GRE RESOURCES AND FREE TUTORIALS AND PRACTISE MATERIALS:
GRE is an abbreviation used for Graduate Record Examinations which is conducted by ETS or Education Testing Service. GRE is generally of two types GRE general test and GRE subject test. The aim of GRE general test is to examine the skills of reasoning, data interpretation and analytical writing which are acquired by a student during his school education. These skills are not specific to any particular language. The aim of a GRE subject test is to examine the achievement of a student in a specific subject in the undergraduate course. Presently GRE subject tests are being conducted in eight subjects.
GRE is a trademark of ETS for the Graduate Record Examination. GRE has come a long way since its start and a large number of students appear for GRE every year. GRE was initially started as PBT or Paper Based Test. This format was soon replaced by CBT or Computer Based Test in many parts of the world. PBT format is still continuing in few countries where introduction of CBT has not been possible. As the name suggests, CBT is an automated test and is conducted using a computer. In addition, the verbal and Quantitative Analysis sections of CBT are adaptive. In these two sections of the CBT format, if you attempt the initial questions correctly, the degree of difficulty of GRE questions will automatically go to a higher level. Therefore, if you do not answer the initial questions correctly, you may not be able to score high in this exam.
GRE has three graded sections Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical. The Verbal Reasoning Section measures the ability of a student to analyze and evaluate words or sentences, comprehend them and utilize the information obtained from it. In this section, there will be questions based on antonyms, analogies, sentence completion and reading comprehension. The Quantitative Reasoning Section measures your ability to understand the basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis. You should be able to use quantitative reasoning to solve the problems. In both these sections, the questions are multiple choice type and time is very critical. Regular practice and familiarization with this section will be very helpful to save time. The Analytical Writing Section measures your ability to express your views clearly and effectively. It also examines your capabilities to discuss a topic with support of arguments and evidence. This section consists of two parts. In the first part, you are given two essays supporting different issues. You are required to discuss any one of them and give your views in support or against the issue. However, in the second part an argument is presented on a topic. You are required to evaluate the argument.
The duration of the CBT examination is approximately three hours. The first part of Analytical Writing section has one issue task and 45 minutes have been allotted to this section. The second part of Analytical Writing has one argument task and 30 minutes have been allotted to it. There is only one Verbal section with 30 questions and 30 minutes are allotted to it. In addition, there is only one Quantitative section with 28 questions and 45 minutes allotted to it.
GRE Score
As mentioned before CBT is an adaptive test, therefore scores are required to be equated based on the difficulty level and number of correct answers. There are three scores reported as part of GRE score card based on the three sections. In Verbal and Quantitative sections the scores are reported on a scale of 200-800 in 10 point increments and in Analytical writing section the score is reported on a scale of 0-6 with half point increments. The GRE score obtained in the exam has a validity period of five years only.
