GRE General Test Pattern

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GRE General Test Pattern

The GRE General Test measures critical thinking, analytical writing, verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not related to any specific field of study.
Analytical Writing — The skills measured include the test taker's ability to

    * articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively
    * examine claims and accompanying evidences
    * support ideas with relevant reasons and examples
    * sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion
    * control the elements of standard written English


Verbal Reasoning — The skills measured include the test taker's ability to

    * analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it
    * analyze relationships among component parts of sentences
    * recognize relationships between words and concepts


Quantitative Reasoning — skills measured include the test taker's ability to

    * understand the basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis
    * reason quantitatively
    * solve problems in a quantitative setting

Test Contents
The computer-based General Test has three sections.

In addition, one unidentified pre test section may be included and this section can appear in any position in the tests after the analytical writing section. Questions in the pre test section are being tested for possible use in future tests and answers will not count toward candidate's scores.

An identified research section that is also not scored may be included and this section would always appear in the final section of the test. Questions in the research section are included for the purpose of ETS research and answers do not count towards the candidate's scores.

The total testing time is up to three hours, excluding the research section. The directions at the beginning of each section specify the total number of questions in the section and the time allowed for the section.

The analytical writing section is always first. For the Issue task, two topics will be presented and examinees have to choose one. The Argument task does not present a choice of topics; instead, one topic will be presented.

The verbal and quantitative sections may appear in any order, including an unidentified verbal or quantitative pretest section. A Candidate must treat each section presented during the test as if it counts.
Format - GRE General Test

The Typical Computer-Based GRE General Test Follows the follwing tabulated test Format
Section Number of Questions Time
Analytical Writing 1 Issue Task* 45 minutes
Analytical Writing 1 Argument Task* 30 minutes
Verbal 30 30 minutes
Quantitative 28 45 minutes
Pretest** Varies Varies
Research*** Varies Varies

For the Issue task, two essay topics are presented and Test Taker have to choose one. The Argument task does not present a choice of topics; instead one topic is presented.

An unidentified verbal or quantitative pretest section may be included and may appear in any order after the analytical writing section. It is not counted as part of score.

An identified research section that is not scored may be included and it is always at the end of the test.
Test Schedule

Test Schedule GRE General Test:
The General Test is given year-round at computer-based testing centers.
Appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

A candidate may take the General Test only once per calendar month and not more than 5 times within any 12-month period. This applies even if a test taker cancelled the scores of a test, taken previously.