Crack GRE in 3 months

Most students spend around 3 months preparing for GRE exam. During these 3 months, they devote their complete focus and attention to learn everything related to GRE. It is very important for a student to make the most of this time. This article will help you know more about GRE and lay down a strategy for you to nail your preparation in order to ace GRE exam.

What is GRE?

GRE Exam (Graduate Record Examination) is a standardized online exam which is compulsory to apply for a Master’s Degree or PHD in any field overseas. You can take the GRE exam any time during a year, by selecting a slot for the exam 45 days prior. ETS (Educational Testing Service) is responsible for conducting the exam.

The GRE is conducted in multiple stages, In this test, the difficulty of next section depends upon your performance in the previous section. If you do well in the first verbal section, the difficulty level of second verbal section will automatically increase.

The difficulty level of questions within a section does not change. The scores for Verbal and Quant sections are between 130 to 170, in one point increments. Analytical writing is scored on a scale of 0 to 6, in 0.5 increments.  

GRE test pattern and syllabus:

The GRE syllabus basically consists of 3 subjects namely: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and analytical writing. Time duration of GRE test is 3 hours and 45 minutes. There are total 6 sections: two sections each on verbal and quantitative reasoning, one section on analytical writing. The sixth section is redundant as it has no role to play in calculation of final score. Math related questions are relatively easy as compared to the English language related questions asked in the exam. The GRE exam syllabus covering all 3 sections is as follows:-

Analytical Writing –

In this section, the writing skills of a candidate are tested. Candidates are given topics on which they have to write. They may also be given passages, on the basis of which they will  have to write the answers. The passages could be related to any topic, so the syllabus of this section is quite vast.

Verbal Reasoning – This section measures a candidate’s ability to analyse and draw conclusions from given data. It also tests a candidate’s ability to comprehend the written material, read and find out the logical relationship between the points mentioned in the passage. The topics covered under this section are as follows:

• Basic sentence: Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives
• Verb Tense
• Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions
• Pronoun Agreement
• Subject-Verb Agreement
• Modifiers
• Parallelism

Quantitative Reasoning –

The quantitative reasoning aims to find out the understanding, interpretation and analysing ability of a candidate, through the presented quantitative information. This section can be further divided into 4 major sections: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Data analysis. Detailed syllabus is as follows:-

• Arithmetic –

1. Integers
2. Fractions
3. Exponents and Roots
4. Decimals
5. Real Numbers
6. Ratio
7. Percentages

• Algebra –

1. Operations with Algebraic Expressions
2. Rules of Exponents
3. Solving Linear Equations
4. Solving Quadratic Equations
5. Solving Linear Inequalities
6. Functions
7. Applications
8. Coordinate Geometry
9. Graphs of Functions

• Geometry –

1. Lines and Angles
2. Polygons
3. Triangles
4. Quadrilaterals
5. Circles
6. 3-D Figures

• Data Analysis –

1. Graphical Methods for Describing Data
2. Numerical Methods for Describing Data
3. Counting Methods
4. Probability
5. Distributions of Data, random Variables and Probability Distributions
6. Data Interpretation Examples

Study Plan

1st Month – Concept Building

Only high school level maths questions are asked in GRE. No questions are framed on complex topics like calculus. Students who have learnt maths till graduation often find GRE maths easy. But, even these students have to revise the concepts which they have not used in some time. Focus on topics of quant like geometry, algebra, arithmetic and data analysis in the first month. Build a better understanding of concepts by solving easy to medium level questions. Read more and more to develop a good vocabulary and comprehension skills. Learn new words and bring them into your daily usage to retain them in your memory.

2nd Month – Build upon the basics

Give some practise tests and understand how questions are framed in the exam. Try difficult questions and develop a strategy to solve questions of a certain type. With practise your calculation skills will improve. It will have a huge impact on your ability to solve questions related to arithmetic. Improve your verbal reasoning skills by doing rigorous practise of the newly learned concepts from BYJU’S practise tests

3rd month – Practising and Reviewing

This month must be devoted to practising. All that you have learnt during the last two months will be put to test in the third month. Give as many mock tests as you can. Whenever, you come across a different type of question, make note of it. Take online tests from BYJU’S to get a comprehensive assessment of your tests. Make sure that you devote more time to your weaker subjects. Stay relaxed as the D-Day approaches. Be confident about your preparation and make sure that you are able to recall all the important concepts.  

3 months are sufficient for you to crack GRE exam. Just make sure that you go through all the concepts in first two months. Devote your entire last month to practise more and more. Doing so will instil a lot of confidence in you. Do not learn any new concepts during the last week before the exam, just focus on getting good scores in mock tests. Get 8 hours sleep before the day of exam. Having a relaxed mind will enable you to give your best on the day of exam.

BYJU’S will be glad to help you in your GRE preparation journey. You can ask for any assistance related to GRE from us by calling at 088845 44444, or you can write to us at gre@byjus.com.

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