← Home

GRE Cram Sheet

Verbal Reasoning: Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence

Text Completion: 1-3 blank sentences; ALL blanks must be correct for any credit — no partial credit
Sentence Equivalence: 1 blank, 6 choices; select 2 words that create sentences with equivalent meaning
Strategy: cover answer choices first; predict tone and type of word needed before looking at options
Positive/negative charge: identify whether blank should be positive, negative, or neutral from context
Pivot words (contrast): 'although,' 'despite,' 'however,' 'yet' — blank REVERSES the preceding tone
Pivot words (same direction): 'because,' 'so,' 'thus,' 'therefore' — blank CONTINUES the tone
2-blank strategy: fill the easier blank first; use it to eliminate half the choices for the harder blank
High-frequency vocab: laconic, recalcitrant, pellucid, equivocate, garrulous, sanguine, intransigent, enervate

Passage types: humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, business — same strategy for all
Main Idea questions: answer must match author's full scope and tone — not too narrow, not too broad
Inference questions: answer must be directly supported by passage; cannot go beyond what's stated
Author's attitude: look for evaluative language — 'unfortunately,' 'surprisingly,' 'rightly,' 'misguided'
Select-in-passage: click the sentence in the passage itself that best illustrates the point asked
Multiple-answer questions: select ALL that apply; partial credit not given — all correct or zero
Short passages: read fully before questions; long passages: skim structure, then read for detail per question
Comparative Reading: two short passages — know how they relate: agree, disagree, complement, or contrast

Primes: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29 — memorize first 15; 1 is NOT prime; 2 is only even prime
Divisibility rules: div by 3 (digit sum div by 3), by 4 (last 2 digits div by 4), by 9 (digit sum div by 9)
Exponent rules: x^a * x^b = x^(a+b); (x^a)^b = x^(ab); x^0 = 1; x^(-n) = 1/x^n
Percent change: (new - old) / old x 100; successive percents compound — do not just add them
Linear equations: isolate variable; same operation both sides; verify by substituting answer back
Systems of equations: substitution or elimination; need 2 independent equations for 2 unknowns
Inequalities: flip inequality sign when multiplying or dividing both sides by a negative number
Absolute value: |x| = a means x = a OR x = -a; solve both cases; plug answers back to verify

Triangle angles: sum to 180 degrees; exterior angle = sum of two non-adjacent interior angles
Pythagorean theorem: a^2 + b^2 = c^2; common triples: 3-4-5, 5-12-13, 8-15-17
Special right triangles: 30-60-90 sides = 1 : sqrt(3) : 2; 45-45-90 sides = 1 : 1 : sqrt(2)
Circle formulas: area = pi*r^2; circumference = 2*pi*r; arc = (angle/360) x 2*pi*r
Coordinate geometry: slope = (y2-y1)/(x2-x1); y = mx + b; perpendicular slopes are negative reciprocals
Statistics: mean = sum/count; median = middle value (sorted); mode = most frequent; range = max - min
Quantitative Comparison (QC): compare Qty A vs. B — choices: A greater, B greater, equal, or cannot determine
Data interpretation: read chart titles, axis labels, legends first; watch for percentage vs. actual count

Time: 30 minutes; prompt comes from published ETS pool — you can review all prompts before test day
Task: take a clear position on the given statement; support with reasoning, examples, and evidence
Structure: intro (state position clearly) — 2-3 body paragraphs — conclusion (synthesize, do not just repeat)
Scoring scale: 0-6 in half-point increments; scored holistically on reasoning, organization, and language
Score 5-6 requires: nuanced position (acknowledge limits/counterarguments), specific concrete examples, varied syntax
Best examples: historical events, scientific discoveries, literature, real policy cases — avoid vague generalities
Address counterargument: acknowledge and refute it — demonstrates depth of thinking to raters
AWA reported separately: most programs require 4.0+; top programs (top 10 PhD) expect 5.0+

Total time: approximately 3 hours 45 minutes including breaks
Sections: 1 AWA (30 min) + 2 Verbal (36 min, 27 questions each) + 2 Quant (47 min, 27 questions each) + 1 unscored experimental
Scoring scale: Verbal 130-170; Quantitative 130-170; AWA 0-6 in half-point increments
Section-adaptive: GRE adapts at section level — Section 1 performance determines Section 2 difficulty ceiling
Experimental section: one unidentified unscored section appears — treat all sections as scored
Score percentiles (approx): Verbal 163 = 90th percentile; Quant 166 = 90th; Verbal 170 = 99th; Quant 170 = 96th
ScoreSelect: choose which test date scores to send to programs; scores valid for 5 years
No guessing penalty: unanswered questions hurt your score — always guess if time runs out

Verbal pacing: 36 min / 27 questions = ~80 sec/question; bank time on TC/SE to spend on Reading Comp
Quant pacing: 47 min / 27 questions = ~105 sec/question; do not get stuck — mark and move on
Section navigation: GRE allows skipping and returning within a section — use mark feature for flagged questions
Process of elimination: eliminate 2-3 clearly wrong choices fast; spend time deciding between remaining options
QC strategy: plug in numbers (0, 1, -1, fractions) to test cases; if result changes, answer is 'cannot determine'
Plugging in numbers: assign simple values to unknowns in algebra problems — often faster than full algebra
Verbal traps: do not pick answers that sound smart but go beyond the passage — stay within text boundaries
Harder Section 2: if Verbal or Quant Section 2 feels noticeably harder, that is a GOOD sign — you are on a high-score path

Diagnostic first: take ETS PowerPrep free test (2 free full tests available) to establish your baseline before studying
Target scores by program: top PhD humanities: 162+ Verbal; STEM programs: 165+ Quant; MBA: varies by school
1-month plan: week 1-2 targeted fundamentals; week 3 timed sections; week 4 two full tests + deep review
2-3 month plan: 15-20 vocab words per day; focus on weakest section; 3-4 full timed tests minimum
Free resources: ETS PowerPrep (2 free full tests), ETS official practice questions, Khan Academy math
Paid resources: Manhattan Prep GRE, Magoosh GRE, Kaplan, Princeton Review — all effective with commitment
Error log: every wrong answer — record type, your choice, correct answer, and WHY it is right — review weekly
Score plateau fix: practice under timed real conditions, then immediately review every error — growth comes from mistakes