How to use these GRE practice questions
These questions are designed to practise the main reasoning habits needed for the GRE General Test: translating words into maths, eliminating answers using evidence, and pacing each decision. They are original practice items, not official GRE questions.
Answer each question before reading its explanation. Select the option you think is best, then use the explanation to check both your answer and your method. A correct answer reached through uncontrolled guessing is still a revision target.
For every question, ask yourself four things:
- What exactly is the question asking?
- Which information is relevant, and which is a distraction?
- Can I eliminate an option before calculating fully?
- Is my answer reasonable under the stated constraints?
The questions move between Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning. The GRE also includes one timed Analytical Writing essay task in the current format, so the review at the end shows how to assess a short written response.
1. Text completion: use the sentence logic
This tests whether you can identify the contrast in a sentence before choosing vocabulary.
In MySummaries, a verbal board can turn a sentence-completion rule into a small set of cards like this:
Although the researcher’s conclusion initially seemed _______, later experiments provided evidence that it was in fact well founded.
The correct answer is prescient. The word although signals a contrast: the conclusion first seemed to lack a sound basis, but later evidence showed that it anticipated the truth. Speculative is the strongest distractor because it fits the first half of the sentence, but it does not fit the later claim that the conclusion was well founded.
The important move is not to pick a word that merely fits the opening. The whole sentence requires a word meaning ‘showing knowledge of what would happen before it happened’.
2. Reading comprehension: distinguish evidence from inference
This tests whether you select a claim supported by the passage rather than one that is merely compatible with it.
Passage: Some urban trees grow more quickly when planted in small clusters rather than singly. Researchers suggest that clustering reduces wind exposure, but they note that the effect disappears when trees compete for insufficient water. Which statement is best supported by the passage?
The correct answer is that the effect may depend on water availability: the passage says the benefit disappears when water is insufficient. The strongest distractor is ‘clustering always increases’ because it repeats the reported benefit but ignores the stated limitation. ‘Suggest’ also matters: the passage does not say researchers proved the wind explanation.
On longer passages, mark the role of each sentence: claim, evidence, qualification or example. A choice that ignores a qualification is usually too broad.
3. Quantitative comparison: test the relationship
This tests whether you can use a constraint without assuming values that are not given.
For positive numbers x and y, x + y = 10. Quantity A: xy. Quantity B: 24. Which is true?
The correct answer is that the relationship cannot be determined. If x = 2 and y = 8, xy = 16, so B is greater. If x = 5 and y = 5, xy = 25, so A is greater. The strongest distractor is ‘Quantity B is greater’, which comes from testing only one possible pair rather than the full range.
For quantitative comparison, test an easy boundary case and, when useful, a symmetric case. One example is not enough unless the question forces a fixed value.
4. Arithmetic: translate percentage language carefully
This tests the difference between a percentage increase and a percentage-point increase.
A price is increased by 20 percent and then reduced by 20 percent. The final price is what percentage of the original price?
The correct answer is 96%. If the original price is 100, the increase gives 120, and reducing 120 by 20 percent gives 96. The strongest distractor is 100%, because the two percentages look like equal and opposite changes; the second percentage is applied to the new price, not the original price.
Use 100 as a starting value when the question asks only for a percentage relationship. It makes the changing base visible and reduces avoidable algebra.
5. Algebra: preserve the domain
This tests whether you solve an equation and reject a value that violates the question’s condition.
If x is a positive real number and x² − 5x + 6 = 0, what is the value of x?
Factoring gives (x − 2)(x − 3) = 0, so x = 2 or x = 3. The correct answer is therefore ‘2 or 3’. The strongest distractor is 5, which is the coefficient of x and could be selected by confusing the sum of the roots with either root. Both roots satisfy the positive-value condition.
Do not discard multiple solutions simply because a question asks for ‘the value’ informally. Check whether the given condition removes one solution; here it does not.
6. Geometry: use the exact relationship
This tests whether you apply the area formula rather than treating a diameter as a radius.
A circle has diameter 10. What is its area?
The radius is 5, so the area is πr² = 25π. The strongest distractor is 50π, which results from using the diameter as though it were the radius in a partial calculation. Writing ‘radius = diameter ÷ 2’ before using the formula prevents that error.
7. Data analysis: compare rates, not totals
This tests whether you calculate a percentage from the correct base.
A department records applications and acceptances in two years. In Year 1 there are 800 applications and 160 acceptances. In Year 2 there are 600 applications and 150 acceptances. By what percentage did the acceptance rate increase from Year 1 to Year 2?
Year 1’s rate is 160/800 = 20%. Year 2’s rate is 150/600 = 25%. The increase relative to the original rate is (25 − 20)/20 = 25%. The strongest distractor is 5%, which is the increase in percentage points, not the percentage increase in the rate.
When a table gives counts and asks about a rate, write the denominator beside the numerator. When it asks how much a rate increased, divide the change by the original rate.
8. Verbal reasoning: identify the author’s purpose
This tests whether you can distinguish the passage’s main purpose from a detail mentioned within it.
Passage: Critics of the proposed archive argue that digitising the collection will make the original documents unnecessary. The proposal’s supporters do not deny the value of the originals; instead, they argue that digital copies will reduce handling and make the collection available to researchers who cannot travel. The passage primarily serves to:
The passage presents a criticism and then clarifies what supporters actually claim, so the second option is correct. The strongest distractor is the claim that researchers prefer digital material: the passage says digital copies improve access, not that they are preferred or superior in every respect.
A main-purpose answer should account for the passage as a whole. Avoid options that turn one side of a debate, or one supporting detail, into the author’s complete aim.
9. Probability: count the relevant outcomes
This tests whether you recognise independent choices and count combinations rather than adding unrelated probabilities.
A fair six-sided die is rolled twice. What is the probability that the sum of the two rolls is 7?
There are 36 equally likely ordered outcomes. Six have a sum of 7: (1,6), (2,5), (3,4), (4,3), (5,2) and (6,1). Thus the probability is 6/36 = 1/6. The strongest distractor is 1/5, which can arise from counting the five numerical pairs incorrectly and ignoring that the two orders are distinct outcomes.
List outcomes when the sample space is small. This is often faster and safer than applying a formula without checking what counts as a separate outcome.
10. Quantitative reasoning: check an inequality
This tests whether you reverse the inequality correctly when multiplying by a negative number.
If −3x > 12, which statement must be true?
Dividing both sides by −3 reverses the inequality: x < −4. The strongest distractor is x > −4, which uses the correct magnitude but fails to reverse the sign. Substitution confirms the answer: x = −5 gives 15 > 12.
Review the pattern, not just the score
A score across ten questions is less useful than a record of why marks were lost. Label each miss as one of four types: misunderstood prompt, knowledge gap, calculation or reasoning error, or pacing error. Then write one correction that would prevent the same mistake.
A marked written response can use the same approach. The GRE’s current format includes one timed Analytical Writing essay task, where a clear position, relevant support and controlled structure matter more than decorative phrasing. Here is an example of a mid-preparation review:
A city should require every university student to complete an internship before graduation. Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree.
23/30I agree in principle because internships connect academic ideas to workplace decisions and can help students test possible careers. They may also build communication skills through supervised tasks. However, a universal requirement could disadvantage students who need paid work or who study subjects where suitable placements are scarce. Universities should therefore offer funded placements or equivalent projects rather than impose one identical requirement.
The position is clear and the qualification is relevant. The first reason is explained, but the second is asserted more than demonstrated.
Missed
−Give a concrete example showing how communication skills would develop.
−Explain why an equivalent project would preserve the proposed benefit.
Model answerThesis: I agree only if universities provide accessible alternatives. Reasons and evidence: A supervised placement can show how academic knowledge informs decisions; for example, a public-health student could evaluate how a local service uses survey data. Qualification: A compulsory unpaid placement may exclude students with financial or access constraints. Conclusion: Funded placements or assessed equivalent projects would retain the practical benefit without making opportunity depend on personal circumstances.
The platform’s own examiner-style review should lead to a specific rewrite, not just a lower score. For Quantitative and Verbal questions, rewrite the missed step or constraint. For writing, add the missing evidence, qualification or link between reason and conclusion.
This ranking suggests that the next session should not be another random mixed paper. Start with rates and inference, then retest both under a time limit. Keep a separate note for errors caused by rushing; efficient pacing is part of the reasoning task, not an afterthought.
If the same mark is lost twice, convert it into a single retrieval prompt:
You lost this mark twice: a rate rises from 20% to 25%. Is that a 5-percentage-point increase or a 25% increase, and what is the denominator for each calculation?
A practical routine for the next set
Use a three-pass review after a timed set:
- Check the answer and identify the exact decision that failed.
- Solve the question again without looking at the explanation.
- Return to it later through a short card or remediation prompt.
During practice, do not spend several minutes protecting one uncertain answer. Make the best supported choice, flag the question if the test interface allows it, and return with a defined time budget. The goal is controlled reasoning: accurate translation, explicit elimination and a final check against the wording.
How MySummaries helps
MySummaries lets you build a GRE revision board from your own notes, then turn weak areas into flashcards, written mock exams and marked responses. It can also read the board back as an examiner-voiced audio lecture, which is useful for revising a rule such as percentage-point versus percentage increase away from your desk.