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GRE verbal RC cheat sheet PDF

Juris Doctor (IBA College of Mindanao Inc.)

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GRE 2. Opposite: the statement in one clause/sentence is opposite to another written

idea. Examples: yet, though, however, but, nonetheless, nevertheless, at the
Reading Comprehension Passage Types same time, notwithstanding, still, that said. Example sentence: Though evidence
1. Short passages: ten to twenty lines, usually two questions shows that the indigenous sloth population has decreased in recent months,
2. Paragraph arguments: eight to twelve lines, always one question much of this can be attributed to seasonal variations in the animal’s numbers.
3. Medium passages: twenty to forty lines, typically three questions
4. Long passages: fifty-plus lines, four questions 3. Cause and Effect: The idea expressed in one clause is the result of an idea
discussed in an adjacent clause. Examples: since, so, because, consequently, as a
The GRE Verbal reading comprehension questions can be divided into two result, due to, given. Example sentence: Given the recent destruction of the
large categories: the paragraph argument questions with shorter prompts, and rainforest, the sloth population is deprived of its natural habitat and is rapidly
the longer passages with multiple questions. Ask yourself the following once decreasing in number.
done reading:
1. Were you able to understand the overall meaning of the passage? Question types: General (Thematic)
2. Were you able to understand how the different parts of the passage
were related to one another? The primary purpose of the passage is …
3. Were you able to identify the parts of the passage relevant to The author is chiefly concerned with …
answering each question?
A good title for the passage would be …
Reading Comprehension Question Types
The passage as a whole can best be characterized as which of the
1. Standard five answer questions: This applies to all reading following?
comprehension questions in the GRE Verbal, except MCQ type below.
1. Main Idea
2. Multiple-answer questions: For the multiple-answer question, the
This asks you about the main idea of the passage. This question type is
instructions are as follows: “Consider each of the choices separately and
always General.
select all that apply”
Typical wordings:
The author is primarily concerned with … ?
Standard GRE passage:
Which of the following best states the author’s main point?
The GRE passage writers are very deliberate about including “signpost”
Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the
words—words that indicate the relationship between sentences and clauses
within those sentences. Understanding how these important words function will passage?
help you navigate the twists and the turns of the passage. 2. Lookup Detail
They fall into three categories: Same, Opposite, Cause and Effect.
Typical wordings:
1. Same: the statement in one clause/sentence is similar to the idea that preceded According to the passage, X resulted primarily from which of the following
it Examples: additionally, also, moreover, likewise, too, furthermore …?
Example sentence: Researchers have found evidence that the indigenous sloth According to the passage, as the process of X continues, all of the following
population is decreasing. Additionally, evidence shows that the native toucan may occur EXCEPT … According to the passage, person X indicates that all
population is languishing. of the following were true of Y EXCEPT …

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The author provides information that would answer which of the following The answer choices to ‘tone of the passage’ questions will normally consist
questions? of single words or short phrases. Some examples of sets of answer choices
are:
3. Infer about Facts Set 1: indifferent; nostalgic; amused; condescending; hostile
Set 2: deep skepticism; strong indignation; marked indifference; moderate
Typical wordings:
amusement; sharp derision
It can be inferred from the passage that slower X than those discussed
Set 3: dogmatic explanation; indignant denial; enthusiastic praise;
in the passage …
speculative study; lukewarm review
The author implies that a major element of X is …
Set 4: serious reservation; grudging respect; enthusiastic endorsement;
Which of the following statements concerning X is most directly
qualified admiration; unresolved ambivalence; enthusiastic; indifferent;
suggested in the passage?
wary; derisive; defensive
The quality of X described in lines 10–15 is most clearly an example of
…
Note: GRE/GMAT passages are usually neutral in tone, and do not criticize
The passage supports which of the following statements about X?
anyone harshly. Also, unless a subject or a person is important enough, it is
4. Infer about Opinions not likely that ETS would have chosen a passage relating to it or to him/her
for being featured in the test.
Typical wordings: Therefore, without even reading the passage, phrases which are extremely
The author’s attitude toward X, as discussed in the passage, is best negative or abusive in tone scan straightaway be discarded so that, by a
described as … [answer choices are adjectives] process of elimination, the choices can be restricted to just two or three.
In the first paragraph of the passage, the author’s attitude toward X In the first set of words given above, the choices ‘indifferent’ and ‘hostile’
can best be described as … can straightaway be eliminated.
It can be inferred from the passage that person X chose Y because X In the second set, the choices ‘strong indignation’, ‘marked indifference’ and
believed that … ‘sharp derision’ can be eliminated.
It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes which of the In the third set, ‘dogmatic explanation’ and ‘indignant denial’ are not likely
following about X? to be the correct answers.
In the fourth set, ‘serious reservation’ and ‘unresolved ambivalence’ can be
5. 'Tone of the passage' questions (overlaps with 4.) discarded.
These questions ask you to gauge the author’s attitude towards a person or a In the fifth set, ‘indifferent’ and ‘derisive’ can be eliminated.
thing or a quality discussed in
the passage. Examples of such questions are: Sometimes the answer choices will use a less familiar term to express the
The author’s attitude towards photography in the cinema before Griffith can same idea, and could also be a test of your vocabulary as shown below
best be described as ....
The author regards the idea that all highly creative artistic activity transcends
limits with ....
In terms of its tone and form, the passage can best be characterized as ....
The author’s discussion of Black Fiction can be best described as ....

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Question Type: Specific Questions

Annotations important - Use your notes as a search tool,
According to the passage … ?
It can be inferred from the passage that … ?
All of the following statements are supported by the passage EXCEPT … ?
Which of the following would weaken the assertion in the passage?
1. Minor Types
You may be asked to extrapolate the content of the passage (e.g., What
would be the best sentence to add onto the end of the passage?) or to
evaluate what would strengthen or weaken a claim (e.g., Which of the
following pieces of evidence would most strengthen the claim made in lines
13–15?). These questions are almost always Specific.

Answer traps

The key to understanding answer traps is to constantly be asking yourself the

following: “What makes a wrong answer choice wrong?” Most wrong
answer choices
will fall into one of the following categories:

1. Uses words in passage but twists the author’s meaning. One thing our
6. Author’s Purpose brain loves is familiarity. We latch on to words and phrases we remember
seeing in the passage, convincing ourselves that the answer is correct.
Can be specific also Meanwhile, we forget to put all those words together to see that they result
in a statement that’s incorrect.
Typical wordings: In other words, the test writers will twist what the author is saying while
The author refers to X (line 45) primarily in order to … using familiar words.
Which of the following phrases best expresses the sense of word X as it
is used in lines 20–21 of the passage? 2. True, but in different part of the passage. Sometimes an answer choice
is actually correct, in the sense that it is supported by the passage. The
problem that it doesn’t answer the question at hand. Therefore, always read
the question carefully so you know what it’s asking.

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3. True in the real world, but not found in the passage. Sometimes, an
answer choice will sound true, as far as common sense goes. But it won’t
actually be covered in the passage. If it’s not supported by the passage, it’s
incorrect.
4. Everything is right except one thing. We call this the “rotten fruit” error.
Think of how you shop for fruit. When you pick up an apple, you don’t look
at the one shiny spot and say, “Hey, I’ll buy this apple.” Instead, you turn it
over meticulously,
looking for that one rotten spot. Likewise, on the reading comprehension
answer choices, you shouldn’t just look at the part that’s right. Instead, you
should “turn over” the entire answer choice, making sure that each
word/phrase is valid.
about the discrepancy at a deeper level, you’re less likely to fall for one of the
wrong answers or distractors.
Boldface
You can spot the boldface-style paragraph argument questions from a mile away
because they have bold text as part of the prompt! Most of the questions of this
type actually have two different sections in bold. The key to the boldface
questions is to pay attention to the role of each sentence. This is always good
practice for dissecting any argument. If you can label the role of each sentence
in any argument, you understand that argument well.

Paragraph Argument
“paragraph argument” is virtually identical to the “critical reasoning” questions on the GMAT.”

The paragraph argument questions have short prompts (25–100 words) that
present an argument, and they always have only one question that asks you to
analyze that argument. Every argument has two parts: (a) the premise and
(b) the conclusion. The premise is a factual statement. The conclusion is the
viewpoint that the author of the argument wants you to believe. The words
“therefore,” “consequently,” and “thus” are common signposts for conclusions.
Unlike the premise, the conclusion is often a prediction. The assumption is
critical to most paragraph argument questions. Identifying it
will allow you to answer the question.

Paradox questions
What makes this kind of paragraph argument question different from those
questions described above is that there’s no conclusion. Instead, you’re given
two premises that seem to contradict one another. However, like those other
paragraph argument questions, you can only pick one answer that best resolves
this discrepancy. In terms of approaching the question, you should spend about
twenty to thirty seconds seeing if you can anticipate what the answer must look
like. That is, think of a possibility that might resolve the paradox. This process
isn’t intended to match up with the answer even half the time. But by thinking

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Updated September 2019

Downloaded by Faria Soroni (fariasoroni1996@gmail.com)