GRE Exam Pattern

The exam pattern for GRE General test is as follows –

The verbal section of GRE has 3 types of questions – Reading Comprehension, Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence to assess the following-

• Flair for reading

• Hunt for facts

• Evaluating write-ups and content

• Organizing information

• Grammatical skills

Computer-based verbal reasoning contains two parts, each followed by 20 questions that take about 60 minutes to complete, while the paper-based test consists of 25 questions in each and takes about 70 minutes to complete.

a. Reading comprehension:

In reading comprehension, you need to understand the meaning of individual words, sentences and the passage as a whole. You need to find out various underlying assumptions, implications and draw conclusions out of the given reading. Also, summarize the passage, indicate the missing information, formulate and evaluate the hypothesis.

GRE reading comprehension consists of about ten passages. These passages can be as small as a single paragraph or may run up to a couple of paragraphs. You are required to read, understand and answer the questions asked based on the passage.

There can be 1 to 6 questions for each reading. Most of these questions are multiple choice questions. These passages are based on topics like physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, business, arts and humanities, academic, non-academic.

Types of questions asked in the reading comprehension of GRE exam are:

• The tone of the Author questions

• Specific fact questions

• Implied questions

• Structural questions

• Extrapolation questions

• Vocabulary questions

• Main idea questions

The  reading comprehension questions appear in sets and in the following three forms:

1. Select one MCQ – From the given set of answers, only one is right. Candidates need to pick that one specific answer for the score.

2. Multiple-choice questions – From the given set of options students have to mark all the right answers. Marks are credited to those who identify all the right answers. Partial answers are not credited in the reading comprehension section.

3. Select-in-Passage – In this candidates have to click on the sentence in the passage that has a certain description. To answer, select-in passage questions, select one of the sentences and click on it; clicking anywhere on the sentence highlights it.

b. Text completion:

Text completion questions consist of short passages composed of 1 to 5 sentences. Some essential words are missing from these sentences, and you are required to fill in these blanks based on the given options. In other words, this is similar to fill in the blanks. About one-fourth of the GRE verbal section comprises of text completion questions. Each of these questions consist of 1 to 3 blanks. You need to choose the best answer to complete the sentences and make a meaningful paragraph as a whole.

c. Sentence equivalence:

Sentence equivalence questions comprise a sentence consisting of just one blank to be filled. You are required to select the best answer options to fill in the blank and develop a complete logical sentence. There are about six answer choices for each question which are very contradictory. There is no credit for partially correct answers.

The quant section of GRE is distributed under the following heads:

• Calculus and its applications (50%)

• Algebra (25%)

• Math and geometry (25%)

Computer-based quantitative reasoning contains two subheads, each followed by 20 questions that take about 70 minutes to complete, while the paper-based test consists of 25 questions in each and takes about 80 minutes to complete.

Quantitative reasoning consists of undergraduate level real-life problems, word problems, mathematical problems to judge the following:
a) Accurate knowledge and conception of students.
b) Understanding and executing math related operations.
c) Derive answers to real-life problems with mathematical aid.

The types of questions asked in the GRE quant section are as follows:

1. Quantitative comparison questions – For this set of questions, GRE test takers have to compare two sets of quantities: Quantity A and Quantity B. Then pick an option from four that describes the relation between A&B.

2. Multiple choice questions: select one answer choice – Candidates have to answer a mathematical problem by picking one from the given options.

3. Multiple choice questions: select one or more answer choices – In these quant-based Multiple choice questions, candidates can pick more than one option as the answer. The number of choosing options is not a compulsion and is entirely based on a GRE candidates understanding of the problem. As the number of options to select is usually not mentioned, students can go for all the right ones related to the problem. It’s probably that all of the options or only one of the given options is the correct answer to the given problem. Credit marks are not offered for selecting partial answers. When candidates choose all relevant answers, scores are provided. If in case the question states how many options to pick, then follow the instruction carefully.

4. Numeric entry questions – Here GRE applicants have to solve maths problems and answer in the real number. For integers and decimals, one box is provided. For fractions, two boxes are provided – one for the numerator and one for the denominator.

5. Data Interpretation sets – In this, questions are asked based on a given table, graph or other data presentation. It checks the organizing and disseminating data talent among GRE candidates. Data interpretation sets can be multiple-choice (both types) or numeric entry.

Analytical writing consists of two types of questions – analyse an issue and analyse an argument to assess the following –

• Flow or style of writing

• The technique of paraphrasing or splitting the article

• Mood and tone of the writing

• Grammatical and verbal English skill

• Thinking and analysing capability

Both computer and paper-based analytical writing consist of two essays. Each essay takes about 30 minutes to complete.

a. Analyze an issue: This type of question examines critical thinking ability, how you analyse and articulate your thoughts in written form. You need to present your opinion on a given topic with supportive statements, reasons, examples and explanations. The topics are usually complex, and you are expected to understand it clearly before framing your thoughts. The tone of the issue essay should be persuasive and stand self-explanatory to the examiners. Since the topic is debatable, you are expected to take one stand and support it until the end of the write-up with supporting statements and facts. A diplomatic view is not marked or credited in GRE analytical test.

The following elements can lead you to a good score in the issue based essay of GRE:

• Justifying your views.

• Adding examples.

• Connecting with recent happenings and scenarios.

• A good start and end to the issue based write up.

• Take one side of the given topic.

b. Analyze an argument: This type of question examines how you understand a given circumstance and write your response for it. Also how you analyse and review the arguments and articulate your evaluations in written form. The answer must be authentic, rational and backed with evidence. To score well, you must cautiously read the given instruction and question, before writing the answers.

The grounds to understand while drafting the argument essay are as follows:

• Understand the hypothetical situation as explained in the given question.

• List (mentally) the proofs and claims that you will require in your write-up.

• Your introduction to the conclusion you derive must have a connect.

• Learn and note the purpose of your writing.

• Do not miss any of the given instruction while drafting the argument essay of GRE.

Biochemistry, cell and molecular biology- These subjects consist of about 170 questions, and types of questions asked are descriptions of laboratory situations, diagrams or experimental results.

Biology- This subject consists of about 194 questions, and types of questions asked are descriptions of laboratory and field situations, diagrams or experimental results.

Chemistry- This subject consists of about 130 questions, and type of questions include: periodic table presenting various physical constants and few conversion factors.

Literature in English- This subject consists of 230 questions, and the type of questions asked are the literary theory, poetry, biography, short story, drama, essay and novel.

Mathematics- This subject consists of 66 questions, and the type of questions asked are calculus and its applications, elementary algebra, linear algebra etc.

Physics- This subject consists of 100 questions, and the type of questions asked are diagrams, graphs, experimental data and description of physical situations.

Psychology- This subject consists of 205 questions, and the type of questions asked are a description of an experiment or a graph.