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The Art of Guessing At the end of the test, when time is about to expire, you have to hurry to make sure to review every question (or else face the severe penalty for not finishing all the test's questions). Many students have to do this last-minute sprint and are often left guessing on the last few questions. P.O.E. The key guessing strategy is P.O.E. (process of elimination). A big asset going into test day is knowing that one of the five possible answers must be right (some GRE questions don't have 5 choices, intentionally to make guesses and POE harder!). If you can eliminate two of the choices, you can increase your chances of getting the right answer by 65% (from 20% or 1 in 5 to 33% or 1 in 3). Here's how to do it:
Draw a Grid If crossing off answer choices on paper tests helps to clarify your thinking (using the P.O.E), you might want to consider making a grid on your scratch paper. By drawing a simple grid and labeling the rows A through E, you can keep track of which answers you have eliminated by putting an X in that box. 
The Importance of Scratch Paper Another big asset you have going into test day is virtually unlimited scratch paper. Use it and make sure you have lots of it on test day. You'll need scratch paper because you are taking a test off of a computer screen, and you can't write on the screen. The result is that you'll often have to carefully copy much of the question down onto paper without miscopying the information. This is awkward and difficult. It takes valuable time to recopy information and it increases the chance of a hurried error, so you have to be careful about what you copy and what you don't copy. Try to use scratch paper extensively on your practice tests to get a feel for this. Don't Panic If you have a bad day, don't panic; you have the option of canceling. The computer will offer the option of canceling the test or accepting it when you finish the test. If you cancel the test, neither you nor any school will see your score. If you accept the test, the computer will display your score, and it will be available to all schools. Make sure to schedule the test far in advance of when it is due to the graduate schools so that you have time to cancel and reschedule the test if necessary. Experiment with the strategies suggested to see what works best for you. Now that you know the CAT basics, you can progress to the specific subject areas. You have just completed chapter 1 of the GRE CAT Online Prep Guide. Chapters 2 through 8 are available by purchasing the GRE CAT Online Guide.
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