GRE General Test Quick Review
Review the current test structure, response formats, strategies, and complete published topic map. ETS does not publish exact subtopic weights, so this guide does not invent them.
Test at a glance
Adaptive delivery: The official computer test uses section-level adaptation: performance on the first Verbal or Quantitative section affects the difficulty of the second. This fixed review and practice form cannot reproduce that feature or predict an official score.
Analytical Writing: Analyze an Issue
Answer the exact task instruction. Take a clear position, develop reasons, use relevant examples, and explain any useful qualification or counterpoint. There is no single correct position.
Plan (one workable approach)
- About 3 minutes: read and outline.
- About 22 minutes: develop a focused argument.
- About 5 minutes: check logic and sentence clarity.
Self-check
- Did I address the assigned instruction?
- Does each example support a reason?
- Did I consider an exception or counterpoint?
- Is the organization easy to follow?
This suggested timing plan is a study strategy, not an ETS rule. The real task prompt may vary in how it asks you to approach the issue.
Verbal Reasoning: complete topic and task review
Use the passage's wording and logic. No specialized background knowledge is required.
Reading Comprehension
- Central claim, purpose, and supporting points
- Main point versus example, qualification, objection, or detail
- Inference from explicit or incomplete information
- Sentence, paragraph, example, or evidence function
- Contrast, agreement, cause, concession, and transitions
- Author assumptions, viewpoint, tone, and commitment
- Evidence strengths, weaknesses, and alternative explanations
- Word or phrase meaning in passage context
- Single answer, select all that apply, and select-a-sentence
Text Completion
- One-, two-, and three-blank sentences or short passages
- Whole-sentence logical direction and context
- Contrast, concession, cause, conclusion, and emphasis cues
- Independent decisions for each blank in a multi-blank item
- Check the completed passage for meaning and tone
Sentence Equivalence
- Predict the completion needed from the controlling idea
- Choose two completions that give equivalent overall meanings
- Each word must fit the sentence context
- Both correct answers are required; no partial credit
Verbal strategy: Before choosing, state what the missing word, evidence, or sentence needs to do. For select-all items, judge every option independently.
Quantitative Reasoning: complete published topic list
All four published domains are represented below. Figures may not be drawn to scale. Use given information, not visual estimates.
Arithmetic
- Integer properties: divisibility, factors, primes, remainders, odd/even integers
- Operations and real-number properties
- Exponents and roots
- Estimation and reasonableness
- Percent, ratio, rate, and proportions
- Absolute value, number line, and distance
- Decimals and number sequences
Algebra
- Exponent operations
- Factoring and simplifying expressions
- Relations and functions
- Linear and quadratic equations and inequalities
- Simultaneous equations and inequalities
- Equation modeling for word problems
- Coordinate graphs, equations, inequalities, intercepts, and slopes
Geometry
- Parallel and perpendicular lines; degree measure
- Circles
- Triangles, including isosceles, equilateral, and 30-60-90
- Quadrilaterals and other polygons
- Congruence and similarity
- Three-dimensional figures
- Area, perimeter, and volume
- Pythagorean theorem
Data Analysis
- Mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation, IQR, quartiles, and percentiles
- Tables; line, bar, circle, box, scatter, and frequency-distribution graphs
- Elementary, compound, independent, and conditional probability
- Random variables, probability distributions, normal distributions
- Combinations, permutations, and Venn diagrams
Outside the published scope: ETS identifies no trigonometry, calculus, proof construction, or inferential statistics. Prioritize the listed areas.
Know the response format
Pacing and accuracy
Average time is about 90 seconds per Verbal question and 104 seconds per Quantitative question. Passages and shared data displays take longer, so recover time on questions you can answer efficiently. These are section averages, not individual-question limits.
After a timed attempt
Review each part separately. For every missed or guessed item, name the tested skill, locate the reason the response failed, and solve it again before reading the explanation. Track content gaps, instruction errors, unsupported inference, model choice, computation, and pacing as separate causes.