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A Comparison Between The Current GRE Exam and The Revised

GRE Exam
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¦erhaps you've been studying for the GRE exam and have studiously practiced GRE exam questions over and over. Well,
you better plan to take the GRE exam before August 1, 2011, because the test format is changing in a big way, and some
of those questions you've been practicing will be going away!

Current GRE Exam Info:

The GRE Exam Basics

What's a Good GRE Score?
Top 10 GRE Test Tips
Master GRE Vocabulary

Here are the GRE exam changes:

Current GRE Exam (2010) vs. Revised GRE Exam (2011)

GRE Exam Current GRE Exam Revised GRE Exam

Design Test questions change based on answers (Computer- Ability to change answers
Adaptive Test) Ability to mark answers and come back(Multi-
Stage Test)
Ability to use a calculator

Structure Current Structure Revised Structure

Time Approx. 3 hours Approx. 3 hours 45 min.

Scoring Scores range from 200-800 in 10-point increments Scores range from 130-170 in 1-point
increments

Verbal Current Verbal Reasoning Details Revised Verbal Reasoning Details

Question Types: Question Types:
Analogies Reading Comprehension
Antonyms Text Completion
Sentence Completions Sentence Equivalence
Reading Comprehension

Quantitative Current Quantitative Reasoning Details Revised Quantitative Reasoning Details

Question Types:
Multiple Choice Quantitative Comparison
Multiple Choice ¦roblem Solving
Question Types:
Multiple-choice Questions - One Answer
Multiple-choice Questions - One or More
Answers
Numeric Entry Questions
Quantitative Comparison Questions

Writing Current Analytical Writing Details Revised Analytical Writing Details

One Issue Essay One Issue Essay
One Argument Essay One Argument Essay


 Structure
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The GRE Computer-Adaptive Test
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Three cheers for instant gratification junkies! The GRE CAT (computer adaptive test), offers just that. When you finish
testing, you can click ³Yes´ to report your scores, and 2
 Your GRE test scores for the analytical writing, verbal, and
quantitative sections magically appear.

Below is a very basic outline of what you¶ll see when you begin clicking away at the testing center on the GRE CAT, but
if you need more info, GRE 101 is the place to go.

GRE Computer Adaptive Sections

Section Number of Questions Time in Minutes

Analytical Writing 1 Issue Task 45

Analytical Writing 1 Argument Task 30

Verbal 30 30

Quantitative 28 45

Unscored Varies Varies

Research Varies Varies



Revised GRE Exam Structure and Length
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The 2011 GRE exam is different in structure and length from the current GRE exam. Since the GRE exam will be
changing on August 1, 2011, it's important to know what you're going to be facing on test day. Here's what the 2011 GRE
exam structure and length will look like.

Note:

½ The Analytical Writing section will always be first, but the other sections can appear in any order.
½ You will not have any idea which sections are research and unscored, so you'll have to do your best on them all.
½ There will be one 10-minute break following the third section of the test, and 1-minute breaks between every other
section.
Current GRE Exam Structure

Revised GRE Exam Structure and Length

Section Number of Questions Time in Minutes

Analytical Writing 1 Issue Task 45

Analytical Writing 1 Argument Task 30

 Verbal (2 sections) 20 per section 30 per section

Quantitative (2 sections) 20 per section 35 per section

Unscored Varies Varies

Research Varies Varies


GRE Writing
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The GRE Writing section (Analytical Writing) is the exclamation point at the end of your GRE score sentence. Your
overall GRE score is determined by the Verbal and Quantitative Reasoningsections; your GRE Writing score does not
count toward the total score ± it sits on your GRE score report as a category in itself. Translation: you better rock the GRE
Writing section, because it is not averaged into the total score. If you screw up, the admissions counselors will see it
clearly.

GRE Writing Overview

The Analytical Writing section on the GRE requires you to write two essays in an hour and fifteen minutes:

1. One Issue essay: 45 minutes

2. One Argument essay: 30 minutes

GRE Issue Essay

You'll be given two prompts to choose from with this task. The prompts will make some sort of claim about an issue and
your job is to make a case for your views on the issue. You'll be assessed on your critical thinking and persuasive skills
more than you will your grammar, writing style, and spelling.

Sample Issue Topics (From ETS):

"If a goal is worthy, then any means taken to attain it is justifiable."

"Most people are taught that loyalty is a virtue. But loyalty²whether to one's friends, to one's school or place of
employment, or to any institution²is all too often a destructive rather than a positive force."

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GRE Argument Essay

Here, you won't be asked to persuade anyone; you're simply analyzing someone else's argument, dissecting their logic,
examining their reasoning and scrutinizing their evidence. In this task, no one cares about your opinion. No one wants to
know if you disagree or agree with the prompt. The only thing you have to answer is this: Is their argument any good? If
not, why not? You only get one prompt and only 30 minutes to prove your critical thinking skills.

Sample Argument Topic (From ETS):



  


 



 


 


 









 
 

    

 




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ÿow to Write the GRE Essays

GRE Writing Scores

The two essays are graded holistically by two GRE trained graders. Their two scores are averaged into the final score from
0 - 6, rounded up to the nearest half. (You could get a 3.5, for instance). The national average right around a 4. From ETS,
here are the descriptions for what the scores mean:
½ A score of 6: A 6 paper presents a cogent, well-articulated critique of the argument and conveys meaning skillfully.
½ A score of 5: A 5 paper presents a generally thoughtful, well-developed critique of the argument and conveys meaning
clearly.
½ A score of 4: A 4 paper presents a competent critique of the argument and conveys meaning adequately.
½ A score of 3: A 3 paper demonstrates some competence in its critique of the argument and in conveying meaning but
is obviously flawed.
½ A score of 2: A 2 paper demonstrates serious weaknesses in analytical writing.
½ A score of 1: A 1 paper demonstrates fundamental deficiencies in both analysis AND writing .
½ A score of 0: Off topic, in a foreign language, merely copies the topic, consists of only keystroke characters, or is
illegible, blank, or nonverbal.
That's it. The GRE Writing section in a nutshell. For further details, ETS has specifics only they can provide as the makers
of the test.


2011 GRE Verbal

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It's coming in August, 2011. GRE, the Revised version, that is. Will you be ready for this revised GRE? One way to prepare is to
learn the different sections, and that's where this 2011 GRE Verbal run-down will come into play.

Here's the breakdown of the new and improved GRE Verbal section (from ETS), so you'll know how to prepare when test day
rolls around.

The Current GRE Verbal Section

2011 GRE Verbal Basics

½ 2 sections
½ 20 questions per section
½ 30 minutes per section
½ Types of questions: text completion, sentence equivalence, and reading comprehension
½ No more antonyms or analogies, which means no more vocabulary out of context. Whew!

Text Completion Questions

½ A short passage of text with 1-5 sentences.

½ The passage will have 1-3 blanks.
½ There will be 3 answer choices per blank, or 5 answer choices if there's only one blank.
½ There is just one correct answer, consisting of one choice for each blank. Confused? Check out the examples.
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Sentence Equivalence Questions

½ 1 sentence
½ 1 blank
½ 6 answers to choose from
½ New!You must choose 2 answer choices that fit the meaning of the sentence  make sentences that are alike in meaning.



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Reading Comprehension Questions

The reading comprehension sections is different in the 2011 GRE Verbal section, in that there are 3 types of questions you'll have
to answer (see below). The text itself will come from books and periodicals about science, arts, humanities, and everyday life
issues, too. The passages can be academic or nonacademic and will vary from 1 ± 5 paragraphs in length.

½ Multiple-choice Questions; Choose 1 answer: These are your average, run-of-the-mill mc questions with 5 answer choices.
½ Multiple-choice Questions; Choose 1 or more answers: Here, you'll have 3 answer choices, and you'll have to choose every
correct answer, which could be one, two or all three of them. No partial credit is awarded, either!
½ Select-in-Passage: With these, the GRE gets a little more 21st century. You'll simply click on the sentence in the passage that
answers the question. Hi-tech, huh?

Revised GRE Quantitative
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If you've been paying attention, you've heard that the GRE General Exam is undergoing some major changes as of August
2011, and the Quantitative section is one of those places getting a face-lift. The Revised GRE Quantitative section has a
few new types of questions that will require some practice before you forge ahead with the test. Read ahead for the
differences, provided by ETS.

Revised GRE Quantitative Basics

½ 2 sections
½ 20 questions per section
½ 35 minutes per section
½ An on-screen calculator during the computer-based revised test
½ Calculators provided for the paper-based revised test
½ Types of questions: multiple-choice questions 1 answer, multiple-choice questions 1 or more answers, quantitative
comparison, and numeric entry.
½ Luckily, the GRE Quantitative content is still the same ± arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis.

Multiple-Choice Questions with One Answer

These types of questions are your typical multiple choice questions, where you get one problem, and five answer choices
to select from to get the one correct answer.

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Multiple-Choice Questions with One or More Answers

Here¶s where the revised GRE Quantitative section starts getting tricky. In these types of questions, you¶ll need to
choose
2
 answer that¶s correct, whether that¶s just one or all of the choices. A question may or may not specify the
number of choices to select, so you¶ll have to be careful to read the question thoroughly. No partial credit will be given, so
you must choose every correct answer!
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Numeric Entry Questions

This is a new type of question for the revised GRE Quantitative, where you¶ll need to physically enter an answer in a box
provided with  answers to choose from. You¶ll enter either an integer or decimal in one box or a fraction in two boxes ±
one for the numerator and one for the denominator.
meep in mind that you won¶t need to reduce fractions and you must enter your answer exactly as it is, unless it asks you to
round up or down.

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Quantitative Comparison Questions

In these types of questions, you¶ll be given two quantities ± Quantity A and Quantity B ± and four statements about the
quantities to choose from, which will always be the same:

A. Quantity A is greater
B. Quantity B is greater
C. The two quantities are equal.
D. The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.