GRE
The GRE® revised General Test, the world's most commonly regarded graduate admissions test, assesses verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing abilities, all of which are required for graduate and business school success.
Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning are the three components of the GRE updated General Test.
The Analytical writing portion assesses your ability to express and defend complex ideas, analyse assertions and supporting evidence, maintain a focused and cohesive conversation, and master standard written English features. You must produce focused replies based on the tasks presented in the Analytical Writing section in order to correctly demonstrate your ability to immediately react to a challenge.
The Verbal Reasoning portion assesses your ability to analyse and evaluate written material and synthesize knowledge gleaned from it, as well as your ability to comprehend the meanings of words, phrases, and full texts, as well as links between words and concepts. The Verbal Thinking portion assesses your ability to comprehend what you read and apply your reasoning abilities to solve problems.
The Quantitative reasoning portion assesses your fundamental mathematical abilities as well as your comprehension of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis. The Quantitative Reasoning portion assesses your ability to comprehend, evaluate, and analyze quantitative data as well as use mathematical models to solve issues.
Test Structure
Measure | Number of Questions | Allotted Time |
Analytical Writing (One section with two separately timed tasks) | One “Analyze an Issue” task and one “Analyze an Argument” task | 30 minutes per task |
Verbal Reasoning (Two sections) | 20 questions per section | 30 minutes per section |
Quantitative Reasoning (Two sections) | 20 questions per section | 35 minutes per section |
Unscored* (Position varies) | Varies | Varies |
Research** (At the end of the test) | Varies | Varies |
* After the Analytical Writing portion, an unidentified, unscored section that does not contribute toward a score may be added and may occur in any sequence. Questions in the unscored section are being tested for future tests or to guarantee that results on newer editions of the exam are comparable to scores on previous iterations.
**In place of the unscored portion, a recognised research section might be used. The research component of the test will always come towards the end. This section contains questions that are presented for ETS research reasons only and will not affect your score.
The Analytical Writing component of the test will always come first. You should approach each component as though it contributes for your score. The Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and unidentified/unscored portions may occur in any sequence. The total testing period, including the unscored component, is 3 hours and 45 minutes. The total number of questions in each Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning section, as well as the time allotted for the session, is specified in the directions at the beginning of each section. The time for each task in the Analytical Writing portion is shown when the task is presented.
Frequently Asked Questions
The GRE General Test assesses your verbal reasoning, numeric reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing abilities – abilities that have been developed through time and are not particular to any field of study but are essential for all.
Quantitative reasoning is tested on the GRE General Test using the fundamentals of high school arithmetic. The exam content assesses your ability to comprehend fundamental arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis principles, as well as your ability to reason mathematically and solve problems in a quantitative situation.
Different sets of skills are measured on the TOEFL iBT Writing section and the GRE Analytical Writing measures. The TOEFL iBT Writing section includes two writing tasks: an independent task in which test takers must write a response that integrates and organises information from a reading passage and a lecture, and an integrated task in which test takers must write responses that integrate and organise information from a reading passage and a lecture. These writing exercises are not intended to assess higher levels of critical thinking or analytical writing; rather, they focus on applicants’ composition abilities and knowledge of English vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and syntax, as well as some material analysis and synthesis. As a result, the two tests’ results are not comparable.
Because the TOEFL® test emphasises fundamental writing and comprehension skills, it can be used to supplement a low Analytical Writing score on the GRE by assisting faculty in determining whether a low Analytical Writing score is due to a lack of familiarity with English or a lack of ability to produce and analyse logical arguments.