Peterson’s M ASTER THE GRE T 2010 Mark Alan Stewart 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234 1 23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123 4 1 23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123 4 1 23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123 4 1 23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123 4 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234 About Peterson’s To succeed on your lifelong educational journey, you will need accurate, dependable, and practical tools and resources. That is why Peterson’s is everywhere education happens. Because whenever and however you need education content delivered, you can rely on Peterson’s to provide the information, know-how, and guidance to help you reach your goals. Tools to match the right students with the right school. It’s here. Personalized resources and expert guidance. It’s here. Comprehensive and dependable education content—delivered whenever and however you need it. It’s all here. For more information, contact Peterson’s, 2000 Lenox Drive, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648; 800-338-3282; or find us on the World Wide Web at www.petersons.com/about. © 2009 Peterson’s, a Nelnet company GRET is a registered trademark of Educational Testing Service (ETS). This book is not endorsed or approved by ETS. Previous editions © 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Stephen Clemente, President; Bernadette Webster, Director of Publishing; Roger S. Williams, Sales and Marketing; Therese DeAngelis, Editor; Ray Golaszewski, Manufacturing Manager; Linda M. Williams, Composition Manager; James Holsinger, CD Producer ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution, or information storage and retrieval systems—without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission to use material from this text or product, complete the Permission Request Form at http://www.petersons.com/permissions. ISBN-13: 978-0-7689-2785-6 ISBN-10: 0-7689-2785-4 Printed in the United States of America 10987654321 111009 Seventeenth Edition By producing this book on recycled paper (40% post consumer waste) 270 trees were saved. Petersons.com/publishing Check out our Web site at www.petersons.com/publishing to see if there is any new information regarding the test and any revisions or corrections to the content of this book. We’ve made sure the information in this book is accurate and up-to-date; however, the test format or content may have changed since the time of publication. OTHER RECOMMENDED TITLES GREt Answers to the Real Essay Questions Peterson’s GREt/GMATt Math Review Contents Before You Begin . xi How This Book Is Organized xi Recent and Upcoming Test Changes and This Book xii Special Study Features . xii Using This Book to Prepare for the Computer-Based GRE . xiii About the CD xiii You’re Well On Your Way to Success xiii Give Us Your Feedback xiv Top 10 Strategies to Raise Your Score . xv PART I: GRE BASICS 1 All About the General GRE . 3 The GRE Structure and Testing Format 4 Your GRE Scores . 6 Taking the GRE Computer-Based Test . 7 Registering for the GRE (United States and Canada) . 14 GRE Availability and Registration (International Testing) 15 The Paper-Based GRE (for International Test Takers) 19 Other GRE Policies You Should Know About . 22 The GRE Personal Potential Index (New in 2009) 25 Obtaining Up-to-Date GRE Information . 27 Contacting the Testing Service 28 General Test-Taking Tips . 28 Summing It Up 31 2 GRE Questions—A First Look 33 The GRE’s Eight Basic Question Formats . 33 The Analytical Writing Section . 33 The Quantitative Reasoning Section 36 The Verbal Reasoning Section 43 Summing It Up 52 PART II: DIAGNOSING STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES Practice Test 1: Diagnostic Analytical Writing . 62 Quantitative Reasoning 64 Verbal Reasoning . 71 Answer Key and Explanations 78 PART III: ANALYTICAL WRITING 4 The Issue Task . 93 Key Facts About the GRE Issue Task . 93 The 7-Step Plan . 94 Four Advanced Techniques for Scoring High . 100 Issue Task Strategies . 108 Summing It Up . 111 5 The Argument Task . 113 Key Facts About the GRE Argument Task 113 The 7-Step Plan 114 GRE Argument Flaws—and How to Handle Them 122 Argument Task Strategies . 132 Summing It Up . 135 6 Writing Style and Mechanics . 137 Use Rhetorical Words and Phrases . 138 Avoid Empty Rhetoric . 138 Use Irony as a Rhetorical Device . 139 Use Punctuation for Emphasis . 139 Connect Your Ideas . 139 Use the Language of Critical Reasoning Properly . 140 Refer to Yourself, the Statement, or the Argument—As Needed 142 Maintain Proper Tone and Voice . 143 Vary Sentence Length and Structure . 143 Write Clearly and Concisely . 144 Use Language Correctly and Persuasively 145 Summing It Up . 147 PART IV: QUANTITATIVE REASONING 7 Problem Solving . 151 Key Facts About GRE Problem Solving . 151 The 5-Step Plan 152 Problem-Solving Strategies 158 The Data Interpretation Format . 168 Data Interpretation Strategies . 172 Contentsvi . www.petersons.com The Numeric Entry Format (New) . 173 Summing It Up . 176 8 Quantitative Comparison . 177 Key Facts About GRE Quantitative Comparisons . 177 The 6-Step Plan 179 Quantitative Comparison Strategies . 183 Summing It Up . 189 9 Math Review: Number Forms, Relationships, and Sets . 191 Percents, Fractions, And Decimals . 192 Simplifying and Combining Fractions 194 Decimal Place Values and Operations 197 Simple Percent Problems 198 Percent Increase and Decrease 199 Ratios and Proportion . 200 Arithmetic Mean, Median, Mode, and Range 205 Standard Deviation . 210 Arithmetic Sequences . 211 Geometric Sequences . 213 Permutations . 214 Combinations 215 Probability . 216 Summing It Up . 220 10 Math Review: Number Theory and Algebra 221 Basic Properties Of Numbers 222 Factors, Multiples, and Divisibility . 224 Prime Numbers and Prime Factorization . 225 Exponents (Powers) . 226 Roots and Radicals . 230 Linear Equations with One Variable . 235 Linear Equations with Two Variables 238 Simple Algebraic Functions 241 Linear Equations that Cannot Be Solved . 242 Factorable Quadratic Expressions with One Variable 243 Nonlinear Equations with Two Variables . 247 Solving Algebraic Inequalities . 248 Solving Algebra “Story” Problems 249 Summing It Up . 259 11 Math Review: Geometry 261 Lines and Angles . 262 Triangles . 265 Quadrilaterals 271 Circles . 279 Polygons . 287 Cubes and Other Rectangular Solids . 289 Contents vii . www.petersons.com Cylinders 291 Coordinate Geometry—the XY-Plane . 292 Summing It Up . 303 PART V: VERBAL REASONING 12 Analogies 307 Key Facts About GRE Analogies . 307 The 5-Step Plan 308 Analogy Strategies 311 Analogy Categories You Should Know 317 Summing It Up . 329 13 Sentence and Text Completions . 331 Key Facts About Sentence Completions . 332 The 5-Step Plan (Sentence Completions) 332 Sentence Completion Strategies 336 Structural Clues for Completing Sentences . 340 Key Facts About Text Completions . 344 The 4-Step Plan (Text Completions) 345 Logical Connections for Completing Text 348 Text Completion Strategies 352 Summing It Up . 353 14 Reading Comprehension . 355 Key Facts about GRE Reading Comprehension 355 Interactive Reading: The Key to Reading Comprehension . 357 The 7-Step Plan . 358 Interactive Reading Strategies . 363 Question Types 368 GRE Test Designers’ Top 10 Wrong-Answer Ploys . 383 Summing It Up . 384 15 Antonyms and GRE Vocabulary 385 Key Facts About GRE Antonyms . 385 The 5-Step Plan for Antonyms . 386 Antonym Strategies . 389 How the GRE Tests Your Vocabulary . 394 How GRE Test Designers Choose Vocabulary . 395 Strategies for Building a GRE Vocabulary 398 Summing It Up . 401 PART VI: FIVE PRACTICE TESTS Practice Test 2 411 Analytical Writing 411 Verbal Reasoning . 413 Contentsviii . www.petersons.com Quantitative Reasoning . 418 Answer Key and Explanations . 426 Practice Test 3 . 443 Analytical Writing 443 Quantitative Reasoning . 445 Verbal Reasoning . 454 Answer Key and Explanations . 460 Practice Test 4 477 Analytical Writing 477 Verbal Reasoning . 479 Quantitative Reasoning . 485 Answer Key and Explanations . 494 Practice Test 5 511 Analytical Writing 511 Quantitative Reasoning . 513 Verbal Reasoning . 521 Answer Key and Explanations . 526 Practice Test 6 543 Analytical Writing 543 Verbal Reasoning . 545 Quantitative Reasoning . 551 Answer Key and Explanations . 560 APPENDIXES A Scoring Your Practice Tests—Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning 573 B Vocabulary List 577 C Additional Resources for Graduate Admissions and the GRE 613 D The GRE for Admission to Graduate Business School . 627 About the Author . 627 Contents ix . www.petersons.com . 23456789 012 3456789 012 3456789 012 123456789 012 3 4 1 23456789 012 3456789 012 3456789 012 123456789 012 3 4 1 23456789 012 3456789 012 3456789 012 123456789 012 3 4 12 3456789 012 3456789 012 3456789 012 123456789 012 34. ASTER THE GRE T 2 010 Mark Alan Stewart 12 3456789 012 3456789 012 3456789 012 123456789 012 34 1 23456789 012 3456789 012 3456789 012 123456789 012 3 4 1 23456789 012 3456789 012 3456789 012 123456789 012 3