GRE Verbal Reasoning

The goal of the GRE Verbal Reasoning test is to measure the candidate's ability to understand and analyze written passages and to understand the meaning and context of words being used. The Verbal Reasoning section is the toughest section for non-native English speakers. If the candidate's first language is not English, they must prepare for it.

The GRE Verbal Reasoning section is divided into two sub-sections. The first sub-section consists of 12 questions and allows 18 minutes for completion, whereas the second sub-section contains 15 questions and provides 23 minutes for completion.

GRE Verbal Reasoning Question Types

GRE Verbal Reasoning section has three different types of questions:

Reading Comprehension

The Reading Comprehensive section of the GRE assesses a test taker's ability to understand and analyze complex written passages. This section contains multiple passages from various disciplines, including natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and literature. Test takers are required to read and comprehend the passages, identify the main ideas, analyze the author's arguments, and evaluate the evidence presented.

Question Structure-

1. Multiple Choice- Select One Answer Choice: The candidates are required to choose a single response from a pool of five possible answers.
2. Multiple Choice- Select One or More Answer Choice: The questions will have three choices, and the candidate has to select all the correct answers. They must choose all the correct answers to receive credit. Partial credit is not awarded.
3. Select-in-Passage: These questions require candidates to choose the sentence in the passage that best fits a specific description.

Text Completion

This section of the GRE requires test-takers to carefully read and comprehend the passage's context to select the correct words that fit logically and cohesively within the text. By evaluating their vocabulary, critical thinking skills, and ability to infer meaning from context, the Text Completion questions aim to assess test-takers' overall reading comprehension abilities. This portion of the exam challenges them to identify the meaning of individual words and consider how they interact with the surrounding text to convey a coherent message.

Question Structure-
Each passage comprises anywhere from one to five sentences, containing one to three blanks in each sentence. Each blank has just one correct answer. Selecting an answer for one blank does not influence the choices available for another blank, and there is no credit for partially correct answers.

Sentence Equivalence

The Sentence Equivalence section of the GRE evaluates the test taker's ability to comprehend complex sentences and select two answer choices that produce sentences with the same meaning. This section requires the test taker to understand the individual words in a sentence, the relationships between those words, and how they contribute to the sentence's overall meaning. By selecting two answer choices that create sentences with the same meaning, the test taker demonstrates their proficiency in understanding the nuances of language and their ability to interpret and manipulate complex sentences accurately.

Question Structure-
In this section, each sentence has a blank with six possible answers, and candidates must choose two correct answers to receive credit. Incomplete responses will not be counted.

Approaching the Question Types

Reading Comprehension

• The passages will be taken from multiple disciplines.
• Questions will be asked directly from the passage and hence do not require knowledge of the disciplines.
• Identify the main idea and the supporting ideas.
• Find the ideas the author is advancing from those being reported.
• Also, figure out the ideas that are being stated as facts and those that are hypothetical.
• Focus only on the information provided in the text. Do not rely on external information.

Text Completion

• Identify words and phrases that seem particularly significant. Choose them according to how they contribute to the meaning of the entire structure.
• Fill in words and phrases that accurately rather than partially fit.
• Identify if the answers chosen will fill in the passage logically, grammatically, and coherently.

Sentence Equivalence

• Identify words and phrases that emphasize the structure of the sentence by contributing to the central meaning of the text.
• Fill in the blanks with words or phrases that seem to fit and check if more than one word in the answer choice has similar meanings.
• Select a pair of answers that fit into the blank to create a coherent statement.
• The sentence's final meaning should be complete grammatically and coherently.

How is the GRE Verbal Reasoning Section Scored?

The Verbal Reasoning section on the GRE is scored on a scale of 130-170 in one-point increments. The scoring for Verbal Reasoning is similar to that of the Quantitative Reasoning section. The Verbal Reasoning section has two sub-sections. The first will be moderate difficulty, whereas the second will depend on the test-taker's performance in the first section. If the test-taker has performed exceptionally in the first section, the next section will be comparatively tougher. The second section will be easier if the test-taker has not performed well enough.

The score on the Verbal Reasoning section is based on the number of questions test-takers answer correctly, with no penalty for incorrect answers. The raw score is then converted to a scaled score using a formula that considers the difficulty of the questions on the test.

Tips to Crack the Verbal Reasoning Section

Here’s an expanded overview of strategies for successfully navigating the GRE Verbal Reasoning section

• Brush up on vocabulary skills. Practice using flashcards and word lists that are available online and as practice books.
• Prepare using academic passages. The passages provided in the Verbal Reasoning section will be dry and academic. So, practicing using easier fictional texts will not aid the test-taker much in their endeavor to crack the section.
• Keep track of time during the practice tests. Test-takers often receive poor scores since they cannot complete the test on time. The passages in this section will have a few paragraphs each, requiring much time to read unless the test-taker has practiced paced reading while preparing for the test.
• Skim through the passage provided. Do not attempt to read the passages word by word since this will take a lot of time, and one may be unable to retain as much information as required to answer the questions.
• Read the question after skimming through the passage and then go back to the passage. This will give the test-takers a better understanding of what to look for and help them reread the text accordingly.
• If presented with an uncertain word, the test-taker should always place it in the context to find its meaning.
• Understand that GRE offers the option of marking questions and returning to them later. If confused, don't spend more than the required time on any question. Mark the question and come back to it later.
• Since there is no negative marking, one can go back to the questions that have been marked, and if there is no extra time to find the right answer, mark any probable answer since it increases the chances of getting a better grade.
• Test-takers must answer each question based solely on the information in the passage provided. They must refrain from utilizing any external knowledge or information not included in the text.
• Test-takers should focus on differentiating between primary concepts and supporting details or evidence, recognize the ideas that the author is advocating versus those they are simply presenting, discern between the author's firm beliefs and those they propose as hypothetical or speculative, pinpoint the critical transitions between ideas, and understand the connections among various concepts.
• Test-takers should pinpoint words or phrases that appear especially important, either due to their role in highlighting the structure of the text or because they are crucial for grasping the main ideas conveyed in the passage.
• Test-takers should verify that their choices for each blank ensure the passage maintains logical, grammatical, and stylistic coherence.
• Test-takers should avoid merely searching for two words among the synonymous answer options, as the choices may include pairs of words that share similar meanings but do not integrate smoothly into the sentence. Additionally, the correct pair of words may not be perfectly synonymous.