Tips for GRE Text Completion

Before going to the tips section, let’s understand the questions in brief. The candidates can expect 6 text completion questions in each section of GRE verbal. There can be

• Single blanked text completion
• Double blank text completion
• Triple blanked text completion

Irrespective of the number of blanks, there is no chance of partial marking. For each blank 3-5 answer options will be given from which the candidates have to pick the correct one. The answer option often looks similar or sometimes they have similar meanings too. The following tips can help them here:

Read First and Consider All the Answer Choices

For each and every gap, checking all the answer options will be the smartest idea. The candidates often tend to skip the remaining options if the first answer option seems correct.

For the single blanked questions, it may not be an issue but for multi-blanked questions, it is a serious issue. A candidate may mark the answer of the first blank without checking all the options, but when they reach the second or third blank, the meaning of the sentence becomes unclear because the answer option selected in the first blank is wrong.

It takes more time to go back to the first gap to check all the answers, and then pick the correct one, and again come back to the second gap. Therefore, we ask the candidates to read the questions along with all the provided answer options before marking the answers.

Also, check out: GRE Sentence Equivalence Preparation Tips

Answer the Second or Third Gap First

The correct answer option for the first blank of the multi-blanked text completion questions of GRE happens to be a difficult one. That’s why we suggest the candidates find out the answer to the second or the third blank. To do so, they need to break the sentences into 2-3 small parts and find out the correct answer.

Answering is always up to the candidates, so they can follow their own sequence here.

Break the sentence

The text completion questions with 2-3 blanks come with a long sentence. As a result, it becomes more and more difficult to understand the question. We suggest the test-takers to break the sentence in parts to answer the questions easily. Breaking the sentence also clears the meaning of the sentence. Also, finding out the best and befitting answer option becomes easier.

While solving the question after breaking it, leave the part, which appears the most difficult for last. Maybe, there is a difficult word or phrase and you have not understood the meaning of it clearly – do it later, solve the easy blanks first.

Put It Together To Get a Compact and Meaningful Sentence

While answering, it is alight to break the sentence in parts. But, before moving on to the next question, the candidates must read the sentence with the selected answer options at least once to make sure that the selected answer options make sense in the sentence and provides meaning. Make sure the sentence is logically and grammatically correct.

Understand the Connecting Words to Sense the Tone of the Next Part

While answering, look for the sentence structures - look for connecting words like “and”, “but” “however”, “though”, “although”, “contrarily” and others like these. These words or phrases defies the tone of the part followed by. These phrases do help to find out the correct answer.

The terms like “and”, “also”, “plus”, “additionally”, and “along with that” indicate a similar tone with the previous part. The terms like “but”, “yet”, “however”, “on the other side”, and “though” indicate a contradictory tone with the previous part. This technique is also called understanding the signal words and it is an excellent way to answer the GRE text completion questions correctly.

Insert Own Words

After breaking the sentence into parts, the candidates can insert their own words to complete the sentence roughly. Once the sentence seems complete, they can look for the synonyms of the words they used for the blank.

Use the Elimination Method

When all the answer options are too close and candidates are finding extreme difficulty to find the correct one, the elimination method can be a real help. In this matter, eliminate the less befitting answer option.

Enhance your Vocabulary

Learn new words daily – this is not a trick; rather, it is a way to master the GRE verbal section with ease. Not just the words! Learn the phrases, idioms for a compact knowledge of vocabulary.

Don’t Waste Time

Remember the GRE sentence completion questions; irrespective of the number of blanks carry the same point. So do not give more time to the questions with multiple blanks.

In case, you have answer one blank correctly and stuck in the 2nd or 3rd blank, it is better to guess the answer and move to the next when you are unsure of the correct answer. It is because it will be a waste of time. You can invest this time on other questions where you are sure of the credit points.

GRE text completion questions are definitely tricky in nature, but having an enhanced vocabulary is definitely an advantage here. It is not that this section is not doable – it is doable, but proper GRE verbal practice is needed with the application of the GRE verbal tricks.