
Consider Conditions: For questions involving conditions that restrict the possible values of numerical answer choices, it can be efficient to identify the least and/or greatest possible value. This knowledge may expedite the process of determining the correct choices.
Recognize Numerical Patterns: Avoid prolonged calculations by recognizing and extending numerical patterns. This can streamline your approach and save time in arriving at the correct answers.
By incorporating these strategies, you can navigate multiple-choice questions with greater precision and efficiency in the Quantitative Reasoning section.
- Numeric Entry Questions: Enter a numerical value as the answer.
These questions can either appear independently as standalone questions or as part of a set known as a Data Interpretation set. In a Data Interpretation set, multiple questions are based on the same data presented in tables, graphs, or other data displays. This format allows for a deeper exploration of the information provided.
When facing Numeric Entry questions, where you enter your answer as an integer, decimal, or fraction, consider these tips:
Follow Question Instructions: Since there are no answer choices, carefully read the question to provide the type of answer required. Look for labels before or after the answer box indicating the appropriate format. Pay attention to units, orders of magnitude, and distinctions between percents and decimals.
Round Appropriately: If rounding is necessary, ensure you round to the specified degree of accuracy. For instance, if asked to round to the nearest integer, a solution of 46.7 should be entered as 47. If your strategy involves intermediate computations, perform them precisely and round only the final answer unless instructed otherwise.
Check for Reasonableness: Examine your answer to ensure it aligns with the given information. Consider using estimation or an alternative solution path to double-check the reasonableness of your answer.
By adhering to these guidelines, you can effectively approach Numeric Entry questions in the Quantitative Reasoning section and provide accurate responses.
- Data Interpretation
When tackling Data Interpretation questions, which are grouped and based on a shared data presentation, consider the following tips:
Brief Scan: Quickly overview the data presentation to understand its nature, but don’t delve into all the details. Focus on elements essential for answering the questions.
Focus on Key Aspects: Pay attention to specific details such as:
- Axes and scales of graphs.
- Units of measurement or orders of magnitude (e.g., billions) mentioned in titles, labels, and legends.
- Any notes providing additional clarification.
Graphical Data Interpretation: When dealing with graphs like bar graphs or line graphs, use scales for reading, estimating, or comparing quantities visually or by measurement. Consider relative sizes of bars or sectors for comparison, but be cautious of broken scales or bars that don’t start at zero.
Answer Based on Data: Respond to questions solely based on the presented data, general knowledge (like the number of days in a year), and mathematical principles. Avoid incorporating external specialized information unless it can be directly inferred from the provided data.
By adhering to these guidelines, you can approach Data Interpretation questions in a focused and effective manner, relying on the presented information and your mathematical knowledge.
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