Sample GRE questions, with answers

[robinturner]

Since arya is taking the GRE tomorrow, I thought I'd have a look at the questions on this extremely silly exam. I now present some "issue" questions with answers.

Q: "People who are the most deeply committed to an idea or policy are the most critical of it."

This is an empirical question, not something I could dash off an essay about in an hour or two. Give me a research grant sufficient to do in-depth interviews with advocates of a wide variety of ideas, and I might be able to come up with something after a few years. On the other hand, if you want a quick, snappy answer, the answer is "Like hell they are."


Q: "The most practical and effective way to protect wilderness areas is to attract more tourists to these areas through environmentally sensitive projects."

A: See the above comment about research grants. Since my first degree was in English and Music, how on earth am I supposed to know about eco-tourism?

Q:"It is the artist, not the critic,* who gives society something of lasting value."

*a person who evaluates works of art, such as novels, films, music, paintings, etc.

A: I know, as C.P. Snow famously said, that we are living in two cultures*, and engineering graduates may not regularly read the arts pages in newspapers, but are you really considering accepting someone to study for a postgraduate degree who doesn't know what an art critic is?

*That's arts and sciences (for the benefit of GRE exam writers)

Q:"Students should bring a certain skepticism to whatever they study. They should question what they are taught instead of accepting it passively."

A: Er, whatever you say.

Comments

[vret.livejournal.com]

I know I'm a bit slow, but those all look like statements to me, not questions.

[solri.livejournal.com]

I stand corrected: the page calls them "issue topics" (gah!), not questions. But surely there is an implicit question, along the lines of "So what do you think about that, kiddo?"

[issen4.livejournal.com]

I think your comments are exactly what they want! Except, you know, expanded into essay version, maybe with bullet points and pencil illustrations. ^^

[solri.livejournal.com]

Bullet points in an essay? My old Eng Lit prof would have thrown a fit, probably of the hissy variety.

[sandokai.livejournal.com]

I graded the AP exams last summer, and what's funny is that sometimes kids really would just write something like "Like hell they are!" and leave it at that (mostly in the states that required all kids to take the exam). I guess GRE takers probably take the test more seriously, but I'm sure it is still entertaining to be a scorer and see how people actually deal with those questions.

[solri.livejournal.com]

I suppose the ultimate exam answer would just be "Whatever."

[oblomova.livejournal.com]

What's more disturbing is that they feel the need to include a definition-within-the-definition of "work of art."

[solri.livejournal.com]

Good point. A perceptive student might well write "My life is my art, and who is the critic of my life?" OTOH, if I were grading that paper, I'd probably think "Pretentious little squirt - don't let them into grad school" ;-)

[alsoname.livejournal.com]

A GRE grader makes $20/hour.

Mostly they're just testing your ability to come up with a thesis statement and back it up with well-chosen reasons with connections made between them. You can knowingly write a bunch of B.S. but as long as it's cogent and well-organized with few or no language errors, you'll do well.