GRE Exam Syllabus & Pattern 2025 (Section wise): General & Subject Test

GRE Test Format 2025

As students might be fully familiar with the GRE syllabus 2025, GRE test aspirants must be well aware of the exam format. The test is divided into 3 main sections naming Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Analytical Writing. This computerised test is a 1 hour 58 minutes long for test takers to answer the questions based on the 3 sections.

GRE Exam Pattern for General Test

Read More: GRE test dates

GRE Syllabus 2025

These are the two GRE exams that students take:

• GRE General Test Syllabus (Popularly known as GRE exam syllabus for MS abroad).

• GRE Subject Test Syllabus

GRE Syllabus for General Test in 2025

The GRE General Test 2025 will assess candidates' skills in three key areas, Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing. These are the skills that develop over a period of time and are not related to any subject field. The syllabus with the GRE General test pattern is mentioned in the table below.

General Test GRE Exam Structure 2025:

Related Reads:

GRE Analytical Writing Section Syllabus

This particular section of the exam has two main tasks in 1 section. It assesses a candidate's ability to create engaging and simple content from complex data effectively. This section also measures the aspirant's analysing capability to support their idea with relevant examples, claims, evidence, and reasons. Students need to address the following two points in this section.

• Analyze an Issue: This requires you to present an option on the issue of general interest with specific instructions on how to respond to that issue.
• Analyze an Argument: This requires you to evaluate a given argument according to specific instructions

GRE Verbal Reasoning Section Syllabus

GRE Quantitative Reasoning Section Syllabus

GRE Quantitative Reasoning Question Types

The test syllabus for GRE 2025 Quantitative reasoning will have four types of questions :

• Quantitative comparison questions: In these types of questions, candidates need to draw a comparison between two quantities and find out which statement best describes the comparison.

• Multiple choice questions (select one answer choice): Candidates need to select one correct answer from the five given choices.

• Multiple choice questions (select one or more answer choices): candidates need to select more than one correct answer from the given choices. No marks will be given for partially correct answers.

• Numeric entry: candidates have to calculate and write the answers. These questions will not have any options given.

Download GRE syllabus 2025 pdf to understand each of these questions types and answer them better in the exam.

GRE Quantitative Components Syllabus

GRE Math syllabus contains topics from school-level mathematics. However, questions will be application-based. Quant in GRE comes across as easy for students with good mathematics hold.

• Arithmetic: The topics in the GRE syllabus 2025 include properties and types of integers, such as divisibility, factorization, prime numbers, remainders, and odd and even integers; arithmetic operations, exponents, and roots; and concepts such as estimation, per cent, and ratio, rate, absolute value, the number line, decimal representation and sequences of numbers.
• Algebra: Topics of the GRE test syllabus 2025 include operations with exponents; factoring and simplifying algebraic expressions; relations, functions, equations, and inequalities; solving linear and quadratic equations and inequalities; solving simultaneous equations and inequalities; setting up equations to solve word problems; and coordinate geometry, including graphs of functions, equations, and inequalities, intercepts and slopes of lines.
• Geometry: In this topic, the ability to construct proofs is not tested in the syllabus of GRE exam of this section.
• Data analysis: The topics that are included in the data analysis section of the syllabus for GRE are typically taught in high school algebra courses or introductory statistics courses. Inferential statistics are not tested. GRE syllabus 2025 topics of Data Analysis include statistics such as Median, Mean, Range, Mode, Percentiles, etc, Interpretation of data based on graphs, circle graphs, scatter plots, etc, Probability, Permutation and Combination, Venn Diagrams, and Sets Theory.

The GRE syllabus 2025 pdf has all these topics explained in detail. Download it and start practising.

Related Reads:

• GRE quantitative comparative practice questions and answers
• How hard is GRE quantitative section?
• GRE quantitative tips

List of Topics in GRE Quantitative Section

This section of the GRE exam aims to gauge the candidate's ability to understand and interpret quantitative information, and problem-solving skills. It also gives a fair picture of how well-versed the candidate is on the different types of mathematical models, and elementary concepts in mathematics dealing with arithmetic, geometry, probability, and statistics.

GRE Syllabus for Subject Test (for specialisation courses)

The GRE Subject Tests are designed to measure a student's knowledge and skills in a specific field. The GRE syllabus 2025 includes the Maths, Physics, and Psychology subject tests: for

GRE Test Syllabus 2025 Exam Structure

GRE Syllabus for Maths

• The GRE syllabus 2025 for maths covers topics in Calculus (50%), Algebra (25%), and Additional Topics (25%).
• Consists of approximately 66 multiple-choice questions.
• The total test time is 2 hours and 50 minutes.

GRE Test syllabus for Physics

• The GRE syllabus 2025 for physics covers topics in Classical Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Optics, Thermodynamics, Quantum Mechanics, and more.
• Consists of approximately 70 five-choice questions.
• The total test time is 2 hours.

GRE Syllabus for Psychology

• The GRE syllabus 2025 for psychology covers topics in Biological, Cognitive, Social, Developmental, Clinical, and Measurement/Methodology.
• Consists of approximately 144 multiple-choice questions.
• The total test time is 2 hours.

GRE Subject Test Syllabus PDF Download

Candidates can download the GRE syllabus 2025 pdf of these subject tests to get the entire information required for the exam.

Points to Remember for GRE 2025 Subject Test

• Students planning to appear for the GRE Subject test are advised to do so during November.

• The student should register six weeks before the exam date.

• It takes another six weeks before the Subject test results are available to the test takers.

• The advantage of appearing for the GRE Subject test in November is that the scores will be available to the student before the deadline for admission to most foreign institutes.

GRE Test Formats

There are two GRE test formats- general and subject tests. The general test is a Computer-Based Test (CBT). It has analytical writing tasks, verbal reasoning questions, and quantitative reasoning challenges that 1 hour and 58 minutes. The GRE subject test is paper-based test that assess the knowledge of candidates in some speciifc subjects like mathematics, chemistry, physics, or psychology.

Here is an overview of the test formats to give you a better idea:

Paper-Delivered vs. Computer-Delivered GRE Exam

There are two sub-sections of each analytical writing, verbal and quantitative reasoning. There are two tasks in the analytical writing that need to be completed within 30 minutes each. The duration of Verbal reasoning is 59 mins and Quantitative reasoning duration is 56 mins. The variable sections of Unscored and Research are not included in the paper-based exam.

GRE Exam Syllabus for MS

The General Test syllabus for GRE 2025 is the primary focus for students applying to Master's (MS) programs abroad. Many universities require GRE scores to offer admission to their master's courses. This GRE pattern and syllabus are the same for any master, law and business courses. The General version of the GRE test assesses a candidate's skills in three key areas:

GRE Verbal Reasoning for MS

• This section tests your ability to analyze written material, evaluate arguments, and demonstrate your understanding of vocabulary and sentence structure.
• It includes Reading Comprehension, Text Completion, and Sentence Equivalence questions.
• The Verbal Reasoning section has two 30-minute sections with a total of 40 questions.

GRE Quantitative Reasoning for MS

• The Quantitative Reasoning section has two 35-minute sections with a total of 40 questions.
• This section measures your problem-solving skills and ability to interpret and analyze quantitative information.
• It includes questions on Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, and Data Analysis.

GRE Analytical Writing for MS

• This section evaluates your critical thinking and analytical writing skills.
• You will be required to write an essay - Analyse an Issue Task
• The essay has a 30-minute time limit.
• The Analytical Writing section is scored on a scale of 0 to 6, in half-point increments.

Read More:

GRE 2025 Preparation Tips

Candidates can start the preparation for the GRE exam after analysing the GRE syllabus 2025. The candidate can start working on the GRE syllabus efficiently in less time. A few of the GRE preparation tips are mentioned below.

• Get familiar with the GRE syllabus ETS and format and start preparing for the GRE.

• Fix a targeted score for the GRE exam and prepare accordingly.

• Try to start well before covering the entire GRE exam syllabus 2025 by assigning priority to individual sections.

• Check the GRE cutoff score of the universities shortlisted and then choose the target score.

• Practice the GRE mock tests to understand the exam format and learn about time management during the examination.

• Attempt every question in the test as there is no negative marking.

• Use the test features like mark and review, instead of wasting more time on a single question.

With the help of the following tips and strategies, candidates can easily prepare for the GRE test and achieve the desired score. Download the GRE Preparation Tips PDF for more details.

Tips for Verbal Reasoning

• Enhance the vocabulary by reading newspapers and practising new words.
• Practice the reading section of the GRE syllabus; it will improve comprehension skills through various texts, articles, newspapers, and literature.
• Understanding the sentence structure and tone of the paragraph will help in analysing the meaning and formation of sentences easily for the applicants.

Tips for Quantitative Reasoning

• Practice and understand basic math concepts, including arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis. Evaluate formulas, properties, and problem-solving techniques for each topic.
• Enhancing problem-solving skills by practising numerous queries will eventually help the candidates stay focused and increase speed and accuracy.

Tips for Analytical Writing

To enhance this section of the GRE syllabus ETS, candidates should understand the essay writing task and analyse the issue and aim of the topic. After practising this section of the GRE exam syllabus, candidates can upgrade their thought skills and learn to manage their time.

GRE Best Books for Preparation

GRE preparation requires some special study materials and proper resources. Embarking GRE preparation within the vast landscape of GRE resources and finding out the best and most effective study strategies and materials is a great deal for students. Here we have included some best books for GRE to help the applicants accelerate their preparation including:

GRE 2025 Best Books

1. The Official GRE Guide: This ETS-published book contains the most up-to-date information about the test format, question types, and scoring system.

2. Prep books: Popular options include Manhattan Prep, Kaplan, and Magoosh.

3. Online Courses: Popular online courses like Veritas Prep and Princeton Review provide structured learning paths with video lectures, live sessions, and personalised feedback.

4. Practice Websites and Apps: Free and paid resources like Khan Academy, GRE Prep Genius, and Magoosh Flashcards offer bite-sized practice and skill-specific drills.

GRE Sample Papers

We have compiled the sample papers for GRE. Students planning to take GRE in some time can practise and prepare for the test by solving these GRE mock tests.

GRE Practice Test 2025