Introduction
GRE – GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION, currently known as GRE revised General Test, is owned and administered by ETS ( Educational Testing Service, a US-based organization). GRE revised General Test is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for most Graduate Schools and Business Schools across the globe. GRE exam is conducted in two different formats, namely GRE General Test and GRE Subject Test.
The GRE General Test measures the overall aptitude in terms of verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills, that are not related to any specific field of study but are important for the graduate level of study. On the other hand, the GRE Subject Test evaluates a candidate’s knowledge in specific fields like Biology, Chemistry, Literature in English, Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. The GRE test pattern for GRE General Test is a multiple-choice, a multi-stage format that measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing skills. It has been designed in such a way so as to calculate the student's intellectual and logical abilities, adapting to the performance of students based on previous quantitative/ verbal ability sections. The test allows the test takers to skip questions within a section, go back and change answers and have the flexibility to choose which questions within a section they want to answer first.
The Analytical Writing sections will always be first, while the other four sections may appear in any order.
Paper-delivered Test Features-
The overall testing time for the computer-delivered GRE General Test is about 3 hours and 45 minutes. There are 6 sections with a 10-minute break following the third section.
The Analytical Writing section will always be first. The Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and unidentified/unscored sections may appear in any order; therefore, one should treat each section as if it counts toward their score. An identified research section that is not scored may be included in place of the unscored section. The research section will always appear at the end of the test.| Sections | No. of questions | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Analytical Writing(One section with two separately timed tasks) | Task 1 - Analyze an issue | 30 minutes |
| Task 2 – Analyze an Argument task | 30 minutes | |
| Verbal Reasoning(Two sections) | 20 questions per section | 30 minutes per section |
| Quantitative Reasoning(Two sections) | 20 questions per section | 35 minutes per section |
| Unscored | Varies | Varies |
| Research | Varies | Varies |
Note:
Computer-based Test Features-
The advanced adaptive design of the GRE General Test allows test takers to freely move forward and backward throughout an entire section. Specific features include:
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✦ An unidentified unscored section that does not count toward test takers score may be included and may appear in any order after the Analytical Writing section. Questions in the unscored section are being tried out either for possible use in future tests or to ensure that scores on new editions of the test are comparable to scores from earlier editions.
✦ An identified research section that does not count toward test takers score may be included in place of the unscored section. The research section will always appear at the end of the test. Questions in this section are included for ETS research purposes.
- Preview and review capabilities within a section
- "Mark" and "Review" features to tag questions, so one can skip them and return later if they have time remaining in the section
- The ability to change/edit answers within a section
- An on-screen calculator for the Quantitative Reasoning section
The overall testing time for the paper-delivered GRE General Test is about 3 hours and 30 minutes. There are 6 sections with a 10-minute break following the second section.
Unlike the previous paper-delivered GRE General Test, which used separate answer sheets, the paper-delivered GRE General Test is self-contained; test takers will enter all responses for the Analytical Writing tasks and the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections in the test book itself. Test takers will be provided with a basic handheld calculator for use during the Quantitative Reasoning section.| Sections | No. of questions | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Analytical Writing(Two sections) | Task 1 - Analyze an issue | 30 minutes |
| Task 2 – Analyze an Argument task | 30 minutes | |
| Verbal Reasoning(Two sections) | 25 questions per section | 35 minutes per section |
| Quantitative Reasoning(Two sections) | 25 questions per section | 40 minutes per section |
- When taking a Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning section, test takers are free, within that section, to skip questions and come back to them later or change the answer to a question.
- There are paper-delivered equivalents for most of the question types, including text completions and numeric entry.
- Answers are entered into the test book, rather than a separate answer sheet.
- Test takers will be provided an ETS calculator to use during the Quantitative Reasoning section; and not allowed to use the own calculator.