The GRE is a standardized test used by colleges to determine acceptance into graduate programs. It tests general skills and has multiple sections, including math, reading comprehension, and writing. Despite criticism, it remains widely used.
GRE® stands for Graduate Records Examination; it is a multiple-choice and standardized test provided by the Educational Testing Service. Colleges and universities use GRE® results to help them decide which students to accept into their graduate programs. Thus it is similar to the well-known SAT test except that the GRE® is used for degree acceptance instead of graduation. The GRE® is a computer-aided test that can be taken at approved test centers virtually any time of the year.
The GRE® is intended to test general skills versus specific knowledge on a topic, although in-depth knowledge of less common vocabulary is helpful. Many people criticize the GRE® for not testing skills and knowledge that would provide a better guarantee of success in graduate school; despite the controversy, schools still rely on the GRE® because it’s one of the few widely available standardized tests that allows them to compare all applicants on a single metric.
There are different sections of the test as shown below:
Mathematics
Troubleshooting; traditional math questions with multiple choice answers
Quantitative comparison; two mathematical formulas are given and the candidate is asked to choose which is greater, if they are equal or if more information is needed to make a determination.
Minutes
Sentence completion; an incomplete sentence is provided and the candidate is asked to choose which word or sentence completes the sentence best.
similarities; the relationship between two sets of words is given and the candidate is asked to choose another set that has a similar relationship.
Against; a word is given and the candidate is asked to choose the word that means the opposite.
reading comprehension; a selection of readings is given and questions directly related to the passages are asked.
writing
Analysis of a topic; an argument is presented and the GRE test taker is asked to critique the argument.
Write a topic; two problems are given and the GRE test taker is asked to provide an argumentated answer.
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