Study Abroad Content Writer at Collegedunia | Updated On - Jun 19, 2024
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. Some strategies that you can follow as GMAT reading comprehension tips is to read the passage actively, practising the mock tests, increase your vocabulary, etc. However, if you want to answer quickly, try to focus on interpreting the passage, manage your time properly, properly interpret the level of difficulty of the questions, etc. These tips will help you in the preparation of the best GRE reading comprehension practice papers too.
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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.
The GRE Reading Comprehension section tests your academic, vocabulary skills. To solve this section you must take notes, avoid overreading, undertake several mock tests, as well as answer the “WH” questions first. To read fast for GRE, we recommend do not spend more than 1.5 minutes per question.
FAQs
Ques. What is the best reading practice for GRE?
Ans. The best reading practice for GRE is the academic text books. It can be on any topic. We recommend you to go through the University-level and graduate-level textbooks.
Ques. How can I improve my GRE Reading Comprehension?
Ans. To improve your GRE reading comprehension, you must focues on the opening and closing passaged of the reading passages. Try to read actively and improve your vocabulary.
Ques. How to solve Reading Comprehension?
Ans. To solve the reading comprehension section, we suggest take notes, avoid overreading, undertake several mock tests, as well as answer the “WH” questions first.
Ques. How to deal with long passages in GRE?
Ans. To read long passages in GRE, make sure you skim the passage first. It is very important to identify the structure before answering. It is also recommended to manage your time effectively for answering the questions.
Ques. How many reading comprehension questions are there in GRE?
Ans. The GRE verbal section consists of nearly 10 Reading Comprehension Questions. The sections are a blend of text completion, sentence equivalence, and reading comprehension questions.
Ques. How to read fast for GRE?
Ans. To read fast for GRE, we recommend do not spend more than 1.5 minutes per question. However, a time range of 30 seconds to 2.5 minutes to read and plan an aswer is considered good for GRE reaading comprehension.
Ques. What is the hardest part of the GRE?
Ans. The hardest part of GRE examination is considered to be the Quantitative Reasoning section. Students have reported that maximum time is spend on this part for the GRE test.
Ques. How many hours should I study for GRE per day?
Ans. It is recommended to study for atleast 2-3 hours a day for a good score in GRE exam. It also depends on your proficieny level across the 3 sections of GRE.
Ques. Is it hard to crack the GRE?
Ans. It entirely depends on the merit ability of a candidate. The GRE test is considered comparatively tough than the SAT or ACT exam. You will require a high level of reasoning, reading and time management skill for GRE.
Ques. What are the 7 strategies to improve reading comprehension?
Ans. The seven strategies to improve reading comprehension includes practicising the mock tests, increasing the vocabulary skills, reading the passage actively, use context clues, increasing your pace in reading and solving, dividing the content into small sections, and proper skimming.
*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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