Oh yes, the most dreaded part of GRE preparation – learning hundreds of words before the test day. I think many test-takers will agree that it is no fun memorizing a stream of words, one after another. It is the most mundane thing about GRE prep for many people, and I completely understand. However, without it, you risk sabotaging your score, and hence you are left with no other option but to tough it out.

Once you have made peace with the fact that there is no other way but to memorize GRE words, you may wonder how many words are adequate to help you achieve a high score. Plus, how many words you should learn daily.

How many GRE words should I memorize?

I wish I could give you a number that would answer this question in a single sentence, but sadly there is no single answer. To this day, the jury is still out on how many words are too many, and with no “official” take on the subject, we are left with no option but to speculate. Moreover, the answer is further complicated by the fact that not everyone has the same starting vocabulary.

However, from my GRE teaching experience, I have found that for a non-native speaker and someone who isn’t a regular English language reader, around 1000 GRE words are what you will have to memorize. Whereas, for a native speaker or a proficient English novel reader, around 500 words are enough. Anything beyond that many words will give you diminishing returns.

Hence, the number of words you need to memorize depends on where you are at currently. You may think that you need to remember a 1000 words, but who knows; you may already be pretty good.

How do I know what my starting point is?

You can determine the scope of your existing vocabulary by merely taking a few GRE practice tests. Many students don’t pay much attention to establishing a baseline level, but in my opinion, this is one of the most important things you can do at the start of your prep.

Firstly, a baseline level gives you an accurate metric of your current level, which helps you gauge your future progress. For example, if your score on a practice test, without studying, comes out to 152-154 or less on the verbal, then you will most likely need to do around a 1000 new words. If you are scoring 155+ on your Verbal practice test, then you ll definitely need to do around 500 words.

So, take a practice test or two and try to replicate the actual GRE as closely as possible. Your verbal practice score will give you a good idea of where you stand. If you encounter many words that leave you puzzled, you need to work on your vocabulary. However, if you breeze through the verbal portion without breaking a sweat, then a 500 words will be more than enough for you.

A useful resource for authentic practice tests is ETS’s website, where you can download two official practice GRE tests for free.

How many words should I memorize daily?

Again there is no definitive answer to this. It all depends on your abilities. Some people have no trouble memorizing and retaining 25 or more words daily, whereas others struggle with even 10 words per day. However, in my opinion, 15 words per day is a great pace. At that pace, even if you have to do a 1000 words, you can do all of them in just over 8 weeks.

Moreover, once you begin with 15 words per day, you will gradually become more and more proficient and would start doing 20-25 words per day after a couple of weeks. So, start slowly at the beginning and then after two weeks, up your pace. Nevertheless, there is no such rule written in stone. Experiment and modify the plan according to your own needs and abilities. But 15 words per day is just fine.

I would also advise that you steer clear of memorizing words just by rote and recitation. Rote and recitation, while helpful, should not be your only strategy. There are many more practical ways in which you can commit words to your memory reliably. Feel free to read all about them here.

Does memorizing words guarantee high verbal score?

The GRE is not a verbal quiz in which you are tested explicitly on your vocabulary knowledge. It is not as if you’d be presented with a word list where you will need to write their corresponding meanings.

Remember, GRE Verbal measures your comprehension, critical thinking, and reasoning skills. You could be a human dictionary and still manage to do poorly on your test because knowing the meaning of a word alone doesn’t tell you much about the context in which it can be used. Usage and meaning are two different things, and GRE is excellent at presenting students with complex sentence structures that require a lot more than just knowing the meaning of words.

This is why students who actively read books tend to do well on verbal passages because they know beforehand why a particular word is used in a given sentence and how the context plays into it.

Hence, the point to take away from all this is that merely memorizing words is no guarantee that you will score high on your verbal section. You also need to start reading from reputable sources to get accustomed to how certain words are used and how context changes a given the word’s meaning.

However, this is not to say that you shouldn’t memorize words because that would be counter-productive. Instead, when you remember a word, try looking up example sentences online to understand better how it should be used. I would also suggest that you incorporate daily reading from reputable publishers such as The Economist, The Atlantic, or The New York Times.