Graduate Record Exam's General Test has three distinct sections: Quantitative Section, Verbal Section and Analytical Writing Assessment Section.

 

Structure of GRE Written Test:

 

Topic	No. of Questions	Time Allotted (Min)
Analysis of an Issue	1 Topic	45
Analysis of an Argument	1 Topic	30
Optional Rest Break	NA	5
Quantitative (Problem Solving & Data Sufficiency)	28	45
Optional Rest Break	NA	5
Verbal (Reading Comprehension, Antonyms, & Analogies)	30	30
Total	58+2 Essays	3 hours (approx)

 

 

Quantitative Section: This section contains 28 questions on Mathematics that are to be completed in 45 minutes. This difficulty level of questions is comparable to Class X. Major topics include Number Systems, Percentages, Fractions & Decimals, Algebra (including Quadratic Equations), Geometry (including Basic Coordinate Geometry), Ratio & Proportion, Area & Volume of 2-D and 3-D figures, and Probability.

Click here for a sample QA test ® Take to OTE/CAT/QA of GRE

 

Verbal Section: This section contains 30 questions to be attempted in 30 minutes. The verbal section requires a good vocabulary level, and basic skills of grammatically correct English coupled with reasoning and analysis. The questions consist of four types: Antonyms, Analogies, Sentence Completion, and Reading Comprehension. The four types are intermingled, with no fixed number for each type.

 

Click here for a sample Verbal test

 

Analytical Writing Assessment: The writing assessment section requires you to write two short essays. The first is the 'Analysis of an Issue', in which you need to analyze the issue presented and explain your views on it. For the Issue task, you will be able to choose one of two essay topics selected by the computer from the pool of topics. The time allotted is 45 minutes.

 

Click here for a sample list of Issue Topics 

The second essay is 'Analysis of an Argument', in which a given argument has to be critically analyzed and evaluated. The Argument task does not offer a choice of topics; the computer will present you with a single topic selected from the topic pool. The time allotted is 30 minutes.

 

Click here for a sample list of Argument Topics  

 

Analysis of an Issue (Sample Topics): Explain what you think of the following quotations mean and discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with them. Develop your position with reasons and/or specific examples drawn from history, current events, or your own experience, observations, or reading.

 

•  1. "You can tell the ideas of a nation by its advertizements."

 

•  2. Education comes not from books but from practical experience.

 

•  3. Scientific inquiry is rooted in the desire to discover, but there is no discovery so important that in its pursuit a threat to human life can be tolerated.

 

•  4. Politicians too often base their decisions on what will please the voters, not on what is best for the country.

 

•  5. An understanding of the past is necessary for solving the problems of the present.

 

Analysis of an Argument (Sample Topics): Discuss how well reasoned you find the following arguments. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.

 

 1.      The following appeared in a memorandum from the marketing department to the general manager of the Swiftville Gazette.

 

"Newspaper readership is on the rise once again, so the Swiftville Gazette can abandon its plans to replace the editor-in-chief and to launch a costly subscription drive. Newly released results of a national study show that the nation's top five daily newspapers are enjoying increased circulation for the first time in years. Therefore, the Gazette can expect to become a profitable enterprise for the first time since the editor-in-chief was hired. Moreover, since people are once again interested in the news, we can streamline our operations by dropping some of our 'extras'; such as the gardening column, the real estate section, and the local sports news."

 

 2.      The following appeared in the editorial section of a local newspaper.

 

"This past winter, 200 students from Waymarsh State College traveled to the state capitol building to protest against proposed cuts in funding for various state college programs. The other 12,000 Waymarsh students evidently weren't so concerned about their education: they either stayed on campus or left for winter break. Since the group who did not protest is far more numerous, it is more representative of the state's college students than are the protesters. Therefore the state legislature need not heed the appeals of the protesting students."