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Here you'll find a DO-and-DON'T list of GRE tips for both of the exam's multiple-choice sections: Quantitative and Verbal. Remember: these basic test-taking strategies and tips apply to all Quantitative and Verbal questions.
DON'T resort to random guesses. Instead, always try to eliminate at least one answer choice before you confirm your response. If you must guess, always try to eliminate obvious wrong-answer choices first, then go with your hunch. Eliminating even one choice obviously improves your odds. If you're out of time on a section, there's no advantage to guessing randomly on the remaining questions. Why? You might luck out and guess correctly. But incorrect responses move you down the ladder of difficulty to easier questions, and your reward for responding correctly to an easy question is less than your reward for responding correctly to a more difficult one. So on balance, there's no net advantage or disadvantage to guessing randomly. DO look out for sucker-bait answer choices. The test-makers love to bait you with tempting wrong answer choices. (You'll see for yourself as you tackle the practice questions here at this Web site.) So unless you're running out of time, heed the following advice:
.- In Problem Solving questions, wrong-answer choices typically reflect common computational errors. To avoid this trap:
- use your pencil and scratch paper
- check your calculations
- know the general size of the numerical value that answers the question
. - Questions on the Verbal section typically include a best response and a second-best response. So unless you're running out of time on these questions, never hasten to select and confirm an answer until you've read all the choices!
DO pace yourself so that you have enough time to consider every available question — but don't be a clock-watcher. To give your full attention to all 28 Quantitative and 30 Verbal questions, you'll probably have to work at a somewhat quicker pace than is comfortable for you. Check your pace after every 10 questions (two three times during a section). For example, on the Quantitative section:
- If you're on question number 10, the total time elapsed time should be about 17 minutes.
- If you're on question number 20, the total time elapsed time should be about 33 minutes.
- If you're on question number 28, the total time elapsed time should be about 45 minutes (time has expired).
Adjust your pace accordingly so that you have time to at least take a reasoned guess on every available question in the section. But try not to be a constant clock watcher (easier said than done, of course, when the time remaining is always right in front of you — in the upper-left corner of the computer screen). The best way to avoid the time squeeze is to practice under timed conditions, so that you get a sense for how quickly you must proceed to get through each section within the allotted time. DO take your time with the first few questions covering a particular testing topic. The computer-adaptive GRE uses your responses to the first few questions covering any substantive area (for example, Analogies or geometry) to move you either up or down the ladder of difficulty for subsequent questions covering that same area. Since you earn more credit for answering difficult questions correctly, you want to move up the ladder (not down). So take great care with the initial questions — perhaps moving at a somewhat slower pace initially. Otherwise, you'll have to answer several questions just to reverse the trend by proving to the testing system that you're smarter than it thinks you are. DON'T succumb to perfectionist tendencies. On an exam as important as the GRE, it's easy to be a stubborn perfectionist. The design of the computer-adaptive GRE itself contributes to this mind set, because your reward for correct responses to difficult questions is greater than your reward for easier questions. But a stubborn attitude is self-defeating, for two reasons:
.- It reduces the number of questions that you attempt, which lowers your score.
. - You run the risk of over-analyzing questions, and going against your initial hunch (which more often than not is correct).
As you attempt the GRE Quantitative practice questions and the GRE Verbal practice questions at this Web site, get comfortable with a quick pace. Remember: You can miss quite a few questions and still score high. Develop a sense of your optimal pace — one that results in the greatest number of correct responses. DO maintain an active mind set. During the GRE it's remarkably easy to fall into a passive mode — in which you let your eyes simply pass over the words while you hope that the correct response jumps out at you as you scan the answer choices. Fight this tendency by interacting with the test as you read it. Keep in mind that each question on the GRE is designed to measure a specific ability or skill. So when you're presented with each new question, try to adopt an active, investigative approach to the question. Ask yourself:
.- What skill is the question measuring?
- What is the most direct thought process for determining the correct response?
- How might a careless test taker be tripped up on this type of question?
DO use your pencil and scratch paper (both will be provided). Doing so helps keep you in an active mode. On the Quantitative section, perform only the simplest calculations in your head; commit everything else to paper! Obviously, you'll use your scratch paper less during the Verbal section — although outlining Reading Comprehension passages can help keep your thought process clear and straight.
DON'T waste time reading directions while the clock is running; make sure you already know them inside and out. At the start of each new section, as well as just before each specific type of question (e.g., Quantitative Comparison or Reading Comprehension) appears for the first time, the test will display the directions for that section (or question type). The clock will be running! So dismiss the directions as quickly as you can by clicking on the DISMISS DIRECTIONS button — without taking any time to read them. NOTE: This advice presupposes that you already know the directions, which of course you will once you've reviewed the eight basic formats for GRE questions.
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