What Is the GRE & What Does It Test?

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Analytical Writing

The Analytical Writing has been modified but not overhauled.  You will still write two essays (now called writing tasks), but you no longer will be presented with two options on the first writing task, called the “Issue” question; you will answer the one prompt given.  The “Issue” question is now 30 minutes long rather than 45 minutes.  Its name has been changed from “Present Your Perspective on an Issue” to “Analyze an Issue.”  Finally, the scoring of both writing tasks will be accomplished by one human and one computer grader in 2012.  The second writing task, called “Analyze an Argument” is unchanged.  Likewise, scoring still ranges from 0 to 6 in half-point increments.

The Verbal Reasoning (formerly Verbal Ability) section has been changed dramatically; however, the underlying items it tests – reading comprehension and vocabulary – are still the focus of this part of the GRE.  The old GRE usually presented two long Reading Comprehension passages with several questions for each passage, but now there are more Reading Comprehension passages, and they are of varied lengths. The rote-memorization Antonym questions and Analogy questions have been deleted entirely, and Sentence Completion questions have been expanded to include four different types of fill-in-the-blank questions, summarized in the chart below.

A new feature of the fill-in-the-blank questions is the novel use of either ovals or boxes to precede answer choices.  If you are to choose one answer only from the answer choices given, each of the choices will be preceded by an oval.  On the other hand, if a question requires that you choose multiple answers from the choices given, then each answer choice will be preceded by a box shape.  These geometric choice indicators will become very helpful to test takers, reminding them that not every answer is a traditional “choose one” selection. 

A unique feature of some the Reading Comprehension questions is the “highlight a sentence” question, in which you will be directed to answer a question by choosing a particular sentence in the passage.  You will use your computer mouse to highlight the sentence and then you will verify that the highlighted sentence is your answer to the question.

The Verbal Reasoning questions comprise two of the five scored sections of the revised GRE.  Each verbal section is 30 minutes long, with about 20 questions per section.  Formerly, there was only one 30-minute, 30-question section.

The Quantitative Reasoning part of the GRE has not changed as significantly as the Verbal Reasoning, but there are still notable modifications.  The basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis and interpretation are included.  Even though it has not officially been stated, there appears to be a reduced emphasis on Geometry and an increased emphasis on Data Analysis and Statistics.

Test takers may now use an online calculator for the two math sections.  This online calculator is very basic, but it eases the stress of tedious calculations.  One useful feature of the online calculator is that you can transfer an answer from the calculator display directly to the answer box of a numeric entry question. The online calculator is an “order of operations” type of calculator.

Rather than one 45-minute section consisting of 28 questions, the new Quantitative Reasoning part of the GRE is divided into two sections, each 35 minutes, with about 20 questions in each section.  Questions with only one correct answer will have oval shapes preceding the answer choices;  questions with (possibly) more than one correct answer will have square boxes preceding the answer choices.

The types of questions and their relative frequencies are shown in the table below.

1. Endurance and ability to focus
   
2. Basic knowledge of word usage, math, inductive and deductive reasoning
   
3. Test-taking skills: ability to guess, work at an appropriate pace, and make decisions under pressure
   
4. Problem-solving abilities

Continue to GRE Scores and Graduate School (page 2 of 4 in Chapter 1)

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