GRE Comprehensive Actual
Test Practice Exam
Section 1: Analytical Writing (1 Task)
Time: 30 Minutes
1 Question
"Issue Task" Prompt:
"To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major
cities rather than its rural or suburban areas."
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. In developing and
supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or
might not hold true.
Section 2: Verbal Reasoning (Set A)
Time: 21 Minutes
~25 Questions
Questions 1 to 5: Text Completion
For each blank select one entry from each column.
,1. While the professor’s lectures were often praised for their clarity, his writing was
notoriously (i)_____, filled with dense jargon that left even his graduate students
perplexed.
(A) lucid
(B) abstruse
(C) eloquent
(D) cursory
2. The discovery of the ancient manuscript was (i)_____ for the scholarly community; it
not only confirmed long-held theories but also opened up (ii)_____ new avenues of
research.
Blank (i): (A) a setback (B) a boon (C) a triviality
Blank (ii): (D) unpromising (E) unheralded (F) copious
3. Despite his reputation as a fiery revolutionary, the leader’s memoirs reveal a
surprisingly (i)_____ temperament, favoring (ii)_____ over confrontation.
Blank (i): (A) bellicose (B) placid (C) volatile
Blank (ii): (D) strife (E) agitation (F) conciliation
4. The professor argued that the critic’s assessment was (i), relying more on personal
whim than on (ii) analysis of the text.
Blank (i): (A) dispassionate (B) arbitrary (C) rigorous
Blank (ii): (D) subjective (E) objective (F) capricious
5. Though the expedition faced seemingly (i)_____ odds, including treacherous weather
and scarce supplies, their (ii)_____ spirit ultimately led them to the summit.
Blank (i): (A) propitious (B) insurmountable (C) negligible
Blank (ii): (D) irresolute (E) indomitable (F) lackadaisical
, Questions 6 to 10: Sentence Equivalence
Select the two answer choices that, when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of
the sentence as a whole and produce completed sentences that are alike in meaning.
6. The CEO’s decision to invest in the failing company was seen by many as a _____
move, one that could easily lead to significant financial loss.
(A) prudent
(B) quixotic
(C) pragmatic
(D) judicious
(E) chimerical
(F) prescient
7. Her reputation for integrity was so _____ that even her detractors found it difficult to
question the honesty of her intentions.
(A) tarnished
(B) impeccable
(C) ambiguous
(D) unassailable
(E) compromised
(F) equivocal
8. The ancient ritual, once a vibrant and central part of community life, has been
reduced to a mere _____ performed for tourists.
(A) vestige
(B) culmination
(C) harbinger
(D) simulacrum
(E) prototype
(F) catalyst
Test Practice Exam
Section 1: Analytical Writing (1 Task)
Time: 30 Minutes
1 Question
"Issue Task" Prompt:
"To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major
cities rather than its rural or suburban areas."
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. In developing and
supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or
might not hold true.
Section 2: Verbal Reasoning (Set A)
Time: 21 Minutes
~25 Questions
Questions 1 to 5: Text Completion
For each blank select one entry from each column.
,1. While the professor’s lectures were often praised for their clarity, his writing was
notoriously (i)_____, filled with dense jargon that left even his graduate students
perplexed.
(A) lucid
(B) abstruse
(C) eloquent
(D) cursory
2. The discovery of the ancient manuscript was (i)_____ for the scholarly community; it
not only confirmed long-held theories but also opened up (ii)_____ new avenues of
research.
Blank (i): (A) a setback (B) a boon (C) a triviality
Blank (ii): (D) unpromising (E) unheralded (F) copious
3. Despite his reputation as a fiery revolutionary, the leader’s memoirs reveal a
surprisingly (i)_____ temperament, favoring (ii)_____ over confrontation.
Blank (i): (A) bellicose (B) placid (C) volatile
Blank (ii): (D) strife (E) agitation (F) conciliation
4. The professor argued that the critic’s assessment was (i), relying more on personal
whim than on (ii) analysis of the text.
Blank (i): (A) dispassionate (B) arbitrary (C) rigorous
Blank (ii): (D) subjective (E) objective (F) capricious
5. Though the expedition faced seemingly (i)_____ odds, including treacherous weather
and scarce supplies, their (ii)_____ spirit ultimately led them to the summit.
Blank (i): (A) propitious (B) insurmountable (C) negligible
Blank (ii): (D) irresolute (E) indomitable (F) lackadaisical
, Questions 6 to 10: Sentence Equivalence
Select the two answer choices that, when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of
the sentence as a whole and produce completed sentences that are alike in meaning.
6. The CEO’s decision to invest in the failing company was seen by many as a _____
move, one that could easily lead to significant financial loss.
(A) prudent
(B) quixotic
(C) pragmatic
(D) judicious
(E) chimerical
(F) prescient
7. Her reputation for integrity was so _____ that even her detractors found it difficult to
question the honesty of her intentions.
(A) tarnished
(B) impeccable
(C) ambiguous
(D) unassailable
(E) compromised
(F) equivocal
8. The ancient ritual, once a vibrant and central part of community life, has been
reduced to a mere _____ performed for tourists.
(A) vestige
(B) culmination
(C) harbinger
(D) simulacrum
(E) prototype
(F) catalyst
