The GRE Test is the entrance test that is carried out commonly for the admission of students into graduate schools in the USA. The Educational Testing Services administers this entrance test.  Prior to their appearance of the GRE test, it will be of great help if the students have a good knowledge about the pattern and syllabus of the exam.

Structure of the GRE exam

The GRE test is basically separated into two parts. That includes the subject test and General test. While the subject test is optional for candidates, the General Test is a must for them.  The General test will check candidate’s ability on verbal, quantitative and essay writing skills. 12 varieties of GRE subject tests are available for the students.  The candidate needs to take a particular subject test according to the University he or she chooses.

Syllabus of the GRE exam

The General test comprises of 3 sections. They include:

• Analytical writing
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Verbal reasoning section

In the Analytical Writing part, the candidates are required to write two essays. For the first essay, candidate should analyze an issue and for second essay, they need to analyze an argument. The time that is given to the candidates for the former is 45 minutes and that for the latter is 30 minutes. The Quantitative section tests the candidate’s mathematical skills. As to attempt this part, it is required for the candidates to have a basic knowledge of algebra, number reasoning and geometry. The verbal section is designed to test the English vocabulary of the candidates. Apart from this, they will also be tested on their verbal reasoning and the connection between different components of words and sentences. The verbal reasoning section will comprise of questions with multiple choices. The different topics that will be included in this section are:

• Analogies
• Synonyms
• Antonyms
• Sentence Completion
• Reading Comprehension
• Reference Books for GRE exam

Some of the best books that can be used as a reference by the students are given below.

• Barron’s GRE Math Workbook by Blair Madore
• Cracking The GRE, 2009 Edition by Adam Robinson
• GRE General Test by David Bell
• GRE-Preparation Course by Jeff Kolby
• Kaplan GRE Exam Math Workbook by Kaplan
• Kaplan GRE Exam 2010: Strategies, Practice, and Review by Kaplan
• Peterson’s Ultimate GRE tools

All the books provided above comes with an all inclusive review of the exam materials in addition to test-taking strategies. These books are intended to provide maximum help for students.

Study Plan for the GRE exam

As to get ready for the GRE exam, the students can practice on sample test papers. It would be of help for them if they practise writing essays under a time constraint. On top of this, they must learn to make a frame for their ideas quickly. This will help them to complete the task they are doing effortlessly. Students can also get help from the internet. Many free online essay writing softwares will be available for the students to use.

The Quantitative sections can become quite trying for students who do not have many ideas about it. To avoid this problem, the students can work out mathematical problems. This will help them to write their exam well and can obtain high scores. Students can also get guidance from study guides. These guides will include all the study techniques to learn formulae quickly as well as tips on how to use diagrams most effectively. Apart from this, many websites will be available for the students to check out their grammatical skills. By becoming more focused and practising more the students will be able to score high marks in the exam.