GRE Prep – Secrets of Problem Solving

The following is the ETS description of Problem Solving questions on the GRE.

The problem solving questions are standard multiple-choice questions with five answer choices. To answer a question, select the best of the answer choices. Some problem solving questions are discrete while others occur in sets of two to five questions that share common information. For some of the questions, the solution requires only simple computations or manipulations; for others, the solution requires multi–step problem solving.

The following strategies may be helpful in answering problem solving questions.

• Read each question carefully to determine what information is given and what is being asked.
• Before attempting to answer a question, scan the answer choices; otherwise you may waste time putting answers in a form that is not given.
• For questions that require approximations, scan the answer choices to get some idea of the required closeness of approximation; otherwise you may waste time on long computations when a short mental process would be sufficient (for example, finding 48 percent of a number when taking half of the number would give a close enough approximation).

To help you through the problem solving section here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. The math skills you are being tested on are not complicated. More than anything problem solving questions are about reading the question carefully. The trick is recognizing the math you need to use despite ETS clever attempts at misdirection.
2. Use scratch paper. Do not try to do calculations in your head. Write everything down to avoid making careless mistakes.
3. Be specific about your approach to the questions. The devil is in the details and with precious time ticking away its crucial to copy down all the information from the problem correctly and to make sure that you understand what is really being asked.
4. Be on the look out for ETS tricks. If it seems to good to be true then it probably is. Even if it seems like the answer is intuitive look again. Likely, there is something that you forgot to consider on first glance. ETS is trying to trap test takers that are going to quickly by the seemingly “obvious” (but incorrect!) answer choice.

For the specific math you are likely to be tested on check out our GRE Math Primer.