The verbal section of the GMAT includes Critical Reasoning, Sentence Correction, and Reading Comprehension.

Reading and Comprehending

This section of the GMAT tests your ability to read critically, and understand what you read, including both the general passage and the substance, or information, presented. You will need to understand words and statements, logical relationships between concepts, and the flow and development of concepts presented in writing structures.

Each passage in the GMAT is typically 250-300 words in length. The subject s can vary- from business, to sciences, to humanities. No past knowledge of these topics is necessary to answer the questions, but a good vocabulary always helps. You will be asked a short series of questions (around 3-4) per passage.

Here are a few questions typically asked in GMAT Reading Comprehension:

• Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
• According to the passage, which of the following it true/false?
• The passage supports which of the following inferences?
• One function of the third paragraph in the passage is…
• The author refers to X primarily for the purpose of…

How to Solve

First of all, read the passage. Some people believe that reading the questions first and then looking for the answer might save time, but the truth is that the GMAT requires you to first have a good understanding of the passage overall, as the first question is always “what’s the purpose of the passage?”.

Analyze the passage as you read it. Find the main point of the passage, as well as any examples or supporting argument. Decide whether the each paragraph is trying to support or refute a conclusion, compare two ideas, or maybe present a new concept or example.

When you reach the questions, read them carefully and make sure you understand what you’re being asked. Go back to the passage to look for the answer if you have to. Always try to eliminate wrong answers, which are sometimes indicated by the fact that they’re not referred to in the paragraph or they’re the opposite of what the paragraph claims.

Choose the best answer. And always remember that speed can be the enemy here- this is probably the easiest section to make mistakes in due to going over the passage too fast and missing crucial information or concepts. Practice until your speed is sufficient to get the right answers without wasting time or making mistakes.

Examples!

The following passage is a HecklerSpray article by Matthew Laidlow.

Festivals are brilliant. Standing in fields, listening to music out of ropey speakers, complaining about being covered in mud and spending £10 on organic hemp burgers. Perfect.
What you want for your money is a magical experience where you get to enjoy bands you like, discover weird stuff like Brazilians who compose songs off radiators and occasionally get off your face on booze. Glastonbury 2010 should theoretically be one of the best festivals of all time. Why? Because it’s the 40th anniversary of the festival. Shame it’s going to be ruined by U2.
Well we say, U2. We mean Bono.
In the olden days, before people had mobile phones, U2 actually made music. Actually, to be fair they still do this. But back in times where the world was in black and white, they were considered to be good. The success of the band subsequently created an egotistical monster in the form of Bono. Sometimes the self-obsessed twat can’t get through doors as his own opinion inflates him that much. And now they’re playing Glastonbury.

The author of the article is primarily concerned with which of the following?

1. (A) Recommending a course of action
2. (B) Describing facts
3. (C) Developing a personal opinion
4. (D) Responding to a criticism
5. (E) Evaluating a past course of action

The answer is C. If you read the passage you’ll notice that the main idea presented is the opinion that next year’s Glastonbury festival will be ruined by Bono. There is no course of action to avoid this problem, so A is wrong. The author is primarily dealing with his personal opinion and little facts are presented, so B is off. The author is creating his own criticism rather than responding to one, which means D is wrong. Finally, E is wrong, because there article primarily deals with a future event, not a past course of action.

The passage supports all of the following except

1. (A) In the past, U2 was a good band.
2. (B) Music festivals generally offer an interesting experience
3. (C) Great successes can lead to great failures
4. (D) Festivals are fun, but the 2010 Glastonbury might not be
5. (E) Nowadays, U2 is one of the worst bands on Earth

Let’s see. Choice A was actually mentioned in the passage almost word-for-word, in the old days U2 made music and were considered good. So A is not the right answer. Neither is B- the second paragraph describes music festivals as magical events with weird stuff going on. Option C is also supported by the article in their discussion of Bono and how U2’s success led to the development of an egomaniacal monster. D is actually the main opinion presented in the passage, and it’s definately supported by the pasage. The answer is then E, which is not supported by the passage- the passage claims that Bono is the primary problem with U2 noawadays, but that does not mean that U2 are a bad band, and in fact they have some good music in their repertoire. Thus, E is right.

Try Some Reading Comprehension Questions

Practice makes perfect!

GMAT Verbal Questions (10 questions) GMAT Vocab (10 questions)

Other GMAT Verbal Questions

The GMAT Verbal section also includes Sentence Correction and Critical Reasoning Questions.