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Half of the verbal questions in the GRE verbal section are from passages. You read a given passage and answer the questions related to the passage. We are all familiar with RC passages since school. Here is a quick refresher on RC passages and questions that appear in the GRE.
1. Break Down the Question
What exactly is the examiner asking you to answer? The question sometimes isn’t very obvious. There might be an element of negation hidden in the question (and in the answer option) and you’d have read past that unsuspecting the element of negation reverses the meaning of the whole sentence. So, read the question, and tell yourself what the question is looking for in your own words.
Also Read:Â GRE Verbal Tips & Strategies to Solve Reading Comprehension
2. Have a Rough idea of what the answer might be
This helps you a lot. You have read the passage. And the question tests you on what’s already mentioned in the passage. So, once you have read the question before you look into the options, try to come up with your own answer. You can go back to the passage to look up the part the question refers to. Scan the given options. If there’s a match between one of the options and what you have in mind, you have your answer. This works especially for main theme questions.
3. Eliminate 4 options
When in a fix, start with reading each option and making sure which of the options cannot be the answer. Once you eliminate the options, for valid reasons, traverse through what is left behind. And choose the right option. Ideally, eliminate and validate the elimination for each of the 4 options before clicking on the right option and progressing to the next question. Read with your eyes peeled since you might miss a single word here or there and miss the meaning of the entire answer. A cleverly hidden word like not, but or however can change the meaning of the entire sentence.
Also Read:Â Do You Really Need GRE Reading Comprehension Books?
4. Keep it simple
If you are thoroughly confused with all of the options, do something maverick. This is the case where each option looks the same or none of the options look remotely to be answered. In such scenarios, scan the options quickly and pick the option you understand. Go for the simply worded option. Most probably, this is your answer since GRE false options are twisted to make it look confusing to the reader. Chuck the wordy and tortuous options and go for the shorter, simpler worded option.
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