GRE Timing & Pacing for the Shorter Test: A Section-by-Section Plan

Beginning September 22, 2023, the GRE General Test was cut to about 1 hour 58 minutes with five sections and no scheduled break. Analytical Writing is always first. After that, two Verbal and two Quant sections appear in any order, and the test remains section-level adaptive: your performance on the first Verbal or Quant section influences the difficulty of the second. With less clock overall, every decision you make—what to do now, what to skip, and when to guess—matters more than ever.

Analytical Writing: 1 essay in 30 minutes. Verbal Reasoning: Section 1 has 12 questions in 18 minutes; Section 2 has 15 questions in 23 minutes. Quantitative Reasoning: Section 1 has 12 questions in 21 minutes; Section 2 has 15 questions in 26 minutes. There’s no scheduled break. If you test at a center you may step out briefly as an unscheduled break, but the timer keeps running; at-home testing does not allow unscheduled breaks. Plan to complete the exam in a single sustained effort.

On average, you have about 1:30 per Verbal question and about 1:44–1:45 per Quant question. Those are averages, not targets for every item. Some problems, like Sentence Equivalence or straightforward Quantitative Comparisons, should take well under the average so you can spend longer on a dense Reading Comprehension passage, a multi-blank Text Completion, a Data Interpretation set, or a multi-step word problem.

Two-pass method for every section: Pass 1—bank points fast on short, familiar items; skip and flag time sinks within 20–30 seconds. Pass 2—work flagged items in order of payoff. Final 30–45 seconds—execute your emergency guessing protocol so nothing is left blank. Since there’s no penalty for wrong answers, unanswered items are the only guaranteed zeros.

3 minutes: analyze the prompt and outline a clear claim, 2–3 supporting reasons, and likely counterpoints. 22 minutes: draft briskly in 4–5 paragraphs; lead with a direct thesis, then build specific reasoning and examples. 5 minutes: revise for logic, clarity, and transitions; proof for grammar, agreement, and word choice. Keep sentences precise and evidence-driven; avoid spending time formatting or searching for the perfect example—pick a defensible one and move.

Suggested order: Sentence Equivalence → 1-blank Text Completion → 2–3 blank Text Completion → Reading Comprehension. Benchmarks: after Q4 have about 12:00 left, after Q8 about 6:00 left, finish at 0:00. Time cues: SE ~45–60 seconds; TC 1-blank ~45–60, TC 2–3 blanks ~75–90; RC questions ~60–90 each after an efficient read. RC tip: read once for structure (main point, paragraph roles, tone), then answer big-picture questions first and detail questions by line evidence—don’t reread the entire passage for each item.

Expect the section to feel a notch harder if you did well in Section 1—that’s normal. Stick to your order and benchmarks: after Q5 have roughly 15:20 left; after Q10 about 7:40 left. Keep SE and shorter TC as your pace-setters. On RC with multiple questions, allow a slightly longer first read to avoid repetitive re-reading; then answer the set in a batch to amortize that reading time.

Suggested order: Quantitative Comparison → one-step Problem Solving → easier Numeric Entry → Data Interpretation and multi-step word problems. Benchmarks: after Q4 have ~14:00 left; after Q8 ~7:00 left. Time cues: QC ~60–75 seconds; straightforward PS ~75–90; DI sets and multi-step problems ~2–3 minutes for the set plus ~60–90 per question. Use the calculator selectively; estimation, number sense, and backsolving from answer choices are often faster and safer.

Benchmarks: after Q5 have ~17:20 left; after Q10 ~8:40 left. Expect a higher proportion of trap-laden algebra, geometry, and data questions. Take quick inventory: if you don’t see a clean path in 20 seconds, flag and move; you will recover time on friendlier items. On DI, scan the axes/units first, then prioritize questions with simple look-ups before multi-step rate or percent-change compounds.

The 20-second rule: if you cannot articulate a plan or set up the core of the work within 20 seconds, skip and flag. The 60–90 second rule: if you’re mid-solve and hit a stall, eliminate what you can and make a decision—finish now or guess and bank the time. The one-minute warning rule: with ~60 seconds left, prioritize single-answer items you can guess quickly. The last 30 seconds: fill every blank. Multi-select RC requires all correct to earn credit; if forced to guess, choose the statements most directly supported by explicit text rather than outside inference.

Always answer everything; wrong answers do not reduce your score. Use elimination aggressively: extreme wording, scope shifts, or unit mismatches are red flags. In Quant, backsolve from middle answer choices on discrete-value problems; in Verbal, anchor to text—ask yourself “Where is the line that proves this?” For Numeric Entry, estimate sensibly and round to a reasonable figure if time is expiring, but avoid overtyping numbers you cannot justify.

Verbal 1 (18:00): after 3 questions, ~13:30 left; after 6, ~9:00; after 9, ~4:30. Verbal 2 (23:00): after 5, ~15:20; after 10, ~7:40. Quant 1 (21:00): after 4, ~14:00; after 8, ~7:00. Quant 2 (26:00): after 5, ~17:20; after 10, ~8:40. Falling behind by a minute is recoverable—two quick wins will reset your pace. Falling behind by three minutes means you must skip something big immediately.

Use short, specific sprints most days and reserve full-length tests sparingly. Examples: 8–10 minutes of Sentence Equivalence lightning rounds; 12 minutes of mixed Text Completion with a hard stop; 9 minutes on one long RC passage with 3–4 questions; 10 minutes of Quantitative Comparisons only; 7 minutes for one Data Interpretation set; 12 minutes of backsolving-friendly Problem Solving. Stitch two or three sprints together to simulate fatigue without spending a whole afternoon. Aim for one full mock every 2–3 weeks, not every few days.

Start with Exambank’s diagnostic to set a baseline for Verbal and Quant. Then tell your AI tutor exactly how much time you have—18, 21, 23, or 26 minutes—and what you want to target, and it will plan a focused session. Use Learn to shore up weak concepts; then in Solve Together, follow step-by-step walkthroughs of real GRE-style questions so you see efficient solution paths. Finish with short Test Yourself quizzes to lock in retention. Because Exambank adapts to your performance and has a deep bank of GRE-format questions, you can run unlimited sprints at the right difficulty without wasting full-length tests. The analytics make it obvious which topics you’re getting right and which still eat your time, and streak tracking keeps you honest day to day.

Mon: Verbal 18-minute sprint (SE/TC focus) + 7-minute RC set. Tue: Quant 21-minute sprint (QC/PS) + 7-minute DI set. Wed: Verbal 23-minute sprint (mixed) + brief review. Thu: Quant 26-minute sprint (mixed) + targeted Learn lesson on your weakest topic. Fri: Mixed 30–40 minute combo of two sprints. Sat: Deep review of errors; rebuild faster methods with Solve Together. Sun: Rest or one longer rehearsal of two back-to-back sections. Repeat, nudging difficulty up as accuracy stabilizes.

Because there’s no scheduled break, manage hydration and nutrition beforehand, and practice sitting for the full duration. At test centers, an unscheduled break will not pause your timer; at home, unscheduled breaks are not permitted, so train yourself not to rely on mid-test stops. Use the Mark and Review features intentionally, and always leave 30–45 seconds at the end of each section to clear the review screen and fill in any blanks.

If your second section feels tougher, that can be a good sign. Don’t anchor on how hard a question feels; anchor on time. Your score is driven by total correct combined with section difficulty, so protecting pacing and avoiding zeroes from unanswered items is as important as solving any single hard problem.

AWA: 3–22–5 timeline. Verbal 1: quick wins first; benchmarks every four questions. Verbal 2: same plan under a slightly tighter average; stay calm if it feels harder. Quant 1: QC and clean one-step PS first; keep the calculator as a helper, not a habit. Quant 2: strict triage; don’t grind when there’s a bankable point one screen away. Finish every section with a 30–45 second sweep so nothing is left blank.

Pacing is a skill you can train in short sessions. Bank fast points, skip with discipline, and keep your eye on the mileposts. Layer in adaptive practice and targeted review, and the shorter GRE’s clock becomes an ally, not an adversary.