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How 2: GRE
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How 2: GRE

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👉 Check Seeam’s vocabulary learning app
 
Updates for new GRE
Vocabulary

Core Strat

👉 Check Seeam’s vocabulary learning app
  1. OR open an account on vocabulary.com
  1. Bookmark GregMat's ~900 top words list
  1. Install the Magoosh Vocabulary Builder app on your phone (or use their website)
  1. Take a look at an ongoing project that deals in word clusters, uncommon use cases, homonyms and malapropisms.
      2. How I use these resources:
I go through the words in the GregMat sheet, and in the Magoosh app, and each time I encounter a word that I don't know/has an unexpected use case/don't know the use case of: I add it to a custom list on vocabulary.com. I then use the practice feature on the website on that list. The practice feature is a definitive improvement over memorizing off of a list.
That's the gist; I will simply elaborate now. This approach can be tedious to start, but results in a steady, growing list of words tailored towards your needs. It's the most efficient method in the long-run. I love the practice mode because it eventually makes you type out words instead of just selecting the right answers. It's also neat to discover new words from the answer choices.
I would suggest to not listen to your ego when adding words: if there's a word you kind-of, sort-of know, or know but have rarely seen used, add it to the list (OR keep a second list of semi-familiar words). The GRE does not only test your basic understanding of a word, but also your knowledge of uncommon use cases of an otherwise familiar one, as well as your understanding of its tone.

Shooting for the Moon

This section is if you want your vocab prep to be truly comprehensive, or you just love learning new words.
  • Install the Merriam-Webster app and:
    • Go through the Word(s) of the Day for the last 2-3 years and apply the vocabulary.com treatment
    • Play the 'How Strong is Your Vocabulary' game and give it the same treatment. Replay the Hard and Devilish difficulties to squeeze out every last word
Quant

Core Strat

  • Create a Lesson Log divided into sections Numbers, Algebra, Geometry, Data and Statistics, Combinatorics and Probability, Problem-solving. Each time you think you have learned/been reminded of something useful—be it a formula, a heuristic, a shortcut, or an idea that makes sense in your head (and not necessarily to others)—record it as a bullet point in this log, under the relevant section. The sections will make review much easier.
  • Create an Error Log divided into the sections described above sans Problem-solving. Each and every time you make a mistake that results in your answer being incorrect (SILLY MISTAKES COUNT), almost incorrect, or correct because you got lucky even with the mistake: record it as a bullet point under a relevant section. If you make the same mistake (esp. for silly mistakes) more than once, add a number as a counter to the first instance of that mistake and update it. You could record cases of approaching a problem in a lengthy way if you think it deserves to be here: but it's usually a better idea to simply categorize the converse as a lesson in the lesson log.
  • Maintain a calendar which outlines your goals for each day of the week.
  • Create a list of Saved Sums where you keep a screenshot of every sum that you think has a lot to teach. Add notes on what is unique about the sum under a spoiler beneath. Organize this repertoire to your liking, but make sure you organize it.
  • If math is not your strong suit, go through the ETS Math Review (included as an appendix in the Official Quant Practice Book, linked later in the Resource Breakdown) and GregMat's quant concept videos.
  • Go to section 5 of the ETS Official Guide to the GRE, 3rd edition and do the Easy difficulty sums across question types. Revisit the Medium and Hard difficulty sums after you have some conversance with GRE quantitative reasoning.
Go through GRE Quant Strategy videos. The GRE quant section is first and foremost a test of efficiency (and therefore strategy). I will list some strategies that you should be familiar with before you start working on official practice material. Toggle this list to see the strategies. Also check out The Tested Tutor's channel for great tips and tricks for math.
  • Choosing and testing numbers
  • Backsolving
  • Adding/subtracting the same number or term from both quantities being compared (always valid) to reach simpler expressions to compare
Multiplying/dividing both quantities being compared by a POSITIVE term or number to reach simpler expressions to compare* (toggle list to see note)
While you cannot multiply by a variable, say, , in a quantitative comparison or inequality when you don't know if is negative or positive, you can multiply by some expression of variables that MUST be positive. An example would be to multiply both sides by (or any even power of ). Another example: if we know and are both negative, we can multiply or divide both sides by (e.g. we know and are negative fractions where and are asked if . Start with < and multiply on both sides to get , confirming the statement is true.
  • Finding the general case (eg. what pattern do powers of follow, and how can we infer the unit digit of using that?)
  • Finding the case that violates (eg. testing cases like , , negative fractions)
  • Generalizing to terms like '' and 'more than ' (say '') and '' and 'less than ' (say '~') to get basic comparisons done instead of the actual values. We don't actually have to solve for values if the answer simply requires ascertaining which of ~ and is bigger.
  • Approximating
  • Drawing diagrams
  • Identifying equalities (eg. opposite sides in two pairs of intersecting parallel lines), similar shapes (esp. triangles with a common angle and/or a right angle), and splitting parts of a total into values
  • Rejecting answers (ie. a value of that renders the denominator in the question equals to , or a term in a square root negative)
  • Practise math from the Manhattan 5LB book to build an understanding of the types of quant questions in the GRE. Don’t get too used to these.
  • Practise all the easy difficulty sums from the Official Guide.
  • Practise all the easy questions from all the PowerPrep(+) tests.
  • Practice the medium and hard sums in the Official Guide 3rd edition section 6.
  • Practise the Official Quant Practice book. This comes later because official material is in short supply and you don't want to waste them on unfamiliarity or for basic lessons.

A Fine Trip

Spend $5 on GregMat+. It's worth it. I recommend 2X speeding through this series of videos if you do. Other series that may be of interest are here. Most importantly, practise the terrific quant problems that come with your subscription.
At least spend $1 on the 5-day trial of TTP's GRE plan. Try to do as many of the hard-difficulty chapter practice tests (or medium if you're not targeting 165+) as you can in those 5 days. Consider starting on a weekend in the morning. You can also get a proper subscription if your prep window is 1month+. $99 sounds like a lot, and it is, but it's comparable to the school tuition I had to pay as a kid.

Shooting for the Moon

GREprepclub (click the arrow to the left to expand)
...has lists of the 'hardest' MCQ, multiple answer and QC questions gathered from a variety of sources. You can try these to really test your conceptual prowess. There are four huge caveats: 1) these drain your energy, 2) these take a lot of time (think opportunity cost), 3) these drain your confidence in your ability and, worst of all, 4) these teach you to slowly deliberate and ponder when solving problems (which is NOT the approach you want to tune yourself towards). Range of mathematical ability is paramount, moreso than 'depth'.
... and, I did not find Scholarden questions up to par. They're difficult, sure, but are riddled with poor phrasing, artificial fringe difficulty and just sloppiness in general.
Verbal

Core Strat

  • Create a Lesson Log split into three sections: Reading Comprehension, Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence.
    • Example lesson: the most fitting single answer for a sentence equivalence question often does not have a proper complement in the answer choices, rendering it incorrect. There is a pair that is not as condign, but successfully produces two sentences of equivalent meaning.
    • Example lesson: Don't fish for answers and see what matches; form an idea of what the answer should be based on your understanding of the text and try to find that answer in the options.
  • Create an Error Log split into three sections: Reading Comprehension, Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence.
  • Create a Saved Problems list where you keep screenshots of every question you think had a good lesson to teach. Keep it organized and annotate the images for effective review later.
  • Maintain a calendar which outlines your goals for each day of the week.
  • Open the GRE Official Guide, 3rd edition, section 4 and practise the easy difficulty questions across question types. Revisit the medium and hard difficulty questions after you've acquired a better idea of how to approach GRE verbal reasoning.
  • Repeat after me: unofficial questions are anathema.
  • Seriously, don't use non-ETS questions for verbal. They will throw your intuition off and mischaracterize the kind of thinking required in the GRE—over time, if not at once. The GRE Big Book has plenty of reading comprehension material.
  • Brush up on strategy with free GregMat videos. You may skip this if you have exceptional reading and verbal reasoning skills.
  • Do the 'easy' verbal sections from all the PowerPrep tests (links at the end of the doc).
  • Do reading comprehension from the OG Big Book; This is an extremely underrated source of practice material for RC. If you are preparing intensely this can be your main source of reading comprehension practice. you can use greprepclub's Big Book project. DIfficult problems are highlighted in yellow discontinued
  • After you are much more comfortable, revisit the medium and hard difficulty problems you skipped in the Official Guide.
  • Follow up with the Official Verbal Practice Book of 200 problems.
  • Once again, reading comprehension from the GRE Big Book. The question styles have changed, but it's still official ETS material.

Get Smart

Reading Comprehension (Immersion):

  • Read book reviews. Read multiple reviews of the same book, and try to see what each critic is trying to say. Start with reviews of books you have read, but later go for books you have no clue about. Don't skip lines. A quick google search will reveal good review outlets.
  • Read semi-dense nonfiction: For example, Anthony Kenny's "A Brief History of Western Philosophy"; Schick and Theodore's "Readings in the Philosophy of Science". Some of the pages from these books will break you if you're not an english/phil major. That's okay. Look things up online. Read what other people say the author is trying to say. This is a trial by fire and will greatly boost your confidence for long passages.
  • Read articles on topics you aren't familiar with. Ideas that fall squarely outside of what you're interested in and familiar with. If you aren't into geopolitics, try to read Pulitzer-prize winning journalists' coverage of political crises. If you couldn't care less about the conservation of cartilaginous fish, read expert articles talking about what makes the sawfish evolutionarily distinct. Once again, google to find high-quality outlets (The Atlantic, Mother Jones and McSweeney's are some of my favourites) and stick to the posts off your beaten path.
  • Listen to well-written podcasts that dive into critical issues. Citations Needed is an excellent choice. Try to understand what the conversation is really about and what the hosts are trying to say. Use the internet if you feel lost.
  • Eat the GRE big book for breakfast.
  • Bonus: Are you into video games? Play Disco Elysium. Try to follow every idea being introduced, no matter how abstruse. Immerse in a masterfully-written world, rich in nuanced vocabulary and complex ideas.

Reading Comprehension (Problem-solving):

  • Don’t fish for ideas. Form an idea of what the answer should be and look for the best match in the options.
  • Identify important words such as logical modifiers and conjunctions.
  • Identify other important words such as ones that suggest agreement, disagreement, endorsement and refutation.
  • Simplify sentences for short passages. Simplify paragraphs for long passages. Refer back to the simplified points when looking for where the answer should be after reading a question.
  • Pay special attention to the beginning and ending sentences of paragraphs and passages.
  • Try to understand the author’s motivations. Why are they writing this? What point do they want to make and how do they want to make that point or reach that conclusion?

Text Completion:

First: every choice MUST be supported by evidence. Don't try to construct correct sentences, try to construct supported sentences. Second: choices are not as close as they usually seem. Strengthen your vocabulary so you can spot the nuances. Similar-seeming words can completely change the tone of a sentence. While there will always be the odd TC problem that is simply beyond any general strategy (like the one in the official guide about sleep behaviour in frogs), you can assume that these are by far the exception and not the norm.

Sentence Equivalence:

The most common SE trap, in my view, is of including the most condign solution without a pair. That perfect choice for the blank without an able dance partner will tempt you. Don't fall for it. Look for the less apt but steady couple. There is usually one incorrect pair (that assumes you did not understand the sentence), one correct pair, and two strays (usually with one being the perfect choice if alone).
Practice Tests
There are 7 (+2) official tests you can practice with. These are from three sources: 2 in the GRE Official Guide book, 2 free PowerPrep tests and 3 PowerPrepPlus tests. The +2 refers to two 'paper-based' GRE tests that are a mix of recycled and original content. Links to these tests are in the Resources section.
I recommend taking these tests near the tail end of your preparation window—say in the penultimate week (leaving the next week for revision). If you want to take one test mid-prep to get a feel for things, take an official guide test from a PDF on your PC (you want to preclude the luxury of marking things on the question paper—something the computer-based GRE does not allow).
Time your practice tests. You don't have to time general practice, but definitely time the official practice test attempts, across each section (Q35min, V30min, AWA30min).
The free PowerPrep tests should be the last tests you take. They will give you a 'feeling' of what the computer-based GRE experience is like.
If you absolutely must take unofficial practice tests, take Manhattan's (if only for quant).
The PowerPrepPlus tests and all questions may be available for free 
on reddit.com/r/grepreparation.
Things You Should Know About the Test
Structure
  1. Analytical Writing

      2. Essays:

      a) An Issue Essay: Write for your stance on a topic (weak/strong-agree/disagree, neither 'neutral' nor (only) 'both sides are bad/good').
      b) An Argument Essay: You analyze a provided argument and point out assumptions, ambiguities, fallacious reasoning and rhetorical weaknesses. Discuss what can effectively render the argument invalid and as such, which questions need to be answered/grounds clarified for the argument to be cogent. Your stance is, honestly, fixed: you understand the basis and flow of the person's reasoning, but find the argument in its current state very flawed and wanting.
      You get 30 minutes for each and your test begins with these two essay sections.

      Topics:

      Interestingly, not only does ETS provide sample essay responses with rater commentary here and in the official guide, they have also made available all the possible issue topics and argument topics that can appear on the test.

      Scoring:

      You get two scores between 0-6 for each essay (so 4 total): one from an AI, the other from a human scorer. These two are averaged to get the essay score unless they are notably disparate. This happens on both essays. The two essay score averages are then averaged to produce a final average score between 0-6 with 0.5 increments.

      Tips:

      1) There is no fact-checking in the issue essay; you will not be penalized for making up believable and appurtentant statistics. There is an art to fibbing here. Cite as you would a real study or author in a non-academic article.
      Your arguments have to be sensible and 'deep' enough to support a page of sound elaboration; they do not have to be particularly 'right' or 'true' in the real world (but don't say things that are obviously incorrect...). Your logical prowess and rhetorical ability, not the veracity of your opinions, is being tested.
      2) Outline your essay in your head before you write it. Make bullet points or words and expand upon them. You should have an idea of the structure prior to starting.
      3) Make sure to keep at least 3 minutes for proofreading and editing for each essay (e.g. correcting grammar and spelling mistakes, substituting repeated words w/ synonyms). This can very well be more important than adding any more than 3 points/ideas. 3 arguments/points are sufficient, and 2 can suffice if developed well.
      4) The two most important score-boosters are a) clarity and b) organization/flow.
      By clarity, I mean that you should absolutely avoid ambiguous statements, overly abstract ideas and highly personal/anecdotal observations. This is not an English literature or philosophy course prompt—please keep your ideas digestible and grounded. Furthermore, the reader should never be confused about where you stand on the matter. Subtlety and nuance are highly encouraged, but never at the expense of clarity. These should be used in a way that never frustrates the coherence of your rhetoric (for example, you should make it clear that you're ceding a counterpoint, and then provide a defense, instead of just leaving one without a setup or rebuttal as a stray 'what-if'). Write as if you are having a formal discussion with a professor, not bandying with someone you know well.
      By organization and flow, I mean natural shifts from one idea to the next, one paragraph to the next, and use of connecting and organizing terms such as 'Firstly', 'however', 'furthermore', 'yet', 'in surmise'. The paragraphs should be placed in a logical order and 'connect' as they start and end. There should be no surprises, rough turns or thematic shifts as your essay advances after the introduction is complete.
      5) This section is generally not taken nearly as seriously as the verbal and quantitative components by universities. Conserve your energy, don't let your performance here affect you and try to manage a fair score.
  1. Verbal Reasoning
      2. This is a 30-minute section with 20 questions. The question types are text completion, sentence equivalence, reading comprehension single-choice, reading comprehension choose-all-that-apply and critical reasoning. There will be 2 scored verbal sections.
      Rough question pattern across both sections combined (toggle, view original)
      notion imagenotion image
  1. Quantitive Reasoning
      2. This is a 35-minute section with 20 questions. The question types are quantitative comparison, single-choice, choose-all-that-apply and numeric entry. There will be 2 scored quant sections.
      Rough question pattern across both sections combined (toggle, view original)
      notion imagenotion image
  1. Experimental
      2. You will get an experimental section in your test, which will be either verbal or quant. You will not be told which section is experimental and it is unscored. Don't get disheartened if your performance on a section goes awry: it could be an experimental section. You will know if your experimental section was quant or verbal at the end of test because you will have had to solve three of them—but you won't know which of the three it was with certainty. You can often make an educated guess based on how odd the questions were.
  1. Example Structures (- = 10min break): WWQV-QVQ , WWVQ-VQV, WWVQ-VQQ. Consecutive sections of a type are (maybe) rare.
Scoring and Difficulty
You get a score between 130-170 for each part, quant and verbal. To clarify: 130 is the zero-point. You will get between 0-6, in 0.5 increments, in writing. The scale is therefore between 130Q 130V & 0.0AWA to 170Q, 170V & 6.0AWA. Equally spaced score increases redound to different increases in your score percentile across different 'ranges'.
There are 40 scored verbal questions across 2 sections, 40 scored quant questions across 2 sections, and 20 unscored questions across 1 experimental section that is either verbal or quant. On average, you get one mark for each (non-experimental section) question you answer correctly, and there is neither any partial marking (a choose-multiple answer is either wholly right or wrong) nor any negative marking for the wrong answer (kind of; elaborated later).
In reality, there is scaling based on adaptive difficulty. The GRE is designed so that your second non-experimental quant or verbal section will be easy, medium, or difficult based on your performance in your first scored quant or verbal section (which is always of medium difficulty).
  • You will almost certainly get an injection of bonus marks if you manage to draw a hard section
  • You may get a bonus mark or two if you manage a medium section
  • You will be penalized if you draw an easy section
There is contention as to whether these 'bonus marks' or 'penalties' are the result of a bonus marking system, a scaling system, or a difficulty-based marking system (or some combination of the three). That said, the predictive accuracy of the framework presented is high (even if the functional accuracy isn't), so you might as well think of the system this way.
At Home
If you plan to take the GRE at home, buy the whiteboard, marker and duster ASAP and do all your rough work and practice using them; they are the tools you will be using during the actual exam. Fine-tip erasable markers are ideal.
You can take the GRE at home at the same cost. You will need:
  • A room in which you are alone (preferably locked) that is quiet
  • A stable and decently fast internet connection
  • A small whiteboard, whiteboard markers and duster/damp cloth for rough work
  • Chrome or Firefox with the proctoring extension and no other extensions (I recommend installing the browser you don't use for the exam)—remember to uninstall the proctor extension after the test is all done, it can collect data
  • To have all nonessential software turned off—text-replacers, hotkey/macro software, clipboard software, screenshot tools, recording software and messaging/communication software MUST NOT be on—set your PC to alarms only/do not disturb and make sure updates are not scheduled
  • Depending on your country, UPSes for your PC and router if not using a laptop with mobile data
  • To have all windows, mirrors and screens (besides the one) in your room covered
  • To be seated in a chair in front of a desk or table, clear of any and all items besides the devices listed in the next point, whiteboard, markers, duster, passport and emergency medication—NO PENS, PAPERS OR REMOTES
  • To have these and only these exact input and output devices connected to the computer during the test:
    • ONE mouse
    • ONE keyboard
    • A webcam with/and mic (no part of your face can leave the camera's view during the test—take permission before leaving during the 10-min break)
    • ONE display (you cannot have another display in the direction you face, even if disconnected; you will have to cover any with a cloth if you do), and you cannot have any additional displays connected to your device at all
    • Speakers set to an audible volume that the mic easily picks up
      • NO OTHER INPUT OR OUTPUT DEVICE SHOULD BE CONNECTED AT THE TIME OF THE TEST. Your scores can be terminated later even if this is not touched upon during the test.
    • NO HEADPHONES OR EARPLUGS OF ANY KIND (you have to get hearing aids approved through the ETS Accomodations website first)
  • Your phone on silent, display-down, at some opposite end of your room—do NOT touch or go near your phone during the exam, even during a break: you WILL be disqualified if you do.
  • Your passport or equivalent ID (double-check with your proctor to ensure they got a clear photo of this). Keep a clear photo/scan of it on your desktop just in case.
  • To not look away from the work desk and/or screen and not vocalize/talk to yourself during the test, unless to talk to the proctor. The AI can suspect you of attempting to cheat.
  • To take permission from the proctor to go to the bathroom during the 10-minute break, even though this is not mentioned as of 2021. You MUST be back within the break period or your exam can be terminated (not even a second late is okay).
  • To never switch the active window to anything besides the test window and the proctor chat window during the test.
  • To not get impatient and close anything after the test; wait for the proctor to wrap things up and end the session (don't attempt to take screenshots of your unofficial scores!).
Resources
Vocabulary
Verbal
Quant
Writing
 
for the discerning
You can find all books mentioned at libgen or zlibrary.
The PowerPrepPlus tests may or may not be available for free on reddit.com/r/grepreparation.
Tips
  • Keep a bottle of water and a few bananas to refuel during the break—this is an exhausting 4-hour exam.
  • Get basic exercise in in the month leading up to the exam. Professional chess players do intensive cardio for long chess matches. Don't wait for the mock tests to show you much performance can dip in the later sections if you don't have the stamina.
  • Make sure your sleep cycle is adjusted to accommodate your expected exam window in the month leading up to the exam.
  • If you will take the exam at home, practise at the desk you will take your exam and reduce your associations with activities that don't require focus at that desk until you are done with the exam.
  • If you will take the test at a center, wear unplugged headphones (for blocking out noise—you will likely be provided a pair at the center) when you study and try to study somewhere that is not associated with rest or entertainment (avoid studying on your bed, for example).
  • Take frequent breaks when you study to maximize absorption of lessons. Spaced repetition. Do NOT take breaks during mock tests: prepare yourself for the slog that is the actual exam.
  • Many people find active recall a great method to learn new content. I don't find it particularly applicable for standardized tests (as opposed to content-based exams), but you can check out the method and see if you can apply it. It involves writing down questions (what happens when x?) and answering them in your head later instead of taking notes (x is such) for review.
Here is the link to the original guide which was duplicated & slightly modified to make this.
Contact Prottay Hasan for tutoring or feedback:
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