GRE General Test

The GRE General Test syllabus is divided into three main sections designed to measure skills essential for graduate-level success: Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning. 

1. Analytical Writing 

This section measures your ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and support them with relevant evidence. 

• Task: One "Analyze an Issue" essay.
• Focus: Constructing a sound argument, maintaining focus, and using standard written English. 

2. Verbal Reasoning

This section assesses your ability to analyze written material and understand relationships between words and concepts. 

• Reading Comprehension: Analyzing passages from the physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, business, and arts to identify main ideas and author intent.
• Text Completion: Filling in missing words in short passages to evaluate your ability to understand the context of the text.
• Sentence Equivalence: Choosing two words to complete a sentence that result in similar overall meanings. 

3. Quantitative Reasoning

This section tests high-school level math concepts to measure quantitative problem-solving skills. 

• Arithmetic: Number properties, operations, percentages, ratios, and roots.
• Algebra: Linear and quadratic equations, inequalities, functions, and coordinate geometry.
• Geometry: Properties of triangles, circles, quadrilaterals, polygons, and three-dimensional figures.
• Data Analysis: Basic statistics (mean, median, mode), probability, and interpreting data from tables or graphs. 

Test Structure (Since September 2023)

The current "shorter" GRE format lasts approximately 1 hour and 58 minutes. 

Section Number of QuestionsTime AllottedAnalytical Writing1 Essay30 minutesVerbal Reasoning27 Questions (across 2 sections)41 minutes totalQuantitative Reasoning27 Questions (across 2 sections)47 minutes total

Detailed preparation resources and official practice materials are available through the ETS GRE Prep Portal.