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GRE Literature Subject Test

The exam tests your knowledge of literature in English.

If you plan to study English or literature at a US graduate school, you may be required to take the GRE subject test in English literature. This exam assesses your knowledge of literary history and terminology, along with your ability to analyze a variety of texts.

Th GRE literature test is more broad than deep, meaning you should be familiar with major writers, texts, and movements throughout literature.

The test contains 230 multiple-choice questions with five answer options each. Questions typically concern some aspect of a passage or line excerpted from poetry, drama, fiction, or criticism. You will have 170 minutes to complete the test.

Note that the exam is administered once a month in October, November and April.

What Is Covered By the GRE Literature Exam?

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of questions on the GRE literature test: factual and analytical. Factual questions gauge your knowledge of literary history, including major writers, texts, and movements. You should know literary chronology and when particular writers and works appeared.

Analytical questions on the GRE literature test rely more on interpretation and critical reading. They indicate how well you can parse a text to identify its tone, structure, style and other rhetorical techniques. Familiarity with important works (for example, the Bible and “Paradise Lost”) will give you a definite advantage.

The test covers five broad categories (or periods) of English literature:

• Continental, Classical and Comparative literature through 1925
• British literature to 1660
• British literature 1660-1925
• American literature through 1925
• American, British and World literature after 1925

Understanding Your GRE Literature Score

Like the other eight GRE subject tests, the GRE literature exam receives two scores: a raw and a scaled. Your raw score is the total number of questions you answered correctly minus 1/4 of those answered incorrectly. This figure is then converted to a scaled score somewhere between 200 and 990, with the latter being a perfect GRE literature result. The average scores earned on the GRE literature test are between 380 and 700.

In addition, you will be issued a percentile ranking. This number tells you the percentage of students who scored lower than you. A ranking of 85, for instance, means you scored higher than 85% of other test-takers. This number shows universities how your abilities compare with those of other students.

While the GRE literature test is a challenging combination of factual recall and interpretive skill, careful standardized test preparation can pay off in acceptance to the graduate schoolof your choice.