Mastering Reading Comprehension of GRE Verbal Reasoning

GRE Reading Comprehension in verbal reasoning section is set to evaluate the efficacy of exploring logical reasoning and critical thinking through reading with some strategic systems of appearing questions. The section is to be excelled with keen attention and regular practices to walk into the difficulties with ease of confidence. This confidence can be ascended gradually and positively if one utilizes stipulated strategies to master the section with patience and perception. Versatile reading from various sources with gradual enthusiasm and vivacity can make anyone tenacious enough to have an impetus with a view to attaining satiated success with strategic steps:

1. Set a Synopsis

An active reading of scanning and skimming the passage with induced attention is to be generated to set a synopsis of the passage in brain which may help to take decision quickly keeping oneself away from the chaos of unnecessary informations and to save vital time. The more one practises the more this efficacy excelled.

1. Note the Notions

§  The scratch paper is to be used to note the notions and remarks which is so helpful to make a synopsis or summary. Active reading aids to note the theme with important points and words precisely.

§  The decision of author is usually presented positively or negatively which can be indicated for quick perception by setting +/- sign with the words/informations noted as summary. 

1. Start with Question
2. Firstly one should quickly flick through the stipulated first question and start reading. This will help one to be touched with the answer of that question asap and to save few vital time of the test.
3. In the time of reading one should trigger questions in every turn of the passage by asking ownself to excel the way of answering with simultaneous reading process : what is the main idea/purpose of the passage, what are the problems mentioned, what are the solutions, why does the fact happen, why any specific vocab is utilized, what/why does the author opine a realization, what are the supporting/opposing/dubious/weakening facts, what can be inferred from the passage.

 

1. Fueled from First & Last

Fuel is generated by rapid reading at an attentive fast pace. The reading comprehension questions of the verbal reasoning is to be initiated by being fueled initially from the first and last paragraphs or lines contain principal perception in most passages. One can read, scan, and skim the body of the passage bordered by the first and last with respect to the urge of the questions to save time.

1. Detect the Directives

In reading comprehension one can encounter words or phrases in the given passages functioning as directives by giving signals to go in forward or reverse direction respectively with the flowing message given by the passage.

• Forward Signal

These transitions indicate that the passage is going to continue in the same stream of direction  what has already been mentioned earlier.  These transitions help to navigate the passage with ease apart from dealing with details that much unless a question specifically asks for these details. The signal words/phrases are : And,  As well as,  In addition, Also, Moreover, Likewise, Similarly etc.

• Backward Signal

These transitions with the words/phrases: But, However, In spite of, On the other hand, Nevertheless, Nonetheless, On the contrary etc. give that the passage needs a change in direction and what follows will be in a contrast. This signals should be pointed out during the session of skimming.

• Transitions of Time

GRE test sometimes evaluates the efficacy of understanding and logical lucidity on the basis of the way how the transitions of time is driven. Few time transitions on the GRE are:After, Currently, During, Earlier, Later, Meanwhile, Now, Until, Recently, Simultaneously, Subsequently etc. These time transitions are to be pointed out keenly to drive the passage with an adapted ambience to answer correctly.

1. Concise the Question

The more simplified and direct the interpretation of a question, the better one will be able to navigate through the passage when looking for an answer. The given questions are to be concised and simplified, reoriented or rephrased at one’s own ease and pace.

1. Anticipate the Answer

One needs to anticipate the answers while reading the passage to match the answer with the given choices specially in dealing with a question wants one to find the purpose of the passage. The anticipated answer then applied to match with given answer options and select the appropriate answer to make sense and fit the passage.

1. Eliminate the Extremities

The answer choices is then eliminated with respect to the anticipated answers. The choices which provides very extreme supporting base are to be eliminated to be more specified. In this process one needs to be aware of the wrong answers where the choice may assume too much or anything absurd, provide anything beyond the scope and information of the given passage, or showing anything true in real sense but absent in the passage. One should have keen observation on the answer choices that are recycled from the passage, words/phrases that come directly from the passage, strong language or opinions with unnecessary comparisons and absurd contrast to eliminate the wrong.

1. Eschew the External Knowledge

GRE reading comprehension evaluates the capability of logical reasoning through reading and answering. This section is not concerned with the knowledge of anyone regarding the informations beyond the scope of the passage. So, one should eschew or avoid any kind of external knowledge to be applied to answer the question so that the internal message given by the passage is used with reading efficacy.

1. Avoid any Assumption

Assumption is also prohibited for reading comprehenstion so that one can utilize the whole passage without any fabricated or real informations out of the reading realm. One can infer anything with perception which is even very useful and strategic because anything inferred is extracted from the message while anything assumed can not maintain the link with the passage and so it may drive towards wrong answers.

1. Valuate the Vocabulary

In order to walk in the reading comprehension with ascending confidence and cognition one needs to have a good command over vocabularies which helps to utilize the understanding with lucidity and to eliminate the wrong answer simultaneously. It will help to extract the right answer choices from the crowd with pacified ease. One should navigate with vocabs to relate it with the passage so that he/she can specify the exact meaning in the juncture of the passage where the vocab is used.

1. Premises of Practices

The most important step to enhance the skill of reading comprehension is to read as much as we can which will give us a keen understanding along with help enlarging our vocabulary and excelling the perception capability. We can follow the countries where the state language is English to improve our vocabulary and meaning-extraction skill. So the reading material should have the standard reflected and resembled by the standard of American and British English. We can read newspapers, stories, novels, magazines and journals, e.g :

• Newspaper/Journal/Magazine
• USA Today
• The New York Times
• The Wall Street Journal
• The Washington Post
• New York Post
• Reader’s digest
• Economics
• The Guardian
• The Times
• The Daily Telegraph
• Financial Times
• The Atlantic Monthly
• Popular Science

 

• Books

 

• Books of William Shakespeare
• Books of Dan Brown
• The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
• A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela 
• Ulysses by James Joyce
• The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• The Aubrey-Maturin Series by Patrick O’Brian
• Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
• Moby Dick by Herman Melville
• Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley
• To kill a mocking bird by Harper Lee
• Cosmos by Carl Sagan

Reading comprehension is one of the most important sections of GRE verbal reasoning which reflects such environment that one should be tenacious and arduous enough to be adapted with the ambience by being adepted with regular reading practice applying the strategic pathway illuminated in the analyses above. My Study Notebook (www.mystudynotebook.com) provides a customized practice place for reading comprehension and other individual sections of  GRE test which can be utilized for excelling the preparation, comprehension, confidence and efficacy.