New GRE Overview- Verbal Reasoning

The Verbal Reasoning section aims at testing the ability of the test taker to analyze and evaluate written material and construe information from it. The Verbal Reasoning questions appear in three formats:

• Sentence Equivalence
• Reading Comprehension
• Text Completion

A high score in Verbal Reasoning section is a must for students seeking admission in USA based J-Schools.

Sentence Equivalence

Sentence Equivalence questions aim at testing the ability to reach a conclusion using the information provided in the question and the available options. For a majority of Sentence Equivalence questions, the key is to identify the synonyms in the available options. However, there are a lot of questions in which one needs to watch out for words like 'however', 'but', 'although', 'moreover' etc. In such questions, it is a possibility that answer might be different from the otherwise expected. A good command on vocabulary is a must to score well.

Make sure, the selected pair of answer is logically, grammatically and stylistically coherent.

Here is a link to download free sentence completion questions:

501 Sentence completion questions

Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension questions constitute nearly half of the Verbal Reasoning section. The questions in this variety are either from long passages or short passages. The passage would generally have more than 3 questions. However, a couple of  short passage could involve single question. The Reading comprehension tests the ability of the test taker to comprehend, summarize, conclude, distinguish and identify various aspects of the passage. The key to score well in reading comprehension questions is to clearly understand the passage before answering the questions. Avoid re-reading the passage i.e. to closely read the passage in a single shot. This would help in avoidance of wastage of time.

A lot of passages in the New GRE come from topics such as black slavery, women empowerment,  California gold rush,  biology related recent developments, psychology, sociology etc. Hence, it is advisable to read on these topics. Not only would the comprehension ability improve but would also help in developing a comfort zone in such topics.

Though the test format has drastically changed, it is still advised to solve Big Book and 19 real tests. 

Downloads:

19 Real Tests

Big Book

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