GRE Verbal Syllabus

GRE has two major components: Verbal and Quantitative sections. The verbal part is considered quite tough by most GRE test takers. And the quantitative part is a breeze if you possess strong basics. 

The verbal part contains three types of questions:

• Reading Comprehension

• Text Completion

• Sentence Equivalence

The Reading Comprehension part has passages which are followed by questions related to that passage. This is something that we have all been familiar with right from primary school. The format is just the same. Only the difficulty level varies. Of course, GRE throws some difficult passages, unlike your primary school tests. The passages are formatted in a predictive manner. The questions fall into distinct and delineated categories. So, even if you start off with RC preparation in an unsatisfied manner, you can still improve your expertise with RC.

As a part of the RC, you might also have one question that deals with Critical Reasoning (CR). CR offers an argument and asks a logical question based on the information presented in the passage. CR tests your comprehension and reasoning abilities.

Text Completion 

This is again something we are all familiar with from primary school. A paragraph is presented with one to three blanks. The blanks need to be filled with one of the options. To answer these questions, you need a grasp of vocabulary. This comes from avid reading and usage of the language for years. Partially getting the answer right doesn’t count.

A new format of the question is the Sentence Equivalence.

 A sentence is given with one blank. There are six options, and the candidate has to choose two options. When the words you choose are used in the paragraph, both the sentences should mean the same. Again, this also requires a good vocabulary.

To get a good GRE verbal score, you need a good vocabulary and a regular reading habit. If you have neither, we would advise you to buckle up and start reading from now. Get a hold of GRE verbal words and hone your vocabulary skills. Your verbal syllabus, consisting of RC (Reading Comprehension) and TC (Text Completion) will test you on GRE verbal words (of course, Text Completion takes more verbal word focus here). Devise your own strategy to learn word lists. Or, stick to a tried and tested route. Make flashcards and learn them with context. Learning words without learning the context is generally useless. So, with every word you learn, make sentences out of the word and try to incorporate the new word in your everyday conversation.

There are several GRE verbal books for practice available online and offline. But a pro tip here would be to master the basics and then move on to practice. So, invest significant time in learning the basics of GRE verbal and Quant. This would involve secondary school English lessons.

Careerlabs’ will be glad to help you with your GRE preparation journey. You can ask for any assistance related to GRE from us by just giving a missed call at +91 6366004441, or you can write to us at support@thecareerlabs.in

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