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GRE Text Completion Tips and Strategies: Methods to Master GRE Text Completion
GRE verbal section appears tough not just to the candidates of science background – the candidates from English majors also find it difficult. Among the 3 tasks of the GRE verbal section, text completion questions are challenging to a great extent. GRE text completion questions appear like the simple “fill in the blank” type questions, but these are utterly confusing in nature. GRE text completion tips can help them to resolve this confusion and answer the question smartly to obtain a good GRE score.
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.
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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