Come Up with a Test Strategy

to become a blur of practice tests and study guides, take a step back. Start by reviewing your performance on your latest practice test and identifying your lowest scores by section. If, for example, your verbal reasoning score lags behind your scores on the other sections, it makes sense to spend more time reviewing this area.

Begin by concentrating on the specific questions you answered incorrectly. Review them and determine the correct answer. You'll soon find out if something simple is tripping you up, such as rushing to choose an answer before moving on to the next question. If that is not the case, you may discover that you need to review an particular block of material.

Keep in mind that you may not need a GRE-specific study guide to review for the test. For example, most of the GRE math section is aimed at 9th grade (or lower) skills, which means that any exercises that focus on middle school math will help [source: Mendelson].

As we discussed previously, you'll want to move through the exam as quickly and confidently as possible to receive higher-scoring questions and still finish on time. This means that you'll need strategies for dealing with questions that you're unsure about.

For the writing section, the best strategy is to have a set routine for collecting your thoughts so you won't become flustered or disorganized during the exam. For the quantitative and verbal sections, where every question is multiple choice, you'll want strategies that will help you eliminate answer choices as fast as possible so that you can at least make a confident guess.

For quantitative questions, you can plug in the answers provided rather than try to develop the answer on your own. For verbal questions, where answers can be less concrete, consider the opposite strategy of formulating an answer in your head and then selecting the option that's the best match. That way you can use key word characterizations such as parts of speech and verb tenses to narrow down your choices.

In the end, the best way to cope with each section and question will be whatever feels most comfortable for you, which is why practicing the exam is so important.

Learn more about the GRE, graduate school and how you can prepare for them by visiting the links on the next page.