About GRE

About GRE
The GRE, which is conducted by ETS, is a test designed to provide graduate schools with common measures for comparing the qualifications of applicants. The exam measures verbal, quantitative, and analytical reasoning skills that have been developed over a long period of time.




Description of the Test
The GRE is divided into three scored sections and one or two un-scored sections.

Verbal : 30 questions - (30 minutes)
• Question types include: Analogies, sentence completion, antonyms, and reading comprehension.
• Tests vocabulary, verbal reasoning skills, and the ability to read with understanding and insight.

Quantitative : 28 questions - (45 minutes)
• Question types include: Problem solving, quantitative comparison, and graph problems.
• Tests basic mathematical skills, ability to understand mathematical concepts, and quantitative reasoning skills.

Analytical : 35 questions - (60 minutes)
• Question types include: Logical reasoning and logic games.
• Tests ability to understand and analyze arguments and to understand and draw logical conclusions.

Experimental Section
In addition to the three scored sections, there may be one 'experimental' section that looks like one of the scored sections; but does not count toward your score. ETS uses the experimental section to pre-test the questions that will show up on the scored sections of future GREs. It looks just like one of the scored sections, so you won't be able to identify it.

Research Section
Sometimes there's a fifth section called the 'research section', which is optional. This one too doesn't count toward your score.
GRE - Computer Adaptive Test (CAT)



The computer based GRE is a test in which the computer actually adapts to your performance as you're taking the test.

Details of the CAT
At the start of each section, you are presented with test questions of average difficulty. Based on your responses, you will be presented with questions of increasing difficulty if you've answered correctly. Otherwise, if you answer incorrectly, you will be presented with questions of lesser difficulty. As you go along, your next question will be the one that best reflects both your previous performance and the test design.
Given below is an image of what the computer screen looks like when you take the actual GRE test.


Answering of questions
You have to answer each question in turn, so you cannot skip a question to move to another. When you select an answer, you are allowed to change it as long as you haven't moved on to the next question. Therefore select your answers carefully since you cannot come back later to modify your previously selected answers.

Scoring of answers
Your score on each section depends on the following :
• Number of questions answered in allotted time
• Performance on questions answered
• Level of difficulty of questions answered
You receive a scaled score from 200 to 800 on each of three scored sections.
Verbal Section of the GRE

In this section, you will come across the following types of questions :
• Sentence Completions
• Antonyms
• Analogies
• Reading Comprehensions

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Sentence Completions :-
Sentence completions measure your:
• ability to understand the logic of a sentence
• recognize words or phrases that complete the meaning of a sentence
You are shown a sentence with either one or two words missing. Your job is to pick the answer choice with the word, or words, that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Strategies :
 Read the incomplete sentence and try to fit your own words in before looking at the answer choices.
 Pay attention to grammatical clues.
 Break down sentences with two blanks into parts and analyse each part individually.
 See that both parts of your answer choice fit the sentence correctly.

Sample question :
The pressure of population on available resources is the key to understanding history, consequently any historical writing that does not take cognizance of_________ facts is_________flawed.
A. ecological..marginally
B. demographic..intrinsically
C. cultural..subtantively
D. psychological..philosophically
E. political..demonstratively
Answer: B

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Antonyms :-
Antonyms measure your:
• vocabulary
• ability to reason from a given concept to its opposite
You are presented with a single word followed by five answer choices containing words or short phrases. You have to select an answer choice that's most nearly opposite in meaning to the original word. Since the questions often require you to distinguish finer shades of meaning, go through all the possible answer choices before making your selection.

Strategies :
 Try to define the word precisely
 Look for shades of meaning of the given word
 Make a sentence with it
 Analyse the prefix or suffix to help establish a word's meaning
 Eliminate irrelevant answer choices

Sample question :
PERSEVERE
A. Take Away
B. Put into
C. Send out
D. Give up
E. Bring forward
Answer: D

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Analogies :-
Analogies measure your ability to recognize:
• relationships among words and concepts they represent
• parallel relationships
Here you are presented with a related pair of words followed by five answer choices containing lettered pairs of words or phrases. Select the lettered pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.

Strategies :
 Try to establish a strong relationship between the given pair of words
 Consider relationships of kind, size, spatial contiguity, or degree.
 If more than one of the answer choices seems correct, try to state the relationship more precisely.
 Check for second meanings of the given words

Sample question :
EVAPORATE:VAPOUR
A. petrify:stone
B. centrifuge:liquid
C. saturate:fluid
D. corrode:acid
E. incinerate:fire
Answer: A

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Reading Comprehensions :-
Reading comprehension measures your ability:
• to read with understanding, insight, and discrimination
• to analyze a written passage from several perspectives
Passages are taken from the humanities, social sciences, biological sciences and physical sciences. The passages are of varied lengths, but generally of 75 to 150 lines. The number of questions pertaining to a particular passage could range from 3 to 5.

Strategies :
 Go through the passage once to get the genearal idea of the passage
 Don't try to memorize details but instead pay attention to the topic and the focus of the passage as you read.
 For questions asking you to give the passage a title, look at the first and last lines of the passage for clues.

Sample question :
Passage:
In his 1976 study of slavery in the US, Herbert Gutman, like Fogel, Engerman, And Genovese, has rightly stressed the slaves' achievements. But unlike these historians......(rest of the passage) ........In sum, Gutman's study is significant because it offers a closely reasoned and original explanation of some of the slaves' achievements, one that correctly emphasizes the resources that slaves themselves possessed.
Which of the following is the most appropriate title for the passage, based on its content?
A. The influence of Herbert Gutman on Historians of Slavery in the US
B. Gutman's explanation of how slaves could maintain a cultural Heritage and develop a communal consciousness
C. Slavery in the US: New Controversy about an old subject
D. The Black heritage of Folklore, Music, and Religious Expression: It's growing influence
E. The Black family and extended kinship structure: How they were important for the freed slave
Answer: B
Quantitative Section of the GRE
In the math section of the GRE, questions can be classified into the following categories :
Arithmetic
Questions involve
 Arithmetic operations
 Powers
 Operations on radical expressions
 Estimation
 Percent
 Absolute value
 Properties of numbers (e.g. divisibility, prime numbers, odd and even integers)
 Factoring

Algebra
Questions involve
 Rules of exponents
 Factoring and simplifying algebraic expressions
 Understanding concepts of relations and functions
 Solving first and second degree equations and inequalities
 Solving simultaneous equations
 Setting up equations to solve word problems
 Applying basic algebra skills to solve problems




Geometry
Questions involve properties of
 Parallel lines
 Circles and their inscribed central angles
 Triangles
 Rectangles
 Other polygons
 Area
 Perimeter
 Volume
 Pythagoras theorem
 Angle measure in degrees
 Simple coordinate geometry (including slopes, intercepts, and inequalities)

Data Analysis
Questions involve
 Elementary probability
 Basic descriptive statistics
 Mean
 Median
 Mode
 Range
 Standard deviation
 Percentiles
 Interpretation of data in graphs and tables
 Line graphs
 Bar graphs
 Circle graphs
 Frequency distributions

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The types of questions that you'll come across are :
• Quantitative Comparisons
• Problem Solving
• Data Interpretation

Quantitative Comparisons :-
Quantitative comparison measures your ability to:
• Determine the relative sizes of two quantities
• Perceive that not enough information is provided to make such a decision

Strategies :
 Convert algebraic expressions to a standard form in order to compare them.
 Avoid performing needless calculations, such as trying to decide how much larger or smaller one quantity is than the other.
 Don't assume that all variables represent positive integers - be aware of negative numbers, fractions, and zero as possible numbers.
 Geometric figures aren't always drawn to scale, so don't make assumptions simply based on the appearance of a figure shown.

Sample question :
7x2 = 21
Column A Column B
x 2
A. The quantity in Column A is greater
B. The quantity in Column B is greater
C. The two quantities are equal
D. The relationship cannot be determined from the information given
Answer: B

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Problem Solving :-
Problem solving questions test your:
• Knowledge of maths involving percentages, simultaneous equations, polygons, probability, etc.
• Ability to read, understand, and solve problems quickly and accurately
Each of the questions is followed by five answer choices. You have to select the best of the answer options given.

Strategies :
 Determine what is given and what is being asked
 Scan options to decide the level of approximation required
 Avoid long computations
 Scan all options before answering a question

Sample question :

In the fig shown, if CP=BP and x=120, then y=
A. 30
B. 45
C. 60
D. 75
E. 90
Answer: C

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Data Interpretation :-
Data interpretation measures your ability to:
• Read and interpret data
• Perform statistical calculations on the data provided
The data interpretation questions usually appear in sets and are based on data presented in tables or graphs.

Strategies :
 Look carefully at the data and understand how it's presented
 Try to make visual comparisons and estimate products and quotients rather than perform computations.
 For graphs, pay attention to the scales as well as read any accompanying notes
 Answer questions only on the basis of data given.

Sample question :

In which of the following years did the number of graduate student applications increase the most from that of the previous year?
A. 1985
B. 1986
C. 1988
D. 1990
E. 1991
Answer: B
Analytical Section of the GRE
In the analytical section of the GRE, questions are aimed at measuring your ability to :



• Think logically on the basis of a set of rules
• Analyse situations using common sense
The types of questions that you will come across in this section are:
• Logical Reasoning
• Analytical Reasoning

Logical Reasoning :-
Logical reasoning measures your ability to:
• Understand
• Analyse
• & Evaluate Arguments
Each question is based on a short passage, graph, table or a set of conditions.

Strategies :
 Determine what has been specifically stated
 Draw inferences on the basis of the facts stated
 Determine the assumptions made by the author when jumping from evidence to conclusion

Sample question :
Passage:
Some would have you believe that the economic problems of Western Europe in the 1980s were caused by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil cartel. This is nonsense. After all, Great Britain was not dependent on OPEC oil and yet Great Britain suffered from the same economic problems that affected France and West Germany.
The author's point is made primarily by
A. Offering Great Britain as a counter example
B. Analysing the economic difficulties of France and West Germany
C. Pointing put a misconception of reasoning
D. Proposing an alternative explanation
E. Drawing an analogy between France and West Germany
Answer: A

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Analytical Reasoning :-
Analysing Reasoning questions test your ability to:
• Understand a given structure of arbitrary relationships among fictitious persons, places, things, or events
• Deduce new information from the relationships given
Each analytical reasoning group consists of a set of about three to seven related statements or conditions and three or more questions based on these statements.

Strategies :
 Use short forms and symbols to express the problem statements
 Draw simple diagrams to show relationships
 Do not make any unnecessary assumptions
 Pay attention to words such as only, exactly, never, always, must be, cannot be

Sample question :
Exactly 7 persons - P, Q, R, S, T, U & V - participate in and finish all of a series of races. There are no ties for any position at the finish of the races. The following statements about the races are always true :
V finishes somewhere ahead of P
P finishes somewhere ahead of Q
Either R finishes first and T finishes last, or S finishes first and U or Q finishes last
If in a race S finishes sixth and Q finishes fifth, which of the following can be true?
A. V finishes first or fourth
B. R finishes second or third
C. P finishes second or fifth
D. U finishes third or fourth
E. T finishes fourth or fifth
Answer: D

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