For many potential graduate students, the GRE will be their first experience with an MST test. Unlike a written test, the GRE is not a fixed set of questions. Questions are pulled from a database of possibilities according to how the test taker is answering. If the examinee does well on her first quantitative section, the test's algorithm selects more difficult questions for the final quantitative section. This will lead to a higher final score. Although the questions in the second section have increased in difficulty, the test taker is now in a higher scoring band.
It is imperative that the test taker be familiar with the types of questions that are on the GRE prior to taking the exam. There are three different question types for the verbal section and four for the quantitative. The analytical writing section is composed of two separate types of questions. Studying different strategies for answering these nine question types is crucial to achieving a higher score on the GRE. Specific information on the question types as well as sample questions can be found on the official website for the GRE (see References).
A large vocabulary is a must to raise a score on the verbal reasoning section of the GRE. Reading scientific journals and publications like "The Wall Street Journal" in the weeks leading up to the test date can help you increase your vocabulary. Subscribing to one of the many "word of the day" services that will send a different word each day directly to your phone or computer is also effective in building vocabulary. Purchasing one or more of the many GRE study guides that contain actual words from previous exams is also advisable.
Because the GRE is a timed test, it is important to utilize any shortcuts that may be available. Knowing that the GRE frequently uses right triangles with sides measuring three, four and five, or six, eight and ten, is much faster than figuring out the missing side's length by using the Pythagorean Theorem. Memorizing the first 10 prime numbers and the value of the square roots of the numbers 2, 3 and 5 are also effective in saving valuable time.