GRE Exam Survival Guide

A Fatskills Exam Survival Guide: what to focus on, what to avoid, and how to get through test day without panicking.

Window: Computer-based | Sections & timing (shorter GRE): AWA (1 task, 30m) → Verbal (12Q/18m & 15Q/23m) → Quant (12Q/21m & 15Q/26m). Total ≈ 1h 58m. Verbal/Quant are section-adaptive. Scores: V/Q 130–170, AWA 0–6. 

Must-do topics (80/20)

• Verbal: Main idea vs. purpose, inference, function-of-line; text completion & sentence equivalence using context signals; vocab by roots & collocations.
• Quant: Percent/ratio/mixture, averages/weighted mean, TSD/work; inequalities/absolute value; quadratics; exponents/logs; data interpretation (TAUSL); counting/prob (complements).
• AWA (Issue): clear claim + 2–3 reasons; CEI paragraphs (Claim→Evidence→Insight); concede & limit a counterpoint.

Top traps (avoid)

• Verbal: picking options that “sound true” but don’t answer the stem; extreme/scope-shift choices.
• Quant: forgetting to flip inequalities when ×/÷ by negative; extraneous roots after squaring; averaging percents without weights; sloppy units.
• AWA: examples named but not analyzed; restating prompt; no counter.

Time split (per ETS format)

• AWA 30m: 5–6 plan → 20–22 draft → 3–5 proof.
• Verbal 18m/23m: 1st section—bank accuracy; 2nd section is harder if you did well. Do TC/SE quick, then RC.
• Quant 21m/26m: harvest arithmetic/alg one-steps → DI/sets → leftovers. (Sections are adaptive by section, not by item.) 

Last-48h checklist

• 4 RC passages (2 science, 1 social, 1 arts) with line evidence notes.
• 60 quant mixed (percent/ratio/TSD/work/ineq + 2 DI sets) under section times.
• AWA: write 6 intros + 2 full essays; memorize a 12-word transitions bank.
• One-pager: quad formula & D, log laws (no splitting log(a+b)), TAUSL, % vs pp, inequality flip rules.

Quick frames & mini-tools

• TAUSL for charts: Title • Axes • Units • Scale • Legend.
• Percent chain: net = (1+a)(1+b)−1(1+a)(1+b)-1(1+a)(1+b)−1. Weighted mean: xˉ=∑wixi∑wi\bar x=\frac{\sum w_ix_i}{\sum w_i}xˉ=∑wi​∑wi​xi​​.
• Inequalities: ×/÷ by negative ⇒ flip sign.
• AWA skeleton: Although [limit], X because A, B, C → CEI bodies → address counter → implication.

Speed tactics

• Verbal: read task words first; kill extremes/out-of-scope; for TC/SE, lock grammar + tonal fit.
• Quant: pick smart numbers (base 100), back-solve from options, bound answers; write target units before computing.
• AWA: topic sentences first; then fill; proof in layers (content → verbs → punctuation).

Exam-day mini-plan

• 3-min warm-up: 2 TC/SE, 1 ratio, 1 DI micro-calc.
• In each section, cap stuck items (~60–75s verbal; ~75–90s quant); mark & move.
• Final 60–90s per section: re-read any EXCEPT/NOT stems; quick unit/tone audit.

Ready to practice? Try the GRE MCQ practice sets on Fatskills.