Aamna Mazhar
Renowned business schools in North America, Asia, and Europe are the dream institutions of many students around the world. Candidates are required to submit documents like writing samples and letters of recommendation to these institutions, and some universities also require admission test scores to determine the candidates’ potential for their chosen programs. This article is a complete guide on how to get high scores on your GRE General Test.
American Business schools usually use Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores to determine the skills of an applicant. Thousand of graduate programs around the world accept the GRE, which is why numerous students apply to take the GRE General Test.
Overview of the GRE General Test
The GRE General Test assesses all the skills required by business schools. It is approximately three hours and 45 minutes long and has sections that measure quantitative reasoning, verbal reasoning, critical thinking skills, and analytical writing.
The given time is divided according to the number of tasks in each section, and it is advisable to be mindful and manage time in order to pass the test.
Section Questions and Allotted Time
The test has different sections with varying time slots. The analytical writing portion of the test has two tasks, each of which is to be done in 30 minutes. That gives you 60 minutes for the Analytical Writing section.
The Verbal Reasoning portion also has two sections with 20 questions each, and 30 minutes for each section (60 minutes in total).
Similarly, the Quantitative Reasoning portion has two sections with 20 questions each, and an allotment of 35 minutes for each task, which adds up to 70 minutes.
The last part is the unscored portion will not affect the candidate’s final score and is used for ETS research purposes.
Preparation Tips for the Major Sections of the General Test
Analytical Writing
This section essentially measures the candidate’s ability to understand and analyze an argument and an issue. The clarity of thoughts and the ability to put them in writing are also assessed.
This section involves the analysis of an issue and an argument. While analyzing an issue, the candidate is to respond to an issue statement and express whether they agree or disagree with it but with apt reasoning.
The next task is to analyze an argument. The candidate is to reflect on the provided argument and decide if it is reasonable or not. If they disagree with the argument, counter-reasoning and interpretation are required to back their stance.
All you need to prepare for this portion is PRACTICE and study the pool of issue topics to familiarize yourself with the type of questions and the corresponding preparatory content.
Check out https://dxrgroup.com/scoreitnow at Score It Now where you can do online writing practice. You can submit the work online and get feedback on it here.
Verbal Reasoning
This section requires using your vocabulary and comprehension skills simultaneously. You will have to apply logic to solve the questions asked in this section. Its three types of tasks include reading comprehension, text completion, and sentence equivalence.
The best advice to solve this part is to relax your mind as panicking will not help. If you cannot answer a question, you can use the ‘mark’ and ‘review’ features and move on to the next one. You can return to the marked questions when you are done with the rest of the portion. This will help you maintain your confidence while answering the questions.
Quantitative Reasoning
This is the last main portion and also the most ‘daunting’ one. It is designed to measure the candidate’s ability to understand, interpret, and analyze quantitative information, and requires the application of mathematical knowledge of geometry, algebra, arithmetic, and data analysis.
This section actually requires thorough preparation for a good score.
Check out https://www.chulatutor.com/book/gre_math_review.pdf for assistance with preparing for the Qualitative Reasoning section and mastering the needed skills and concepts. You can also watch instructional and preparatory videos related to this section on YouTube.
Conclusion
You can take the GRE multiple times because of its feature ‘ScoreSelect®’. Preparing well and trusting yourself will help you to achieve the maximum score.
We hope you found this article useful. If you have any questions, you can mention them below.
