GRE General Test 2026: Score 330+ Strategy and Study Plan

GRE Structure (2026)

ETS shortened the GRE in 2023, removing one Verbal section, one Quant section, and the second Analytical Writing task. The current format:

• Analytical Writing: 1 task — "Analyse an Issue" (30 minutes)
• Verbal Reasoning: 2 sections × 12 questions (18 minutes each)
• Quantitative Reasoning: 2 sections × 15 questions (21 minutes each)

Verbal Reasoning: High-Yield Topics

• Text Completion (1–3 blanks): Read the sentence for structural logic clues — contrast words (although, despite) signal an opposite meaning blank
• Sentence Equivalence: Both correct answers must produce sentences with the same overall meaning — not just fill the blank appropriately
• Reading Comprehension: GRE RC passages are dense and argumentative. Identify the author's main point and any shift in tone
• Vocabulary: Focus on high-frequency GRE words (loquacious, obsequious, pellucid etc.) — 200 targeted words beats memorising thousands

Quantitative Reasoning: Key Topics

• Arithmetic and Number Properties (~25%): divisibility, remainders, primes, percentages
• Algebra (~25%): linear and quadratic equations, inequalities, functions
• Geometry (~15%): triangles, circles, coordinate geometry
• Data Analysis (~35%): statistics (mean, median, standard deviation), probability, data interpretation
• Quantitative Comparison questions: eliminate "Cannot be determined" only when you can actually prove it is indeterminate