The quantitative reasoning section of the GRE is a measure of your competency in math and your ability to use critical thinking skills to solve tricky math problems. The GRE will consist of two quantitative reasoning sections with 20 questions each. Each section has a time limit of 35 minutes. There will be questions from a wide range of topics, from probabilities and computations to finding the area of a trapezoid, and you need to know how to do all of it. This may sound like a daunting task, but here are six tips for acing the quantitative reasoning portion of the GRE.
There are four different types of questions in this section: comparisons, multiple choice, multiple-answer multiple choice and numeric entry. Go to ETS Quantitative Reasoning Review for more information about each of the question types and specific strategies for solving each.
Here are 6 general tips for the quantitative reasoning section:
1. Practice, practice, practice!
This is usually the case when talking about math, and it definitely applies here. In order to succeed, you must PRACTICE! You will spend the majority of your time studying for the quantitative reasoning section by doing practice questions. After you do those practice problems, it is just as important that you go over the answers! Doing the practice will not help you unless you learn from your mistakes. I recommend getting a binder to keep all your work in and marking the questions you get wrong. You can use this information to keep track of which concepts are giving you the most trouble.
After you have been studying for a few weeks, be sure to continue going over the questions you missed when you first started studying to make sure that you don’t forget these concepts by test time, especially if you are studying for months. It would be even more beneficial if you reworked the missed problems without looking at the answer to determine if you have actually built knowledge for that topic. Remember that studying for the GRE is a marathon, not a sprint, so be prepared to put in the work!
2. Time yourself.
More than the verbal reasoning, the quantitative reasoning depends as much on your speed as your ability. When doing practice questions, you may find that you are able to answer a large majority, but you need to time yourself to make sure that you can solve them in the strict time limits on test day. If it takes you five minutes to solve one practice question, you are not going to be prepared for the actual exam. Try to spend no more than two minutes on each question. This will total 40 minutes, but you will likely be able to answer many of the questions in less time. Of course, when you are first learning a topic, it is necessary to spend more time on one question in order to gain an understanding of that concept, be sure to sit down and do full quantitative reasoning sections in 35 minutes to test your ability and budget your time.
3. Look back at all the stuff you learned in high school math class.
Unfortunately, in order to do well on the GRE, you will need to know all the basic algebra and geometry that you forgot the minute you left high school. You need to know which numbers are prime numbers and how to find the circumference of a circle. Fortunately, all the study tools available for the GRE include a comprehensive list of everything you need to know. All you have to do is study them.
The ETS study books have an entire section dedicated to math information that you will need to know broken down into sections. You can purchase these books on Amazon here: General GRE Practice Book and GRE Value Pack, which includes a quantitative reasoning practice book and a verbal reasoning practice book. If you just want the math practice book you can buy it from Amazon here: GRE Quantitative Reasoning Practice Book. You can also purchase them on the ETS website.
4. Practice definitions and equations.
In between doing hours of practice questions, you are going to need to learn some definitions and equations. The best way to do this is to simply buckle down and study. I would recommend keeping a formula sheet that you can add to while you do the practice questions. This way you can be sure you are studying concepts that you have actually encountered on test and study material. Here is a list of 10 of the most tested concepts of the quantitative reasoning section: GRE Math Concepts. This list will give you a good starting point for doing well on the math section, but you should only use it as an outline. You will need to dig much deeper to obtain a high score!
5. Use trial and error.
Since you are so limited on time, it can be beneficial to use a trial and error approach when answering some question types. For example, on the comparison questions, you will be asked how two values relate to each other, A or B. One could be larger than the other, they could be the same size (C), or there may not be enough information to determine the answer (D). With these types of questions, you can sometimes find the answer by substituting numbers. You can try positive numbers, negative numbers, integer, fractions or 0. This is a useful tool because a positive number might create a situation where A is greater than B, while a negative number might create a situation where B is greater than A. The same applies for integers and decimals. If this is the case, you know that there is not enough information, and the answer will be D.
Both types of multiple choice questions could potentially be solved by trial and error. However, with 5 choices, this could be time-consuming. It could help you to solve a question you cannot figure out quickly, but remember to watch your time and rule out any answer choices you know are wrong.
6. Try to limit calculator use.
When you go take the test, you will not be able to bring anything into the testing center, including a calculator. You will have an on-screen calculator that you can use, but it is very basic. The test is engineered so that you should not have to use the calculator for every question. In fact, it might slow you down if you do. The people who created the test are assuming that you are able to perform most simple math without the assistance of a calculator. Try and work on performing calculations in your head to help save time.
Check back tomorrow for tips on acing the verbal reasoning section!
Sources:
https://www.kaptest.com/study/gre/top-10-math-tips-for-better-scores-on-the-gre/
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