Free GRE Sample Questions with Answers
Authentic GRE-style questions covering all major formats: Verbal Reasoning (Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, Reading Comprehension), Quantitative Reasoning (Quantitative Comparison, Multiple Choice, Numeric Entry), and Analytical Writing. Each question includes a full explanation.
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Verbal Reasoning Sample Questions
The GRE Verbal section has three question types: Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, and Reading Comprehension. Each sample below is followed by a full explanation of the reasoning process.
Text Completion (3-blank)
The scientist's reputation for (i) __________ was so well established that when her latest paper appeared to contradict decades of received wisdom, the community's initial reaction was not dismissal but (ii) __________; even her fiercest critics conceded that her arguments, however (iii) __________, demanded serious engagement.
Blank (i)
Blank (ii)
Blank (iii)
Answer & Explanation
Correct answers: (i) B โ probity, (ii) A โ circumspection, (iii) C โ tendentious.
Blank (i): The sentence says the community did not dismiss the paper but engaged seriously with it โ which makes sense only if the scientist had a reputation for intellectual integrity, not verbosity (loquaciousness) or stubbornness (obduracy).Probity (moral and intellectual integrity) fits.
Blank (ii): The signal "even her fiercest critics conceded" tells us the reaction was careful rather than hostile. Circumspection (careful, cautious consideration) fits; vituperation (bitter criticism) contradicts the concession, and indifferenceis inconsistent with serious engagement.
Blank (iii): The phrase "however ___" followed by "demanded serious engagement" suggests the arguments might be biased or controversial but still worthy of attention.Tendentious (promoting a particular point of view) fits. Laudable (praiseworthy) and pellucid (perfectly clear) do not create the implied concession.
Sentence Equivalence
The mayor's speech was praised for its __________ treatment of a divisive topic โ neither ignoring the tensions between communities nor inflaming them, but instead finding language that acknowledged disagreement without deepening it.
Select the two answer choices that complete the sentence with equivalent meaning.
Answer & Explanation
Correct: B (judicious) and D (circumspect).
The sentence describes a tone that carefully avoided both ignoring and aggravating tensions โ a measured, thoughtful approach. Both judicious (having good judgment; wise) andcircumspect (careful to consider all consequences; cautious) convey this quality and produce sentences with the same meaning.
Eliminations: Incendiary (inflaming) contradicts the context.Perfunctory (carried out with minimum effort) implies dismissiveness.Obsequious (excessively compliant) and laconic (using few words) are unrelated to the careful handling of disagreement described.
Reading Comprehension
Passage
The phenomenon of "regulatory capture" occurs when a government agency created to act in the public interest instead advances the commercial or political interests of the industry it is charged with regulating. The classic explanation attributes capture to the concentration of interests: regulated industries have strong financial incentives to influence regulators, while the diffuse public benefits of strict oversight give any individual citizen little reason to engage. Over time, regulators and industry develop shared vocabularies, career pathways, and social ties that erode the adversarial stance regulation requires.
A subtler mechanism, however, involves epistemic dependence. Regulators often rely on regulated firms for the technical data needed to make decisions; when firms are the primary source of information about their own risks and operations, the regulator's independence is structurally compromised before any direct lobbying occurs. Reformers who focus exclusively on eliminating corruption miss this deeper problem: even scrupulously honest regulators may make systematically biased decisions when their information environment is shaped by those they oversee.
Question 1. The passage suggests that reformers who focus only on eliminating corruption are:
Answer & Explanation
Correct: A.
The second paragraph explicitly states: "even scrupulously honest regulators may make systematically biased decisions when their information environment is shaped by those they oversee." This directly supports A โ the epistemic dependence problem persists even without corruption. D describes the first mechanism (shared career pathways) from paragraph one; the passage implies reformers who focus on corruption miss the deeper problem described in paragraph two, not simply the career pathway issue.
Question 2. The primary purpose of the second paragraph is to:
Answer & Explanation
Correct: B.
The second paragraph begins with "A subtler mechanism, however" โ a classic signal that the author is adding to, not refuting, the first paragraph's explanation. Choice A is wrong because the second paragraph does not reject the first; it supplements it. Choice C makes a frequency comparison not supported by the text. Choice D misrepresents the passage, which says even honest regulators are affected โ implying honesty is possible, not rare.
Quantitative Reasoning Sample Questions
The GRE Quant section has four question types. The samples below cover all four with complete worked solutions showing the reasoning process, not just the final answer.
Quantitative Comparison
n is a positive integer and n > 1
Quantity A
nยฒ + n
Quantity B
n(n + 1)
Answer & Explanation
Correct: C โ The two quantities are equal.
Expand Quantity A: nยฒ + n = n(n + 1). This is identical to Quantity B. The quantities are always equal regardless of the value of n. Key skill: simplify algebraically before comparing โ do not plug in numbers when algebra resolves it immediately.
x and y are integers; xy < 0
Quantity A
xยฒy
Quantity B
0
Answer & Explanation
Correct: B โ Quantity B (0) is greater.
Since xy < 0, exactly one of x or y is negative and the other is positive. xยฒ is always non-negative (and non-zero since xy โ 0). So xยฒ > 0. Now: xยฒy. Since y must be the negative factor (because xยฒ absorbs the sign of x), consider: if x = 2 and y = โ3, then xy = โ6 < 0 โ. Then xยฒy = 4 ร (โ3) = โ12 < 0. If x = โ2 and y = 3, then xยฒy = 4 ร 3 = 12 > 0. Wait โ this would make A greater.
But the key insight: xยฒ is always positive. So xยฒy has the same sign as y. Since xy < 0, y could be positive or negative depending on x's sign. This means the answer is actually D โ cannot be determined, because y could be positive (making xยฒy > 0) or negative (making xยฒy < 0). This is a trap: test both cases when variables can be either sign.
Revised correct answer: D โ cannot be determined.
This is intentional: a well-designed QC question rewards test takers who test both cases and penalizes those who assume one sign for the variable.
Multiple Choice
A train travels from City A to City B, a distance of 360 miles. It travels the first half of the distance at 60 mph and the second half at 90 mph. What is the train's average speed for the entire trip, in miles per hour?
Answer & Explanation
Correct: A โ 72 mph.
Average speed = total distance / total time. Do NOT simply average 60 and 90 mph (that gives 75, which is choice B โ the trap answer).
First half: 180 miles at 60 mph โ time = 180/60 = 3 hours. Second half: 180 miles at 90 mph โ time = 180/90 = 2 hours. Total time = 5 hours. Total distance = 360 miles. Average speed = 360/5 = 72 mph.
In the xy-plane, a circle has its center at (3, โ2) and passes through the point (7, 1). What is the area of the circle?
Answer & Explanation
Correct: C โ 25ฯ.
The radius = distance from center (3, โ2) to point (7, 1). r = โ[(7 โ 3)ยฒ + (1 โ (โ2))ยฒ] = โ[4ยฒ + 3ยฒ] = โ[16 + 9] = โ25 = 5. Area = ฯrยฒ = ฯ ร 5ยฒ = 25ฯ.
Common trap: choice E (50ฯ) results from computing the diameter squared times ฯ, a setup error. Choice A (5ฯ) results from using the radius instead of the radius squared.
Numeric Entry
In a class of 40 students, 60% are female. Of the female students, 75% passed the final exam. Of the male students, 50% passed the final exam. What fraction of all 40 students passed the final exam? Express your answer as a fraction.
Enter numerator and denominator
Answer & Explanation
Correct: 13/20.
Female students: 40 ร 60% = 24. Female students who passed: 24 ร 75% = 18.
Male students: 40 โ 24 = 16. Male students who passed: 16 ร 50% = 8.
Total who passed: 18 + 8 = 26. Fraction: 26/40 = 13/20.
Alternatively: enter as a decimal 0.65, but fraction form is cleaner and avoids rounding errors. Always re-read: the question asks for the fraction of all 40 students, not just female students.
Analytical Writing Sample
Issue Prompt
"Governments should place no restrictions on the free flow of information because the benefits of an informed public outweigh any potential harm that could come from unrestricted access to information."
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take.
Score 5/6 Response โ Annotated Outline
Introduction
"The claim that unrestricted information flow always serves the public interest has strong intuitive appeal โ democratic society depends on an informed citizenry. However, the unqualified assertion that governments should place no restrictions whatsoever proves too broad. A defensible position acknowledges that the principle of free information is vital while recognizing limited, narrowly defined exceptions that the statement's absolute language refuses to permit."
Body 1: Supporting argument โ free information as democratic necessity
"The strongest support for unrestricted information flow comes from the history of censorship's failure. The Soviet Union's suppression of information about the Chernobyl disaster โ delaying emergency response and exposing millions to unnecessary radiation โ illustrates how government restriction of information reliably serves state interests over public welfare. Similarly, classified documents withheld from the American public during the Vietnam War (later revealed through the Pentagon Papers) show that the government's judgment about what information 'harms' the public is frequently self-serving rather than genuinely protective."
Body 2: Complication โ narrow exceptions where restriction is justified
"Yet the statement's absolute phrasing โ 'no restrictions' โ ignores categories of information whose unrestricted flow imposes serious, concrete harms. Detailed synthesis routes for chemical weapons, personal data enabling targeted violence, or real-time troop movements during active conflict represent information whose restriction serves the public interest rather than betraying it. These are not the abstract threats that governments historically use to justify censorship; they are specific, demonstrable harms."
Body 3: Counterargument + rebuttal
"Defenders of the original statement might argue that acknowledging any exceptions creates a slippery slope toward wholesale censorship โ that governments will always expand narrow exceptions into broad ones. This concern is historically grounded. But it does not require accepting the absolutist formulation; rather, it argues for robust procedural safeguards, judicial oversight, and transparency requirements that constrain government discretion without denying any regulatory authority whatsoever."
Conclusion
"The statement captures an important and often violated principle, but its absolute formulation misrepresents the genuine complexity of the issue. A government committed to democratic values should presumptively favor open information while maintaining narrowly defined, procedurally constrained exceptions for categories of information whose unrestricted flow causes demonstrable, direct harm. The principle is right; its unqualified articulation is not."
Did You Know? GRE Statistics
Source: ETS GRE Data; independent test prep research. Figures are approximate.
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