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Introduction
Graduate Records Examination (GRE) is widely considered in admission and scholarship award in various
countries like US, Canada, Singapore and among newly established institutes in Middle East which follow
American education system. On the other hand, it is of very little or no importance for enrollment in
graduate/postgraduate studies in Europe (UK, Germany, France, and Italy etc), Australia, and NZ etc.
GRE test commonly refers to GRE General Test although GRE subject tests are also conducted in some
specialized fields namely Biology, Microbiology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics,
English Literature, Computer Science and some other fields. For graduate studies in engineering, GRE
general test is given reasonable weightage; particularly for international students. In all proceeding
paragraphs GRE refers to GRE General Test.
GRE test consists of three sections i.e. Verbal (English), Quantitative (Maths) and Analytical Writing
(Essays). Score range for Verbal (V) and Quantitative (Q) are 200‐800, while Analytical writing has score
of 0‐6. This test is Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) and administered online. Both Q & V sections consist of
28 questions. First question is always of average difficulty level. If you answer a question correctly, next
question will be more difficult. If your answer is incorrect, difficulty level decreases. Hence test adapts to
your proficiency level and final score is reported accordingly.
Preparation for GRE Test
Prior to start of preparation for GRE, one should have a goal in his mind. It may be admission in MBA,
PhD Mechanical Engineering; MS in Economics, PhD is Ancient History, etc. This goal will help in defining
the required score range for section wise as well as overall score. Field of study, financial aid target and
university standards are important factors in defining range of required GRE score. The target score
range will, in turn, help in estimating the time and effort required for achieving that objective. Generally
speaking 1200‐1300 (Q+V) & 4.0 (essay) is decent score while 1400 & 5.0 is an excellent score. In the
following paragraphs, preparation for each section is discussed in detail.
I have prepared this write‐up so that the reader should not waste his time in collecting preparation
material and deciding what to study. Instead, he should spend his maximum time and energy in test
preparation. During my test preparation; I made extensive online search downloading of several GBs of
data to collect study guides and practice tests. So I suggest you not to repeat this drudgery again and
concentrate mainly on learning. However, if you are still queries to explore further than please first
prepare from the resources mentioned below and then search for more.
Kindly, circulate this document and other helping material among those interested in GRE preparation.
GRE Quantitative Section
This section measures basic mathematical and computing skills. The contents of this test are similar to
those of 10‐grade mathematics. These mainly include graphs, geometry (circle, triangle, lines, rectangle
parallelogram etc), arithmetic (ratios, percentage, averages etc.), and simple algebra. Advanced topics
like permutations, combinations and solid geometry are sometimes included. However, time constraints
and tricky questions pose the challenge. For engineers, this section is relatively easy as they do not to
learn new concepts. Therefore, they can get 700/800 easily. But higher scores e.g. 750 require practicing
with actual questions under time constraints and application for short‐cuts that eliminate computations
or at‐least decrease them substantially. These tricks or short‐cuts are excellently elaborated in Barron’s
GRE Book. In order to get 800/800; one really need to master the concepts and solve the practice tests.
Nearly 7 % of all GRE test takers score 800/800.
In my opinion, the best strategy to prepare for this section is to learn the contents of the test and
familiarize you with the type/level of difficulty of questions asked in actual tests. This can be attained by
studying one of the books at 1‐3 and practice the end of the chapter exercises.
My recommended preparation strategy for Quant section is given below:
1. Familiarize yourself with actual test requirements This can be done by studying one of the books
at 1‐3 and practice the end of the chapter exercises. But please do not switch between books
and/or topics unless you have mastered at‐least one book completely. Key points and fact
described in GRE Barron’s book should be on your finger tips. The first phase should take around
2 weeks.
2. Practice the paper based tests and maintain their record. There is a huge amount of practice
material available on internet and in printed books. I have included selective practice material
that I found useful. While practicing those tests, keep record of your answers so that you can
later learn about your mistakes and evaluate your progression while you go through various
tests. This log is especially useful when your test date approaches and you need to pinpoint your
weaknesses.
There is no recommended time limit for this phase. If you have plenty of time, practice as much
as you can. If your test date is very close then at‐least solve 3‐4 practice tests given at the end of
the preparation books. Remember that level of difficulty in preparation books is almost always
higher than actual test. So don’t get worried if you are not able to score 100 % despite all your
efforts.
3. Practice CAT tests. Computer Adaptive tests are best tools to familiarize you with actual test
conditions. GRE provides 2 CAT practice tests while number of preparation books also contains
some CAT tests. It is almost impossible to practice all those tests but practice as much as you
can. Unlike paper based tests; these tests will give you a final score out of 800. The level of
difficult varies greatly among those prep kits, but in my opinion, ETS‐GRE CAT test are easier
than actual while others are relatively more difficult. Do not forget you keep record of the
results.
Recommended GRE Quant Preparation Material
1. Barron’s GRE Book
2. Nova GRE Book
3. Peterson’s book
4. GRE Big Book
5. 10 Actual tests
6. GRE Bible
7. Korean tests
8. Cracking the GRE
9. Kaplan Qunat Book
10. Acing the GRE
11. GRE Raju Online Resources
12. GMAT Quant Preparation Materials
Barron’s GRE Book This is perhaps most widely used book for GRE preparation. It contains extensive
review of the topics which appear in actual test. The salient feature of this book is listing of key‐points
and facts pertaining to each topic. One needs to memorize them and master their application in
problem solving. Remember, you do not need to make lengthy computations in pointing out correct
answer. Sometimes, it can be done without any calculation by simply applying a trick.
This book also contains paper based sample tests and one CAT on its CD. Please purchase its hard copy
or borrow it from somebody else. Because, the best method to learn is through printed book and not
through soft copy of a book.
Nova GRE Book It is also an excellent preparation guide. I recommend using this book after mastering
Barron’s book. It also contains excellent exercises and notes. It has some advantages over Barron’s
books because it contains some high difficulty level questions also. Advanced topics like probability and
Graphs are better covered in this book. Do not forget to peruse the Summary of Math Properties given
at the end of quantitative section on page 287‐295.
I believe that soft copy of this book would suffice if you master Barron’s book first but still its excellent
book. Arrange its hard copy if possible.
Peterson’s Master the GRE In terms of standard, this book is comparable to above mentioned books.
Although, it does not contains large no of exercises but it elaborates step‐by‐step approach in
attempting problems. Besides, it also teaches various techniques that may be very useful while
appearing in actual test. I recommend this book because it will not take very long time to go through it.
Simply learn its strategies, may be you will find some new methods that are not presented in Barron’s or
Nova book. In my opinion, use this book after studying and mastering first two preparation books.
It is especially suited for those who find GRE Quant section difficult e.g. those who do not have
background in engineering or physical sciences. They may use this book as starting guide.
GRE Big Book This is undoubtedly the largest resource containing actual GRE questions. It contains 27
old pattern tests. Hence it contains 27*2=54 tests similar to current pattern. Current pattern asks 28
questions in 45 minutes and Big Book tests contain tests with 30 questions in 30 minutes. However, in
my opinion, level of difficulty is same in both formats. Only difference is length of calculations involved.
Therefore, solve as much tests as you can. Moreover older format included large number of questions
based on graphs. Therefore you will never find such a large pool of graph‐related questions. My advice is
that do not underestimate the usefulness of this book; even for CAT preparation.
10 Actual tests Same as those of GRE Big book. Practice if time permits.
Cracking the GRE This book is suitable for those who do not have much time to prepare for the test.
Acing the GRE Same as above
GRE Bible This interactive software for GRE test is not suitable for quantitative section preparation.
However, it has good resources for CAT practice and will be discussed later.
GRE Math Exercise Korea These are collection of some nice tests compiled by Korean students. Practice
them if time permits.
Probability_Onestopgre.com This is 30 pages exercise comprised of questions of probability. It also
contains answers and their explanations. Use only if you have very good preparation for quant section
and are expecting 750+ as such questions usually have higher difficulty level.
501 Geometry, Algebra and Quantitative Comparison Questions These booklets contain 501 questions
on each of these topics. They guides are suitable for preparation of a large number of tests like GRE,
SAT, GMAT etc. Hence they are not specific for GRE preparation and therefore not very suitable. Practice
only if you want to have some fun.
GRE Raju This India based online agency provides various services for study abroad particularly for
graduate studies in US. It also maintains an online forum where test takers share the questions that they
encounter in actual test. As ETS (GRE test taker) has a pool of questions and every test taker gets
questions from it, therefore, there exists some chance that you will exactly find the same questions in
your test. I speculate that this test pool is changed every month because ETS does not allow any test
taker to re‐appearing in GRE within same calendar month.
I do not recommend this resource, because, the statements of the questions are not authentic and often
flawed. Moreover, correct answers of those questions are not given. And above all, the level of difficulty
of those questions is not known. Perhaps you will be puzzled by some questions of very high level of
difficulty but actually they would be appearing to only those who score in range of 790‐800.
Use only at your own risk. I consider it a waste of time and source of tension and frustration.
GMAT Quant Resources I downloaded those files but I believe that are only useful GMAT preparation
because test pattern in GRE and GMAT is different. However, you will find lot of hard questions in these
resources.
GRE Verbal Section
This section mainly measures the vocabulary and reading abilities. It is comprised of antonyms,
analogies, sentence completion and reading comprehension questions. All of those except the last can
be mastered by building good vocabulary. It should be kept in mind that GRE does not test vocabulary
randomly. Rather, it is focused on words that frequently appear in academic literature. Therefore, it
possible to learn and memorize word lists complied by test experts. There are numerous lists available
for such purpose and almost all of the GRE preparation books include some sort of vocabulary building
lists. Barron’s Master Word List is one of the most widely known vocabulary building tool.
Barron’s Master Word List is comprised of 3500 word and sub divided into 50 lists. Perhaps most of the
vocabulary lists are derived from it and are available in various formats. In order to achieve good verbal
score i.e. 500 or more; one should master the whole vocabulary list. I believe that short‐cuts like word
smart I & II are not sufficient because in actual questions you encounter lots of words and memorizing
just 1000‐1500 words does not enable you to do well in exam.
Before listing recommended books for Verbal Prep, I would like to briefly discuss about Vocabulary
Building and Reading Comprehension.
VOCABULARY BUILDING
It is generally believed that it is very difficult to prepare for verbal section because any word can be
asked in the examination. Although it is hypothetically true but in reality most of the words, i.e. at‐least
70‐80%, asked in exam are from Vocabulary lists. Another myth about GRE verbal says this test is
designed for native English speakers and therefore, non‐native English speakers cannot score good or
excellent marks simply by preparing for few months. Despite the fact that native speakers would find it
easier to learn those words but still these words are challenging for them as well, the reason being that
these words are not used in everyday conversation and are found mainly in literature only. These
vocabulary words can be compared to difficult words used in Urdu poetry and novels; which despite
being native Urdu speakers; we can seldom comprehend without first consulting dictionary. Therefore
we should not be discouraged by this illusion.
Building good vocabulary is however, lengthy, boring and difficult task. I believe that 4 month period is
sufficient for this purpose. Preparation aids for vocabulary building are briefly described below.
Barron’s Master Word List Reading from a printed book is always easier and more effective as
compared to ebook. Therefore, arrange a hard copy of Barron’s book when you plan to prepare for GRE.
In Barron’s Master List, there are fifty (50) sub‐lists each comprising of 70 words.
I believe that learning one list in two days is a very good progress. However, this pace is very difficult to
achieve; particularly in beginning. This can be made possible by studying for nearly 1‐1.5 hours daily.
With this speed, it will take 100 days or 3 months & 10 days to complete whole master list once.
While preparing a word list using Barron’s book, first try to understand the word by reading its meaning
and sentence given. Each day when you study; make a list of difficult word on paper so that you can
keep it with yourself and revise when you get some spare time e.g. while traveling or watching TV.
Besides studying from book, use a dictionary preferably electronic one like Encarta dictionary or
Wordweb‐Pro. Using these dictionaries along with their thesaurus is excellent habit while working on
vocabulary building. Another very useful practice is to install a dictionary on your cell phone. I had
Oxford dictionary in my mobile and I really found it very helpful for revision.
Retention of words and their meanings requires periodic revisions and practicing the test questions.
Therefore, do not be discouraged if you memorize a list and after few days you find that you have
forgotten half of it. This is normal and happens with almost everybody.
Please note that other vocabulary lists like that presented in GRE Nova Prep book are also comparable
to Barron’s, however, latter is more popular.
After finishing Master list once with preferably one or two complete revisions, one should plan to focus
on difficult words and other weaknesses.
Vocabuly Software This interactive software is an excellent tool for revision of vocabulary lists. It
permits you to pinpoint difficult words by assigning a difficulty level (0‐5) to each word. In free study
mode, you can easily work on most difficult words from all lists by viewing words with difficulty level‐5.
Therefore, we can say that it allows the user to categorize the words according to user‐defined level of
difficulty and subsequently develop customized lists. Moreover, facility of recalling words and word
ticker are its excellent features. Word ticket automatically displays words and their meaning and while
you can revise them in your mind.
I strongly recommend this software to be utilized in revision phase. Moreover, it can also be used after
finishing every word list from Barron’s book. After learning GRE list, learn Barron’s Plus list (import this
book after software installation). Other lists like SAT, GMAT and TOEFL also contain some helpful words
but they are less important for GRE test. Prepare these lists only after studying GRE and Barron’s Plus
lists.
After vocabulary building and revision, next step is practicing of sample tests or other questions pool.
These resources will be listed in GRE Verbal Preparation Material.
Reading Comprehension
In my opinion, reading comprehension is the most difficult portion of the GRE Verbal section. This is
because it cannot be mastered by simply memorizing vocabulary lists. Rather it requires habit of
extensive and thoughtful reading preferably in a variety of fields. However, knowledge of any particular
field is not required while answering the questions as all questions can be answered using the
information available in the passage.
I believe that most of us who have studied in Government schools do not know the fundamentals of
reading comprehension, whether in English or Urdu. Therefore, we should start from less difficult level.
Practicing IELTS or TOEFL reading comprehension is a good method of building a foundation. IELTS
reading is relatively difficult than TOEFL but online format of TOEFL makes it appear similar to GRE
reading comprehension.
After practicing some of those tests, one may turn his attention to GRE reading comprehension.
Although the level of difficulty is an important difference between GRE and IELTS/TOEFL reading but in
my opinion time constraint is most important difference. Therefore, after building foundations, one
must concentrate on increasing speed while reading from PC screen.
However, after all your efforts, if you believe that you are not doing well in reading comprehension
questions then do not be discouraged. Your good score in other questions which are based on
vocabulary may help you obtain decent score in verbal section.
Extensive reading is the best strategy to improve reading comprehension skills in the longer run. Regular
reading of newspapers and magazines can be very helpful in this regard. But if you have limited time,
concentrate only exercises of IELTS/TOEFL and GRE. Even if you intend to adopt the habit of
newspaper/magazine reading, first learn the basis of reading comprehension from test books because
no questions are included in these newspapers that may test you level of understanding.
Recommended GRE Verbal Preparation Material
1. Barron’s GRE Book
2. Nova GRE Book
3. Peterson’s book
4. GRE Big Book
5. 10 Actual tests
6. 19 Real tests
7. GRE Bible
8. Cracking the GRE
9. Kaplan Verbal Book
10. Acing the GRE
11. GRE Raju Online Resources
Barron’s GRE Book: After having a brief review of the type of questions, start studying Master Word list.
Initially, try to study small number of words i.e. 15‐20 words per day and revise them two three times. It
is a good idea to write difficult words on a piece of paper and keep it with you so that you may revise it
at your convenience.
Nova GRE Book This book includes 4000 Vocabulary words. It only includes words/meanings. The
vocabulary of the list is similar to Barron’s list. In my opinion, it should be used for revision once you
have learned Barron’s list.
Its format is suitable for printing. There is no need to use this resource if you do not have sufficient time.
Peterson’s Master the GRE This book does not contain any Vocabulary list. But it includes nice
discussion on strategies for attempting questions. Use this book after completing Barron’s word list
and before solving actual or practice tests.
GRE Big Book It is an excellent resource for practicing GRE tests. This includes tests on old format. But
the only main difference is in format of reading comprehension questions. Each old test includes two
passages; one is long passage while other is shorter one. However in GRE CAT, there are two to three
passages and their length is somewhat in between the longer and shorter passages of old format GRE.
Nevertheless, it is very useful to practice these tests as much as you can.
10 Actual tests Same as those of GRE Big book. Practice if time permits.
19 Real tests Same as those of GRE Big book. Practice if time permits.
Cracking the GRE This book is suitable for those who do not have much time to prepare for the test.
Acing the GRE Same as above
Kaplan Verbal Book This book is useful for practice only. Do not use this book if you do not have time as
it does not contain any critical information.
GRE Bible This interactive software contains vocabulary list (Vocabulary Bible) containing around 3000
words and divided into 100 sub‐lists. These lists are not arranged alphabetically and thus do not prepare
you to tackle with similar and often confusing words. I, therefore, do not consider these random lists
very suitable.
On the other hand, it is very useful in practice session. Besides Verbal Test Bank; each list also contains
different exercises which are very helpful.
501 Critical Reading, Synonyms, and Analogies Questions These booklets contain 501 questions on
each of these topics. They guides are suitable for preparation of a large number of tests like GRE, SAT,
GMAT etc. Hence they are not specific for GRE preparation and therefore not very suitable.
GRE Raju It contains very little resources for GRE Verbal section.
GRE Analytical Section
GRE analytical section is the first section which appears in GRE. It contains two essays; one is on issue
topic while second is on argument topic. For issue‐essay, one has to choose one topic from two topics,
while for argument essay there is no choice for topic selection.
Essay topics asked in actual tests are directly taken from GRE ISSUE & ARGUMENT POOLS which are
available on GRE website. Both issue and argument pool contain around 250‐300 essays each. Both of
these types of essays require different approaches for preparation & writing and hence they are
discussed separately.
An average person who has learned the basic rules for writing GRE analytical essays can easily score 3.0
or sometimes 3.5. However, in order to score beyond this limit, one has to prepare for writing good
quality essay which reflects good critical thinking as well as good writing/composition skills. I believe
that after following the guidelines given below, one can increase his score to 4.0 or hopefully up to 4.5.
Obtaining an essay score of 5 or beyond requires various polished skills which cannot be developed in
limited time. Therefore, an engineering/science graduate who is non‐native English speaker should
aim at 4.0 or 4.5 in GRE analytical essay section.
My recommended preparation strategy for Issue‐Essay is given below:
1. Familiarize yourself with Essay Pool Download issue pool from GRE website. The topics listed
there are not numbered, therefore, numerate them before printing. It is important to note that
topics mainly originate from arts, education, role of technology, history, social values etc.
Therefore it is possible to prepare various topics simultaneously.
2. Learn the strategies for Issue Writing It should be noted that it is up to the writer to decide
about the contents of the essays. One may write in support of the topic, against the topic or
may take a neutral stance. However, preparing your point of view and writing in limited time
requires careful time management and familiarly with essay writing guidelines. Barron’s, Nova
or Petersons GRE preparation guides are all very useful in this regard. Pay special attention to
time management (I followed the time management strategies given in Barron’s book and found
them very useful). Otherwise your response may remain incomplete or contain errors which
could have been avoided by careful planning.
3. Read sample essays Sample essays of different score levels along with reader’s commentary are
provided by ETS. They are helpful in understanding the scoring criteria but certainly they cannot
increase your knowledge about essay topics. Solutions to various actual essay topics are
included in GRE Bible. Moreover, a book by ARCO on GRE essays is available which contains
solutions for nearly half of GRE pool topics. I HAVE FOUND THIS BOOK EXTREMELY USEFUL
because it enhances your knowledge about various fields, provides in‐depth understanding of
the topics and provides easy but excellent quality sample for actual test preparation.
However, reading alone does not guarantee a good score in GRE analytical section. Extensive
writing practice is the only guaranteed method for improving your score.
4. Practice writing essays Test taker can only write their essays on PC and submit them online.
There is no provision for hand written response. Therefore, one should always practice writing
essays on PC. The word processor in GRE test is of very basic level, it does not contain any
formatting provision. It is similar to NOTEPAD and WORDPAD. However, WORDPAD is more
useful for practice as compared to NOTEPAD.
Initially, it is better to write the essays without time constraints but after some practice try to
write timed response. Moreover, it is extremely important to sit in calm and isolated place when
you are writing your response.
It is the best opportunity to master time management or any other strategy that you may find
help. A careful practice will help you adopt or discard different tactics.
5. Evaluate your response Pointing out your shortcoming and mistakes are critical in improving
your essays. However, it is really very difficult to note your our errors. Take help of a friend or
family member because a second person always evaluates your essays through a totally
different point of view. Also keep record of your written responses, reading them again after
few days will help your find more mistakes.
6. Finalizing your preparation During your final days of preparation, you would have reached a
particular standard for your essay writing. Then instead of writing complete essays, memorize
your points about a particular field e.g. value of art, benefits of technology etc. Also prepare
your first and final paragraphs because their style is almost the same regardless of the topic.
Strategy for preparing Argument‐Essay:
1. Familiarize yourself with Essay Pool Print the numbered essay pool and try to read them
completely. The argument topics nearly one paragraph long and contain number of clauses
which may sometimes be confusing. Therefore, if you do not understand a topic while sitting in
exam, you may lose precious time and definitely precious score. Therefore, make every effort of
read and comprehend all topics al‐least once. However, it is neither necessary nor desirable to
read all of them in the start of preparation.
2. Learn the strategies for Writing Argument Essay This essay must be written with neutral
perspective. You just have to evaluate the points made in the passage. If you write your own
opinion, your score will be adversely affected. Again time management is very crucial.
3. Read sample essays: same as for issue topic
4. Practice writing essays: same as for issue topic
One important difference, however, is that response to argument essay is not open ended. You
only have to discuss the statements made in the topic. Therefore, one may say that they are
similar to mathematical questions. Therefore, after making some practice, you may only write
the points to discuss in your essays and avoid writing whole essay every time.
5. Evaluate your response : same as for issue topic
Recommended GRE Verbal Preparation Material
1. Barron’s GRE Book
2. Nova GRE Book
3. Peterson’s book
4. ARCO GRE CAT Answer to Real Essay Questions
5. GRE Bible
6. Cracking the GRE
Learn the basics from any of the first three above mentioned books. Then read the sample essays and
practice them as discussed earlier.
Next
Other guides
GRE Preparation Resources
1. Barron’s GRE Book
2. Nova GRE Book
3. Peterson’s book
4. Cracking the GRE
5. Acing the GRE
6. Vocabuly Software
7. GRE Bible
8. GRE Big Book
9. 10 Actual tests
10. 19 Actual tests
11. Korean Quant tests
12. Kaplan Verbal Book
13. GRE Raju Online Resources
14. GMAT Quant Preparation Materials
15. ARCO GRE Essays Solution
16. 501 Books
List of paper based and CAT tests
GRE Preparation
a. Intro
b. Quant
c. Verbal
d. Paper based tests
e. Computer Adaptive tests (CATs)
2. Scholarship Search
3. GAT Preparation
4. Difference between GRE and GAT
5. IELTS Preparation
6. TOEFL Preparation