Comprehension.

Read and Comprehend

The concept here is simple enough- youll get between 2-4 passages of text in the
Verbal Section of the GRE, and each passage will come with several multiple-choice
questions that youll have to answer. You have to select the best answer based on the
information contained in the passage youre given.
There are 2 types of passages you might get. A long passage has about 50-60 lines,
and you wont find more than 1 long passage on the GRE. You might also find a few
short passages of 20-25 lines. Topics for the passage range from scienctific concepts,
which generally talk about the failures or successes of scientific discoveries, to
humanities and social sciences that discuss art or history and provide some opinion
and analysis.
What should you do?
The thing about GRE Reading Comprehension questions, unlike some of these type of
questions you might find elsewhere, is that they usually look for specific details
hidden within the passage. The main idea, structure, and analysis within the passage
are usually less important.
The thing to do is skim the passage- look it over quickly. Then move straight to the
questions. The questions might point you to a specific line, or else theyll point to
some key-word which you should scroll for and find in the passage. Now read the
short section around that line or keyword, and you should be able to find your answer.
Do not try and read the whole passage before answering questions! This will waste
your time, and you dont have a whole lot of time here, remember that. Read fast, and
if you cant find the answer, just eliminate as many choices as possible and guess.
There are, however, some tricks that might be useful.
Some useful tricks
Always use common sense. Passages are usually taken from scholarly essays and
publications, so theyre likely to support science and arts. If an answer doesnt make
sense, regardless of the passage, you can usually eliminate it.
Extreme answers are almost always wrong. When question choices use always,
everyone and completely, or else never or no one, the choices are usually
wrong. Generalizations and extreme answers can be eliminated.
The right answer will often be paraphrased within the passage, especially in questions
that look for something specific, but they wont use the exact same wording. If a
choice uses wording thats nearly identical to a sentence from the passage, read it
carefully- it might just be there to confuse you and make it seem like the right answer.
When questions refer to specific lines, remember to always read a little bit before and
after the line- the answer will almost never be on that exact line, but it will usually be
nearby.

A couple of other points:

Vocabulary is important! Just like the rest of the GRE, Reading Comprehension
questions become easier if you know the words involved. Youll often encounter long
scientific words that might be new to you- learn them as youre practicing, they might
come in handy. However, when youre writing the GRE, dont let big words confuse
you, because scientific names and words are sometimes thrown in for no practical
value just to throw you off. Read around big words to guess their meaning.
Get used to reading comprehension on a computer. On paper, you can highlight and
underline phrases, words and sections, but you cant do that on the copmuterized
GRE. Make sure you get used to writing down your notes on scratch paper and keep
referencing lines to make things easier to find later.
Example:
Heres a passage taken from the Wikipedia Article about the History of Writing:
Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication
systems in that one must usually understand something of the associated spoken
language to comprehend the text. By contrast, other possible symbolic systems such
as information signs, painting, maps, and mathematics often do not require prior
knowledge of a spoken language. Every human community possesses language, a
feature regarded by many as an innate and defining condition of mankind (see Origin
of language). However the development of writing systems, and the process by which
they have supplanted traditional oral systems of communication has been sporadic,
uneven and slow. Once established, writing systems on the whole change more slowly
than their spoken counterparts, and often preserve features and expressions which are
no longer current in the spoken language. The great benefit of writing systems is their
ability to maintain a persistent record of information expressed in a language, which
can be retrieved independently of the initial act of formulation.
I might ask you this: In what way do writing systems change slower than spoken
word?

Writing systems dont allow to maintain a persistent record of information

Writing systems supplament systems of oral communication

Writing systems keep certain features even if theyre no longer used in oral
systems

Writing systems require prior knowledge of the spoken language

Writing systems were used less often, so they did not change as fast

Answer: Note that options A and B contain sections directly from the passage, which
suggest theyre wrong. In this case, they are wrong- writing systems do allow you to
maintain record of information, while choice doesnt provide an answer to the
question. Choice D again doesnt provide a very good answer. Choice E provides a
perfect answer to the question, but sadly this answer is not found within the text, so
its unacceptable. That leaves C- in the passage you will find this sentence: writing
systems on the whole change more slowly than their spoken counterparts, and often
preserve features and expressions which are no longer current in the spoken
language. Answer C is a well paraphrased piece with the same information, which
means its the right answer were looking for.
Hopefully that gives you some idea on how to look for and answer reading
comprehension questions.