In today’s world, most people rarely need to perform calculations by hand. Smartphones, spreadsheets, and apps handle almost all of our arithmetic for us. As a result, many GRE students begin their preparation with rusty computation skills. When you rely heavily on calculators in daily life, even basic operations can feel slower or more error-prone than you expect.

This gap becomes evident during the GRE Quant section. You may fully understand how to approach a problem, set it up correctly, and identify the right method to reach a solution, only to lose points because of a small calculation mistake. It happens more often than you might think. Simple arithmetic slips—reversing a sign, misplacing a decimal, or making a small error in multiplying fractions—can turn an otherwise correct solution into a wrong answer. The GRE rewards precision, and even minor lapses can add up over the course of a test.

The best way to guard against these errors is to make manual calculation practice part of your study routine. Work regularly with pen and paper, just as you will on test day. Revisit the fundamentals of arithmetic. Make sure you are comfortable adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions. Refresh your skills with exponents, square roots, percentages, and ratios. These are the building blocks of GRE Quant, and fluency with them will save valuable time and prevent small mistakes.

You do not need to spend hours on this each day. Even 10 to 15 minutes of focused practice can make a noticeable difference. Choose a few quick arithmetic exercises and complete them without using a calculator. When you check your answers, look for patterns in your mistakes. Were you rushing through negative signs? Did you misalign digits when performing long division? Understanding the source of your errors is what turns repetition into progress.

Over time, you will notice a shift. Problems that once felt tedious or uncertain will begin to feel more automatic. You will move through calculations more efficiently and with greater confidence. This mental clarity allows you to focus on higher-level reasoning and problem-solving, rather than second-guessing your arithmetic.

In short, getting the logic right is only half the battle on GRE Quant. The other half is executing that logic accurately all the way to the final answer. Strengthening your hand-calculation skills bridges that gap and helps ensure that your hard work translates into correct results on test day.

Reach out to me with any questions about your GRE prep. Happy studying!

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep