GRE and Grad School Admissions Blog

Sentence Equivalence Challenge: Work Around Unknown Words

GRE Sentence Equivalence has a knack for finding the limits of your vocabulary. Fortunately, the GRE isn’t a vocabulary test. You don’t have to know every word in a question to know the answer. Sometimes filling in the blank is a matter of relying on easier words and eliminating answer choices. To see what I mean, try […]

How to Make Sense of Symbolic Functions in GRE Algebra

GRE algebra can get weird sometimes. Strange markings like  ⧫  or  ⊛  will appear in equations that otherwise use ordinary operators like  +  and  −. Unusual symbols in GRE Quant are the hallmark of symbolic functions—pairings of inputs and outputs that, as it turns out, are connected by some pretty standard math. Symbols in math […]

Doing GRE Reading Comprehension Exercises to Prepare for the Argument Essay

In the Analytical Writing section’s “Analyze an Argument” task, you’ll critique a short argument that’s being made for or against some prediction (“profits will rise”), explanation (“genetics is the cause”), recommendation (“repeal the ban”), or other topic of debate. Your directions may be to ferret out hidden assumptions or to identify evidence that could help […]

Free Official GRE Practice Prep PowerPrep?

You probably know about Powerprep, the two free computer-based practice tests from ETS, maker of the GRE. You may not know about the Practice Book, the free paper-based practice test from ETS that comes in two editions. The two Practice Books have mostly the same questions as Powerprep, so they’re not really distinct practice tests. But you can […]

Data Analysis Challenge: Compare Standard Deviation

GRE data analysis includes some tough Quant topics. One is standard deviation, a measure of how far the values in a data set tend to fall from the set’s mean. This statistic can be confusing and tedious to calculate. Luckily, you probably won’t need to calculate it when it comes up on the exam. Try this […]

Reading Comprehension Challenge: Deconstruct the Argument

Argument passages in GRE Reading Comp vary in complexity. If you’re asked to weaken or strengthen an argument, then the passage probably contains just one conclusion. But if you’re asked to identify the roles that parts of the passage play in an argument, then the text may include a main conclusion and an intermediate conclusion. […]

Official GRE Essay Practice: Strong vs. Outstanding on the Argument Essay

ScoreItNow! is an online writing practice service from ETS, maker of the GRE. For US$20, you can write two responses to real Analytical Writing prompts and have them scored by e-rater, the automated essay scoring software used to check GRE essay scores assigned by human raters. I signed up and wrote an Argument essay. The […]