The GRE Revised Test

Introduction and Overview

 The GRE – Frequently asked questions*

Q: What is on the GRE?

A: The GRE consists of two subtests, one involving math skills and the other
involving verbal skills, plus an analytical writing assessment.

Q: How is the GRE scored?

A: The math and verbal subtests each receive a score from 130-170, in one-point
increments. The analytical writing assessment is given a separate score, on a scale of
0 to 6.

*For answers to many other important questions concerning the GRE, or to register for
the general test, visit www.GRE.org..
 The GRE – Frequently asked questions

Q: How is the GRE structured?

A: The analytical writing assessment comes first. It consists of two 30-minute

sections, each requiring you to respond to a given prompt.

Next comes the GRE proper – two verbal sections and two math sections. The verbal
sections each consist of 20 items, with 30 minutes to complete them. The math
sections also consist of 20 items, but you are given 35 minutes to complete each of
these sections.

The GRE is computer-based, but otherwise much like a paper-and-pencil exam – you
may skip questions, leave questions blank, etc. The best way to become familiar with
the interface of the computer-based GRE is to practice with PowerPrep software,
which gives you the closest thing to the actual experience of taking the GRE.
 The GRE – Frequently asked questions

Q: What are the math skills tested on the GRE?

A: Virtually all of the math tested on the GRE was covered by most students by the
end of ninth grade. A few specialized topics, such as standard deviation, are more
advanced, but their mastery is not necessary for a high score. The GRE emphasizes
problem solving, not math knowledge. GRE math items are hard not because the
math skills themselves are difficult, but because the items that involve these skills
require the test taker to analyze complex problems and implement multi-step
solutions.
 The GRE – Frequently asked questions

Q: How important is learning new vocabulary words to improving my GRE score?

A: Not very. Clearly, the more English words one knows the better. But the revised
GRE is designed to test vocabulary in context only, and so the emphasis is not on
vocabulary per se but on critical reading skills such as recognizing the roles of key
words such as “although” and “since,” and understanding the importance of
surrounding words to determining the meaning of a missing word.

Most test takers who plan to take the GRE within two to three months are better
served by developing these critical reading skills than by trying to learn new
vocabulary words.
 The GRE – Frequently asked questions

Q: What kinds of questions are on the GRE?

A: Each of these two subtests contains test items of a variety of different formats,
some of which may be familiar from other tests (such as the ACT or SAT), but
some of which are found on no other test and which probably are entirely new to
the test taker.
 GRE Math: item formats

Quantitative comparison:
• Four answer choices, select exactly one:

2 2
60°
60°
2

O is the center of the circle, and the perimeter of AOB is 6.

Quantity A Quantity B A B C D

The circumference of the circle 12

These items require one to compare two expressions and determine the relation
between their values, if a determinate relation exists.
 GRE Math: item formats

Multiple choice items

• Five options, select exactly one

14. If a is the smallest prime number greater than 21 a = 23

and b is the largest prime number less than 16, then b = 13
ab =
ab = 299
A 299
B 323
C 330
D 345
E 351

These are the standard multiple choice items with which most test takers are familiar.
 GRE Math: item formats

Multiple choice items

• Three or more options, select one or more

11. In triangle ABC, the measure of angle A is 25° and

the measure of angle B is greater than 90°. Which of
the following could be the measure of angle C ?

Indicate all such measures.

C
A 12°
B 15° <65°
C 45°
D 50°
E 70° 25° >90°
A
B

Some of these items require one to select exactly two answer choices; other instruct the
test taker to select all that apply, from one answer choice up. The number of answer
choices available with these items ranges from three to more than five. Answer
choices appear in squares to distinguish these items from “select only one” items.
 GRE Math: item formats
Numeric entry:
• Answer is keyed into provided space, or spaces (for fractions)

23. The average (arithmetic mean) of the 11 numbers in

a list is 14. If the average of 9 of the numbers in the x x
1 2
 ...  x11
 14 x x
1 2
 ...  x9
9
list is 9, what is the average of the other 2 numbers? 11 9

81 x10  x11  14 x1  x2  ...  x9  81

11
36.5
81  x10  x11  154

x10  x11  73

x  x11
10
 36.5
2
Each space will accommodate a single numeral or decimal expression (only
numerals for fractions); negations are keyed as hyphens. Fractions need not be in
reduced form.
 GRE Verbal: item formats

Reading comprehension:
• Five answer choices, select exactly one

25. In the context in which it appears, “accorded” … The role of magazines as

(line 9) most nearly means arbiters of nineteenth-century taste is seen in their
v
A reconciled depictions of the London theater. The magazines
accorded some legitimacy to East End working-class
v
B revealed theaters that mirrored the format of the fashionable
v
C granted West End theaters serving middle- and upper-class
audiences. However, the magazines also depicted
v
D verified music halls—which competed for patronage with all
v
E maintained theaters—as places where crass entertainment
corrupted spectators’ taste and morals…

Structural analysis - line 9 provides an

example of idea from previous sentence.
 GRE Verbal: item formats

Reading comprehension:
• three answer choices, select all that apply

For the following question, consider each of the choices A tall tree can transport a hundred gallons of water
separately and select all that apply. a day from its roots deep underground to the treetop.
Is this movement propelled by pulling the water from
21.Which of the following statements is supported by above or pushing it from below? The pull mechanism
the passage? has long been favored by most scientists. First
proposed in the late 1800s, the theory relies on a
A The pull theory is not universally property of water not commonly associated with
accepted by scientists. fluids: its tensile strength. Instead of making a clean
break, water evaporating from treetops tugs on the
B The pull theory depends on one of remaining water molecules, with that tug extending
water’s physical from molecule to molecule all the way down to the
properties. roots. The tree itself does not actually push or pull; all
the energy for lifting water comes from the sun’s
C The pull theory originated earlier than evaporative power.
did the push theory.
 GRE Verbal: item formats

Reading comprehension:
• Select-in-passage: highlight the sentence from the passage that best meets the
given description
In Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry does not
reject integration or the economic and moral promise
of the American dream; rather, she remains loyal to
this dream while looking, realistically, at its
10. In which sentence of the passage does the author
incomplete realization. Once we recognize this dual
provide examples that reinforce an argument
vision, we can accept the play’s ironic nuances as
against a critical response cited earlier in the
deliberate social commentaries by Hansberry rather
passage?
than as the “unintentional” irony that Bigsby
attributes to the work. Indeed, a curiously persistent
refusal to credit Hansberry with a capacity for
intentional irony has led some critics to interpret the
play’s thematic conflicts as mere confusion,
contradiction, or eclecticism. Isaacs, for example,
cannot easily reconcile Hansberry’s intense concern
for her race with her ideal of human reconciliation.
But the play’s complex view of Black self-esteem and
human solidarity as compatible is no more
“contradictory” than Du Bois’ famous,
well-considered ideal of ethnic self-awareness
coexisting with human unity, or Fanon’s emphasis on
an ideal internationalism that also accommodates
national identities and roles.
 GRE Verbal: item formats

Text completion:
• One-to-three blanks per item, three answer choices per blank. Select exactly
one answer choice per blank.

similarity
6. To the untutored eye the tightly forested Ardennes hills around Sedan look quite (i)_____, (ii)_____ place
through which to advance a modern army; even with today’s more numerous and better roads and bridges, the
woods and river Meuse form a significant (iii)_____. contrast
contrast

A impenetrable D a makeshift G resource

B inconsiderable E an unpropitious H impediment
C uncultivated F an unremarkable I passage
 GRE Verbal: item formats

Sentence equivalence:
• One blank per item, six answer choices per blank. Select exactly two answer
choices per blank.

similarity
17. The macromolecule RNA is common to all living
beings, and DNA, which is found in all organisms
except some bacteria, is almost as _____ .

A comprehensive
B fundamental
C inclusive
D universal
E significant
F ubiquitous
 Quantitative Comparison Items
Special Instructions

Compare Quantity A and Quantity B, using additional information centered

above the two quantities if such information is given, and select one of the
following four answer choices:

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.

A symbol that appears more than once in a question has the same meaning
throughout the question.
Quantitative comparison items nicely illustrate the importance of critical reasoning to
the math section of the GRE.

Most generally, the challenge is to recognize what makes comparing the values of the
two expressions difficult, and then to remove this obstacle by implementing the
relevant steps to simplify the problem.

The item itself will offer strong clues as to which steps should be taken to accomplish
this goal.

The following are examples of common tactics for simplifying quantitative

comparison problems.
Simplify one side or another:

Quantity A Quantity B

64% of (50)(40) 1200

(.64)(2000)
A B C D
1280

A B C D
 Add/subtract, multiply/divide* same thing on both sides:

Subtract 39x: x + 39y 40y

A B C D
Subtract 39y: x y

Medium pizzas cost m dollars each, and large pizzas cost

two dollars more than medium pizzas.

Quantity A Quantity B

The total cost of three The total cost of five

medium pizzas and two medium pizzas and one A B C D
large pizzas large pizza

The cost of one large pizza The cost of two medium pizzas

m+2 2m

* Multiplying or dividing by positive numbers preserves relationship between expressions

Collect together occurrences of a variable found on one or both sides:

2x - 2 2
2x 4 A B C D

A B C D
3(6x-2) 2(3x+3)
18x-6 6x+6
12x-6 6
12x 12
Use any given information to solve for one side or the other:

(x - 5)(x + 1) = 0

x = 5; x = -1

A B C D

x + y+ z= 3y

x + z = 2y

A B C D
 Quantitative Comparison Items

The Basic Approach to Quantitative Comparison Items:

First step – check to see if one, the other, or both expressions are indeterminate.

• indeterminate – answer choice could be D. (Simplify as above, pick numbers)

• not indeterminate – answer choice could not be D. (Simplify as above)

Q: What do we mean by indeterminate?

A: An expression is indeterminate if it can have more than one value.

Examples:

“x,” “a prime factor of 15,” and “the base of a triangle with area 10 square
meters” are all indeterminate expressions.

By contrast, “4,” “The average of 12 and 13,” and “the greatest prime factor of
15” are all determinate expressions.

Only if at least one of the two expressions is indeterminate can the relation
between the two expressions change, and thus can the correct answer be D.
Items with indeterminacy:

A B C D

A B C D
Items with indeterminacy:

A B C D

A B C D
Items without indeterminacy:

Quantity A Quantity B

64% of (50)(40) 1200

A B C D

Quantity A Quantity B

The area of a square with The area of a circle with a

sides of 12 centimeters radius 7 of centimeters

A B C D
Items without indeterminacy:

A B C D

A B C D
Once one finds indeterminacy in a quantitative comparison item, the next step is to
find out if the answer actually is D.
With many items, the best way to do this is to try out different values for the
indeterminate expressions, trying to make the relation between the expressions
change.
This technique, picking numbers, is the most important technique to master for
quantitative comparison items.
Example:

A B C D
x  0: 0 -1
y  1 :

y  0: -1 0
x  1 :
Example:

A B C D
x  2: 2
y  1:

x  3:
y  2:
Tips for picking numbers, Quantitative Comparison Items:

• Try simple numbers first; 0 and 1 often work best.

• Try the same number for more than one variable at a time, if possible.

• After plugging in one set of numbers, think about which new numbers will
make the relation between expressions change.
• Don’t forget negative numbers, and numbers between 0 and 1 (especially if
exponents are involved).

• Usually if the answer is not D, after plugging in a few sets of numbers you
will understand why the relation does not change.
• If you’ve tried several numbers from all the important categories and the
relation still hasn’t changed, it is probably safe to guess.
Case study:

A B C D
x  1: 2 1

y  1:

x  2: 8 16
y  2:
Case study:

A B C D
x  3:
y  2: 6

z  1:

x  3:
-6
y  2:
z  1 :
Case study:

Quantity A Quantity B

The time it takes to bike x The time it takes to run y

miles at y minutes per mile miles at x minutes per mile

x  5:
(5)(10) (10)(5)
y  10 : A B C D

x  20 :
(20)(10) (10)(20)
y  10 :
Quiz:

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36 8 A B C D

9 Just try some numbers:

1: 1
2: 1, 2
1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 8
3: 1, 3
7
4: 1, 2, 4
5: 1, 5
! 6: 1, 2, 3, 6
7: 1, 7
! 8: 1, 2, 4, 8
Picking numbers is a very important technique for multiple choice items as well:

This technique is most helpful on items with variables in the answer choices.
Example:
• Pick numbers that are easy to use.
• Work out the answer for those
numbers.
• Plug those numbers into the
answer choices, and eliminate any
that give the wrong answer.
v
v
v
v c d m
v 4 6 2

4 is a factor of B – E.
Tips for picking numbers, multiple choice items:

• Use numbers that make the problem easy to solve.

• Try different numbers for each variable.

• Zero and 1 are generally not the best numbers to use.

• For single answer multiple choice items, if one set of numbers makes more
than one answer choice true, try another set of numbers.
Case study:

a b n m
3 2 5 1
Case study:

Many word problems are good candidates for picking numbers..

b d x
4 2 8

Bill assembles 2 bikes per day.

So Bill assembles 8 bikes in 4 days.

Remember to go to GRE.org for free practice problems, including POWERPREP
software.
Two Additional Problems follow that aren’t
discussed in video
Case study

Pick numbers that make it easy to add the fractions in your head.

a b c
2 6 3

=2
Case study

Pick numbers to show answer choices could be false.

a b c d
2 3 3 2

Cross-multiply: ab = cd