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GRE General Test Prep — Verbal, Quant & Analytical Writing

Last updated: November 2026

The GRE General Test is the standardized admissions exam used by graduate, business, and law school programs worldwide to evaluate readiness for advanced study. In September 2023, ETS introduced a significantly shortened test format — cutting total testing time nearly in half to just under two hours while retaining the same 130–170 score scales for Verbal and Quantitative reasoning and 0–6 for Analytical Writing. This free practice test covers the core question types across all three scored measures under the current, streamlined format.

Practice Set
25 Questions
Exam Duration
1h 58m
Access Level
Instant & Unrestricted

Note on the Shortened GRE Format (Effective September 2023)

ETS shortened the GRE General Test from approximately 3 hours 45 minutes to 1 hour 58 minutes. The key changes: • Analytical Writing: Reduced from 2 tasks (Analyze an Issue + Analyze an Argument) to 1 task (Analyze an Issue only, 30 minutes). The Argument essay has been eliminated. • Quantitative Reasoning: Reduced from 40 questions (2 sections of 20) to 27 questions across 2 sections (Section 1: 12 questions, 21 minutes; Section 2: 15 questions, 26 minutes). Total: 47 minutes. • Verbal Reasoning: Reduced from 40 questions (2 sections of 20) to 27 questions across 2 sections (Section 1: 12 questions, 18 minutes; Section 2: 15 questions, 23 minutes). Total: 41 minutes. • Unscored/Experimental section: Completely removed. • Scheduled 10-minute break: Removed (the test is now continuous). • Score scales remain unchanged: Verbal (130–170), Quant (130–170), Analytical Writing (0–6 in half-point increments). If you're using prep materials published before late 2023, be aware that question types and difficulty are identical, but pacing and test length are substantially different.

Shortened GRE General Test Structure

Administered worldwide by Educational Testing Service (ETS), the GRE General Test evaluates verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills necessary for success in graduate, doctoral, MBA, and law programs.

  • Analytical Writing: 1 task ("Analyze an Issue"), 30 minutes. Assesses critical thinking and the ability to construct a coherent, evidence-supported argument on a general topic.
  • Quantitative Reasoning (2 sections, 27 total questions, 47 total minutes): Section 1 contains 12 questions (21 minutes); Section 2 contains 15 questions (26 minutes). Covers arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis. Question formats include Quantitative Comparison, single-answer Multiple Choice, select-one-or-more Multiple Choice, and Numeric Entry. An on-screen basic calculator is provided.
  • Verbal Reasoning (2 sections, 27 total questions, 41 total minutes): Section 1 contains 12 questions (18 minutes); Section 2 contains 15 questions (23 minutes). Covers Reading Comprehension passages, Text Completion (single, double, and triple blank), and Sentence Equivalence (select two synonymous words).
  • Adaptive Structure & Timing: Total exam time is 1 hour 58 minutes (54 questions + 1 essay). The test is section-level adaptive — your aggregate performance on Section 1 of Verbal and Quant determines the difficulty level (and scoring ceiling) of Section 2.
  • Scoring & Reporting: Verbal (130–170 in 1-point increments), Quantitative (130–170 in 1-point increments), and Analytical Writing (0–6 in 0.5-point increments). Scores are valid for 5 years and include ETS ScoreSelect, allowing you to choose which test date scores are sent to institutions.

Because the shortened GRE has fewer questions per section (12 in Section 1 and 15 in Section 2), each individual question carries more statistical weight in determining section routing and your final scaled score.

The 3 Scored Measures at a Glance

01

Analytical Writing (1 Task, 30 Minutes)

Single "Analyze an Issue" essay prompt evaluating critical thinking, clear articulation of complex ideas, supporting arguments with relevant evidence, and sustained coherent writing.

02

Quantitative Reasoning (2 Sections, 27 Questions, 47 Minutes)

Assesses basic mathematical skills, understanding of elementary mathematical concepts (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis), and ability to reason quantitatively with an on-screen calculator.

03

Verbal Reasoning (2 Sections, 27 Questions, 41 Minutes)

Evaluates the ability to analyze and evaluate written material, synthesize information, analyze relationships among component parts of sentences, and recognize relationships among words and concepts.

The GRE does not have a universal "passing" score. Graduate admissions percentiles vary dramatically by field: engineering and quantitative finance programs often expect Quant scores of 165+ (90th+ percentile), while humanities and social science programs prioritize Verbal scores of 160+ and Analytical Writing scores of 4.5+.

Free GRE Practice Questions (Quantitative & Verbal Reasoning)

Completed: 0/25
Question 1 of 25
Interactive Practice

Given that x > 1 and y > 1 such that x² + y² = 25 and xy = 12. Quantity A: (x + y)² Quantity B: 49 Which of the following statements is true?

Question 2 of 25
Interactive Practice

A graduate school cohort consists of 120 students across three disciplines: 50 in Engineering, 40 in Life Sciences, and 30 in Humanities. On a standardized qualifying exam: • The Engineering students achieved an average (arithmetic mean) score of 84. • The Life Sciences students achieved an average score of 78. • The Humanities students achieved an average score of 90. What was the overall average score for the entire 120-student cohort?

Question 3 of 25
Interactive Practice

In the xy-coordinate plane, a triangle has vertices at P(0, 0), Q(8, 0), and R(2, 6). A line segment is drawn parallel to the x-axis from point S(1, 3) on segment PR to point T on segment QR, dividing triangle PQR into an upper smaller triangle STR and a lower trapezoid PQTS. What is the area of trapezoid PQTS?

Question 4 of 25
Interactive Practice

Select the entry for each blank from the corresponding column of choices. Fill all blanks in the way that best completes the text. Although the initial findings of the archaeological expedition were widely celebrated as a groundbreaking revelation, subsequent carbon dating and rigorous stratigraphical scrutiny revealed the artifacts to be remarkably [Blank 1], leading historians to lament that the original excavators had been blinded by their own [Blank 2] expectations.

Question 5 of 25
Interactive Practice

Select the two answer choices that, when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of the sentence as a whole and produce completed sentences that are alike in meaning. The CEO was known for her ________ leadership style; far from consulting her executive team on strategic initiatives, she issued unilateral directives and expected immediate, unquestioning compliance.

Question 6 of 25
Interactive Practice

Read the passage and answer the question that follows: "For decades, paleoclimatologists posited that the Younger Dryas—an abrupt period of severe cooling approximately 12,900 years ago—was triggered exclusively by a massive breach of North American glacial lakes, which flooded the North Atlantic with low-density freshwater and disrupted the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). However, recent high-resolution ocean sediment cores from the subpolar gyre reveal that significant AMOC weakening preceded the freshwater outburst by several centuries. This chronological discrepancy suggests that while meltwater discharge undoubtedly exacerbated and prolonged the cooling episode, it cannot be considered the singular catalyst that initiated the climatic shift." According to the passage, the author mentions the "chronological discrepancy" primarily in order to:

Question 7 of 25
Interactive Practice

Compare Quantity A and Quantity B, using additional information centered above the two quantities if such information is given. Quantity A: 15% of 80 Quantity B: 80% of 15

Question 8 of 25
Interactive Practice

Compare Quantity A and Quantity B, using additional information centered above the two quantities if such information is given. Quantity A: The number of positive divisors of 48 Quantity B: 9

Question 9 of 25
Interactive Practice

Compare Quantity A and Quantity B, using additional information centered above the two quantities if such information is given. x^2 = 16 Quantity A: x Quantity B: 4

Question 10 of 25
Interactive Practice

A retailer marks an item up 40 percent above its cost and later sells it at a 25 percent discount off the marked price. The selling price is what percent above the retailer's cost?

Question 11 of 25
Interactive Practice

Pipe A can fill an empty tank in 6 hours, and Pipe B can fill the same tank in 12 hours. If both pipes operate together at their constant rates, how many hours will it take to fill the empty tank?

Question 12 of 25
Interactive Practice

The average (arithmetic mean) of five numbers is 12. When one of the numbers is removed, the average of the remaining four numbers is 10. What is the number that was removed?

Question 13 of 25
Interactive Practice

A circle has a radius of 6. What is the area of a sector of this circle whose central angle measures 60 degrees?

Question 14 of 25
Interactive Practice

If 3x - 7 = 2(x + 4), what is the value of x?

Question 15 of 25
Interactive Practice

A company's annual revenue, in millions of dollars, was as follows: 2021: 40; 2022: 52; 2023: 65; 2024: 78. The revenue in 2024 was what percent greater than the revenue in 2021?

Question 16 of 25
Interactive Practice

A bag contains 4 red marbles and 6 blue marbles. If two marbles are drawn at random without replacement, what is the probability that both are red?

Question 17 of 25
Interactive Practice

Select the entry that best completes the text. The politician's speech was so ________ that even her staunchest supporters struggled to recall a single concrete proposal it contained.

Question 18 of 25
Interactive Practice

Select the entry that best completes the text. Although critics dismissed the novel as derivative on its release, its enduring popularity suggests that their verdict was ________.

Question 19 of 25
Interactive Practice

Select one entry for each blank from the corresponding column of choices. Fill all blanks in the way that best completes the text. The scientist's (i)________ manner made her an unlikely choice for a public role, yet her (ii)________ explanations of complex topics won over every audience she addressed.

Question 20 of 25
Interactive Practice

Select the two answer choices that, when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of the sentence as a whole and produce completed sentences that are alike in meaning. Unlike her ________ brother, who rarely spoke at family gatherings, Maria was happy to hold forth on any topic.

Question 21 of 25
Interactive Practice

Select the two answer choices that, when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of the sentence as a whole and produce completed sentences that are alike in meaning. The new regulations were intended to ________ the spread of misinformation, yet critics argued they would ultimately have the opposite effect.

Question 22 of 25
Interactive Practice

Read the passage and answer the question that follows. Historians of science have long credited the printing press with accelerating the Scientific Revolution by allowing identical copies of texts to circulate widely. Yet this account overlooks a subtler effect: standardized diagrams. Before printing, hand-copied illustrations of anatomy or astronomy degraded with each transcription, so that scholars in different cities often debated images that had drifted apart. Printed plates, by contrast, gave distant researchers a shared visual reference, allowing disagreements to be traced to evidence rather than to scribal error. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Question 23 of 25
Interactive Practice

Read the passage and answer the question that follows. Cities are typically several degrees warmer than the surrounding countryside, a phenomenon attributed chiefly to dark surfaces such as asphalt and rooftops that absorb sunlight. Recent measurements, however, suggest that a shortage of vegetation may matter as much as surface color. Plants cool the air by releasing water vapor, and in several cities, neighborhoods with extensive tree cover were measurably cooler than nearby areas with equally reflective but treeless roofs. Which of the following is most strongly supported by the passage?

Question 24 of 25
Interactive Practice

A city built a network of protected bike lanes. Over the following two years, the share of commuters traveling by bicycle doubled. City officials concluded that the new lanes caused the increase. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the officials' conclusion?

Question 25 of 25
Interactive Practice

In a pilot program at one regional office, new claims-processing software reduced the average time to process a claim from 10 days to 6 days. An executive concluded that deploying the software at all of the company's offices will reduce average processing time by about 40 percent company-wide. Which of the following is an assumption on which the executive's conclusion depends?

GRE Analytical Writing Preparation — Analyze an Issue Prompts

2 Issue Tasks • Comprehensive Scoring Rubrics & Response Frameworks
Prompt 1 of 2Analytical Writing — Analyze an Issue
Open-Ended Response

Issue Task 1: Technology & Human Critical Thinking

Task Instructions: Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
Reading Passage / Prompt Context

Prompt: "As technology and automated tools become increasingly sophisticated, human critical thinking and problem-solving abilities will inevitably deteriorate." Directions: Plan and compose a 30-minute essay that takes a clear, nuanced position on this issue, substantiated by specific historical, scientific, or contemporary examples and addressing plausible counterarguments.

Prompt 2 of 2Analytical Writing — Analyze an Issue
Open-Ended Response

Issue Task 2: Government Funding of Fundamental vs. Applied Science

Task Instructions: Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these considerations shape your position.
Reading Passage / Prompt Context

Prompt: "Governments should place few, if any, restrictions on scientific research and should prioritize funding for research projects whose consequences and applications cannot be predicted in advance, rather than funding only research with immediate practical utility." Directions: Plan and compose a 30-minute essay evaluating the balance between fundamental theoretical inquiry and immediate applied research, supporting your argument with persuasive real-world evidence.

How to Prepare for the Shortened GRE

1

Prioritize Section 1 Performance

The shortened GRE is section-level adaptive with fewer questions per section (12 in Section 1), meaning each individual question carries greater statistical weight in routing you to an easier, medium, or harder second section. Achieving high accuracy on Section 1 is essential for unlocking higher scoring ceilings on Section 2.

2

Master Quantitative Comparison Strategies

Quantitative Comparison (QC) questions represent a substantial portion of the Quant sections. Train yourself to simplify both quantities algebraically before calculating, test numbers strategically (positives, negatives, fractions, zero, and extremes), and avoid performing unnecessary full computations when a comparison is already evident.

3

Build Vocabulary Through Context, Not Isolated Lists

Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence test vocabulary in nuanced academic contexts. Rather than memorizing flashcard definitions in isolation, study words in semantic clusters and pay close attention to structural transition words (e.g., however, moreover, notwithstanding, paradoxically, anomaly) that signal tone shifts and semantic polarity.

4

Practice 30-Minute Issue Essay Outlines

With only one essay task and no Argument task to balance your writing score, practice quickly generating balanced arguments within the 30-minute limit. Spend the first 3–4 minutes outlining a qualified thesis, selecting 2–3 concrete examples (historical, scientific, or contemporary), and planning a counterargument rebuttal.

5

Practice Under Continuous, Full-Length Timed Conditions

Without the old 10-minute break, the shortened GRE is a continuous two-hour sprint. Build the mental stamina required to transition immediately from Analytical Writing into Quant and Verbal sections by taking full-length mock exams without unscheduled pauses.

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