This page describes the general format and key procedural aspects of each of the five timed exam sections- Present Your Perspective on an Issue (essay)
- Analyze an Argument (essay)
- Quantitative Ability (multiple-choice)
- Verbal Ability (multiple-choice)
- Unscored (either Quantitative Ability or Verbal Ability)
This page also identifies the skill and knowledge areas that the different sections (and basic question types in each section) are designed to measure.
Present Your Perspective on an Issue
(45 minutes, 1 essay topic) This section is designed to gauge:- your ability to argue effectively and persuasively for a position on an issue, using sound reasons and relevant supporting examples
- your ability to present your ideas in a cohesive and organized manner
- your facility with the English language (diction, word usage, and vocabulary)
- your facility with the conventions of Standard Written English, including grammar and syntax (sentence structure)
You'll have 45 minutes to compose a response to a one- or two-sentence opinion about an issue of general intellectual interest. The computerized testing system will select two topics randomly from a large pool; you'll select either topic for your essay.
(Take a peek at a simulated Issue-Perspective question, along with a model response.) NOTE: The testing service has pre-disclosed its entire list of Issue-Perspective topics, which you can download from the ETS website, free of charge. Keep in mind the following procedural features of the Issue-Perspective section: - Directions for this section will appear on your screen before the test presents your essay prompt, and you can access the directions at any time by clicking on the HELP button. (The testing clock will be running while the directions are displayed.)
- To respond you may either use the word processor built into the testing system or provide a handwritten essay (by arrangement before testing begins).
- You can proceed to the next test section anytime you want — without waiting for the clock to run out.
- Scratch paper and pencils are provided for this section (just as for all other test sections).
Analyze an Argument
(30 minutes, 1 essay topic) This section is designed to gauge:- your ability to reason critically, analytically, and logically
- your ability to present your ideas in a cohesive and organized manner
- your facility with the English language (diction, word usage, and vocabulary)
- your facility with the conventions of Standard Written English, including grammar and syntax (sentence structure)
You'll have 30 minutes to compose an essay in which you critique a one-paragraph Argument — in terms of both its logical cogency and the strength of the evidence used to support it. The test will select an Argument randomly from a large pool; you won't be able to choose among Arguments.
(Take a peek at a simulated Argument-Analysis question, along with a model response.) NOTE: The testing service has pre-disclosed its entire list of Arguments, which you can download from the ETS website, free of charge. The procedural features of the Argument-Analysis section are the same as for the Issue-Perspective section: - Directions will appear on your screen before the test presents your essay prompt, and you can access the directions at any time by clicking on the HELP button. (The testing clock will be running while the directions are displayed.)
- To respond you may either use the word processor built into the testing system or provide a handwritten essay (by arrangement before testing begins).
- You can proceed to the next test section anytime you want — without waiting for the clock to run out.
- Scratch paper and pencils are provided (just as for all other test sections).
The Quantitative Ability Section
(45 Minutes, 28 Questions) Quantitative Ability questions measure your basic mathematical skills, your understanding of basic concepts and your ability to reason quantitatively, solve quantitative problems and interpret graphic data. A typical Quantitative Ability section will embrace the more elementary aspects of:- arithmetical operations
- integers, factors and multiples
- the number line and ordering
- decimals, percentages and ratios
- exponents and square roots
- descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation, probability)
- operations on variables
- algebraic equations and inequalities
- geometry, including coordinate geometry
Algebraic concepts covered on the GRE are those normally covered in a first-year high-school algebra course. Advanced mathematical concepts such as trigonometry and calculus are not covered on the GRE. Each Quantitative Ability question will adhere to one of two different formats: Problem Solving (14 questions): These questions require you to work to a solution, which will appear among the five answer choices.
(Take a peek at a sample Problem Solving question.)Quantitative Comparison (14 questions): Quantitative Comparison problems each consist two quantitative expressions. Your task is simply to compare the two quantities to determine which is greater, if either.
(Take a peek at a sample Quantitative Comparison question.) Any of the math areas listed above is fair game for either question format. On the computer-based GRE the two types of questions are commingled. Although there's no set pattern, here's a typical sequence to give you an idea what to expect: Question 1
Questions 2-4
Question 5
Questions 6-7
Question 8-10
Questions 11-12
Questions 13-14
Question 15
Question 16
Question 17
Question 18
Questions 19-20
Questions 21-22
Question 23
Questions 24-25
Questions 26-27
Question 28 | Problem Solving
Quantitative Comparison
Problem Solving
Quantitative Comparison
Problem Solving
Quantitative Comparison
Problem Solving
Quantitative Comparison
Problem Solving
Quantitative Comparison
Problem Solving
Quantitative Comparison
Problem Solving
Quantitative Comparison
Problem Solving
Quantitative Comparison
Problem Solving |
NOTE: On the paper-based test, all Quantitative Comparison questions precede all Problem Solving questions. NOTE: Directions for the Quantitative Ability section appear on your screen at the beginning of the timed section. The testing clock will be running while the directions are displayed, so dismiss them ASAP and move on to the questions. (You can access the directions at any time by clicking on the HELP button.) The Verbal Ability Section
(30 Minutes, 30 Questions) GRE Verbal Ability sections include the following four different question types:Sentence Completion (6 questions): These questions test your vocabulary, your ability to recognize proper (and improper) word usage, and your ability to understand a sentence's intended meaning. Each sentence includes one or two blanks. Your task is to fill in the blanks with the best of five choices.
(Take a peek at a sample Sentence Completion question.) Analogies (9 questions): These questions test your vocabulary and your ability to understand relationships between two words in a pair. For each question, you're given a word pair, and asked to choose which word pair among five others provides the closest analogy to the original pair.
(Take a peek at a sample Analogy question.) Antonyms (7 questions): These questions test your vocabulary head on. In each antonym question, your task is to determine which word among five choices is most nearly opposite in meaning to a given word.
(Take a peek at a sample Antonym question.) Reading Comprehension (8 questions): These questions are designed to measure your ability to read carefully and accurately, to determine the relationships among the various parts of the passage, and to draw reasonable inferences from the material in a reading passage. Questions are divided into sets; each set pertains to the same passage. The passages are drawn from for a variety of subjects, including the humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences.
(Take a peek at a sample Reading Comprehension question.) On the computer-based GRE, questions of each of the four types are commingled, and there's no set pattern. But here's a typical sequence to give you an idea what to expect: Question 1
Questions 2-4
Question 5
Question 6
Question 7
Questions 8-10
Question 11
Question 12
Questions 13-14
Questions 15-18
Question 19
Question 20
Question 21
Questions 22-23
Question 24
Questions 25-26
Question 27
Questions 28-29
Question 30
| Sentence Completion
Antonym
Analogy
Sentence Completion
Antonym
Analogy
Antonym
Sentence Completion
Reading Comp. (short passage)
Reading Comp. (long passage)
Antonym
Analogy
Sentence Completion
Analogy
Sentence Completion
Reading Comp. (short passage)
Sentence Completion
Analogy
Antonym |
For the record, here's the sequence of Verbal Ability questions on the paper-based test: Questions 1-7
Questions 8-16
Questions 17-20
Question 21-27
Questions 28-38 | Sentence Completion
Analogies
Reading Comp. (short passage)
Reading Comp. (long passage)
Antonyms |
The Unscored Section Both versions of the GRE (computer-based and paper-based) include one unscored section. Your unscored section will look just like one of the two scored multiple-choice sections—Quantitative or Verbal. You won't be able to distinguish between a scored and unscored section. (But, by the end of the exam, you'll know which type of unscored section appeared on your exam, because you will have seen one extra section of that type.) ETS includes an unscored section in order assess the integrity, fairness, and difficulty level of new questions that may appear as scored questions on future exams.
The 10-Minute Break During the computer-based GRE you can take up to 10 minutes as a break—after the second exam section. The break is optional; if you wish, you can take a shorter break or proceed immediately to the next section.CAUTION: During the computer-based GRE, the clock continues to run during the break. After 10 minutes, the next exam section starts—with or without you! Also, if you wait too long to begin answering questions once the next section has begun, the exam session automatically terminates (after a warning) and no responses or scores are tabulated or reported. NOTE: During the paper-based exam you'll take a 10-minute break after the fourth section.
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