About the GRE General Test Breaks There is a 10-minute break following the third section and a one-minute break between the other test sections. You might want to replenish your supply of scratch paper during a scheduled break. Section timing will not stop if you take an unscheduled break, so you should proceed with your test without interruption once it begins. Test-taking Strategies for the Paper-delivered Test Analytical Writing Sections In the paper-delivered General Test, the topics in the Analytical Writing measure will be presented in the test book, and you will handwrite your essay responses in the test book in the space provided. It is important to budget your time.
Within the 30-minute time limit for each sec- tion, you’ll need to allow suffi cient time to think about the topic, plan a response, and compose your essay. Although GRE readers understand the time constraints under which you write and will consider your response a fi rst draft, you will still want to pro- duce the best possible example of your writing. Save a few minutes at the end of each timed section to check for obvious errors. Although an occasional spelling or grammatical error will not affect your score, severe and persistent errors will detract from the overall effectiveness of your writing and lower your score.
During the actual administration of the General Test, you may work only on the particular writing section the test center supervisor designates and only for the time allowed. You may not go back to an earlier section of the test after the supervisor announces, “Please stop work” for that section. The supervisor is authorized to dismiss you from the center for doing so. Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning Sections The questions in the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning measures have a variety of formats. Some require you to select a single answer choice; others require you to select one or more answer choices, and yet others require you to enter a numeric answer.
Make sure when answering a question that you understand what response is required. A calculator will be provided at the test center for use during the Quantitative Reasoning sections. When taking a Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning section, you are free, within that section, to skip questions that you might have diffi culty answering and come back to them later during the time provided to work on that section. Also during that time you may change the answer to any question in that section by erasing it com- pletely and fi lling in an alternative answer. Be careful not to leave any stray marks in the answer area, as they may be interpreted as incorrect responses.
You can, however, safely make notes or perform calculations on other parts of the page. No additional scratch paper will be provided. Your Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores will be determined by the number of questions you answer correctly. Nothing is subtracted from a score if you answer a question incorrectly. Therefore, to maximize your scores on the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning measures, it is best to answer every question. 6 6