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Best GRE Reading Comprehension Tips
GRE Reading Comprehension is the most significant part of GRE Verbal Reasoning. Each GRE verbal section consists of approximately 10 reading comprehension questions, and to find the answer to how to get better at GRE reading comprehension, test-takers need to understand the questions which cover 50% of the GRE verbal score. The subject matters of the GRE reading comprehension passages are usually social sciences, humanities, business, and natural sciences.
GRE Reading Comprehension Strategies for Preparation and Practice
GRE RC questions vary in terms of topics. To ace this section follow the GRE reading comprehension tips given below:
- Read Widely and Actively
To prepare for GRE Reading Comprehension it is important to take time to sit and read academic texts. GRE reading practice will help you get used to the high level of reading and will also improve your critical reading skills for both GRE reading comprehension & essays. Read from sources like newspapers, novels, magazines and more.
- Read the Passage carefully
The GRE reading passages often contain some linking words like “yet”, “but”, “however”, “on the other hand”, “in contrast”, “in addition”, “firstly”, “secondly”, “in conclusion” and lots more. While reading the passage, understand the purpose of these words and mark the answer based on these. The GRE reading comprehension practice online is a helpful way to get accustomed to the question types.
You can go through the books which are considered as super guide to reading comprehension for GRE below for further practice:
Norman Lewis’ Word Power Made Easy- Check PDF
Gruber's Complete GRE Guide- Check PDF
GRE Premier 2011-2012- Check PDF
- Go through the different approaches to Reading Passages
There are three ways you can approach the GRE RC passages:
- Skim the passage first (recommended)
- Read the questions first (also good)
- Read the passage closely (not recommended)
Read the introduction and conclusion first. As you are done with reading the introduction, conclusion, and question, move to read the body paragraphs. Here, we recommend the test-takers to read the first lines only because it briefs about the whole paragraph.
Now, both the candidate is aware of both the questions and paragraph’s content making it easier to answer. The candidates will only need to directly go to the paragraph and skim the answer by reading it. It is a very time-saving technique to ace the reading comprehension questions of GRE.
- Practice from the Official Practice Tests
The topic of the passage is mostly unpredictable but we suggest reading the articles from MIT Technology Review, The New Yorker, Scientific American, The Economist, and The Guardian provides GRE reading comprehension practice test free. It can help you to understand the pattern of the passages as well as enhancing your vocabulary.
Reading is not all, along with reading at a high speed, practicing is equally important here. Remember, at the time of reading too fast, you must not miss out the important information. Go through GRE verbal practice papers and try to take mock tests every day.
- Identify Your Weakness and work on it
It is possible that a particular part of the passage is utterly confusing and answering a question based on that part is nearly impossible. This problem is common in the scientific passages. The GRE reading comprehension strategies recommend that candidates not waste much time on it. There is a possibility of getting lost in the details, which may cost a lot of time.
Keep track of your progress as later you can work on the weak areas. The test takers are mostly stuck in the inference questions of GRE reading comprehension. However, the area of weakness can differ for the candidates. After taking each mock test, don’t forget to check where you did the mistake. Practice that particular type of question more.
- Read each Option before Marking
Before marking the answer, check all the answer options. It is because the answers can often be pretty similar.
Here are some common reasons that a Reading Comprehension answer choice might be incorrect:
- Answer is too specific or too broad (applies to information not explicitly stated in the passage)
- Answer is irrelevant and not clearly connected to the main point of the passage
- Answer makes too big of an assumption
- Answer is too extreme (e.g., uses words such as “all,” “none,” “every,” etc.)
- Answer contradicts something stated in the passage
- Answer is truthful but does not answer the question being asked
- Expand Your Vocabulary
Some Reading Comprehension questions will ask you about specific vocabulary words used in the passage.
Here’s an example of this type of question, taken from an official GRE practice test:
In the context in which it appears, “temporal” mostly refers to
- Secular
- Mundane
- Numerical
- Physiological
- chronological
With this level of vocabulary questions in Reading Comprehension questions, as well as Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, it’s crucial that you work on improving your vocab knowledge.
Below is a list of the top GRE vocab books to help your preparation:
- Barron’s Essential Words for the GRE: Check PDF
- Kaplan GRE Exam Vocabulary Flashcards: Check PDF
- Word Power Made Easy: Check PDF
- GRE Vocabulary Flash Review: Check PDF
- Webster’s New World Essential Vocabulary: Check PDF
What Should I read for Reading Comprehension GRE?
Candidates often seem to be confused about what books to read for the GRE Reading Comprehension section. If you are short on time, then reading from flash cards will improve your score much more than reading novels.. Even for GRE reading passages, the novels are often long, while reading passages much shorter.
You can go through few books below, surely it would b helpful:
- Manhattan Prep Reading Comprehension & Essays: Check PDF
- GRE Prep by Magoosh: Check PDF
- The Official Guide to GRE by ETS: Check PDF
What is the fastest way to answer Reading Comprehension questions?
The following GRE reading comprehension tips will help the candidates in finding ways to answer:
- Focus on interpreting the passage;
- Make use of your strong points;
- Practice time-management;
- work on improving vocabulary;
- Interpret the difficulty level of the questions;
- A good reading speed is mandatory.
GRE Verbal Reading Comprehension Sample Questions
Here are few GRE reading comprehension practice questions with answers to give you an idea:
Sample 1
The Green Peas Grocery Store in the remote wealthy enclave of Luxville charges more than the Green Peas Grocery Store in Oak City charges for the same items. Clearly, on any given item, the Green Peas grocery franchise is taking advantage of its location in Luxville to reap higher profits on that item.
In evaluating the argument, it would be most useful to compare
Select the answer.
- the selection of specialty items in the Oak City location with the selection of specialty items in the Luxville location.
- the cost of transporting merchandise to the Oak City location with the comparable cost to the Luxville location.
- the average cost of the same or comparable items at other grocery stores in Oak City with the average cost at other stores in Luxville.
- the percent of average household income spent on groceries in Oak City with the comparable percentage in Luxville.
- the cost of these items in Oak City and in Luxville with the cost at other Green Peas stores throughout the state.
Explanation:
What we want to explain are the higher prices, for the same items, in Luxville. The argument takes a firm stand: the Luxville store is just taking advantage of its location. Implicitly, the author is saying: the Luxville store has no valid reason for charging high prices. If there were a valid reason, that would call this entire argument into question.
(B) is the correct answer. If Luxville remote, transportation to that location could be an issue, and if the additional transportation needs adds an extra cost, this would be a valid reason for charging more in the Luxville store. It would call the argument into question.
Sample 2
Downtown Greensborough is a major financial center, in which many citizens either drive or rely on public transportation to get to work. This setup has led up to a spate in the number of pedestrians who have been struck and killed by vehicles. In an effort to curb the number of pedestrian-related fatalities, Greensborough has installed speed reduction signs at the six city intersections in which the highest numbers of fatalities have occurred in the last year. The Greensborough city government predicts that the number of pedestrian fatalities will significantly decrease once the speed reduction signs have been installed.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the validity of the conclusion?
Select the answer.
- Some of those who drive to work in downtown Greensborough have a valid driver’s license.
- The number of annual pedestrian fatalities outside the downtown area is far less than in the downtown area.
- The six intersections in which the signs are installed are responsible for a majority of pedestrian deaths in downtown Greensborough.
- The new speed reduction signs will be in neon orange and prominently placed.
- Red light cameras, which are used to catch motorists running red lights, were installed yet the number of pedestrian fatalities did not decrease.
Explanation:
In this case, what the test writers are doing is anticipating a possible weakness in the argument. Essentially, they are defusing a potential objection by showing how that objection is no longer valid. For example, if someone said, “hey your argument has a gap in it because it is only based on six intersections, which isn’t the same as the entire downtown area.” The correct answer, (C), retorts, “Well, most of the pedestrian deaths happen at those six intersections.”
Sample-3
For much of the 20th century, paleontologists theorized that dinosaurs, like reptiles, were ectothermic, their body temperature regulated externally. These scientists, however, based their conclusions on faulty reasoning, claiming that scaly skin was common to all ectotherms (birds, which are ectothermic, do not have scaly skin) and that the dinosaur’s size could account for ectothermy (some adult dinosaurs weighed as little as ten pounds). Supplanting this theory is an entirely new line of thought: dinosaurs were actually mesothermic, neither warm- nor cold-blooded. By taking this middle ground, some paleontologists maintain that dinosaurs were faster than a similar-sized reptile yet did not require as much food as a similar-sized mammal. To substantiate this theory, paleontologists intend to study how birds, the dinosaur’s closest extant relative, might have at one time been mesothermic.
The two parts in parentheses serve to do which of the following?
Select the answer.
- Summarize two claims that the author of the passage ultimately repudiates.
- Highlight commonalities between birds and dinosaurs.
- Provide rebuttals to commonly held views regarding physical aspects of dinosaurs.
- Describe a recent theory that the author of the passage supports.
- Furnish information regarding contradictory notions of dinosaur behavior.
Explanation:
Notice the structure of the sentence, “based their conclusions on faulty reasoning, claiming that scaly skin was common to all ectotherms.
The bolded part is the specific claim. Look at part in parentheses and how it relates to the bolded part above:
(birds, which are ectothermic, do not have scaly skin).
This is a clear denial of the boldfaced part. The exact same thing happens with the second claim of scientists:
“…the dinosaur’s size could account for ectothermy.”
Here is the objection (in parentheses) that states the boldfaced part is untrue:
(some adult dinosaurs weighed as little as ten pounds).
This points to answer (C): “Provides a rebuttal to a commonly held view regarding the physical aspects of dinosaurs” — the commonly held view is that dinosaurs are ectotherms simply because they have scaly skin.
GRE 2024 : 6 Answered QuestionsView All
Ans. In case you are enquiring about the CAT percentile let me clarify that ISB Hyderabad does not take into consideration CAT scores. It accepts GMAT/GRE scores only. Most importantly, the ISB Shortlisting process is profile-based. This means even with a lower percentile you can manage to get shortlisted provided you have an excellent profile. There is no fixed cutoff for GMAT. However, a 700+ GMAT score isn't a must-have for ISB if your application is strong in other areas. According to an ISB spokesperson, candidates were admitted to the 2021 cohort with scores as low as 580, and as high as 780. So the GMAT score range for ISB is 580-780. Read more
Ans. ISB Hyderabad accepts both examination scores. So, you can opt for either of GMAT or GRE. Your chances of selection or rejection will remain the same. Go through the examination pattern and syllabus and choose the one in which you feel that you will be able to score better. Ultimately having a good score is what matters during admission. As per the recent trends, ISB Hyderabad cutoff for GMAT is 600, while for GRE it is 311. Read more
Ans. There are a few institutes that offer classroom coaching for GRE preparation in Bhubaneswar. Given below are information about a few such institutes: Offshore Education Academy This institute is a one-stop point for good counseling and preparation of GRE exams in Bhubaneswar. Merit scholarships are given to students who perform well in the online admission test. The minimum time to be devoted will be 4 months although it can be extended to 5 months in case an individual wants more time to prepare. Prajna Prep Prajna Prep offers comprehensive class sessions on Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Analytical Writing. You can also take GRE Practice Tests to improve your preparation. Manya-The Princeton Review Manya-The Princeton Review is another excellent choice for GRE preparation. This institute offers different types of GRE courses and you can choose the one which suits you best. There is also an option for learning in groups or in one on one sessions. Besides classroom coaching, self-preparation is also a good option if your current academics are above average. Read more
Ans. Of the two entrance exams, GMAT and GRE, the former is a better option. ISB Hyderabad has recently started accepting GRE scores. This doesn’t mean that taking the GRE is a bad idea. Many business schools apart from ISB are now accepting GRE scores. The best part is that ISB won’t be converting your GRE scores to GMAT for comparison during the MBA admissions. GRE is suitable for students who are considering other PG options apart from MBA like MS or MA. For someone who is sure of their career in an MBA, the GMAT is a better choice because GRE is much more dynamic. GMAT shows your commitment to MBA and thereby increases your chances of admission in comparison to GRE which shows that you are open to various options. ISB Hyderabad prefers GMAT over GRE also because the former is a more quantitatively challenging exam than the latter. Certain firms may ask for your GMAT score before shortlisting you for your interview. These include the biggest firms in the corporate world like McKinsey So from these points, we can safely conclude that GMAT is a better option for MBA students provided that you are sure of your course. Read more
Ans. Firstly, GRE scores are not accepted for the PGP MBA program. Only CAT/GMAT scores are accepted. To apply through the GMAT route you need sufficient work experience in a foreign country. For the FPM program, like any other doctoral program, the quality of the application matters the most and there is no cut-off for the GRE scores. Other factors that are actually considered are Profile Past research Publications There is no specific GRE score that would guarantee a call-up from IIM Ahmedabad. Read more
Ans. There is a long list of countries that allow students to apply for Ph.D. without GRE or TOFEL scores. Some of these countries are as follows. France Singapore Malaysia Dubai Poland China Japan Thailand Latvia Georgia United Kingdom Malta However, you need to have a good academic record in English to show your proficiency. Some of these countries may also need other language proficiency test scores for admission. Read more
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College
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