General Test Pattern Analysis

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GRE: General Test pattern and syllabus General Test pattern Many universities and colleges in the US, Canada, UK, and other countries use Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores as a criterion for admissions to their graduate-level courses. The GRE (revised) General Test evaluates the test-taker’s overall knowledge and skills in three main segments—analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning. The scores indicate the candidate’s aptitude for taking up graduate studies in various disciplines. The GRE offers the General Test in two formats—computer-based and paper-based. The computer-based test lasts about three hours and 45 minutes overall, and consists of six sections, or “measures,” as they are officially known: one section …show more content…

In the first task, called the “analyse an issue task,” a viewpoint on a topic of popular interest is presented, and the candidates are asked to analyse the issue and express their own opinions. In the second task, “analyse an argument task,” an argument is presented, and the candidates have to analyse the logical strength of the argument and point out its pluses and minuses. The objective is not to test the test-takers’ knowledge in a particular topic but rather their analytical capability and power of …show more content…

There are various topics under each of the main concepts. A detailed list is available on the ETS website. The questions on mathematics and statics are of the high-school level. Trigonometry or calculus or other areas that come under higher level mathematics are not included. Knowledge of high-school mathematics concepts, such as “prime numbers are greater than one” and “numbers increase towards the right of the number line,” is sufficient. Four types of questions can be found as part of quantitative reasoning: quantitative comparison, multiple-choice with one correct answer; multiple-choice with one or more correct answers; and numeric entry (computation) questions. Among these types of questions, quantitative comparison questions perhaps demand a short explanation: they ask the test-taker to compare two quantities and select one statement from four that best describes the

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