Magoosh GRE Ebook PDF

Updated 6/12/14
Table of Contents
Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 1
Introduction......................................................................................................... 3
The Magoosh Team .............................................................................................. 3
About Us ............................................................................................................. 4
What is Magoosh? ................................................................................................ 4
Featured in ....................................................................................................... 4
Why Our Students Love Us ..................................................................................... 5
Meet the Revised GRE ............................................................................................. 7
Breakdown ........................................................................................................ 7
How is the Revised GRE Scored?............................................................................... 9
Adaptive Nature ............................................................................................... 10
The Quantitative Section ....................................................................................... 12
Question Types: Multiple Choice ............................................................................ 12
Question Types: Multiple Answer Questions (MAQs) ...................................................... 13
Question Types: Numeric Entry ............................................................................. 15
Question Types: Quantitative Comparison ................................................................. 16
Pacing Strategies .............................................................................................. 18
Calculator Strategies.......................................................................................... 20
Math Formula Cheat Sheet ................................................................................... 24
Basic Concepts: Algebra ...................................................................................... 27
Basic Concepts: Combinations and Permutations ...................................................... 29
Basic Concepts: Probability .................................................................................. 36
Basic Concepts: Factorials ................................................................................... 41
Basic Concepts: Data Interpretation ........................................................................ 42
Practice Questions ............................................................................................ 47
Verbal Section .................................................................................................... 51
Question Types: Text Completions ......................................................................... 51
Question Types: Sentence Equivalence .................................................................... 53
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Question Types: Reading Comprehension .................................................................. 55

Question Types: Argument Questions (Critical Reasoning) .............................................. 57
Pacing Strategies .............................................................................................. 59
Vocabulary: Learning in Context ............................................................................ 61
Vocabulary: Magazines and Newspapers ................................................................... 63
Practice Questions ............................................................................................ 67
Analytical Writing Assessment ................................................................................. 72
The Argument Essay ........................................................................................... 74
The Issue Essay ................................................................................................ 76
Resources ......................................................................................................... 78
Study Plans ..................................................................................................... 78
Official Practice Material from ETS ......................................................................... 79
Book Reviews ................................................................................................... 82

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Introduction
This eBook is meant to serve as an introduction to the revised GRE and combines information from
some of the most popular posts on the Magoosh GRE blog. If youre new to the GRE, and want to
know what to expect and how to prepare, this eBook is for you!
If youre already familiar with the exam and are looking for in-depth study material, head over to
the Resources section.
The Magoosh Team
E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions!

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About Us
What is Magoosh?
Magoosh is online GRE Prep that offers:
Over 200 Math, Verbal, and AWA lesson videos. Thats over 20 hours of video!
Over 1000 Math and Verbal practice questions, with video explanations after every question
Material created by expert tutors who have in-depth knowledge of the GRE
E-mail support from our expert tutors
Customizable practice sessions and mock tests
Personalized statistics based on performance
Access anytime, anywhere from an internet-connected device
Featured in

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Why Our Students Love Us

These are survey responses sent to us by students after they took the GRE. All of these students
and thousands more have used the Magoosh GRE prep course to improve their scores:

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7
Meet the Revised GRE
Breakdown
The Sections
The Revised GRE will consist of two Verbal sections, two Quantitative sections, and one
experimental section, which can be either Verbal or Quant. The experimental section will not
count towards your score. You will receive an overall Quantitative score in the 130 to 170 range,
and an overall Verbal score, also from 130 to 170. Thus, the Revised GRE is out of 340.
Number of questions and time limit

For the computer-based exam, the Verbal sections contain 20 questions each. You will be given 30
minutes to complete each section. The Quantitative sections also consist of 20 questions each, but
you will have 35 minutes to complete each section.
The Quantitative Sections

The Quantitative section is made up of about 7 Quantitative Comparison Questions and 13 non-
Quantitative Comparison questions (a majority of which will be Multiple Choice, with a few (1-2)
Numeric Entry and Multiple Answer questions each).
Multiple Choice is pretty standardyoull just have to identify the one possible correct answer.
Multiple Answer can have up to 10 answer choices, and youll have to select all that apply, which
means that the number of correct answers is also unknown.
Numeric Entry is an open-ended question type in which you will have to type in the correct value.
Quantitative Comparison will list two quantities, A and B (anything from algebraic expressions to
the side length of a given geometric shape) and ask you to compare them and select one of the
following: A is equal to B, A is greater than B, A is less than B, or that the relationship between the
two quantities cannot be determined from the information given.
Additionally, there is a basic on-screen calculator that you will have access to during the
Quantitative sections.

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The Verbal Sections

The Verbal Section is made up of about 6 Text Completions, 4 Sentence Equivalence questions, and
10 Reading Comprehension questions.
Text Completions can have one to three blanks, and range from short sentences to a four-sentence
paragraphs. For two- and three-blank Text Completion questions, you must answer each blank
correctly to receive full pointsno partial credit!
Sentence Equivalence questions have six possible answer choices. For every Sentence Equivalence
question, there will be two correct answers. To receive any credit you must choose both correct
answers.
Reading Comprehension passages range from 12 to 60 lines. Topic matter is usually academic in
nature and covers areas such as science, literature, and the social sciences. Question types include
standard multiple-choice questions, highlight the passage questions, and multiple-answer
questions, which require you to choose any one of three possible answer choices.
The Writing Section

To begin the test, there are two essays, and youll be given 30 minutes for each: The Issue and The
Argument. Neither is part of your 130 170 score. Each essay receives a score ranging from 0 6.
Your final essay score is the average of both essay scores.
We have in-depth examples and strategies for each section later in this book.

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How is the Revised GRE Scored?

The Revised GRE scale may seem pretty arbitrary. After all, who has ever been graded on a test
from 130 170? Not that the 200 800 scale was standard, but, still, there was a certain panache in
being able to say, I got an 800! (a 170 sounds far from perfect). And, just to clarify, both these
scales apply to the verbal section and math section, so, technically, the new GRE is out of 340
(which sounds just as awkward).
So, why the strange range (pardon the rhyme)? Well, according to ETS, they wanted to stick to
three digits so that the colleges wouldnt have to overhaul all the textbox entries that call for
three digits. Fair enough. Also, to avoid confusion with the current scoring system, ETS made sure
the two score ranges didnt overlap (had they made the new GRE out of 200, then a person whod
gotten that score on the current GRE would suddenly look a lot smarter if they were to say a few
years from now, Hey, I got a 200 on the GRE verbal section).
On the surface, the new GRE scoring range appears to be more limited than that of the current
system. After all, 200 800, based on 10-point intervals, allows for only a 61-point spread,
compared to the new GREs 41-point spread, based on one-point intervals. The new GRE makes up
for this more limited range by giving more significance to the extreme ends of the scale. For
example, on the current GRE, there really isnt much difference between 730 and 800 on the
verbalthey are both in the 99th percentile range. On the new GRE, the difference between 165
and 170 will be the 99th percentile vs. the 96th percentile.
At the end of the day, you are not going to be tested on these statistical nuances. The important
thing to remember is that many colleges base their rankings on a percentile score, which you will
also receive as part of your score report.

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Adaptive Nature
On the old GRE, the test adapted within each section. The computer would assume that every test
taker was equal and would typically start with a mid-range question. If the test taker answered a
few questions correctly, the test would become progressively difficult. And if the test taker
answered the questions incorrectly, the test would become progressively easier.
The old GRE algorithm is slightly more nuanced than this, but really the details, at this point, are
moot. We only care about the Revised GRE.
The Revised GRE adapts between sections

A salient difference between the old GRE and Revised GRE is that the Revised GRE has two sections
for Math and two sections for Verbal. The old GRE had one section for each. That the Revised GRE
has two sections for each subject is significantthis allows ETS to make the test adapt between
sections.
There is no adaptation within section

The section adaptation is the only adaptation that happens on the Revised GRE. What this means is
that the questions do not change depending on whether you answer them correctly. Think of it this
way each section is static. Your performance on the first section will determine whether you get
an easy section or a difficult section. The easy section is static and the difficult section is static.
Again, this means the questions in the section do not change. You could miss the first ten and
question 11 will still be question 11; you could work backwards from the last question, nailing all of
them, and question 11 is still question 11.
The level of difficulty of questions is random

Even though a section is static it doesnt mean that, theoretically, it couldnt become progressively
harder. After all, this is what the old old GRE (meaning the paper-based 1990 GRE) was like.
However, there is no order of difficulty on the Revised GRE. The first question can be the hardest
and the last question the easiest.
Each question is weighted the same

Do not spend 5 minutes trying to answer the question in which four circles are wedged inside some
octagon (actually, that would make an interesting question but another time!). Each question is
basically weighed the same. So the question that gives you the radius and asks for the area, which
should take no more than 15 seconds, is worth the same as the one about the monstrous polygon.

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Can you let up at the end?

Again, each question is weighted the same and the computer hasnt figured you out the way it
supposedly did with the old GRE. Your score on the Revised GRE is based on how many questions
you miss. The point here is that you do not reach a certain level in which the computer thinks
you are doing very well ( la the old GRE). So do not slack off at the end, thinking you answered
most questions correctly and now youre set.
The only reason I even mention this as it is counterintuitive is because many are still operating
under the conception of the old GRE, in which you could, at least somewhat, slack off at the end
without hurting your score too much.
Takeaways
The Revised GRE does not adapt within a section, only between sections
Each question is weighted the same
Difficult questions and easy questions are randomly mixed throughout the section

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The Quantitative Section
Question Types: Multiple Choice

Just a regular multiple choice question, with only one right answer! Heres an exampletry it out
for yourself before checking the explanation below.
Which of the following equations is true for all positive values of x and y?
Answer and Explanation:
You can try this question online and watch the explanation video here:
http://gre.magoosh.com/questions/724/

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Question Types: Multiple Answer Questions (MAQs)

The new GRE is officially calling these Multiple Choice Questions: Select One or More Answers. For
brevityand claritys sakeIm going to call them MAQs: Multiple Answer Questions.
Doesnt sound too complicated? Well, I could ask you to imagine a question that has ten possible
answer choices, any number of which could be correct. Or, I could just ask you to turn to page 123
of the ETS Revised GRE book, for those of you whove already picked up a copy.
Those well-versed in their combinations/permutations problem know the chances of guessing

correctly on this question is 1 in 1,023, odds so slim the question might as well have been a big
empty fill-in the blank (yeah, the Math section has those too).
Im probably making the Quantitative MAQs sound scarier than they actually are. Most will
probably only have five or six possible answer choices, not ten. The bottom line: if you know the
concept being tested, and are careful and methodical, then you should be able to get this
cumbersome question type correct.
Here is an example of an MAQ that I think you should definitely be capable of getting right if youre
careful:
If n is a two-digit number, in which n = xy. If x + y < 8, and x and y are positive integers
greater than 1, then the units digit of n could be which of the following?
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
E. 4
F. 5
G. 6
H. 7
I. 8
J. 9
As a side note, on the actual Revised GRE, each answer choice will have a square around it. When
you see the square you know youre dealing with Multiple Answer Questions. If there is a circle
around the answer choice, then it is business as usualone answer only.
As for the question above, the answers are B, C, E, F, G, and H.
If you missed the question, remember that x + y has to be less than 8. Also, make sure you write
something down when tackling Multiple Answer Questions. Trying to juggle all the information in
your head will surely get you in trouble.

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Question Types: Numeric Entry

Two trains starting from cities 300 miles apart head in opposite directions at rates of 70 mph
and 50 mph, respectively. How long does it take the trains to cross paths?
This is a classic problem that sends chills up students spines. Im now going to add another bone
rattling element: The Empty Box.
Thats rightthe GRE will have fill-in-the blank/empty box math problems, called Numeric Entry.
There wont be too many, judging from the ETS Revised GRE book, but even a few should be
enough to discomfit most.
Lets go back and attack the above problem the following way. When you have any two entities
(trains, bicyclists, cars, etc.) headed towards each other you must add their rates to find the
combined rate. The logic behind the combined rate is the two trains (as is the case here) are
coming from opposite directions, straight into each other.
This yields 120 mph, a very fast rate (which accounts for the severity of head-on collisionsdont
worry, the trains in the problem wont collide!).
To find the final answer, we want to employ our nifty old formula: D = RT, where D stands for
distance, R stands for rate, and T stands for time.
Weve already found R, which is their combined rate of 120 mph. They are 300 miles apart so that
is D. Plugging those values in, we get 300 = 120T. Dividing 120 by both sides, we get T = 2.5 hrs.
Now we can confidently fill that box in, and let the trains continue on their respective ways.

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Question Types: Quantitative Comparison

Quantitative Comparison (QC) is a huge part of the GRE, roughly one-third of the Quant section.
Often, when prepping, you may forget this fact and spend much more time on problem solving.
Quantitative Comparison is a unique beastwhile the math concepts are the exact same as those
covered in Problem Solving, QC can be very tricky. In fact, the test writers work very hard to make
these questions seem very straightforward. Yet, there is usually a trap or twist, waiting to ensnare
the unsuspecting test taker.
The format will always be the same: comparing two quantities (Column A vs. Column B), with the
same 4 answer choices that evaluate the relationship between the two quantities. However, the
quantities for Column A and B can be anything from expressions with variables to references to a
quantity in a geometric shape.
Column A Column B
The number of positive The number of positive multiples of
multiples of 49 less than 2000 50 less than or equal to 2000
The quantity in Column A is greater

The quantity in Column B is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined from the information given
The Approach
First off, we must understand what a multiple is. A multiple is any number that results when
multiplying an integer, x, by 1, 2, 3, 4
If x is equal to 5, then the multiples of 5 would be:
5x1=5
5 x 2 = 10
5 x 3 = 15
5 x 4 = 20
5 x 5 = 25
5 x 6 = 30

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From the table above, we can see that any multiple of 5 is divisible by 5. For instance, 1000/5 =
200. Therefore, 1000 is a multiple of 5.
The question above asks us how many multiples of 49 are less than 2000. We can divide 2000 by 49
to see how many multiples of 49 are less than 2000. Doing so may take a while. A faster way is to
note that 49 is very close to 50. Quick math allows us to determine that 50 x 40 is 2000. Therefore,
49 x 40 equals 40 less than 2000, or 1960. If we were to multiply 49 x 41, we are adding 1960 + 49,
which takes us to 2009. This is greater than 2000. Therefore, we know that there are only 40
multiples of 49 less than 2000.
What about column B? Well, weve already figured out that 40 x 50 equals 2000. But, here is the
tricky part. Whereas Column A stipulated that the number has to be less than 2000, Column B says
the number has to be less than OR equal to 2000. Therefore, there are 40 multiples of 50 that are
less than or equal to 2000. (I wrote this question, and I know it is evil. But sneakily adding a couple
of words that changes the answer is a classic trick employed by the writers of the test).
Answer: C.
First Instincts
There is a good chance that your first instinct was A. Clearly, 49 is lower than 50, so it has to have
more multiples. Usually, when the answer to a Quantitative Comparison question appears
obvious at first glance, there is some twist to the problem. In this case, the twist was the wording
in Column B: less than or equal to 2000. So, be wary of any QC questions that seem too easy. Look
for a twist or a trap.

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Pacing Strategies
Each math section contains 20 questions. You are given 35 minutes for each section, which works
out to 1:45 seconds per question. Below are some helpful tips to help you wisely use these 35
minutes.
Go for the low hanging fruit

Each question in the GRE quantitative section is worth the same number of points. That is such an
important point that I am going to repeat it again (in caps): EACH QUESTION ON THE GRE SECTION
IS WORTH THE SAME NUMBER OF POINTS.
Thats right, folks. If ETS devised a question such as the following:
The five minutes youd take to (maybe) answer the question correctly will yield the exact same
number of points as this question:
If , what is the value of x?
So whats the takeaway from this? Other than, Factorials scare the living <expletive> out of me!?
Well, why waste time on a very difficult question when you can simply scroll to an easier question?
Think of it this way: in 35 minutes you want to score as many points as you can, and each question
is worth the same.
If I paid you 1,000 dollars for every apple you picked from a tree in 35 minutes, what would you do?
You would go for the low hanging fruit. You would not waste your time climbing to the very top of
the tree to pluck an apple that is worth the same amount of money as an apple that you can simply
reach out and grab with both your feet planted on the ground.
Of course, after a certain pointthat is to get a high scoreyou must grab the fruit up on high, and
go for the difficult questions. But make sure youve answered the easy ones first.
How much time should I budget per question?

The answer differs depending on how difficult the question is. Think of it this way. There are easy
questions, medium questions, and difficult questions. Easy questions should take between 45
seconds and 1 minute. Medium questions should take between 1:00 2:00. And difficult questions

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should take no longer than 3 minutes. The ratio of easy, medium, and difficult questions vary per
section but in general you can expect to see a smattering of each. On the easy section, the ratio
will skew towards easy; in the difficult section that ratio will skew towards difficult.
Learning to let a question go

If you are staring at a question and have been unable to devise a solution after a minute, you
should seriously consider moving on to the next question. Again, keep the low-hanging fruit
metaphor in mind.
If, however, you are dealing with a difficult math question (and it is clear that it is difficult, and
youre not just missing something obvious), then take a couple of minutes, as some questions will
clearly take that much time. Do not freak out on a question that is clearly convoluted just because
youve taken 2 minutes. As long as you are headed toward the solution, persevere.
Do not be sloppy but do not obsess over easy questions

Using the time schematic above, we can see that easy questions can take less than a minute. It is
important to answer these questions confidently and move on. If you dither, then that is time that
could be spent on a more difficult question. However, do not race through an easy question,
because then it defeats my whole low-hanging fruit sermonmissing a question that you could
easily have answered correctly had you spent that extra second does not make sense (especially if
you are racing towards difficult questions that you may not even answer correctly in the first
place).
Make sure you guess

You do not even have to approach every question, especially the difficult ones, as I mentioned
above. But make sure at the very end that you guess on any questions remaining, because there is
no penalty for guessing. So if youve been skipping a lot of questions, give yourself enough time at
the end to bubble in the questions you left blank. A little bit of luck can go a long way!

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Calculator Strategies
For many students, the addition of the GREs onscreen calculator to the new exam is a godsend.
These students take solace in the notion that this new calculator will help them solve tons of
questions. The truth of the matter is that almost all math questions on the Revised GRE can be
solved without a calculator. Furthermore, in many cases, it will actually take longer to solve a
question using a calculator that it will to use other techniques. Finally, the test-makers are taking
questions that can be easily solved with a calculator and changing the numbers in order to render
the calculator useless.
For example, a former GRE question would have asked you to evaluate . The slow
solution was to perform the actual (tedious) calculations. The fast solution was to recognize that
this difference of squares can be factored as , which equals ,
which equals .
Since this question would be too easy to solve using the onscreen calculator, the test-makers will
change the question to where and have too many digits for the
calculator to handle. As such, youll have to solve this question using factoring techniques.
Aside: the onscreen calculator displays up to eight digits. If a computation results in a number
greater than then an ERROR message is displayed. When you evaluate you get a
9-digit number.
Now, despite the test-makers attempts to remove the calculator from your arsenal, there
are times when you can make a few adjustments to a question and then quickly answer it with the
calculator.
We can solve the following question using a variety of techniques and strategies:
Column A Column B

Notice that these numbers yield products that are too big for the calculator to handle. However,
with a few adjustments we can use a new strategy with the calculator to answer the question.

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One solution is to first divide each column by 1,000,000. When we do this, we get:
Column A Column B
From here, we can rewrite this as:
Column A Column B
And this is the same as:
Column A Column B
At this point, we can use the calculator enter all of these values, and each resulting product will
have fewer than 8 digits.
So, with a small modification, we can answer this question using a calculator.
Now, can you think of another approach that allows you to use a calculator to solve the original
question (without dividing by 1,000,000 or any other powers of 10)?
Heres the original question:
Column A Column B
Another approach is to first divide both sides by 641,713 to get:
Column A Column B

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Then, divide both sides by 897,189 to get:
Column A Column B
At this point, we can enter all of these values into the calculator and compare the columns.
Next, well examine another strategy to thwart the Revised GRE and use the onscreen calculator to
solve questions that, at first glance, appear to render the calculator useless:
The square root of 2 billion is between
2,000 and 5,000

5,000 and 15,000
15,000 and 30,000
30,000 and 50,000
50,000 and 90,000
Try to identify at least two ways to solve the above question.
Aside: Please notice that 2 billion is too large to fit in the onscreen calculator.
Non-calculator strategy
This approach uses the following rule:
First, we need to recognize that:

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From here, we can see that since and then must lie between 4 and 5. In
other words, we can say that equals 4.something.
If equals 4.something, then must lie between 40,000 and 50,000.
As such the answer must be D.
Calculator strategy
With a slight modification, we can use the onscreen calculator to solve the question within
seconds.
First recognize that:
From here we can use the calculator to evaluate both roots. When we do this, we get:
So, the answer must be D.

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Math Formula Cheat Sheet
While this is a very useful cheat sheet, do not just memorize formulas without actually applying
them to a question. Often students will see a question and will assume that a certain formula is
relevant. This is not always the case. So make sure you practice using the formulas so you will
know when they pertain to a question.
Interest
Simple Interest: , where P is principal, r is rate, and t is time
Compound Interest: , where n is the number of times compounded per year
Work Rates
Sets
Distance, Rate, and Time

,
Circles

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Squares
, where s = side
Rectangles
, where l = length and w = width
Trapezoids
Polygons
, where n = # of sides
The Distance Formula
Prime numbers and integers

1 is not a prime. 2 is the smallest prime and the only even prime.
An integer is any counting number including negative numbers (e.g. -3, -1, 2, 7but not 2.5)
Fast Fractions
i.e.

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Divisibility
3 : sum of digits divisible by 3
4 : the last two digits of number are divisible by 4
5 : the last digit is either a 5 or zero
6 : even number and sum of digits is divisible by 3
8 : if the last three digits are divisible by 8
9: sum of digits is divisible by 9
Combinations and Permutations
n is the total number, r is the number you are choosing
Probability

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Basic Concepts: Algebra

The FOIL method is one that almost everybody remembers learning at some point, circa middle
school. Though you may have forgotten the details, with a little practice, you should be able to use
it effectively.
First off, FOIL stands for First, Outer, Inner, and Last, and refers to the position of numbers and/or
variables within parenthesis. Lets have a look:
Remember when parentheses are joined together, there is an invisible multiplication sign. The
tricky part is how to multiply together a bunch of xs and ys. The answer: the FOIL method.
F (First): The first term in each parentheses is x, so we multiply the xs together to get:
O (Outer): The term on the outside of the left parenthesis is x and on the outside of the
right parenthesis is y. We multiply the two together to get: .
I (Inner): Now we multiply the inner terms in each parenthesis:
L (Last): Finally, we multiply the terms that are the rightmost to get
Now we add together our results
So .
Memorize this pattern. Do not spend time on the test actually completing the steps above.
Other important algebraic expressions to memorize are:
Here are some examples in which we apply the above.
A.
B.
C.

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Other applications of FOIL
These questions appear as though they would not relate to the FOIL method. But upon closer
inspection, we can see that these numbers arent random.
If we add them, instead of multiplying, we get 200, for the first question, and 160, for the second.
Or and .
Lets focus on the pair of hundreds: vs. .
Notice that can be written as . Now you should see
the form, which expressed correctly is .
Solving in this way is much more effective, because , a number you should know off
the top of your head.
Other Tips
Compare the following:
vs.
In the first case, there are two solutions: 0 and 4. Remember when you square a negative number,
as in , you get a positive number.
With the equation on the right side, the one in which x is under the square root sign, if you get a
negative number, you cannot take the square root of it (at least in GRE world, where imaginary
numbers do not come into play).
In the case of , we square both sides to get , so .
Watch our lesson video, Introduction to Algebra:

http://gre.magoosh.com/lessons/35-intro-to-algebra/

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Basic Concepts: Combinations and Permutations

Whenever I see a GRE resource label its counting section as Combinations and Permutations, a
small part of me dies a little. Okay, thats an exaggeration, but I am concerned about the
misleading message that this sort of title conveys. To me, it suggests that counting questions can
be solved using either permutations or combinations, when this is not the case at all. The truth of
the matter is that true permutation questions are exceedingly rare on the GRE.
Now, for those who are unfamiliar with permutations, a permutation is an arrangement of a subset
of items in a set. To be more specific:
If we have n unique objects, then we can arrange r of those objects in ways, where equals
some formula that I still havent memorized even though I took several combinatorics courses in
university, and I taught counting methods to high school students for 7 years.
Now, its not that the permutation formula is too complicated to remember; its just that its
unnecessary to memorize such a formula for the GRE. In my humble opinion, the permutation
formula has no place in a GRE resource (even though the Official Guide covers it).
Heres an example of a true permutation question:
Using the letters of the alphabet, how many different 3-letter words can be created if
repeated letters are not permitted?
Here, we have a set of 26 letters in the alphabet, and we want to determine the number of
ways we can arrange 3 of those letters. So, if we still feel compelled to use permutations to the
answer the question (despite my public denouncement of permutations ), the answer would be
at which point you would have to evaluate this.
Of course, youre not going to memorize the permutation formula, because youre going accept my
premise that true permutation questions are exceedingly rare on the GRE. For the doubters out
there, lets consult the Official Guide to the GRE Revised General Test. In the Guide, there are 7
counting questions altogether. Of these 7 questions, not one is a true permutation question
(although some will argue that question #6 on page 297 is a permutation question, albeit a very
boring one that can be solved using an easier approach).
So, given the rarity of permutation questions, its dangerous to approach counting questions with
the notion that all you need to do is determine whether youre dealing with a combination or a
permutation, and then apply one of two formulas. If you do this, you will inevitably conclude that a
question is a permutation question when it isnt. Notice how easy it is to turn a permutation
question into a non-permutation question by simply changing a word or two. For example, see what
happens when we change our original question to read:

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Using the letters of the alphabet, how many different 3-letter words can be created if
repeated letters are permitted?
By allowing repeated letters, the question is no longer a permutation question, which means
is not the solution (the solution is actually 263).
The truth is that we dont need the permutation formula to answer any counting question on the
GRE (including question #6 on page 297 of the Official Guide). Instead, we can use the
Fundamental Counting Principle (FCP). The FCP is easy to use and it can be used to solve the
majority of counting questions on the GRE.
So, my approach with all counting questions is as follows:
First, determine whether or not the question can be answered using the FCP
If the question cant be answered using the FCP, it can probably be solved using
combinations (or a combination of combinations, and the FCP)
The Fundamental Counting Principle

If we have a task consisting of stages, where one stage can be accomplished in A ways, another
stage in B ways, another in C ways . . . etc., then the total number of ways to accomplish the
entire task will equal ABC
The great thing about the FCP is that its easy to use, and it doesnt require the memorization of
any formulas. So, whenever I encounter a counting question, I first try to determine whether or not
the question can be solved using the FCP. To determine this, I ask, Can I take the required task
and break it into individual stages? If the answer is yes, I may be able to use the FCP to solve the
question.
To see how this plays out, lets solve the following question:
How many different 3-digit numbers are greater than 299 and do not contain the digits 1, 6,
or 8?
222
245
291
315
343
So, our task is to find 3-digit numbers that adhere to some specific rules. Can we take this task and
break it into individual stages? Sure, we can define the stages as:

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Stage 1: Choose a digit for the hundreds position
Stage 2: Choose a digit for the tens position
Stage 3: Choose a digit for the units position
Once we accomplish all 3 stages, we will have built our 3-digit number.
At this point, we need to determine the number of ways to accomplish each stage.
Stage 1: In how many different ways can we choose a digit for the hundreds position? Well, since
the 3-digit number must be greater than 299, the digit in the hundreds position cannot be 0, 1 or 2.
The question also says that the digits 6 and 8 are forbidden. So, when we consider the various
restrictions, we see that the digit in the hundreds position can be 3, 4, 5, 7 or 9. So, there are 5
different ways in which we can accomplish Stage 1.
Stage 2: In how many different ways can we choose a digit for the tens position? Well, since the
tens digit can be any digit other than 1, 6 or 8, we can see that the tens digit can be 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
or 9. So, there are 7 different ways in which we can accomplish Stage 2.
Stage 3: The units digit can be 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 9. So, there are 7 different ways in which we can
accomplish Stage 3.
At this point, we can apply the FCP to see that the total number of ways to accomplish all three
stages (and create our 3-digit numbers) will equal the product of the number of ways to accomplish
each individual stage.
So, we get 5 7 7, which equals 245.
There are 245 different 3-digit numbers that are greater than 299 and do not contain any 1s, 6s or
8s. The answer to the original question is B.
The Missing Step

So, we just solved the question by taking the task of building 3-digit numbers and breaking it into
individual stages. From there, we determined the number of ways to accomplish each stage, and
then we applied the FCP.
During the course of that solution there was a very important step that I didnt mention. Id like to
spend some time discussing that missing step, because it is very important.
Once we break a required task into stages, we should always ask, Does the outcome of each step
differ from the outcomes of the other steps?
If the answer to this question is NO, we cannot solve the question using the FCP.

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To illustrate this, please consider a new question:
A manager must create a 2-person committee from a group of 4 employees. In how many
different ways can this be accomplished?
2
6
8
12
16
First, well take the required task and break it into individual stages as follows:
Stage 1: Choose one person to be on the committee
Stage 2: Choose another person to be on the committee
At this point, if we continue solving this question using the FCP, well arrive at the wrong answer.
But, dont believe me just yet. Lets just continue with this approach to see where things go
wrong.
Stage 1: There are 4 employees, so we can choose the first person in 4 ways
Stage 2: At this point there are 3 people remaining, so we can choose the other person in 3 ways
When we apply the FCP, we get 4 x 3 = 12, which suggests that we can create 12 different two-
person committees.
However, when we examine all 12 committees, we should see a problem with this answer. To list
the committees, lets let A, B, C, and D represent the four employees. This means that the 12
committees are:
AB AC AD BA BC BD
CA CB CD DA DB DC
Can you see the problem?
Well, for one, we have counted AB and BA as two different committees, when they are clearly not
different. Similarly, we have counted BC and CB as different committees, not to mention other
pairs.
So, whats the problem here? The problem is that were treating the outcome of Stage 1 (selecting
the first person) as different from the outcome of Stage 2 (selecting the second person), when
these two outcomes are the same. In each case, the selected person gets to be on the committee.

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To apply the FCP, we need the outcomes to be different.
This is why we need to ask the question, Does the outcome of each step differ from out outcomes
of the other steps? If the answer is NO (which it is in this case), then we cannot solve the
question using the FCP. We must find another approach. In this particular example, the approach
will be to use combinations (a topic for another day).
Aside: When we use combinations to solve the question we see that the answer to the question is 6
(answer choice B)
BIG TAKEWAY: Although the FCP can be used to solve the majority of counting questions on the
GRE, it wont always work.
Okay, now lets examine a question that looks very similar to the last question:
A manager must select 2 people from a group of 4 employees. One person will be the shop
steward and the other person will be the treasurer. In how many different ways can this be
accomplished?
A. 2
B. 6
C. 8
D. 12
E. 16
First, well take the required task and break it into individual stages:
Stage 1: Choose someone to be the shop steward
Stage 2: Choose someone to be the treasurer
Now well ask the all-important question, Does the outcome of each step differ from out
outcomes of the other steps? Here the answer is YES. The outcomes are definitely different. The
outcome of Stage 1 is getting to be the shop steward. The outcome of Stage 2 is getting to be the
treasurer. Since the outcomes are different, we can continue solving the question using the FCP.
Stage 1: There are 4 employees, so we can choose the first person in 4 ways
Stage 2: At this point there are 3 people remaining, so we can choose the other person in 3 ways
When we apply the FCP, we get 4 x 3 = 12. So, there are 12 different ways to select a shop steward
and treasurer, which means the answer is D.
Finally, lets apply our latest step to the original question:

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How many different 3-digit numbers are greater than 299 and do not contain the digits 1, 6,
or 8?
222
245
291
315
343
First well take this task and break it into individual stages as follows:
Stage 1: Choose a digit for the hundreds position
Stage 2: Choose a digit for the tens position
Stage 3: Choose a digit for the units position
Then, well ask, Does the outcome of each step differ from out outcomes of the other steps?
Here the answer is YES. The outcomes are different. For example, selecting a 6 for Stage 1 is
different from selecting a 6 for Stage 2. In one case, the 6 becomes the digit in the hundreds
position, and in the other case, the 6 becomes the digit in the tens position TOTALLY DIFFERENT
OUTCOMES.
Since the outcomes of each stage are different, we can continue solving the question using the
FCP.
Stage 1: In how many different ways can we choose a digit for the hundreds position? Well, since
the 3-digit number must be greater than 299, the digit in the hundreds position cannot be 0, 1 or 2.
The question also says that the digits 6 and 8 are forbidden. So, when we consider the various
restrictions, we see that the digit in the hundreds position can be 3, 4, 5, 7 or 9. So, there are 5
different ways in which we can accomplish Stage 1.
Stage 2: In how many different ways can we choose a digit for the tens position? Well, since the
tens digit can be any digit other than 1, 6 or 8, we can see that the tens digit can be 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
or 9. So, there are 7 different ways in which we can accomplish Stage 2.
Stage 3: The units digit can be 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 9. So, there are 7 different ways in which we can
accomplish Stage 3.
At this point we can apply the FCP to see that the total number of ways to accomplish all three
stages (and create our 3-digit numbers) will equal the product of the number of ways to accomplish
each individual stage.

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So, we get 5 7 7, which equals 245.
There are 245 different 3-digit numbers that are greater than 299 and do not contain any 1s, 6s or
8s. The answer is B.
Watch our lesson video, Combinations:

http://gre.magoosh.com/lessons/133-combinations

36
Basic Concepts: Probability

If youre like most students, you probably struggle with the GREs time constraints, and you
probably have difficulties with probability questions.
Thats why were going to examine how probability questions can provide you with a convenient
opportunity to make up lost time.
To set this up, please consider the following scenario:
Its test day, and halfway through one of the math sections, you find that youre 2 minutes
behind.
At this point, you have two options:
1. Work faster on the remaining questions (and risk making careless mistakes)
2. Guess on one of the questions and immediately make up the lost time (but risk guessing
the wrong answer)
Both options are less than ideal, but Ill argue that option #2 is better than option #1, especially if
you encounter a probability question.
To illustrate this, answer the following question within 20 seconds:
From a group of 5 managers (Joon, Kendra, Lee, Marnie and Noomi), 2 people are randomly
selected to attend a conference in Las Vegas. What is the probability that Marnie and Noomi
are both selected?
0.1
0.2
0.25
0.4
0.6
If youve already identified probability as one of your weaknesses, and if you typically fall behind
time-wise, this question is a gift. You should be able to eliminate 2 or 3 answer choices and make
an educated guess within seconds of reading the question.
The elimination strategy relies on the fact that most people have an innate ability to judge the
relative likelihood of an event. So, for the Las Vegas question above, you can use your intuition to
eliminate answer choices that just dont feel right.
To begin, you might ask, Is the probability of selecting Marnie and Noomi greater than 0.5 or less
than 0.5? If it feels less than 0.5 (which it is), you can eliminate E. Of course, youll want to

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eliminate more than one answer choice, so youll need to be more aggressive. You might ask,
Does the event seem very unlikely or a little unlikely? Your answer will allow you to eliminate
additional answer choices.
If you feel that the probability seems very unlikely, you might eliminate C, D and E, leaving
yourself with a good chance of guessing the correct answer (all within seconds of reading the
question). If youre less aggressive, you might eliminate just D and E. Thats still fine. Remember
that the goal here is not to ensure that you correctly answer the question; the goal is to make up
your 2 minutes and maximize your chances of guessing the correct answer.
Please note that this guessing strategy can also be used if you typically run out of time on the math
sections, and you need a way to give yourself a buffer. Just remember that probability questions
are the best for this (counting questions are pretty good, too).
So we used our intuition to eliminate two answer choices (D and E) in a matter of seconds. In this
post, well use another elimination technique to help further reduce the number of answer choices
to guess from.
To begin, lets review the standard probability formula. It says that, if we have an experiment
where each outcome is equally likely to occur, then:
P(A) = [# of outcomes where A occurs]/[total # of outcomes]
So, P(Marnie and Noomi are both selected)= [# of outcomes where they are both selected]/[total #
of outcomes]
If we use this formula, its always best to calculate the denominator first. The reason for this is
twofold:
1. Calculating the denominator is typically easier than calculating the numerator. So, if we
calculate the denominator first, we may gain some insight into how to calculate the
numerator.
2. Calculating the denominator can help us quickly eliminate answer choices.
For the denominator in the above question, we need to determine the number of outcomes when 2
people are selected from a group of 5 people. Since the order of the selected people does not
matter, this is a combination question. So, we can select 2 people from 5 people in 5C2 ways. When
we apply the combination formula, we see that 5C2= 10. This means that:
P(Marnie and Noomi are both selected)= [# of outcomes where they are both selected]/[10]

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Now that we know the denominator equals 10, we can conclude that the probability cannot be
0.25, since it is impossible for a fraction with denominator 10 to equal 0.25
So, by calculating the denominator, we were able to eliminate one more answer choice.
At this point, we have quickly eliminated 3 answer choices (C, D and E), leaving us with a 50-50
chance of guessing the correct answer. Not bad if we dont know how to solve the question.
Now, well examine 2 different ways to find the correct solution to this question.
To begin, its important to know that, when it comes to probability questions, we often have 2
distinct approaches to choose from:
Apply various probability rules

Apply counting techniques and the standard probability formula
For some questions, it may be best to apply probability rules, and, in other cases, it may be
best to use counting techniques. The approach you choose may also depend on your level of
comfort with each strategy.
Applying Probability Rules

To apply probability rules, Ill first ask, What needs to occur in order for both Marnie and Noomi
to be selected?
Well, the first person selected must be either Marnie or Noomi AND the second person selected
must be the remaining person. At this point, I know that I can apply the AND probability rule to
solve this question.
The AND probability formula looks something like this: P(A AND B) = P(A) x P(B)
Aside: Please note that there are different ways to represent this formula. One involves using
conditional probability, which has some complicated notation. Rather than use this notation, Ill
just add an important stipulation to the above formula. The stipulation is when we calculate P(B),
we must assume that event A has already occurred.
Okay, now lets solve the question.
I know that P(Marnie and Noomi are both selected) = P(one of the two friends is selected
first, AND the remaining friend is selected second)

39
When we apply the formula, we get:
P(M and N both selected) = P(one of the two friends is selected first) x P(the remaining friend is
selected second)
Now, what is the probability that one of the two friends is selected first? Well, there are 5 people
to choose from, and we want one of the 2 friends to be selected. So, the probability is 2/5 that one
of the two friends is selected first.
Now, we need to find the probability that the remaining friend is selected second. Well, first we
will assume that one of the friends was already chosen on the first selection. So, at this point there
are 4 people remaining, and 1 of those 4 people is the remaining friend. So, the probability is 1/4
that remaining friend is selected second.
This means that P(M and N both selected) = (2/5) x (1/4) = 1/10
So, the correct answer is A.
Applying Counting Techniques

To apply counting techniques, we will use the fact that if we have an experiment where each
outcome is equally likely to occur, then
P(A) = [# of outcomes where A occurs]/[total # of outcomes]
So, P(M and N both selected)= [# of outcomes where both are selected]/[total # of outcomes]
As I explained in my last post, its always best to calculate the denominator first. So, for the
denominator in our question, we need to determine the total number of outcomes when 2 people
are selected from a group of 5 people. Since the order of the selected people does not matter in
the given question, we can apply the combination formula. So, we can select 2 people from 5
people in 5C2 ways. When we apply the combination formula, we see that 5C2= 10.
At this point, we need to determine the number of outcomes where Marnie and Noomi are both
selected. In other words, in how many ways can we select 2 people such that both of those people
are Marnie and Noomi?
Well, theres only 1 way to do this; select both Marnie and Noomi.
So, P(M and N both selected)= 1/10
Now, some readers may question whether or not there is only 1 way to select both Marnie and
Noomi. This is a valid question. After all, we could select Marnie and then Noomi, or we could
select Noomi and then Marnie. This would mean that there are 2 ways to select both Marnie and

40
Noomi. Seems reasonable enough. However, the important point to keep in mind is that, when we
determined the value of the denominator, we assumed that the order in which the people are
selected does not matter. So, when we determine the value of the numerator, we must once again
assume the order in which the people are selected. This means that selecting Marnie and then
Noomi is the same as selecting Noomi and then Marnie, in which case we cannot consider them as
two different outcomes. So, there is only 1 way to select both Marnie and Noomi.
Watch our lesson video Intro to Probability:

http://gre.magoosh.com/lessons/137-intro-to-probability/

41
Basic Concepts: Factorials

If youve ever come across a number with an exclamation mark after it, thats the factorial sign,
e.g. 5!.
Factorials dont come up too often on the GRE, and when they do, its usually on the more difficult
problems. Still, you dont want to be faced with an exclamation sign next to a number and then
exclaim yourself, What in the world?! (For the more expletive prone you can use your
imagination!).
But no need to worryjust think of the factorial sign as a countdown. Whichever number is next to
the factorial just count down to 1, multiplying each number together. So if you see 5!, all this
means is 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 120.
Factorials are sometimes seen explicitly (as in the problem below.) Oftentimes, you will need to
use them when solving a difficult subset of math problems known as combination/permutations.
For now, try this problem:
Column A Column B
7! 6! + 6! + 6! + 6! + 6! + 6! + 6!

You can work this out the long way: 7! = 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1. Then you can do the same for
column B, multiplying out and then adding the 6!s. Of course, if you catch yourself doing too much
math always know there is a shorter way. In fact, quantitative comparison is testing your logical
approach to a question, so do as little math as possible.
Here, we can see that column B is made up seven 6!, or 7(6!), which equals 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1
= 7!. Therefore the two columns are equal, and the answer is C.
Watch our lesson video Factorial Notation:

http://gre.magoosh.com/lessons/130-factorial-notation/

42
Basic Concepts: Data Interpretation

Within the course of each Quantitative section, you will have, on average, two sets of Data
Interpretation questions. Each set will present data in some form (graph, table, etc.), and you will
have two or three consecutive questions on that same data set.
Why does the GRE ask Data Interpretation questions?

Absolutely in the natural sciences, and to a great extent in the social sciences as well, data is king.
All scientific authority rests on, or falters in the face of, good scientific data. If you are planning
graduate studies in the natural or social sciences, I imagine it's neither a surprise nor a challenge
that the GRE would ask this.
What about the poor crunchy artsy non-techy humanities majors? Yes, it is unfortunate that the
general GRE is a one-test-fits-all kind of thing. I would say, though, whether you do science or not,
and whatever opinions you may have about science and technology, we all live in a world in which
we have been ineluctably affected by science and technology. To that extent, important
parameters of our lives have been and will continue to be shaped by the data discovered by
scientists. Any intelligent person should have at least basic competency in interpreting the data
that can impact our lives. That's why the GRE asks about it.
What are the types of GRE Data Interpretation questions?

Much of this question type is about your ability to read graphs & charts showing data, and really
what the GRE is asking is for the most part quite straightforward. The vast majority of these
questions revolve around one of the "big five" types of data display:
1. Pie Chart
2. Column Chart
3. Line Chart
4. Bar Chart
5. Numerical Table
Sometimes, the Data Interpretation set might combine two types for example, a Pie Chart
showing the general breakdown of governmental expenses, and then another chart or table of
numbers showing the detail in one category. In rare circumstances, the Data Interpretation might
be an entirely different kind of visual information, say, the floor plan of a house, but in those
cases, the questions are often particularly simple.

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Bar Charts vs. Column Charts

ETS calls a chart a "bar chart" whether the bars are horizontal or vertical. Nevertheless, many
sources (such as MGRE) call charts withe horizontal bars "bar charts" and charts with the vertical
bars "column charts." Regardless of the names we use, there is a subtle difference. In general, if
the bars represent selected members of a particular category, with no attempt to exhaust the
whole categories, and with no particular order among the members, they are represented as
horizontal bars, what many folks would call a "bar chart." For example, if the categories are seven
different fruits, seven different makes of car, or seven different nations, those do not nearly
exhaust those respective categories, and given the set of seven, there's no inherent way no order
them. (They probably would be listed simply in alphabetical order, for lack of a more meaningful
ordering system.) Thus, they would be represented by horizontal bars.
If the categories either have an intrinsic order to them (e.g. various years) or if they represent the
full complement of a category (e.g. the three divisions of a corporation), then they would tend to
be represented with vertical bars, what many folks would call a "column chart." Sometimes column
charts are segmented (each bar broken into categories, and sometimes, they are equal height
columns in which the segments represent percents.
Either variety can have side-by-side bars, if you are displaying two different measurements about
each category.
How do I begin studying for GRE Data Interpretation?

Start looking for data displayed in graphs & charts. Any day's issue of, say, the New York Times is
likely to have at least one chart or graph accompanying an article somewhere. That's even truer
for any week's issue of the Economist, arguably the single most intelligent weekly magazine in
print. Why does a chart or graph accompany that article? What information is given in the chart
that is not given in the article? What aspects of the data does the chart make clear? If you simply
can understand what a graph or chart adds to a written article, you are more than well on your way
toward mastering GRE Data Interpretation.
Below is a sample Data Interpretation for further practice. And, of course, sign up for Magoosh,
where we will help you perform better on Data Interpretation and all other types of questions on
the GRE.

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GRE Data Interpretation Practice Set

The following pie chart shows the breakdown of revenues for a particular grocery store over the
first quarter of this year. The bar chart shows the detail of breakdown for frozen foods.
Sales of Frozen Foods, first quarter this year
Ice Cream & Desserts
Prepared Meals
Juices
Vegetables
0 5 10 15 20
Thousands of Dollars

45
1. What is the dollar amount of sales of canned goods in the first quarter of this year?
A. $6,000
B. $9,000
C. $18,000
D. $36,000
E. $90,000
2. Frozen prepared meals constitute what percentage of the total sales for the first quarter
this year?
2%
9%
20%
F. 36%
54%
3. During the first quarter this year, this particular grocery store was finishing its
construction of an expanded bakery facility, which, when opened at the beginning the
second quarter, will offer dozens of new cakes and pies, a whole new line of pastries,
and several flavors of gourmet coffee. Assume that in the second quarter, the bakery
sales triple, and all other sales stay the same. The bakery would then account for what
percentage of the total sales in the second quarter?
8.7%
12%
16.1%
18%
25.3%
Explanations
1. This is a straightforward read-data-off-the-chart question. The pie chart tells us canned
goods sales constitute 18% of $200,000. Don't go to the calculator for such a
straightforward percent question!
.018 x 200000 = 18/100 x 200000 = 18 x 2000 = $36000
Answer = D
2. From the bar chart, prepared meals account for about $18,000 in sales. This $18,000 is
what percent of $200,000? Again, please don't jump to the calculator for this.

46
part 18,000 18 18
percent = 100% = 100% = 100% = % = 9%
whole 200,000 200 2
3. This is a tricky question, because there's a tempting wrong answer. The bakery accounts
for 6% of the total sales in first quarter, so if you triple that, it's 18%, right? Wrong! The
new amount would be 18% of the total sales in the first quarter, but we want to know
what percent would it be of the total sales in the second quarter? That's a new total
because, even though everything else stayed the same, bakery sales increased.
We don't need to consider the actual numbers: we can just work with the percents. Bakery
sales triple from 6% to 18% that's the new "part." Since the bakery goes up 12% from 6% to
18%, and all other sales stay the same, the new total is 112% that's the new "whole."
part 18
percent = whole 100% = 100% = 16.0714%
112
You can use the calculator if you like, although you could also approximate that the answer
will not be 18% but rather something a little below 18%, because the "whole" has increased a
bit. Either way, the answer = C.

47
Practice Questions
Multiple Choice
Directions: Choose the option that best answers the question.
How many positive integers less than 10,000 are such that the product of their digits is 210?
A. 24
B. 30
C. 48
D. 54
E. 72
Text Explanation:
Try this question online and watch the video explanation:


48
Multiple Answer Questions

Directions: Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.
If x>0, and two sides of a certain triangle have lengths 2x+1 and 3x+4 respectively, which of
the following could be the length of the third side of the triangle?
Indicate all possible lengths.
4x+5
x+2
6x+1
5x+6
2x+17
Text Explanation:


49
Numeric Entry
Directions: Enter the answer in the blank.
If , what is the value of n?
Text Explanation:


50
Quantitative Comparison
Directions: Choose the correct statement.
Column A Column B
Length of arc ABC 6
Choose the correct statement:

Text Explanation:


51
Verbal Section
Question Types: Text Completions

On the surface the Text Completion sounds deceptively easy: all you have to do is fill in in blanks in
a sentence with a vocabulary word that, given the clues in the sentence(s), fits best. Notice the (s)
in the preceding sentenceunlike the one-sentence Sentence Completions on the old GRE, a Text
Completion can contain anywhere from one to four sentences. Indeed, the longest Text Completion
can sometimes run an entire paragraph.
A Text Completion can have anywhere from one to three blanks. Every one-blank Text Completion
will be one sentence and will contain FIVE answer choices. The two- and three-blank Text
Completions, on the other hand, can run anywhere from one to four sentences. Most importantly,
each blank in a two- and three-blank Text Completion will always have THREE answer choices.
With a two- or three-blank text completions, your chances of guessing and getting lucky are quite
low: for a three-blank TC, you have to get all three correct in order to get the question correct
(that amounts to a 1 in 27 chance in guessing).
Below are five important strategies you should follow if you want to do well on Text Completions:
1. Dont dive in
Read the entire stem first. The reason for this strategy is that the first blank is often
ambiguous, unless you have read the entire paragraph.
2. Breaking down the text completion
Text Completions are sometimes a paragraph long, so it is easy to get lost in them. A great
strategy is trying to understand the big picture. Breaking down the paragraph in your own
words (paraphrasing the paragraph) will help you get a grasp on what the sentences are
talking about. Then youre ready for step #3.
3. Use your own words
We want to use the strategy of putting in our own word(s) in the blank or blanks. To do so,
you must always justify your answers based not just on the big picture, but on some of the
specific words or phrases in the sentence itself. I refer to these word(s) as keywords.
4. The second (or third) blank first
Because the first blank is often difficult to deal with, try finding a word for the second or
third blank first. Then work your way backwards to the first blank. The caveat: This

52
technique only applies if you can come up with a word for the second or third blank. If you
cant, then work with the first blank.
5. Use the entire text completion as context
When youve finally chosen your two/three answers, plug them back into the blanks. Does
the completed sentence make sense with how you earlier paraphrased it?
Watch our lesson video Intro to Text Completion:

http://gre.magoosh.com/lessons/149-intro-to-text-completion/

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Question Types: Sentence Equivalence
Sentence Equivalence questions have vague instructions (select exactly two words that best
complete the sentence and produce sentences that are alike in meaning). Even though the
Revised GRE has been around for almost two years, many are still scratching their heads,
wondering what the difference is between synonymous sentences and synonyms.
Even if a Sentence Equivalence question is straightforward, you may be unsure how to proceed.
What if three answer choices work? Two of them are synonyms, and one of them isnt. You feel,
however, that one of the synonyms somewhat works in the sentence, but the one lone word that
does not have a synonym amongst the answer choices works even better. What, then, is the
answer?
Lets take a look at the question that puts us in the aforementioned quandary.
The blitzkrieg of anti-smoking images has clearly had a(n) - effect: both the number of
total smokers and the rate of lung cancer has fallen in recent years.
salutary
lasting
dramatic
ephemeral
unremarkable
beneficial
There are a few answer choices that could conceivably work here: (A) salutary, (B) lasting, (C)
dramatic and (F) beneficial. However, lasting is a bit suspect, because there is nothing in the
sentence implies that the changes in behavior are permanent.
So, now you are down to three answers. Lets say you really like answer choice (C) dramatic.
Indeed, this is the very word you came up with for the blank. However, because answer choices (A)
and (F) are synonyms that work for the blank, there is no way (C) dramatic can be the answer. This
is an important statement, so I will repeat it again: if two synonyms work for the blank, then
another word cannot be the answer.
Of course, in the world of the GRE, and Sentence Equivalence in particular, it is not always that
straightforward. What if you did not know the definition of (A) salutary? Then would it make sense
to choose (C)? No. The overwhelming majority of Sentence Equivalence answers are synonyms.
Even in those Sentence Equivalence questions, in which the two correct answers arent strict,
synonymous sentences result when you plug the words in. (C) dramatic and (D) beneficial,
however, are very different words and create very different sentences. Therefore, your best bet,
probability-wise, is to choose (A) salutary, even though you do not know what it means. The

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assumption here is that (A) salutary is one of the two synonyms. Then you want to choose either
dramatic or beneficial. One of them will most likely be the answer.
You may balk, thinking that the odds are 50/50. However, if you simply pick (C) and (F), while
avoiding the word you do not know, your chances of answering the question correctly are very slim
to nothing because such different words clearly create different sentences.
Here are some good strategies for dealing with Sentence Equivalence questions:
Always look for synonyms.

If you cant find any synonyms amongst the answer choices, given you know the definition of
every word, then the correct answers will be words that arent technically synonyms.
If you do not know a few of the words, do not just pick two words because they create
synonymous sentences; sometimes two pairs of synonyms exist amongst the six answer
choices.
Choose a word you do not know, and match it with one of the answer choices that work.
If the above sounds like a gamble, thats because approaching Sentence Equivalence, in
terms of guessing, is so complex, at least compared to the typical one in five answer
choices. Essentially, you will want to do anything to increase the odds of guessing correctly.
And, to do so, the steps above will be your most helpful strategy.
Watch our lesson video Intro to Sentence Equivalence:

http://gre.magoosh.com/lessons/180-intro-to-sentence-equivalence/

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Question Types: Reading Comprehension

Typically when I have a student who is struggling with Reading Comprehension, I have them do a
little exercise. I give them two minutes to read an entire passage (yes, you should always read the
passage first before attempting the questions).
Know the passage

When the two minutes are up, I immediately have them close the book and tell me what the
passage was about. Say the passage was about three competing theories on dinosaur extinction.
The author endorsed a meteorite impact theory because it could account for the uneven dispersal
of iridium.
A student struggling with the passage will say the passage was about dinosaurs. They may throw in
the word meteorite, or maybe mention something about iridium, but they will not give me with a
coherent synopsis, like the one I provided above, because their understanding is fragmented.
You may think trying to describe the passage in your own words is frivolous and time-consuming.
However, unless you try to understand the passage by describing it in your own words, you will find
yourself struggling even more on the questions, easy prey for the traps the test writers have laid.
Slow down
So what should you do? Learn to read passages, slowly even, to make sure you can accurately
paraphrase what the passage is talking about. In fact, you shouldnt even worry about the
questions until you are able to understand how the passage is constructed.
Dont trust your gut

Many students balk, saying that slowing down to read the whole passage eats up time. The truth is
students waste the most time on questions they dont know the answers to because they have an
incomplete understanding of the passage. They will vacillate between two answer choices and pick
one based not on logic but on gut feeling.
Takeaway
So the key is to really understand the passage. One way to make sure you are doing so is to write
down the three main points after youre done reading the passage. Once you get in the habit of
doing so, processing the passage in this way will become second nature and soon you will be able to
dissect the passage in your head without having to write anything down.

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Watch our lesson video Deconstructing Passages I:

http://gre.magoosh.com/lessons/187-deconstructing-passages-i/

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Question Types: Argument Questions (Paragraph Argument)

On the GRE, a subset of the Reading Comprehension is called Paragraph Argument. Of course, the
GRE doesnt call it this, but instead lumps the question type under Reading Comprehension. Back
before the old GRE was the old GRE, and when it was actually the new GRE, ETS had decided to do
away with a section called the Analytical Section. So, the old-old GRE had an extra section worth a
total of 800 points (yes, you can consider yourself lucky, in a way, that the new GRE didnt
completely resurrect this section).
They did, however, resurrect a question type from this erstwhile section and that is the question
type I am labeling a Paragraph Argument question.
Those with GMAT experience will notice that this question type is the same in content and
description as the Critical Reasoning questions on the GMAT.
Even for those of you with only GRE experience, youve seen it before its a short paragraph with
only one question, typically asking you to think logically about information in the paragraph.
Today, I am going to be dealing with a subspecies of this question that is proving pesky for many
students (and for those of you considering only taking the GMAT, you better listen up).
You can identify this question by bolded parts of the text. It is called Paragraph Argument, and
requires you to understand how arguments are constructed.
Below we have an excerpt:
The lower the tide, the less likely guppy fish are to come to the surface to feed. The tern, which
feeds exclusively on the guppy, does most of its hunting in the evening, when the tide is low. It
follows that the tern is going to have more difficulty hunting the guppy in the evening than during
the daytime, because it expends more energy doing so. Dotting points slightly out to sea are
outcrops of rock that the tern usually lands on while hunting. Therefore, an observer is more
likely to see tern resting on the rocks in the evening than during the day.
A Paragraph Argument question will have you do one of a number of things: Evaluate the Argument,
Strengthen/Weaken Argument, Resolve the Paradox. Following each Paragraph Argument are five
answer choices.
For this excerpt, we are not going to answer a question, but are going to take apart the argument.
This skill is essential to answer any of the question types above.

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Premise
For an argument to be valid, it must be based on a fact. In this case, we accept what the passage
tells us in the beginning two sentences (by the way, I made up these fish facts, so I do not think
they actually apply to the natural world). For me to draw a valid conclusion, I must build off of
these sentences.
Conclusion
In this case, I am assuming that the tern is going to have trouble hunting the guppy in the evening,
because there arent too many guppies breaking the surface. This conclusion is by no means 100%
valid. It is a conclusion drawn from facts that we, the readers, take for granted are 100% valid (the
first two sentences).
With this excerpt, we are not finished. Notice how there is another conclusion: Therefore, an
observer Youll notice that this sentence is the final conclusion, which must be based on the
first conclusion. Therefore, the first conclusion is not the main conclusion, but what is known as
the intermediate conclusion. Without the intermediate conclusion, the passage would not be able
to draw the main conclusion.
Other twists
Sometimes, the main argument will not agree with the intermediate conclusion. For instance, the
main argument could have said something to the effect of, Therefore, the increase of birds on the
outcrops during the day cannot fully be explained given the above information.
In this case, the main argument opposes the intermediate conclusion. That is, there has to some
other reason, besides resting, to account for the increase in terns. Perhaps the terns used the time
on the outcrops to clean their feathers (or some other random explanation).
Lastly, not all Paragraph Arguments in fact, very few indeed actually deal explicitly with
intermediate conclusions. But, because this terminology is not common, it tends to throw many
people off. However, if you want more practice with Paragraph Arguments, you should not only
look at Revised GRE material, but should also look at GMAT and LSAT material. There will be plenty
of practice there for this tricky kind of question.

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Pacing Strategies
Each verbal section consists of 20 questions. You will have a total of 30 minutes per verbal section,
translating to 1.5 minutes per question.
So how do you allocate this time amongst the different questions? In order of LEAST time-
consuming to MOST time-consuming we have:
1. One-Blank Text Completions
2. Sentence Equivalence
3. Two-Blank Text Completion
4. Short Reading Passage
5. Three-Blank Text Completion
6. Paragraph Argument
7. Long Reading Passage
This ranking is a rough estimate, meaning that a difficult sentence equivalence question may cost
you more time than a straightforward three-blanker. To simplify things even further, I will assign
each of the sections above a different amount of time, giving a range to account for the difference
in time for any given question type.
One-Blank Text Completions 20 45 seconds

Sentence Equivalence 20 60
Two-Blank 30 75 sec
Three-Blank 45 sec 2 min
Short Reading Passage (including time to read passage): 45 sec 1:45
Paragraph Argument 1:00 2:15
Long Reading Passage 1:00 3:00.
What does this all mean? On Sentence Equivalence and One-Blank Text Completions spend no more
than a minute. On Two-Blank and Three Blank Text Completions spend an average of 1:00 1:30
minutes. The extra time you saved in One-Blank Text Completions and Sentence Equivalence use
towards Reading Comprehension.
The low-hanging fruit

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20 seconds to 3:00 minutes is a pretty vast range. Simply put, some questions are easy and others
fiendishly diabolical. The shocking thing is each question, from the one that you get in a blink of an
eye to one that has you scratching your head till longer after the exam is over, are worth the same.
That point is so important I am going to repeat it again (in caps): EACH QUESTION ON THE GRE IS
GIVEN THE SAME WEIGHT.
The takeaway? Do not spend 3 minutes agonizing over a three-blank text completion with the words
hagiographic and pulchritudinous as answer choices. If its a long paragraph with really difficult
words SKIP IT!
That is, as soon as you see that the question is difficult, move on. Instead, go for the low hanging
fruit. That is, first answer the questions that are easier and take less time. The Revised GRE, after
all, allows you to scroll from question to question. Make sure to take advantage of this function.
You do not need to attempt every question

Dont freak out if you are unable to attempt every question. As long as you just guess some random
answer, thats fine. There is no penalty for guessing. There is, however, a penalty for rushing
through a relatively easy question to try to answer every question. And that penalty is you getting
the easy question wrong. Anyways, you do not get bonus points for completing the test. So make
sure to be accurate.
Takeaway
Each question on the GRE is worth the same. Do not waste time trying to answer a difficult
question. Remember you can always come back to a difficult question if you have time, after
youve answered the easy/medium ones.

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Vocabulary: Learning in Context

When learning GRE vocabulary, we need to arm ourselves with as many approaches as possible.
Reading for vocabulary

Why is reading for vocab, compared to the memorizing flashcards, so effective?
In the cozy flashcard milieu, words come to us a lot easier. But, the GRE is far from cozy. When we
see a word weve seen before, the context the GRE testing room is very different. Likewise,
when we are reading, we dont expect to see a given word. It is this element of surprise, this jolt
of recognition that makes reading such an effective vocabulary-learning tool.
If you are going to use flashcards, we recommend using one that have good example sentences. We
have over 1000 free ones for you to flip through online (or on your phone!) here:
http://gre.magoosh.com/flashcards
Active word usage

Once youve exposed yourself to many new words through reading, you dont want to just look at
them and put them in a notebook for safe keeping. A technique you can rely on is active usage a
highly effective way of embedding words into long-term memory. If you dont make active usage
part of your arsenal, you are selling yourself short.
The key to active usage is to be creative. So, if vocabulary words start randomly popping into your
head, think of where you can use them. For instance, if you someone walking down the street
arguing on his cell phone, words such as contentious, disputatious, and polemical should leap to
mind. Indeed, the zanier the connections you make with words, the more likely you are to
remember them (this zanier-is-better approach applies to the next part of the vocabulary arsenal
as well).
Mnemonics
Suppose there is a really pesky word that you just cant get into your long-term memory, no matter
how many times you see that word. Okay, perhaps you dont have to suppose, as there are many
words that fall into this category. But lets pluck a word at random from the GRE vocabulary tree:
lambaste.
Lets say whenever you encounter this word, the first four letters, l-a-m-b, throw you off. You
picture a docile creature bah-ing contentedly in a pen. When you see the definition to reprimand
harshly it always surprises you.

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Instead of trying to snuff out the image of a lamb, however, you should try using it to your
advantage.
Imagine a boss, or anybody who has exerted some power over you in the past (a middle school gym
teacher works perfectly). He or she calls you into their office (or lair) and is now berating you for
something you did incorrectly. Now, I want you to imagine a large lambs head in place of this
persons head.
Or, if that doesnt quite do the trick, imagine you are cooking. Youre not very adept in the
kitchen, but you want to surprise your significant other with his/her favorite dish. Well, in the end,
you end up ruining the lamb. Your significant other arrives and, witnessing your culinary debacle,
gives you a good going over, you dont baste a lamb, you roast one.
The process of coming up with a creativeand often offbeatway of remembering a word is called
a mnemonic. Above are two mnemonics that I thought of on the spot. What Ive learned from
coming up with mnemonics in front of a class is that the best mnemonics are our own mnemonics.
Sure, a few students like my mnemonics, but others devise their own wacky ones up (or lean back
slightly, looking at me as though Ive gone a little mental).
As silly as my mnemonics may sound, the main takeaway is that a good mnemonic is the one that
works for you. And by good, I mean it is memorable. Case in point, you may have already forgotten
my lambaste mnemonics, because you didnt think of them yourself. But, if you are struggling with
a vocab word, a clever mnemonic will not only make the word easier to learn but will also
hopefully make the word more fun to learn.

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Vocabulary: Magazines and Newspapers

The Revised GRE requires us to have a far greater sense of how words function in context. This is
why Ive recommend learning vocabulary by reading voraciously from prescribed sources. These
sources include The New York Times, The Economist, The Atlantic Monthly, and The New Yorker.
Most of the writing found within the pages of these august publications is not only replete with
GRE-level vocabulary but is also similar in tone and style to that found on the Revised GRE.
Today I am going to take actual articles from the aforementioned sources. I will highlight important
vocabulary and also discuss ways you should approach learning words when you encounter them in
context.
Finally, the articles come from a wide variety of fields, e.g. business, science, literature, etc. Ive
done my best to select pieces that I think a majority will find interesting, a criteria that I
recommend you employ when you embark on your own reading quest.
In each case, Ive specifically taken excerpts that contain not only GRE words (though these are
sprinkled throughout each article) but also engage in analysis of some issue.
The Atlantic Monthly

Outsider, non-founder CEOs are often overvalued because many corporate boards think the answer
to their problems is a superstar CEO with an outsized reputation. This leads them to overpay for
people who are good at creating outsized reputations through networking, interviewing, and
taking credit for other peoples achievementsall bad indicators of future success.
Rakesh Khurana has amply shown how this delusion of the charismatic savior creates a
dysfunctional market for CEOs, allowing the small number of existing public-company CEOs to
demand and receive extravagant compensation. The myth of the generalist CEO is bolstered by the
many fawning media portrayals where CEOs say that their key jobs are understanding, hiring, and
motivating peopleleading board members to believe that you can run a technology company
without knowing anything about technology.
This passage is great because it is full of relatively difficult words, many of which are high-
frequency GRE vocabulary (fawning, bolstered, ample/amply). This excerpt is also filled with
analysis, which will help sync your synapses for the Revised GRE.
Perhaps business reading induces a meh, or worse yet a blah. Maybe you simply want to vary up
your reading. A great field to draw from is science. Part of the reason is the Revised GRE will
typically have one science passage. While it may be drier than the typical fare found in the

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magazines cited above, often the science writing on the GRE is similar in tone and style to what
youll encounter in these magazines.
So lets take the article Bird Brain, which appeared in The New Yorker last year. It explores the
development of language in human beings and whether language is the province only of humans. To
do so, it tells the story of an African gray parrot, Alex, and his owner, Irene Pepperbergnamely
how she trained Alex to say hundreds of words (though none, I believe, were GRE vocab) so that
Alex, by the time he was an adult, was able to form relatively coherent sentences.
The New Yorker

Below is an excerpt from the article, which is about 15-pages long. In general I would recommend
the entire piece, especially if the above sounds intriguing. The excerpt includes a few vocab words,
and some reflection and analysis.
All children grow up in a world of talking animals. If they dont come to know them through fairy
tales, Disney movies, or the Narnia books, they discover them some other way. A child will grant
the gift of speech to the family dog, or to the stray cat that shows up at the door. At first, its
a solipsistic fantasythe secret sharer you can tell your troubles to, or that only you understand.
Later, its rooted in a more philosophical curiosity, the longing to experience
the ineffable interiority of some very different being. My eight-year-old daughter says that she
wishes the horses she rides could talk, just so she could ask them what it feels like to be a horse.
Such a desire presumesas Thomas Nagel put it in his 1974 essay What Is It Like to Be a Bat?
that animals have some kind of subjectivity, and that it might somehow be plumbed. In any case,
Nagel explained, humans are restricted to the resources of our own minds, and since those
resources are inadequate to the task, we cannot really imagine what it is like to be a bat, only,
at best, what it is like to behave like oneto fly around in the dark, gobble up insects, and so on.
That inability, however, should not lead us to dismiss the idea that animals have experiences
fully comparable in richness of detail to our own. We simply cant know. Yet many of us would
be glad for even a few glimpses inside an animals mind. And some people, like Irene Pepperberg,
have dedicated their lives to documenting those glimpses.
Though you may already know a few of these words, you should definitely look them up, especially
if you are inferring the meaning based on the context. Always validate your hunch, dont assume
you can always glean the exact definition of the word simply by looking at context.
After looking up these words, youll notice a word with a secondary meaning, plumbed, and a
couple of words from philosophy subjectivity and solipsistic. After consulting Word Smart, the
Magoosh flashcards or other vocabulary lists Ive recommend youll notice that subjectivity (or
subjective) is a very important word; solipsistic, on the other hand, is not as likely to pop up on the

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test. But if you already have a strong vocabulary, and are looking to score in the top 10%, then
definitely learn solipsistic.
You will notice that the definition of interiority isnt very surprising, as it is directly related to
interior. You may also notice that it is similar to subjective. Finally, you learn the word ineffable,
which say youve never seen before, and you also find it on a few lists. Write it down on a flashcard
along with an example sentence (oh, the irony of ineffable for to say something is ineffable is
contradicting the very essence of the word).
Following a process similar to the one above is important. You dont want to simply underline the
words and look them up. You want to digest them, so that, much like Alex the parrot, you will be
able to use them in a coherent sentence.
Of course reading the entire article is also a good idea. Essentially you are training your brain to
read through a long, relatively challenging piece, a skill that is indispensable during the third hour
of the Revised GRE.
New York Times Book Review

Lets say that you read Bird Brain and enjoy it. You are already familiar with a number of words
and want something more challenging, maybe something couched in academic jargon or that oozes
literary style. (Im assuming that if you fall into this category, you are also looking to get the
difficult verbal section).
A good resource is the New York Times Book Review. Here you will find the truly erudite waxing
literary on a recently published novel/book that is just as scholarly as the review. You may even
ask yourself if The New York Times writers are the very writers who craft byzantine Text
Completions for ETS.
Below are two excerpts from the same book review of a biography of Joseph Heller, the reclusive,
and frequently irascible, author of Catch-22, one of the great novels of the 20thcentury.
But again, Daugherty is often perceptive about Hellers place in the larger culture, even if the
novelist himself rarely comes into focus. For the human aspect, one turns to Erica Hellers
frank but loving memoir of her father, Yossarian Slept Here, which comes as close as
possible, I dare say, to deciphering the enigma behind the obsessive, pitch-black fiction.
Joseph Heller, the opposite of demonstrative, was given to oblique ways of showing
affection
That was the year Heller published his second novel, Something Happened, which
Daugherty commends as follows: Joe stepped beyond Wilsons sentimentality and Yatess

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bitterness to eviscerate modern Americas success ethic. Such a pat comparison to Sloan
Wilson, the author of The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, and Richard Yates, the author
of Revolutionary Road, is the sort of thing Daugherty might have emended given a bit more
time to think about it; at any rate, Something Happened is perhaps the one work of postwar
American fiction that makes Yates seem positively Panglossian. Erica Heller, for her part,
describes the novel (probably her fathers best) as 569 pages of hilarious
but mordant, caustically wrapped, smoldering rage though of course its personal in her
case. Primary among the targets of the protagonist Bob Slocums paranoid, solipsistic rant is
his family
This article is clearly the most challenging of all the ones printed in this post. There are many
difficult words, some that may give even the literate amongst us pause (Panglossian is derived from
a character in Voltaires Candide, Dr. Pangloss. The doctor was always optimistic, regardless of the
circumstances).
Interestingly, solipsistic makes another appearance (maybe its not such an arcane word after all!).
Higher-frequency wordsGRE-wiseinclude mordant, caustic, emend, enigma, and oblique.
Also, you want to be careful not to rely too much on assumptions. Demonstrative does not simply
mean to demonstrate (it means tend to expression ones emotions outwardly). And pat, such a
diminutive word, so folksy-sounding and innocuous, has many meanings. The adjective form, which
is employed in the book review, could easily pop up on the GRE, and cause you to answer a Text
Completion incorrectly. So be sure to look up such word (if an explanation is pat it is
superficial/cursory and unconvincing).
Surprisingly, difficult vocabulary words and highfalutin prose arent only found in the esoteric niche
of the book review. Lets take an opinion piece we are far more likely to read: the movie review.
The New York Times

At a certain point, though to say exactly when would ruin a fairly stunning surprise the cat-
and-mouse psychology is jettisoned in favor of something more procedural. The two halves of
Love Crime divide according to the words of the title: the first explores
the knotty, feverish, ambiguous bond between Christine and Isabelle, while the second is all
about guilt, innocence, evidence and motive. It is interesting and ingenious, even if some of the
kinky, queasy fascination that had been so intoxicating in the earlier scenes ebbs away.
While the words here arent as recondite as Panglossian, the prose style is relatively challenging
and echoes that of the GRE Text Completion. In fact, this article is at a perfect reading level for
those aiming to score between 150 and 160 on the Verbal section.

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Practice Questions
Text Completion
Directions: For each blank select one word from each column that best completes the sentence.
The movie is comprised of several vignettes, each presenting a character along with his or
her foil: a staid accountant shares an apartment with a (i)____________ musician; a tight-
lipped divorcee on a cross-country roadtrip picks up a (ii)____________ hitchhiker; and
finally, and perhaps most unconvincingly, an introverted mathematician falls in love with a
(iii)____________ arriviste.
Blank (i) Blank (ii) Blank (ii)

A. colorful D. garrulous G. unpredictable
B. insatiable E. untrustworthy H. gregarious
C. eminent F. forlorn I. bumbling
Answers: A, D, H
'Foil' is an opposite. Therefore each time a person is mentioned we want to come up with a person
who exhibits opposite qualities. For instance, in the first blank we have 'staid accountant.' 'Staid' is
boring and dull. Thus, the opposite would be (A) colorful. For the second blank, (D) garrulous is the
opposite of 'tight-lipped.' Finally, (H) gregarious is the opposite of 'introverted.


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Sentence Equivalence
Directions: Select exactly two words that best complete the sentence and produce sentences that
are alike in meaning.
A knack for ______, it can be argued, allows one access to a whole range of careers, many of
which require one to forsake direct, honest speech.
eloquence
prevarication
equivocation
abbreviation
discernment
openness
Answers: B, C
'...to forsake...speech' means to not speak truthfully. Thus the word in the blank should be a
synonym with dishonest
A. eloquence has a positive connotation

B. prevarication is speaking in an evasive fashion
C. equivocation means to speak vaguely as to avoid revealing the truth
D. abbreviation is not supported by context
E. discernment is the ability to judge
F. openness is the opposite of the blank


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Reading Comprehension
Directions: Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.
What little scholarship has existed on Ernest Hemingway--considering his stature--has

focused on trying to unmask the man behind the bravura. Ultimately, most of these works
have done little more than to show that Hemingway the myth and Hemingway the man were
not too dissimilar (Hemingway lived to hunt big game so should we be surprised at his
virility, not to mention that of many of the authors--chiefly male--protagonists?). In the last
few years, several biographies have reversed this trend, focusing on Hemingway near the
end of his life: isolated and paranoid, the author imagined the government was chasing him
(he was not completely wrong on this account). Ironically, the hunter had become the
hunted, and in that sense, these latest biographers have provided--perhaps unwittingly--the
most human portrait of the writer yet.
With which of the following would the author of the passage agree?
The prevalence of scholarship on Hemingway is commensurate with his renown as a

writer.
The latest Hemingway biographies consciously intended to show Hemingways
vulnerabilities.
Until recently, Hemingway biographies had shown a similar trend.
Answers: C only
(A) is wrong because the first sentence clearly states the opposite: for someone of Hemingways
stature, few biographies have resulted.
(B) is wrong because the passage says, perhaps unwittingly, meaning the biographies did not
consciously set out to depict Hemingways vulnerabilities.
(C) is clearly supported in the passage: What little scholarshipbravura.


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Paragraph Arguments (Critical Reasoning)

Directions: Choose the option that best answers the question.
The waters off the coast of Iceland are filled with pods of killer whales, which migrate there
during the summer. Wildlife parks that rely on the killer whales for entertainment hunt the
killer whale almost exclusively in the water of Iceland, because strict sanctions forbid them
from doing so off the coast of North America, an area also abundant in killer whales. Since
Iceland recently gave into pressure from international groups opposed to the hunting of
killer whales, it too will forbid the hunting of killer whales off its coast. Therefore, all
wildlife parks will be forced to end their shows featuring killer whales once their current
killer whales are unable to perform.
All of the following cast doubt on the conclusion of the argument EXCEPT?
The recent ban only extends to within one hundred miles of Iceland, though killer whales
are plentiful along the shores of Greenland, which fall outside this range.
The incoming prime minister of Canada, who is more conservative, is planning on lifting
the ban on hunting killer whales off the coast of Canada.
In-park killer whale births have become increasingly common, especially in those wildlife
parks that harbor a large number of killer whales.
Some wildlife parks are involved in the illegal trade of killer whales.
It is nearly impossible to catch killer whales in deep waters, so hunters typically rely on
luring killer whales into coves.

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Answer: E
The argument states that the only place wildlife parks can find killer whales is off the coast of
Iceland, yet, with an imminent ban there, wildlife parks will be unable to replenish their
respective in-park killer whale populations. Eliminate all the answer choices that call this question
into conclusion.
(A) provides a source of killer whales (Greenland), thereby weakening the conclusion.
The argument states that North America is also abundant in killer whale. If Canada lifts its ban,
then wildlife park can find killer whale there. (B) is out.
(C) provides a great place to replenish the killer whale population: the park itself. Therefore, (C)
directly attacks the argument that wildlife parks will run out of killer whale.
(D) provides a clear means by which parks will acquire killer whales despite all the bans.
(E) does not provide a new means by which parks will acquire new killer whales. It only describes
how killer whales are generally caught. Therefore (E) is the answer.


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Analytical Writing Assessment

Meet the AWA
Many people give the AWA short shrift after all, it is not included in the 260 340 score range.
However, a very low writing score could hurt your chances of getting accepted to many graduate
programs. So, it is important, even if you have to take a little time out from your busy GRE prep
schedule, to practice.
Just enough?
The AWA is scored on a scale from 0.0 to 6.0, in 0.5 increments. While very few people are able to
get a perfect 6, most graduate programs arent too concerned about your score, as long as you are
able to get a 4.0 and above. Of course, you know best whether your graduate program falls into
that range. Are you looking to go to journalism school? Well, then anything less than a 5.0 is
problematic. Looking to do computer science or engineering? For most programs, a 4.0 should be
sufficient.
A 4.0 translates to roughly the 50% mark. Basically, you are able to write two essays, 30-minutes
each, better than half of the essay applicants. To get to this level should be your goal. If you
program requires at least a 4.5, which some do, you will then be only 0.5 off.
Two essays?
Yes, the AWA is not just one long, taxing essay but two, relatively long, taxing essays. For the first
essay, you will have to take a side on a complex issue and craft a 4 6 paragraph essay, offering
supporting examples and logic to support your position. This is the Issue statement, and, for most,
is usually the more difficult of the two essays.
The next essay is called the Argument. Instead of having to argue your own position, the way you
must do on the Issue task, you must criticize someone elses argument. This someone else happens
to be the GRE test-writers. But dont worry they are not going to ask you to challenge an essay
written on Marxist theory. The arguments are always based on real-world, straightforward
examples. Better yet, the arguments are usually filled with gaping logical holes that make it
relatively easy for you to take apart the argument (dont worry, the logical skills you employ on the
critical reasoning questions in the Verbal section are far more nuanced).
So what does it take to get a 4.0? Well, for both the Issue and the Argument task, you will want to
write an essay that is each of the following:

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Well-structured: The essay should have an Intro, Body Paragraphs and Conclusion. Your intro should
end with a clearly defined thesis, so the person reading your essay knows what you are trying to
prove.
Well-reasoned: For the Issue paragraphs, your body paragraphs should contain examples, either
actual or hypothetical, that cogently defend your position. For the Argument task, you convincingly
show why the argument is weak.
Well-Expressed: The GRE wants to get a sense of how well you write. And by write, I mean, do you
use relatively sophisticated speech? Do you vary up your sentences? Do grammar issues interfere
with your expression?
Together, the three points will give the GRE reader an overall impression (what they call a holistic
approach) of your writing ability. Again, this score will be based on a scale from 0.0 6.0.
Takeaway
So, those were the high-level basics. But dont worry there is a lot more to come. We are going to
take a look at the Issue and Argument independently.

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The Argument Essay

Just like the assumptions themselves, the trepidation people have of The Argument Task on
the Analytical Writing Assessment Section of the GRE is unwarranted. Below is a sample argument
prompt and the first step in approaching the Argument Task: Brainstorm.
Sample task
SuperCorp recently moved its headquarters to Corporateville. The recent surge in the number of
homeowners in Corporateville proves that Corporateville is a superior place to live then
Middlesburg, the home of SuperCorps previous headquarters. Moreover, Middleburg is a
predominately urban area and according to an employee survey, SuperCorp has determined that its
workers prefer to live in an area that is not urban. Finally, Corporateville has lower taxes than
Middlesburg, making it not only a safer place to work but also a cheaper one. Therefore, SuperCorp
clearly made the best decision.
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument.
Be sure to explain how the argument depends on the assumptions and what the implications are if
the assumptions prove unwarranted. ETS
Step one attack the assumptions

Do not agree with any part of the argumentthe argument is full of logical gaps and your job is to
expose them. Of course, you do not only want to cite what is wrong with the argument, you want
to elaborate on how the argument can be improved.
The first step is to brainstorm the logical gaps or unwarranted assumptions the argument makes.
Thinking of the assumptions is key before writing dont just rush into the essay. Planning before
you write will, in the end, save you time.
In this post we will only be concerned with the brainstorming part. The follow up post will have a
sample essay, followed by a score and feedback, including how to improve the essay.
Assumption #1
The argument assumes that the increase in homeowners is directly correlated with improved living,
or, as the argument states, a superior place to live. Housing could simply be cheaper, causing an
influx of people. That is the increase of population does not mean that everybody wants to live in
Corporateville because it is such a great place.

75
Assumption #2
Even if everybody wants to move to Corporateville because it is a superior place to live, that
doesnt mean what is superior for residents is superior for a corporation. Remember working
and living are two very different things.
Assumption #3
We do not know anything about the survey. Is it really indicative of how employees feel? Perhaps
the survey only asked upper management. Maybe only the engineering department was questioned.
Basically, there is no way for us to know whether the sample was representative. Anyhow, the
survey even if it is representative found that SuperCorps workers preferred to live, not to work,
in areas that are not urban.
Assumption #4
There is nothing in the argument that says that Corporateville is not urban. Perhaps Corporateville
is also somewhat urban. We do not know. And be careful not to assume that people typically leave
urban areas for the suburbs. Never bring your own preconceived notions into the argument
Assumption #5
Towards the end, the argument mentions that Corporateville is safer. In this same sentence, you
will also find mention of lower taxes. If the argument is setting out to prove that Corporateville is a
superior place to work than Middlesburg, it has to be more specific about how lower taxes will
improve quality of work place.
Assumption #6
The argument ends by saying that Supercorp clearly made the right decision. Even if Corporateville
is a better place for Supercorp, to say that the company made the best decision is stretching it.
Perhaps Supercorp could have moved to a different city, one even better suited to its needs.
Takeaways
The goal of the brainstorming session is not to see how many assumptions you can find. Instead,
you want to choose the few that you think best invalidate the argument.

76
The Issue Essay

Out of the two essays, the Issue tends to be more difficult for most students. Part of the reason is
it is far more difficult to wing it on the Issue task than it is on the Argument Task.
The Issue Prompt requires you to respond to a simple statement, by developing a position, and
supporting it with convincing examples. To be able to do so you will want to keep the following
points in mind.
Keep it organized
Nothing reflects strong essay writing skills like organization. Even an impassioned, cogent response
falls apart if it is not bundled into essay form: the introduction, a few body paragraphs, and a
conclusion.
The Intro should not be needlessly long, as you try to stuff in everything you want to say. The Intro
serves (unsurprisingly) to introduce the topic. Most importantly, the Intro must have a clearly
defined thesis statement. Often it is easiest for the writerand the readerif the last sentence in
the Intro is the thesis.
The body paragraphs should develop your thesis. Finally, the conclusion should recap whatve you
said (dont try to add any new information).
Keep it focused
Within the paragraph it is easy for us to lose our way. Perhaps we summarize needlessly, forgetting
that the essay requires our analysis of an issue. Maybe our sentences do not link together logically,
and we find ourselves rambling. Or, we may find ourselves juggling several hypothetical examples,
never really making a compelling case.
So stay focused on analyzing the issue. Make sure your sentences link together, and be sure to
develop an example, so that by the end of the paragraph you can persuasivelyand clearlyshow
how your example supports your thesis.
Keep it engaging
Repetitive sentence structure makes for repetitive reading. Vary up the way you writedont be
afraid to use a colon (or a dash), drop in a semi-colon, and vary up the syntax. Noun followed by
verb followed by adjective implies that you are a hesitant writer. Regardless of your analysis and
organization, the overall impression your essay leaves on the graders is a resounding meh.

77
Keep it specific
Hypotheticals are fine, if you can use them to convincingly back up your point. However, thats the
tough part; some people, mankind, or you are dull, vague abstractions. If you trying to show
that knowledge can sometimes be used for destructive ends, Oppenheimers knowledge of nuclear
fusion allowed him to create the most destructive weapon the world had ever known is far more
impactful than, scientists can sometimes use knowledge to hurt us.
Keep it on topic
Perhaps the most important (lest you wonder why you received a 1 on your essay) is to keep your
essay on topic. Imagine you had to write on the mock prompt on knowledge I used above. If you
begin talking about how technology is destructive because smartphones cause us to become
insular, you have totally forgotten to answer the question, Knowledge can sometimes used for
destructive ends.
Keep practicing
Writing well is very difficult. It takes a lifetime of diligent practice. Luckily, the GRE essays graders
are not judging whether we could be New Yorker staff writers. Even 6 essays are not perfect;
while commanding and sophisticated, these essays are not beyond the grasp of many native
speakers.
Even as a non-native speaker, with a little practice you can go from a 3 to a 4 and from a 4 to
a 5. But the key is practice. Writing an essay and feeling utterly deflated because it would score
below a 3 is fineas long as you can pick yourself up and tackle another essay prompt, knowing
that you canand willimprove with more practice.
And non-natives dont despair. Two of the preeminent prose stylists of the English-language novel
were both non-native English speakers. Joseph Conrad didnt learn English until he was 18 (though
his Heart of Darkness will confound most 18-year olds native English speakers). And Vladimir
Nabokov wrote in both French and Russia before ever committing his pen to English at the ripe age
of 25. The first page of Lolita alone makes even New Yorker staff writers blush crimson with envy.
Takeaways
Okay, enough with the pep talk. For practical advice on practicing: click here for access to
hundreds of essay prompts by ETS. Better yet, the actual prompt you see test day may be one of
these essays. So set yourself a goal (say, an essay a day) and practice. And remember, your mood
coming out of the essay will affect your performance on the other sections. So (for non-native
speakers) do Nabokov proud, and for natives with enough practice, maybe youll be able to show
those New Yorker staff writers a thing or two.

78
Resources
Study Plans
Whether youre studying for 1 week or 6 months, it definitely helps to add some structure to your
study plan to keep you accountable and motivated. Below is a list of our study guides that include
recommended materials and checklists for each stage of your prep:
1 Week Study Schedule
1 Month Study Schedules:
Daily schedule
Weekly schedule

2-3 Month (90 Day) Study Schedules:
Weekly Schedule
Daily Schedule Version A for Beginners
Daily Schedule Version B: Math Focused
Daily Schedule Version C: Verbal Focused
Daily Schedule Version D for Advanced Students

6 Month Study Schedules
Daily Schedule (for Math Beginners)

Daily Schedule (Advanced Math)
Weekly Schedule

You can also access all of the study plans above from http://magoosh.com/gre/gre-study-guides-
and-plans/

79
Official Practice Material from ETS

You may have heard that there is no better way to practice for the GRE than by taking a mock
exam, especially one written by ETS.
The extent to which this is true depends on how you use the exam. Taking a test once, figuring out
your score, and then hoping that your brain will avoid the same kinds of mistakes on the test is
wishful thinking. Following the steps below will help you get the most out of a practice test.
The tests
ETS (the best source for the most accurate practice material) offers a few resources:
A free PDF practice test (1 practice test)

The Official Guide book for the Revised GRE (practice questions and exam overviews as well
as 1 practice test)
A CD that comes with the book above (1 practice test)
Free Powerprep II software (1 practice test)
The tests written by ETS are the best in terms of preparation. ETS creates the GRE you will see on
test day, so it provides the best indicator of your score test day. However, some of the material on
these tests overlap.
Heres a quick guide to keep track:
Powerprep and the CD are identical, with 100% of the same material.
The material on the PDF test is a subset of the material found on both Powerprep and the
CD. That means you will see all of the questions on the PDF in Powerprep/CD material, but
you wont see all of the Powerprep/CD material on the PDFs.
Completely separate is the one practice test at the of the Official Guide book, which does
not have any overlap with any other material.
Confusing, right? Its best to do as much practice as possible, so you shouldnt worry about
overlapping material too much, but you should keep the above distinctions in mind because if you
see a question that youve seen previously, you may get the correct answer not because you knew
how to do it, but because your brain may just have remembered the answer from last time!
Mark the questions you get wrong

After figuring out your score, put a mark next the questions you missed. However, do not look at
the answer. See if you can figure out why you got the question wrong. Sometimes this mistake can

80
be attributed to carelessness. Other times there is a conceptual issue. If you are still unsure look at
the correct answer and then see if you can figure out why it is correct.
Figure out the question on your own

Looking at an explanation can be harmful in a few ways. First off, many explanations seem more
confusing than the actual question. Secondly, by relying on an explanation, you do not force
yourself to really think through a question.
With the ETS practice test, there are no explanations given. Again, this will force you to really
think through a problem. Of course the reality is you will sometimes be stumped. If that happens
Watch our video explanations

If you cant figure out a problem after trying to work it out on your own, check out our video
explanations for each question in the PDF or the ones for the ETS Official Guide Book. Then, if it
still doesnt make sense, leave us a comment on our blog. I will be sure to get back to you to help
you figure it out.
Find questions similar to Powerprep II and the Official Guide

Practice tests allow you to determine your strengths and weaknesses. Focus on your weaknesses by
finding practice problems that test the concept with which you are struggling. Manhattan GRE
and Magoosh are both great resources.
Take the tests multiple times

The PDF file is static so you the questions will not change. The Powerprep II test, however, differs
slightly so that you will see a few new questions when you retake the test. Either way, if you space
out enough time between tests, you shouldnt remember too many questions. While the score will
not be valid (it will probably be slightly inflated), taking an ETS test under timed conditions is the
best way to prepare for test day.
Be sure to review questions, both mistakes and lucky guesses, the way enumerated above.
Other Tests
No mock test is the same as that provided by ETS. Still, it is important to remember that some are
better than others. Manhattan GRE provides five practice tests, all of which have challenging
content. Magoosh also allows you to create your own mock tests.
Kaplan tests, judging from their book content, are a poor approximation of the real test. Princeton
Review also contains questions that are suspect, too easy, or both. And those tests you find on-

81
linewell, lets put it this way. I ventured to a site that offered mock GRE tests. In the math
section, almost every other question was a permutation/combination problem. On the actual test
you may only get one such question. So much for a faithful approximation of the test.

82
Book Reviews
There isnt much out there (yet) in terms of Revised GRE material, but weve reviewed all of the
recent prep material thats been released since the official GRE switch happened (in August of
2011). Youll be getting an experts point of view on all of the following new GRE books:
McGraw-Hills New GRE: 2011-2012 Edition Grade: D-

Kaplan New GRE Premier 2011-2012 Grade: D+
Barrons New GRE 19th Edition Grade: B-
Princeton Review: Cracking the New GRE 2012 Grade: C
McGraw-Hills Conquering the New GRE Math Grade: A-
ETSs Official Guide to the GRE Revised General Test Grade: A+/C
ETSs Old GRE Material:
Practicing to Take the General Test 10th Edition (Big Book) Grade: C+/D-
Manhattan GRE Grade: A
Grubers Complete GRE Guide 2012 Grade: C-
Novas GRE Prep Course Grade: B/F
ETSs Official Guide to the GRE Revised General Test (2nd Edition) A+/C
GRE for Dummies Premier 7th Edition F/C
Manhattan 5 lb Book of GRE Practice Problems Review A
Barrons 1100 A-
Barrons GRE Verbal Workbook D-
Barrons 6 GRE Practice Tests B-
Manhattan GRE Flashcards A
You can find links to full reviews of all of the books above (and more!) at
http://magoosh.com/gre/new-gre-book-reviews/

83
Sign up for
Magoosh GRE!
We give you everything you need to start studying
today.
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Question Types: Reading Comprehension .................................................................. 55

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The Magoosh Team

E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions!

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Why Our Students Love Us

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Meet the Revised GRE

Number of questions and time limit

The Quantitative Sections

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The Verbal Sections

The Writing Section

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How is the Revised GRE Scored?

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The Revised GRE adapts between sections

There is no adaptation within section

The level of difficulty of questions is random

Each question is weighted the same

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Can you let up at the end?

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The Quantitative Section

Question Types: Multiple Choice

Answer and Explanation:

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Question Types: Multiple Answer Questions (MAQs)

Those well-versed in their combinations/permutations problem know the chances of guessing

As for the question above, the answers are B, C, E, F, G, and H.

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Question Types: Numeric Entry

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Question Types: Quantitative Comparison

The quantity in Column A is greater

If x is equal to 5, then the multiples of 5 would be:

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Go for the low hanging fruit

Thats right, folks. If ETS devised a question such as the following:

If , what is the value of x?

How much time should I budget per question?

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Learning to let a question go

Do not be sloppy but do not obsess over easy questions

Make sure you guess

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The quantity in Column A is greater

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From here, we can rewrite this as:

And this is the same as:

Heres the original question:

Another approach is to first divide both sides by 641,713 to get:

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