GRE Structure and Preparation tips

The GRE General Test is a standardized test conducted by ETS, that is designed to measure the overall academic readiness of a student for graduate school. GRE is often needed as a requirement for admission and is accepted by several universities across the world. An impressive GRE score will help students to enhance their profile and stand out among other applicants. This exam assesses a student's competence in math, reading, and writing through three sections: Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). The total time for the test is about 3 hours and 45 minutes with six parts. The key to mastering the GRE is preparation. Here are a few sectional-wise tips for GRE preparation.

Analytical Writing Assessment - This section contains two tasks, Analyze an Issue and Analyze an Argument with 30 minutes for each.

1)Browse through the topics given on the ETS website and get familiar with the kind of tasks given in the exam.
2)Take 5 minutes at the start to jot down points and facts/incidents so that you can plan and frame your essay beforehand. This way you can ensure all your ideas are conveyed. Short and relevant essays will fetch good scores.
3)In the argument task the discussion is supposed to be about whether you agree or disagree with the statement but not if the given views are true or false. Therefore, you should decide on agreement or disagreement and develop points to support that opinion.

Verbal Reasoning -There would be a minimum of 2 verbal reasoning sections, each with 20 questions and 30 minutes. This section does not only test vocabulary but also requires good reading and reasoning skills. It contains three types of questions: sentence equivalence, text completion, and reading comprehension.

1)Build a strong vocabulary by keeping a words journal or using flashcards. With the help of etymology or mnemonics, you can aim to learn multiple words/meanings at once.
2)Develop a reading habit of general topics such as history, commerce, or sociology and improve your ability to comprehend complex sentences.
3)For text completion questions, it is a good habit to come up with your own word or phrase to fill the first blank only after examining all of the blanks in the sentence.
4)Do not use external knowledge to answer any reading comprehension question, stick with the information provided in the passage.

Quantitative Reasoning - The test would contain a minimum of 2 sections of quantitative reasoning with 20 questions and 35 minutes each. Quantitative comparison, multiple-choice and numeric entry are the kinds of questions asked in this part.

1)Give more importance to topics such as number system, averages, percentages, ratio proportion, and so on, which are extensively tested in the exam.
2)Remember that each question has the same credit, so don't spend too much time on a single tricky problem.
3)The best way to solve word problems is to convert sentences into mathematical expressions as you read through the question. With this approach, the question can be solved without having to read it again and waste time.
4)If you are having trouble deciding on an answer for a comparison question, you can put in multiple numbers with different properties to get a fast answer.