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GRE Exam Pattern: The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is one such entrance exam that thoroughly evaluates the indispensable skills needed for anyone aiming to pursue postgraduate study in any field or discipline from reputed schools and universities across the globe. While preparing for this imperative exam, you must familiarize yourself with the GRE eligibility criteria, the content of the test, and most importantly, the structure it incorporates.
However, the GRE Exam pattern has recently been changed and our blog contains the latest GRE Exam Pattern for 2023.
This Blog Includes:
What is GRE?
GRE Exam: Considered amongst the toughest exams in the world, the conducting authority of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is the Educational Testing Service (ETS) which organizes this exam in both online and offline modes, i.e. computer-based and paper-based format that marginally varies in the structure in terms of the GRE pattern.
Subsequently, the GRE syllabus will also have slight changes according to the new pattern. Moreover, there are two types of GRE tests, i.e. GRE General Test and GRE Subject Test, in which the former is used for all academic programs while the latter is for specific subjects.
GRE Exam Pattern 2024
GRE General Test Pattern: GRE aspirants must understand the GRE test pattern. This will help you comprehend the exam’s structure and format, the types of questions that may be asked, and the amount of time you should spend answering each part. This will help you organise your time better and prepare you to answer difficult questions more effectively. The GRE Exam lasts 3 hours and 45 minutes in total.
| GRE Section | Score Range | Pattern | Duration |
| Analytical Writing | 0-6 | 2 Essay Tasks | 60 minutes |
| Verbal Reasoning | 130-170 | 2 Sections, 40 Questions | 60 minutes |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 130-170 | 2 Sections, 40 Questions | 70 minutes |
| Unscored Section | Varies | Varies | Varies |
| Research | Varies | Varies | Varies |
GRE General Test Syllabus 2024
GRE Syllabus: The GRE General Test Syllabus comprises three sections, i.e., Analytical Writing, Quantitative Reasoning, and Verbal Reasoning. Refer to the following data to go through the section-wise syllabus of the GRE exam.
GRE Verbal Syllabus
The GRE verbal section requires students to assess the provided written material and answer based on the provided information. In this section, students are required to evaluate the relation between different components of sentences and words/concepts. Have a look at the following table to go through the GRE verbal syllabus.
| GRE Verbal Syllabus | Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions, Basic Sentence structure: Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, Verb Tense , Pronoun Agreement, Parallelism, Subject-Verb Agreement, Modifiers |
GRE Quantitative Syllabus
The Quantitative Reasoning section of the GRE assesses your analytical and critical thinking ability. To do well in this area, you must have a thorough understanding of the fundamental concepts of maths. To ace the section, it is recommended that you prepare topics covered in the realm of statistics. Refer to the following table to go through the GRE Quantitative Syllabus.
| GRE Quantitative Syllabus | Geometry, Estimation, Ratio, Absolute Value, Decimal Representation, Intercepts, Equations, Slopes of Lines, Descriptive Statistics |
GRE Analytical Writing Syllabus
The GRE Analytical Writing section requires students to show their critical thinking and analytical writing abilities. Students are required to submit well-articulated answers in this section. You must convey complex ideas and arguments in written form that is comprehensible, coherent, and well-structured.
There are two types of questions in the GRE Analytical Writing section. Students are primarily expected to analyse the offered subjects and arguments and construct answers based on the information provided. GRE candidates should focus their studies on fine arts, humanities, social science, and physical science.
GRE Subject Test Syllabus 2024
The total duration of the GRE subject test is 2 hours and 50 minutes. This section comprises solely objective-based questions. Go through the following data to understand the subject-wise syllabus of the GRE Subject Test.
| GRE Subject | Syllabus | Total Number of Questions |
| Physics | Special Relativity, Electromagnetism, Classical and Statistical MechanicsmOptics and Wave Phenomena, Atomic Physics, Special Relativity | 100 |
| Maths | Calculus, Algebra, Additional Topics | 66 |
| Psychology | Clinical, Social, Biological, Measurement/Methodology/Other | 205 |
What is the Duration of the GRE 2024 Exam?
The GRE lasts for around 1 hour and 58 minutes. Have a look at the section-wise breakdown of the exam to understand the time allocations.
| GRE Section name | Duration |
| GRE quantitative reasoning | 47 minutes |
| GRE verbal reasoning | 41 minutes |
| GRE analytical writing assessment | 30 |
| Total | 1 hour and 58 minutes |
GRE General Test: Score Vs Percentile
GRE Score Range: GRE percentiles are used to give students an idea about their ranks against other candidates. Students must obtain a good GRE percentile because some universities prioritise GRE percentile cutoff scores over specific scores.
Moreover, percentiles are used by universities to compare the academic profile of candidates. This is usually done by institutions to select the most eligible candidates. To get an idea of the section-wise GRE percentiles preferred by institutes over the years, look at the statistics displayed below.
GRE Percentile for Verbal Reasoning
The table below highlights the eligible GRE Percentile for Verbal Reasoning Section.
| Percentile | Score |
| 99 | 170 |
| 95 | 165 |
| 90 | 162 |
| 85 | 160 |
| 81 | 159 |
| 74 | 157 |
| 71 | 156 |
| 66 | 155 |
| 52 | 152 |
| 43 | 150 |
| 34 | 148 |
| 30 | 147 |
GRE Percentile for Quantitative Reasoning
Go through the table given below to understand the GRE percentile for the Quantitative Reasoning section.
| Percentile | Score |
| 96 | 170 |
| 90 | 168 |
| 84 | 166 |
| 81 | 165 |
| 76 | 163 |
| 70 | 161 |
| 64 | 159 |
| 61 | 158 |
| 54 | 156 |
| 51 | 155 |
| 47 | 154 |
| 40 | 152 |
GRE Percentile for Analytical Writing
Refer to the table given below to go through the GRE Percentile for Analytical Writing.
| Percentile | Score |
| 99 | 6 |
| 97 | 5.5 |
| 91 | 5 |
| 79 | 4.5 |
| 54 | 4 |
| 37 | 3.5 |
| 13 | 3 |
| 6 | 2.5 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 1 | 1.5 |
So that was all about the GRE Exam Pattern. Hope the blog has answered your queries regarding the topic.
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FAQs
The scoring range for the GRE is quite a complicated one. There are three sections in the GRE pattern in which the score range of both Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning is 130-170 each while the Analytical Writing is scored at 0-6 in half-point increments, thus making the total score of GRE 340+6 [scored on half-point increments].
GRE is usually considered a difficult exam as compared to ACT and SAT as the questions are based on higher-level vocabulary, reading comprehension and stronger mathematical ability from the candidates.
Both the GRE and CAT are quite different exams but when compared in terms of difficulty level and sections, GRE can be considered as tougher in comparison to CAT. While there is no analytical writing section in CAT as it is in the GRE, the latter comprises difficult verbal reasoning as well as a quantitative aptitude section
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