The Graduate Record Examination, or GRE, is a standardized test that tests a person’s reasoning and analytical abilities in reading, writing, and mathematics. The exam is not subject-specific, and it does not necessitate specialised knowledge of a single college course.The test provides universities with a broad assessment of a student’s ability to perform the rigorous problem solving and critical thinking needed in graduate school.
Most graduate school programes, with the exception of law school and medical school, include the GRE. The ratings are compared to the rest of a student’s graduate school application, which includes their college GPA, instructor reviews, and work experience.A student’s ability to perform well on the GRE increases their chances of being admitted into graduate school, which has a long-term effect on their career development.
In contrast to workers with a bachelor’s degree, a graduate school degree raises the average salary by $17,000 per year. Graduate degree holders still have better job opportunities than those with just a bachelor’s degree. Master’s degree holders have a.4 percent lower unemployment rate than bachelor’s degree holders, at 2.4 percent.Professional and doctoral degree holders have even lower unemployment rates, at 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
When to Take the GRE
The GRE should be taken around a year before you intend to enter graduate school. This gives you plenty of time to retake the exam if you need to. You will keep the test results for up to five years, so don’t plan too far ahead. If you’re applying to a graduate school that accepts applications on a rolling basis, you’ll want to get your GRE completed as soon as possible.
Where to Take the GRE
The GRE can be taken at any of the 1,000 test centers located in 160 countries around the world. Exams are usually offered on college campuses or at individual testing centers. To locate a GRE test center near you, click here.
How to Register
Visit ETS.org and create a My GRE Account to register for the GRE. After that, you’ll be able to choose between a computer-delivered or a paper-delivered test. You must also select a testing location and a testing date.
The GRE test can be retaken once every 21 days, but you can only register for the exam five times in a 12-month period. Just retake the exam if you need to replace a low score; if you do, spend some extra time studying for parts you struggled with the first time around.
The GRE in Its Many Forms
The Verbal Reasoning section, the Descriptive Writing section, and the Quantitative Reasoning section are the three sections of the GRE. You can take the exam on paper or on a computer.
The paper-based exam has six parts and lasts three hours and 30 minutes. The review starts with two 30-minute portions of theoretical prose. The GRE then goes on to either two 35-minute sections of verbal reasoning or two 40-minute sections of quantitative reasoning after a 10-minute break. The parts of verbal and quantitative reasoning are not provided in any particular order.
The GRE is divided into six parts and takes three hours and 45 minutes to complete. After the third segment, there is a 10-minute pause. The test starts with a section of analytical writing that includes two 30-minute tasks. After that, test takers must complete two 30-minute verbal reasoning sections and two 35-minute quantitative reasoning sections in either order.
Following that, test takers may be asked to complete an ungraded section, a study section, or both. Any adaptive assessment parts will be completed by students taking the GRE on a screen. The first section in both the verbal and quantitative tests will not be adaptive, while the second section will.Based on your answers, the adaptive segment will either give simpler or more challenging questions based on your success on previous questions.
Quantitative Reasoning
The GRE’s quantitative reasoning section assesses a test-basic taker’s mathematical abilities, understanding of simple mathematical principles, and ability to apply those skills and theoretical models to real-world problems.
Composition
Quantitative comparison questions, multiple-choice questions with one answer, multiple-choice questions with one or more responses, and numeric entry questions make up the quantitative reasoning portion. The arithmetic section of the quantitative reasoning section covers prime numbers, ratios, and absolute value. Algebra, as well as graphs of functions, quadratic equations, and word problems that must be translated into mathematical equations, are all covered in this section.
The test includes geometry, with subjects like the Pythagorean theorem,
three-dimensional figures, and parallel and perpendicular lines. The
test also includes data analysis questions, ranging from basic
descriptive statistics to scatter plots. Each of the two quantitative
reasoning sections contain 20 questions.
Sample Questions
- Quantitative Comparison
1. Lionel is younger than Maria
Quantity A: Twice Lionel’s age
Quantity B: Maria’s age
(A) Quantity A is greater.
(B) Quantity B is greater.
(C) The two quantities are equal.
(D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
Source: ETS.org
Verbal Reasoning
The verbal reasoning section assesses your ability to synthesize information from written paragraphs, comprehend verbal interactions between words, and recognize each sentence portion and how they communicate.
Composition
Reading comprehension, text completion, and sentence equivalence are the three types of questions on the verbal reasoning section. Reading comprehension questions account for about half of the verbal reasoning questions; you must read a passage of writing and answer questions that demonstrate your understanding of the information. These questions are designed to assess the ability to comprehend and summaries a larger piece of text, craft concluding arguments based on that text, comprehend the author’s point of view, and extrapolate the author’s strengths and weaknesses.
Text completion and sentence equivalence problems make up the other half. Text completion requires you to read an incomplete sentence, group of sentences, or paragraph and fill in the blanks with a response from the multiple choice options provided. A single sentence with one blank is used in sentence equivalence queries. Test takers must choose two answers from a list of six.The exam has 50 questions in all, with 25 questions in each of the two parts. Each segment has a time limit of 35 minutes.
Sample Questions
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Sentence Equivalence
1. Although it does contain some pioneering ideas, one would hardly characterize the work as __________.
A. orthodox
B. eccentric
C. original
D. trifling
E. conventional
F. innovative
Source: ETS.org
Analytic Writing
The GRE’s theoretical writing segment assesses your ability to think objectively and formulate a point clearly. You must be able to develop, explain, and properly endorse a complex argument in order to excel in the analytic writing section. This portion of the GRE is relevant because it assesses the logical reasoning, critical thought, and ability to respond to the analytica of others.The overall strength of the claim and the critical analysis behind its supporting facts are graded in the theoretical writing tasks. Test takers are often assessed on their vocabulary intensity and range, the beauty of their sentence form, and other factors.
Composition
The test consists of two “tasks,” or questions. Each task lasts 30 minutes and requires the test taker to “analyse a problem.” A written “problem argument” is provided to the test taker, which expresses a broad opinion on a particular subject. A written response is required of the test taker.They may, for example, take a position agreeing or disagreeing with the argument, and justify their position with arguments and facts. They may also compose a response that focuses on how much they agree or disagree with the assertion, concentrating on either examples that support their point of view or a few of the piece’s most relevant points.
The “analyse an argument” task is the second task. At this point, the test-taker must respond to a brief paragraph in which an author uses evidence and reasoning to make a specific argument for a particular course of action.The test-taker must answer by laying out the facts needed to support or refute the claim, evaluating the evidence used in the argument, evaluating the argument’s reasonability, or identifying counterarguments.
Sample Questions
- Analyze an Issue
1. “As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the
ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate.”
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement
and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and
supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the
statement might or might not hold true and explain how these
considerations shape your position.
The amount of questions you answered correctly, as well as the measured difficulty of the questions you were given, determine your score on the computer-administered test. On the paper test, the score is determined solely by the number of questions you correctly answer. If you take the test on a computer, you can see the results for the verbal and quantitative reasoning sections immediately afterward.
You will obtain your analytical writing score approximately two weeks later. Your results for the paper-delivered exam will be available six weeks later, both online and in a mailed report. A percentile rating for each segment is included in your mailed survey, indicating how your score compares to the entire pool of test-takers.
Sending Your Scores
Each test taker is given four free score reports to submit to their specified universities or fellowship programmes, either online or through an admission stub. You may choose to send your most recent GRE score, or any previous test score from the previous five years, to four universities for free after seeing your GRE scores. If you tell them, schools won’t know how many times you took the GRE.Individual segment scores from separate assessments cannot be combined and submitted. (For example, if you ace the quantitative reasoning section in May and then kill it on the verbal reasoning section in June, you’ll need to submit a full score from each month.) However, colleges will normally take your best score into account, so submitting several scores can be helpful.
Additional Test-Taking Resources
GradSchools.com – In addition to providing a fantastic list of graduate school choices, GradSchools.com is a fantastic resource with comprehensive details about anything from overcoming test-taking anxiety to test-taking strategy.
GRE.graduateshotline.com – This platform contains a plethora of secret gems, such as brief test query practise and informative eac techniques.GRE.Economist.com – A free 7-day trial is available for this subscription-based service. A list of popular mistakes to avoid and a technique section on removing answer choices are among the tools available to users.
Downloadable practise exercises, vocabulary word lists, and more are available at TestPrepPractice.net.
TaketheGRE.com is a website that allows you to customise your GRE test preparation.GREPrepHelp.com – This website offers a free online video course to assist you in improving your poor areas.
MajorTests.com is a website dedicated to the creation of major tests. Major Tests is a one-stop solution to your GRE anxiety, with a huge GRE vocabulary list and hundreds of tests in every subject field.
Accepted.com – This website offers game-changing resources such as a free webinar on “5 Killer GRE Prep Tips,” a breakdown of the GRE grading scale, and more. The - Analyze an Issue
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