The GRE General Test measures your readiness for graduate-level work. It's not a test of what you've memorized, but rather how you think, analyze, and solve problems. The entire exam takes about 1 hour and 58 minutes to complete, with no scheduled breaks.

Let's break down its structure.

The test always begins with the Analytical Writing section. After that, the Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections can appear in any order. You'll also encounter an unscored section, which could be either Verbal or Quantitative, used for ETS research. Since you won't know which one is unscored, it's important to treat every section as if it counts.

This section gauges your ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and support them with sound reasoning. You'll have one writing task: "Analyze an Issue."

For this task, you'll be presented with a statement on a topic of general interest and then be asked to evaluate the issue, consider its complexities, and develop an argument with reasons and examples to support your views. There is no single "correct" answer; your score depends on how well you analyze the issue and construct a compelling, well-organized essay.

The Verbal and Quantitative sections of the GRE are section-level adaptive. This means your performance on the first section of each type determines the difficulty of the second. If you do well on the first Verbal section, the second Verbal section will be more challenging. The same goes for the Quantitative sections. This adaptive format helps the test get a more precise measure of your abilities.

Let's look at the question types you'll face in each.

You'll encounter three types of questions:

• Reading Comprehension: You'll read passages of varying lengths and answer questions about them. The questions might ask you to identify the main idea, understand specific details, make inferences, or analyze the author's tone.
• Text Completion: These are short passages with one to three blanks. Your job is to choose the word or words that best complete the sentence, creating a coherent and logical whole.
• Sentence Equivalence: For each question, you'll see a single sentence with one blank. You must select two words from a list of six choices that, when used in the blank, produce sentences with nearly identical meanings.

The math itself doesn't go beyond what's typically taught in high school. The focus is on reasoning and problem-solving. The questions fall into four main categories:

• Quantitative Comparison: You are given two quantities, Quantity A and Quantity B, and must determine which is greater, if they are equal, or if the relationship can't be determined.
• Multiple-Choice (Select One): Standard multiple-choice questions where you select a single answer from five options.
• Multiple-Choice (Select One or More): These questions ask you to select all the answer choices that apply. There may be one or more correct options.
• Numeric Entry: Instead of choosing from a list, you'll type your answer into a box.

Your GRE score report will show three main scores:

• Analytical Writing: Scored on a scale of 0 to 6, in half-point increments. The essay is scored by at least one trained human rater and an e-rater, a computerized program developed by ETS. If their scores are close, the average is used. If they differ significantly, a second human rater resolves the discrepancy.

• Verbal Reasoning: Scored on a scale of 130 to 170, in one-point increments.

• Quantitative Reasoning: Also scored on a scale of 130 to 170, in one-point increments.

Your Verbal and Quantitative scores are based on the number of questions you answer correctly and the difficulty level of the sections you received. There's no penalty for guessing, so you should always answer every question, even if you're unsure.

Ready to see how well you've absorbed this overview? Let's check your understanding.

Knowing the structure of the GRE is the first step. Now you have a solid foundation for building your preparation strategy.