Strategies for GRE Reading Comprehension
The Graduate Record Examination, or the GRE, has three sections – one of which is the Verbal Reasoning section. Within this section, there are sentence equivalence, text completion, and reading comprehension questions. Reading comprehension questions test your ability to understand the type of reading material you will deal with in graduate school courses. Let’s look at the types of reading comprehension questions found on the GRE and learn how to effectively study for them:
What Skills Are Needed to Master Reading Comprehension Questions on the GRE?
Many of the reading comprehension questions on the GRE require you to summarize passages and draw conclusions about what you’ve read. You’ll need to be able to find the strengths and weaknesses in a position taken by the author of a passage. Recognizing vocabulary words used in sentences and understanding how you contribute to the overall meaning of a passage are other skills you need to know. You’ll also have to be able to distinguish main ideas from minor details.
In order to find success with these types of questions and others, you must know how to read in an active way by asking questions and drawing conclusions as you go. The good news is that these skills aren’t just necessary for the GRE - they’ll prove invaluable in graduate school, as well.
The Types of Reading Comprehension Questions on the GRE
GRE questions are mostly multiple-choice. There are traditional multiple-choice questions where a student chooses one option out of several. Also, there are reading comprehension questions that ask students to choose more than one answer – there may even be three correct answers to one question!
Select-in-passage questions are also included on the GRE. To answer this type of question, a student must read a passage and click on or highlight a particular sentence that fulfills a given description. Select-in-passage questions are only found on the computer-based GRE. Individuals taking the paper-based version of the GRE will answer multiple-choice questions that measure the same skills as select-in-passage questions.
GRE Reading Comprehension Tips
Along with contacting Varsity Tutors and getting set up with an expert tutor to guide your studies, you can do many things to prepare for the GRE. Reading comprehension practice questions are a necessity for any student who wants to fare well on the test. You can go online to find GRE reading comprehension practice questions that can help them to determine what skills to work on.
Another thing to do when preparing for the test is to study vocabulary words found on the GRE. Becoming familiar with these words and their definitions can help you better understand the sentences and passages on the test.
In addition to learning vocabulary words, it’s a good idea to make it a point to read magazine and newspaper articles. A sample GRE reading list could include The New York Times , The Atlantic Monthly , Popular Science, and The Economist . Seeing various vocabulary words in context is helpful when you're trying to retain new definitions, and reading complex texts is helpful in getting you used to the kind of texts used on the GRE. One of the best GRE reading comprehension tips for students to follow is to establish the habit of becoming an engaged reader, whether you’re reading fiction or nonfiction. Asking questions and looking for the meaning within a piece of written work is something every reader has to learn and practice.
At Varsity Tutors, we provide GRE tutoring services to students who would like some help preparing for the reading comprehension questions on the exam. Each of our instructors has achieved a high score on the GRE, so students who work with us are learning from individuals who have mastered the reading comprehension questions, along with all of the others, on the GRE! Reading comprehension strategies play an important part in our GRE prep classes. We show students how to simplify the process of arriving at the correct answer option.
Our professional instructors at Varsity Tutors know how to prepare students for the GRE . We review reading comprehension questions with students to determine both their weaknesses and strengths. Consequently, we can make the most efficient use of a study period. And we are proud to offer both online and in-person GRE prep classes to meet the needs of our students. Contact Varsity Tutors today to sign up for success on the GRE!
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