4. What is GRE ?
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The full form of GRE is
Graduate Record
Examination
GRE comprises two test
formats GRE General
and GRE Subject
General test is standard exam for most of the
courses and Subject test is for judging the
students expertise in specific fields such as
Biology, Chemistry, Physics etc..
The GRE offers the General
Test in two formats -
computer-based and paper-
based.
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The test always starts with the
analytical writing section; the
other sections may follow in any
order.
The computer-based test lasts about three hours and 45 minutes overall, &
consists of six sections, or “measures,” as they are officially known: one
section on analytical writing, two sections each on verbal and quantitative
reasoning, and an additional section that may contain questions on either
verbal or quantitative reasoning, but is not taken into account for scoring nor
timed.
The analytical writing segment
comprises two tasks (“analyze an issue”
and “analyze an argument”) to be
completed in 30 minutes each.
The verbal and quantitative
segments contain 20 questions
each, but while 30 minutes are
available for each of the two
verbal sections, 35 minutes are
given for each of the two
quantitative sections.
What is GRE ?
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As mentioned, GRE is also offered in a paper-based format.
The order of the sections is not announced, so the test-taker does
not know which section is unscored and meant only for research.
The main segments are the same—analytical writing, verbal
reasoning, and quantitative reasoning. Each of these three
segments has two sections.
While 30 minutes are available for each section on analytical reasoning,
35 minutes are given for each section on verbal reasoning, and 40
minutes for each section on quantitative reasoning.
What is GRE ?
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The test lasts about three hours and 30 minutes overall.
The computer-based and paper-based tests both have a 10-
minute break during the course of the tests.
GRE evaluated on a scale of 260–340, with 0–6 rating for the
Analytical Writing section.
GRE scores are valid for 5 years
What is GRE ?
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GRE EXAM PATTERN
GRE Exam Section Number of Questions Duration
Analytical Writing Analyze an Issue. Analyze an Argument. 30 minutes for each task
Verbal reasoning 2 sections of 20 questions each 30 minutes for each section
Quantitative reasoning 2 sections of 20 questions each 35 minutes for each section
Unscored section Questions vary Time varies
Research section (Excl. for Ph. D & Post Docs.) Questions vary Time varies
11. Under the Revised GRE Exam Pattern, the general test is divided into three
sections. These are:
● Analytical Writing
● Quantitative Reasoining
● Verbal Reasoining
The syllabus for the first two sections, i.e. Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing is well-
defined, but the syllabus for Verbal Reasoning section is ambiguous. Let us look at what each
section is composed of to get a better understanding of the syllabus to be covered.
GRE Syllabus – General Test
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section is to test
how well Student
capture critical
thoughts in a
written format.
Analyze an Issue
The person is
expected to
analyze the issue
raised in the
statement and
provide him/her
own take on it.
Students are free
to take a stand that
either agrees with
the point of view
expressed on the
original statement,
or a stand contrary
to it.
In this section, the
test taker is
presented with a
statement about a
topic of popular
interest.
Remember that
the test does not
test student on
the stand you
take, but on how
well you are able
to defend student
point of view
Student
reasoning must
be coherent
throughout the
essay.
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15. Analyze an Argument
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Remember that the test does not
ask the exam writer’s opinion of
the issue being discussed, but
their ability to breakdown an
argument presented to them.
In this section, the test taker
is presented with an
argument.
He or She is expected to analyze
the author’s argument logically,
and point to strengths and
weaknesses in their argument.
One is expected to critique and
question the point of view presented
in the original statement, and not
burden it with one’s own views on
the issue at hand.
17. Basic
mathematical
ability
The quantitative
reasoning section of
the GRE General Test
aims to assess the test
taker’s:
Understanding of
high school level
mathematical
concepts
Ability to use
mathematical models
to solve a quantitative
problem
Quantitative Reasoning
Ability to reason
quantitatively
The questions asked in this section can
be purely mathematical in nature, or
may be drawn from a real-life scenario.
Most of the questions will be so-called
“word problems”, where the candidate
will have to convert the details
provided into a quantitative problem
before solving them.
The quantitative
reasoning section of
the GRE General Test
aims to assess the test
taker’s:
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19. Arithmetic
Integers and
their properties
Divisibility Factorization Prime numbers
Remainders Even and odd
Arithmetic
operations
Exponents and
roots
Estimation Percent and ratio Rates of change
Absolute value of
numbers
The number line
Decimal
representation of
numbers
Sequences of
numbers
22. Quantitative Reasoning Section
Quantitative reasoning section of the GRE General Test consists of four types of questions:
Quantitative
comparison
questions
Multiple-choice
Questions —
Select One
Answer Choice
Multiple-choice
Questions —
Select One or
More Answer
Choices
Numeric Entry
Questions
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23. Data Analysis
Basic descriptive statistics
Mean
Median
Mode
Range
Standard deviation
Interquartile range
Quartiles
Percentiles
Interpretation of data
Line graphs
Bar graphs
Circle graphs
Box plots
Scatter plots
Frequency distribution
Elementary probability
Compound events
Independent events
Conditional probability
Permutations
Normal distribution
Counting methods
Combinations
Random variables &
probability distribution
Venn diagrams
25. Verbal Reasoning
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The GRE verbal reasoning section of
the GRE General Test assesses the
test taker’s ability to:
Analyze written
material.
Recognize the relationship
between concepts
and words representing them.
Evaluate
written material.
Obtain information from
written material.
Analyze the relationship
between
different components of
a sentence.
26. Reading Comprehension
This makes up about 50% of the GRE verbal reasoning
section of the GRE General Test.
In this, the test taker is presented with a passage and has to
answers related to it.
The test is made up of about 10 passages and most of them
are one paragraph long.
•Physical sciences
•Biological sciences
•Social sciences
•Arts and humanities
•Everyday topics in popular culture
The passages are derived from books and periodicals on:
27. Text Completion
This section tests the test taker’s ability to form a complete picture from the text presented. If one is able to understand the
overall sense that a passage conveys, one would be able to fill in crucial words that have been omitted out of the passage. This
section presents:
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Passages composed of up to five
sentences
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The passage may have up to three blanks
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Three or five options are presented for
each blank
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Each blank has only one right answer
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Answer for each blank is independent of
the answer chosen of other blanks
28. Sentence Equivalence This subsection also tests
the test taker’s ability to
draw conclusion about a
passage presented from
partial information.
In this case, the test taker is
presented with a single
sentence with a. single blank –
the test taker has to choose two
ways to complete the sentence
that have the same meaning
while also being grammatically
correct.
For each blank six
answer choices are
presented.
No credit is given
if only one of the
two selected
answers is correct.
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