GRE Pattern & Syllabus
GRE Scores help you stay ahead of the other students applying to your favourite (University including business and law). Universities in the USA and other developed countries expect international students to be proficient in analytical and logical skills to cope with the (master's curriculum). Hence, the GRE Syllabus is designed and classified into three types to help universities/schools rapidly analyse whether an international student is capable to enrol in their institution.
3 Sections of GRE Syllabus
The three divisions of the GRE Syllabus are:
- Verbal Reasoning
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Analytical Writing
GRE Syllabus for Verbal Reasoning
The GRE Syllabus of the Verbal Reasoning part evaluates a candidate’s ability to analyse written material, obtain prime information from the material, and recognise relationships amongst concepts and words.
Candidates are asked to either read the passages and answer the questions on those passages or to read and complete a sentence/ paragraph/ group of passages.
A specialist team sources all the passages that appear in the Verbal Reasoning Tests. Some passages are also adapted/taken from publishing materials for providing the test takers with competitive passages to read, analyse and evaluate.
The sub-sections of the Verbal Reasoning Syllabus are as follows:
1. GRE Reading Comprehension Syllabus
Reading Comprehension questions are based on passages that are in length from 1 paragraph to 5 paragraphs. Each passage is derived from biological sciences, physical sciences, business, social sciences, arts and humanities and general topics found in periodicals, both non-academic and academic.
The test comprises approximately 8 to 10 passages. Each passage will be one paragraph in length and a few passages, maybe, with a couple of paragraphs in length.
2. Text/Sentence Completion Section
This section contains a series of sentences or paragraphs with some crucial words omitted at regular intervals. Candidates are asked to read the entire passage and select the appropriate words to fill in the missing spots to create a coherent story.
The question structure comprises:
- Passages consist of one to five sentences
- Minimum one and maximum three blanks to fill in
3. GRE Sentence Equivalence Section Syllabus
Unlike the text completion section, the sentence equivalence section tests candidates’ ability to conclude a partially written paragraph. This section is about articulating a passage or story based on the given piece of information. The question structure comprises:
- a single paragraph/sentence
- One blank to fill in
- 6 answer choices
GRE Syllabus for Quantitative Reasoning
The GRE Syllabus of the Quantitative Reasoning section assesses candidates:
- Mathematical skills (basic)
- Understanding of mathematical formulas/concepts
- Ability to solve mathematical problems by quantitative methods
While some of the Quantitative Reasoning questions in the GRE Exam are related to real-time and practical situations, the others are purely based on mathematical calculations through formulas. All the inputs are provided in textual format, and candidates must derive the apt equations from the questions. The concepts, skills and abilities are evaluated in the four major areas, including:
1. GRE Maths Syllabus (Arithmetic)
The topics in the Arithmetic GRE Syllabus are integers and properties, factorisation, divisibility, remainders, prime numbers, even numbers, exponents and roots, arithmetic operations, and concepts such as estimation, percentage, the number line, absolute value, sequences of numbers and decimal representation.
2. GRE Maths Syllabus (Algebra)
The topics in the Algebra GRE Syllabus are simplifying and factoring algebraic expressions, operations with exponents, equations and inequalities, functions, solving quadratic & linear equations, solving simultaneous inequalities and equations, and coordinate geometry.
3. GRE Geometry Syllabus
The topics in the GRE Geometry Syllabus are perpendicular and parallel lines, triangles, circles including equilateral, isosceles, and 30° & 90° triangles, perimeter, area, volume, angle measurement in degrees with the help of Pythagorean theorem.
4. Data Analysis
The topics in the Data Analysis section are basic statistics, such as median, mean, range, mode, interquartile range, standard deviation, quartiles and percentiles. These are amongst the topics covered in high school statistics courses or algebra courses.
| GRE Syllabus | Description |
|---|---|
| Quantitative Comparison | The Quantitative comparison questions assess:
|
| Multiple-choice Questions — Choose One Answer Choice | From a list of five choices, candidates are asked to choose one right answer. |
| Multiple-choice Questions — Choose One or More Answer Choices | From a list of choices, candidates are asked to choose one or more answers. |
| Numeric Entry | Candidates are asked to either answer as a decimal or an integer in the given box or answer in 2 boxes as a fraction (box 1 = numerator, box 2 = denominator). A keyboard and mouse can be used to enter the answer. |
| Data Interpretation Questions | Data Interpretation questions evaluate candidates’ capability to analyse or interpret the given data. The question types may be Numeric Entry or Multiple-choice. |
| General Problem-solving | General problem-solving questions ask candidates to solve problems using mathematical or quantitative methods. |
GRE Syllabus for Analytical Writing
The GRE Syllabus of the Analytical writing task assesses candidates’ analytical and/or critical thinking skills (in writing). Though the writing test does not analyse the candidates' expertise in content knowledge, it assesses their ability to evaluate and construct arguments, articulate intricate ideas, and elaborate a coherent argument/discussion.
Candidates appearing for the GRE Analytical Writing Test have to take up a writing task. The 'Analyse the Issue' task comprises an opinion on a generic issue followed by a series of instructions on how candidates should respond/write pertaining to that issue. In most cases, candidates are asked to analyse the issue, understand complexities, articulate an argument with valid examples and reasons to support their views.
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