Analytical Writing
Not publishedof exam
Verbal Reasoning
Not publishedof exam
Text CompletionSentence EquivalenceReading ComprehensionVocab RootsHigh-Frequency Words
Quantitative Reasoning
Not publishedof exam
ArithmeticAlgebraGeometryData InterpretationQuant Comparison
Pacing + Test Strategy
Not publishedof exam
Section TimingAdaptive DesignScore LogisticsRunning Behind
Quick Facts
- Exam
- GRE General Test
- Owner
- ETS
- Time
- 1 hour 58 minutes
- Questions
- 54 questions + 1 essay
- Score Scale
- 130-170 V/Q, 0-6 AW
- Fee
- $220 (→$249 Aug 2026)
- Format
- Section-adaptive, computer-based
- Blueprint
- Sept 22, 2023
Issue Essay Structure
State thesis, give two examples, address counter, conclude firmly
Thesis firstTwo strong examplesAddress the counterargumentFirm final conclusion
Issue Essay vs Old Argument Task
Issue Task
- State your own position
- Current GRE essay format
Argument Task
- Critique a given argument
- Removed in September 2023
Only the Issue remains
AWA Time Allocation
- First five minutes→Outline thesis and examples(Plan before writing)
- Next twenty minutes→Write body paragraphs(One example each)
- Last five minutes→Proofread and polish(Fix grammar and clarity)
- Stuck for an example→Use history, science, or personal(Any defensible domain works)
Issue Essay Structure
- Intro
- State clear thesis position
- Body 1
- Strongest supporting example first
- Body 2
- Second concrete supporting example
- Counterargument
- Acknowledge then briefly rebut
- Conclusion
- Restate nuanced final position
- Time split
- 5 min outline, 25 write
AWA Scoring Rubric
- Score 6
- Insightful, compelling, well-organized
- Score 5
- Generally thoughtful, well-developed analysis
- Score 4
- Adequate, competent analysis
- Score 3
- Limited, underdeveloped analysis
- Score 2
- Seriously flawed, weak analysis
- Score 1
- Fundamentally deficient response
- Score 0
- Off-topic, blank, illegible
Root Direction Mnemonic
Bene and mal are opposites: good versus bad
Bene means goodMal means badOmni means allMono means one
Text Completion vs Sentence Equivalence
Text Completion
- 1-3 blanks per item
- Own word choices per blank
- All blanks must be correct
Sentence Equivalence
- One blank, six choices
- Pick exactly two answers
- Both must match in meaning
Fill blanks vs pick pair
Verbal Question Type Picker
- One blank in sentence→Text Completion
- Two to three blanks→Text Completion
- One blank, six choices→Sentence Equivalence
- Passage with questions→Reading Comprehension(Main idea first)
- Need to click a sentence→Select-in-Passage(Not multiple choice)
- Choose all that apply→Multi-select RC(No partial credit)
Text Completion Strategy
- Cover blanks
- Don't peek at choices
- Predict first
- Guess word before scanning
- Signal words
- But/however/thus flip meaning
- Check every blank
- All blanks must fit
- No partial credit
- All-or-nothing per blank
According-To vs Inference Questions
According to Passage
- Directly stated in text
- No interpretation required
Infer or Imply
- Unstated logical conclusion
- Read between the lines
Stated fact vs implication
Sentence Equivalence Strategy
- Pick two
- Choose 2 of 6
- Same-meaning pairs
- Both create equivalent sentence
- Predict then match
- Guess word, find synonyms
- Trap synonyms
- Unmatched word has no partner
- No partial credit
- Must select both correctly
Reading Comprehension Strategy
- Main idea first
- ID thesis before details
- Author tone
- Watch hedging, evaluative words
- Select-in-passage
- Click sentence, not choice
- According-to = stated
- Directly stated, no inference
- Infer = unstated
- Draw the implied conclusion
- Primary purpose
- Capture whole passage's thesis
High-Frequency Vocab Roots
- Bene-/bon-
- Good (benevolent, bonafide)
- Mal-
- Bad (malevolent, malign)
- Omni-/pan-
- All (omniscient, panacea)
- Mono-/uni-
- One (monotonous, unilateral)
- Poly-/multi-
- Many (polyglot, multifarious)
- Contra-/anti-
- Against (contravene, antipathy)
- Syn-/co-
- Together (synthesis, coalesce)
- Loqu-/dic-
- Speak (loquacious, diction)
High-Frequency GRE Words
- Abstruse
- Hard to understand
- Obdurate
- Stubborn, unyielding
- Equivocal
- Ambiguous, open interpretation
- Perspicacious
- Shrewd, sharp insight
- Laconic
- Using very few words
- Pellucid
- Transparently clear
- Capricious
- Impulsive, unpredictable change
- Ephemeral
- Short-lived, quickly fading
- Recalcitrant
- Defiantly resistant to authority
- Assuage
- Ease or soothe
Quant Comparison Test Values
Try zero, one, negative one, fractions, and huge numbers
Zero and oneNegative numbersFractionsVery large numbers
Quant Comparison vs Multiple Choice
Quantitative Comparison
- Compare two given quantities
- Answer may be indeterminate
- Plug in special values
Multiple Choice
- Solve for an exact value
- Five or more options
- Some allow multiple answers
Compare quantities vs solve
Quant Question Type Picker
- Compare two quantities→Quantitative Comparison(Plug in numbers)
- One correct answer only→Multiple Choice(Standard five options)
- Several correct answers→Select-all-that-apply(No partial credit)
- No answer choices given→Numeric Entry(Type exact value)
- Chart or graph shown→Data Interpretation(Read units first)
- Variables, no numbers given→Quantitative Comparison(Try 0, 1, fractions)
Arithmetic Fundamentals
- Order of ops
- PEMDAS, parentheses first
- % change
- (new-old)/old ×100
- Ratio setup
- Part to part/whole
- Average
- Sum divided by count
- Exponent rule
- Same base, add exponents
Mean vs Median
Mean
- Sum divided by count
- Skewed by outliers
Median
- Middle value when ordered
- Resistant to outliers
Average vs middle value
Algebra Essentials
- Quadratic formula
- x=(-b±√(b²-4ac))/2a
- FOIL
- First Outer Inner Last
- Difference of squares
- a²-b²=(a+b)(a-b)
- Slope formula
- (y2-y1)/(x2-x1)
- Inequality flip
- Negative multiply flips sign
- Absolute value
- Distance from zero
Geometry Formulas
- Circle area
- πr²
- Circle circumference
- 2πr
- Triangle area
- ½ base × height
- Pythagorean theorem
- a²+b²=c²
- 30-60-90 ratio
- x, x√3, 2x
- 45-45-90 ratio
- x, x, x√2
Data Interpretation Tactics
- Read units first
- Check axis, scale, legend
- Estimate before compute
- Round for quick check
- Percentile rank
- Position among all test-takers
- Standard deviation
- Spread around the mean
- Weighted average
- Weight by group size
Quantitative Comparison Strategy
- Plug in 0, 1, -1
- Test simple special values
- Try fractions
- Fractions can flip results
- Try large numbers
- Large values change outcome
- Different results = D
- Cannot be determined
- Same result = conclusive
- If few values possible
- Simplify, don't solve
- Compare, skip full calculation
Section Order Memory Aid
Writing always first, then verbal and quant in either order
AWA is always firstVerbal/Quant order variesBoth sections are adaptive
Verbal vs Quant Percentile Trend
Verbal 160 Score
- About 82nd percentile
- Stable across recent years
Quant 160 Score
- About 50th percentile
- Declining as pool strengthens
Same score, different meaning
When Running Behind Pace
- Behind in Verbal Sec 1→Guess and flag it(Move on quickly)
- Behind in Quant Sec 2→Skip the hardest problem(Return later if time)
- Unsure on a QC item→Pick your best guess(Never leave it blank)
- Time is nearly up→Answer every remaining question(No penalty for guessing)
Section Timing + Pacing
- Verbal Sec 1
- 12 questions, 18 minutes
- Verbal Sec 2
- 15 questions, 23 minutes
- Quant Sec 1
- 12 questions, 21 minutes
- Quant Sec 2
- 15 questions, 26 minutes
- Verbal pace
- About 1.5 min/question
- Quant pace
- About 1.75 min/question
Adaptive Design + Scoring
- Section-adaptive
- Not question-by-question adaptive
- Section 1 difficulty
- Always average difficulty first
- Section 2 difficulty
- Depends on Section 1 result
- Scores released
- 8-10 days after test
- Score validity
- Valid for 5 years
- ScoreSelect
- Choose which scores to send
- Retake wait
- 21 days minimum between tests
- Retake limit
- 5 times per 12 months
Common Traps
Infer ≠ According-To
Infer is unstated ≠ According-to is directly stated
Text Completion ≠ Sentence Equivalence
TC fills every blank ≠ SE picks two synonyms
Section-Adaptive ≠ Question-Adaptive
GRE adapts by section ≠ Not adapted per question
Mean ≠ Median
Mean sums then divides ≠ Median is the middle value
Old GRE ≠ Current GRE
Old test ran 3h 45m ≠ Current test runs 1h 58m
Argument Task ≠ Issue Task
Argument task was removed ≠ Only the Issue task remains
Verbal Percentile ≠ Quant Percentile
Same score, different percentile ≠ Quant percentiles keep declining
Last Minute
- 1.AWA always comes first
- 2.One Issue essay, 30 minutes
- 3.Verbal: 27 questions in 41 minutes
- 4.Quant: 27 questions in 47 minutes
- 5.Scores range from 130 to 170
- 6.AWA is scored 0 to 6
- 7.Nail Section 1 for higher ceiling
- 8.No penalty for guessing wrong
- 9.QC: plug in special values
- 10.Retake wait is 21 days
- 11.Scores arrive in 8-10 days
- 12.ScoreSelect: choose which scores send
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