GRE Syllabus and Topics
The mathematics on the GRE is not advanced; it stops at secondary-school level. The difficulty lives in how the questions are built, not in the content itself. On the verbal side, vocabulary still decides a great deal. The list below separates the two reasoning sections from the writing task.
Each heading below carries one question. Read them before you close this page: whichever one you stumble on is the part you still have to study.
Verbal Reasoning
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Reading Comprehension
Can you explain Reading Comprehension in your own words, in two minutes, without looking at the source?
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Text Completion
Can you explain Text Completion in your own words, in two minutes, without looking at the source?
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Sentence Equivalence
Can you explain Sentence Equivalence in your own words, in two minutes, without looking at the source?
Quantitative Reasoning
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Arithmetic
Can you explain Arithmetic in your own words, in two minutes, without looking at the source?
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Algebra
Can you explain Algebra in your own words, in two minutes, without looking at the source?
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Geometry
Can you explain Geometry in your own words, in two minutes, without looking at the source?
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Data Analysis
Can you explain Data Analysis in your own words, in two minutes, without looking at the source?
Analytical Writing
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Analyze an Issue
Can you explain Analyze an Issue in your own words, in two minutes, without looking at the source?
What this page does not have
No past papers, no exam dates, no score calculators. All three are searched for constantly, but we do not hold reliable data on them, and a page with the wrong date is worse than no page at all. Check the awarding body’s own announcements for those.
Headings are kept at the top level. Sub-topics shift from year to year while the main headings do not, and a wrong sub-topic is worse than a missing one.
Frequently asked
What is the GRE syllabus?
GRE Syllabus and Topics covers: Reading Comprehension, Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Data Analysis, Analyze an Issue.
What sections does the GRE have?
The exam is split into Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Analytical Writing. Not every candidate sits all of them; the part you are preparing for decides your study list.
How should I study for the GRE?
Reading a topic creates familiarity, not knowledge. When you finish a heading, close the source and explain it out loud for two minutes. Wherever you stall is what you need to revisit; re-reading something you can already explain is wasted time.
Can I find past GRE papers here?
No. This page lists topics only. For past papers, exam dates and scoring, check the awarding body’s own site.
I have read the material. How do I know I actually know it?
Reading makes you feel like you know it. If you can close the source and explain the topic in your own words, you have learned it; if you stall halfway, you have not. That is exactly what Demostra measures.
Related exams
Reading is not knowing
Reading something makes it feel familiar, and that familiarity gets mistaken for knowledge. The only thing that separates the two is explaining it: close the source, say it in your own words, and notice where you stall.
That is what Demostra does. You set a goal, the app builds a topic map like the one above, you explain each topic out loud, and every topic lands in one of three states: proven, blurry, revisit. No score, just a state.